74th Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship

Llanerch’s Quartermain climbs Moorestown mountain

MOORESTOWN, N.J. — A four-mile radius in South Jersey is Quartermain family friendly.

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You see, Moorestown Field Club (par 72, 5,063 yards) welcomed the 74^th Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship Tuesday. William Quartermain carded a 2-over-par 74 to edge Jack Metroka of Huntingdon Valley Country Club by a stroke. Two weeks ago, Quartermain’s sister Riley won the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia Match Play Championship at Riverton Country Club, a 10-minute drive from Moorestown.

South Jersey synergy. And success.

“That’s pretty cool,” a soft-spoken Quartermain, 13, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., said. “[Riley and I] are close. I like to rock climb. Riley rock climbs a lot [at The Gravity Vault in Radnor, Pa.], so I go with her. We love it.”

Quartermain relied on sound wedges and a beady focus to reach the Junior-Junior Boys’ summit at Moorestown.

The Llanerch Country Club member made the turn at even — two strokes clear of Metroka. Quartermain’s heavy pitching wedge on No. 4 (par 3, 130 yards) facilitated a bogey. He regained the lost stroke with textbook execution on No. 9 (par 4, 283 yards): a profound drive, a crisp 58-degree wedge from 80 yards and a clean four-footer for birdie.

“On a course like this, you have to hit the fairway and hit your wedges well. My driver was good, and my wedges were good. That definitely helped a lot,” Quartermain, a rising eighth grader at Haverford Middle School, said.

Although those clubs passed inspection, Quartermain’s putter required service on Nos. 11 (par 4, 251 yards) and 12 (par 4, 289 yards). A pair of three-putt bogeys threatened to deflate. But Quartermain, whose eyes mirrored the steely gaze Justin Rose exhibited throughout The Open Championship, reset his approach on Moorestown’s greens.  

“I tried to take some more time over the ball, to really get a feel of the break and the speed,” he said.

As Quartermain steadied his ship, Metroka, a rising eighth grader who is home schooled, revved his engine. Playing in the group ahead, he made a four-footer for birdie on No. 16 (par 5, 435 yards) after leaving a gap wedge from 140 yards just short of the surface. Metroka, who constantly checked the rearview at Moorestown, sensed he needed one more to fall. However, a pair of 30-foot prayers on Nos. 17 (par 3, 120 yards) