BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Roger Rice has an affinity for fishing. It is something that eases his mind.
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Saucon Valley Country Club is well known for its fishing. Fishing at GAP Member Clubs was a cover story macro topic for the 2019 Spring Issue of GAP Magazine.
Thursday at Saucon Valley’s Weyhill Course (par 72, 7,073 yards), Rice used his rods and reels to catch medalist honors in U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifying administered by GAP with a 3-under-par 69.
“I love fishing with my dad,” Rice, 17, of Chatham, N.J., said. “We go up to Maine sometimes and fish for stripers. We try to go off shore and away from the crowds. Fishing helps me get my mind off golf. It is relaxing. Fishing is a big thing here so it’s ironic that I was able to be the medalist at a place that loves fishing as much as me.”
Declan Conner of Swarthmore, Pa. and Daniel Kim of Franklin Lakes, N.J. grabbed the other qualifying spots. Kim emerged from a 4-for-1 playoff after a round of 71 and Conner carded a 2-under-par 70.
All three kids will be making their USGA Championship debuts.
The 78th U.S. Junior Amateur will take place July 20-25 at Saucon Valley’s Old Course.
“Qualifying for a USGA Championship means a lot to me,” Rice, a rising senior at Chatham High School, said. “I put in a lot of hard work this offseason to get to be able to play the golf I have been playing. Golf is not an easy game but to be able to play well to advance is everything. I really want to keep this momentum going for the Championship Proper.”
Playing in the last group of the day off of the second nine, Rice went out in 1 under. Three birdies and a bogey on the front nine helped him reach his magic number. A birdie-birdie finish on Nos. 8 (par 4, 402 yards) and 9 (par 5, 534 yards) baited him to the medal.
He reeled his chip into the hole for birdie on No. 8 and rolled in a 15-footer on No. 9 to secure the honor of top angler.
“I was feeling really confident in my putter,” Rice said. “I was able to really roll the ball well on these greens. The grounds crew here did a great job. The greens were so smooth and so pure. I feel like if you aren’t confident in yourself and your game then you are doing yourself a disservice.”
On his bag was his coach Tom Delaney. The elder statesman in hot and humid temperatures walked with Rice each step of the way providing support. This isn’t a new thing.
“Tom and I have been working together for a long time,” Rice said. “We are thinking the same thing and are on the same page. While I am on the range we are thinking the same things and talk about the same types of swing thoughts. I have found a really good coach who understands me and my swing well. He is a huge asset.”
Conner made a putter switch that changed everything. On a string of rounds with 36 putts, Conner needed confidence.
“This year hasn’t been the best year on the greens,” Conner, 17, and a rising senior at Ridley High School, said. “I just couldn’t get over the hump on the greens. Having as many putts as I have had with how I have been hitting it has been demoralizing. I realized I needed a change and swapped from a Scotty Cameron 5.5 Phantom to a Scotty Cameron Phantom 9. I saw Kevin Harrell at Club Champion in Wayne, Pa. and he helped sort out my putting. I made a ton of clutch putts inside eight feet.”
Getting a national championship tee time in your backyard is huge. Conner, a member of Rolling Green Golf Club, is relishing the opportunity he earned.
“Being able to qualify for a national championship in my backyard is truly amazing,” Conner said. “In doing so, I will be able to have support from my family and friends. I feel like I can compete, I just need to prepare the right way.”
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 345 Member Clubs and 140,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
| Results | |
| Name, city, state | Score |
| Roger Rice, Chatham, N.J. | 69 |
| Declan Conner, Swarthmore, Pa. | 70 |
| Daniel Kim, Franklin Lakes, N.J. | 71 |
| Alternates (in order) | |
| Charlie Barrickman, West Chester, Pa. | 71 |
| Logan McGinn, South Williamsport, Pa. | 71 |
| Failed to qualify | |
| Liam Littleton, Fort Washington, Pa. | 71 |
| Benjamin Boyanoski, Dunmore, Pa. | 72 |
| Jack Stamberger, Brielle, N.J. | 73 |
| Samuel Han, Ashburn, Va. | 73 |
| Luca Kleinschmidt, Wallingford, Pa. | 73 |
| Brad McDermott, Wayne, Pa. | 73 |
| Benjamin Spencer, Potomac, Md. | 74 |
| Paul Reilly, West Creek, N.J. | 74 |
| Freddy Hartmann, Devon, Pa. | 74 |
| Cole Powell, Fell Township, Pa. | 74 |
| Sam Vinc, Brockton, Pa. | 74 |
| Will Johnson, Berwyn, Pa. | 74 |
| Justin Oler, Sparks, Md. | 74 |
| Caleb Walsh, Center Valley, Pa. | 75 |
| Chase Yenser, Douglassville, Pa. | 75 |
| Nicholas Riccelli, Suffield, Conn. | 75 |
| Jayden Ruibo Zhang, Elmhurst, N.Y. | 75 |
| Bryce Ciochetto, Havertown, Pa. | 75 |
| Vidur Rajagopalan, Washington, Md. | 75 |
| Cameron Peffel, Fleetwood, Pa. | 75 |
| Christian Lee, McLean, Va. | 76 |
| Zhonger Zhang, West Suffield, Conn. | 76 |
| Tanner Currie, Huntingtown, Md. | 76 |
| Jack Gioffre, Newtown Square, Pa. | 77 |
| Quin Zuegner, New Hope, Pa. | 77 |
| Jake Lopes, Vienna, Va. | 77 |
| Leonardo Zelaya, Derwood, Md. | 77 |
| Brendan Bell, Jr., Dickson City, Pa. | 77 |
| David Nissen, Philadelphia, Pa. | 77 |
| Onyu Park, Blue Bell, Pa. | 77 |
| Jose Veiga, Silver Spring, Md. | 77 |
| Liam Crowley, Wayne, Pa. | 77 |
| William Lamond, Bethesda, Md. | 77 |
| Owen Kirchner, Chatham, N.J. | 77 |
| Jackson Murphy, Canada | 78 |
| Colin McAskin, New York, N.Y. | 78 |
| Cole Berry, West Chester, Pa. | 78 |
| Greg Kriz, Blue Bell, Pa. | 78 |
| Lannon Boyd, Radnor, Pa. | 78 |
| Joseph Bilson, Lititz, Pa. | 78 |
| Ian Larsen, Glenmoore, Pa. | 79 |
| William Simonson, Haddonfield, N.J. | 79 |
| Ethan Moss, New York, N.Y. | 79 |
| Sam Pieczynski, Fiskdale, MA | 79 |
| Sean Curran, Newtown Square, Pa. | 80 |
| Luke LaScala, Wilmington, DE | 80 |
| Cole Martin, McLean, Va. | 80 |
| Dylan Ramsey, Lebanon, Pa. | 80 |
| Wilson Abram, Mifflinburg, Pa. | 80 |
| Grant Mo, People’s Republic of China | 80 |
| David Burmeister, Coopersburg, Pa. | 81 |
| John Moyer, Warrington, Pa. | 81 |
| Quinn Susanin, New Canaan, Conn. | 81 |
| Ian Rotto, Philadelphia, Pa. | 81 |
| Gavin Pychinka, Northampton, Pa. | 81 |
| Christopher Parrish, Woolwich Township, N.J. | 81 |
| Lukas DeVries, Summit, N.J. | 81 |
| Liam Gill, Swoyersville, Pa. | 81 |
| Michael Asselta, Ramsey, N.J. | 82 |
| Dylan Desjarlais, Leesburg, Va. | 82 |
| Judd Fletcher, Moorestown, N.J. | 82 |
| Ryan Altschul, Delray Beach, Fla. | 82 |
| Tyler Sugarman, Belle Mead, N.J. | 83 |
| Trevor Sieben, Medford, N.J. | 83 |
| Kellen Toussaint, Lansdale, Pa. | 85 |
| Colby Komancheck, Royersford, Pa. | 86 |
| Colin Sharma, Fairfax, Va. | 87 |
| Drew Patascher, Effort, Pa. | 88 |
| Cooper Aspen, Coopersburg, Pa. | 89 |
| Tyler Adair, Pipersville, Pa. | 89 |
| Nolan Traczykiewicz, Warrington, Pa. | 93 |
| Sebastian Meyer, South Abington Township, Pa. | DNF |
| Brady Wager, State College, Pa. | NS |
| DNF – did not finish | |
| NS – no show |
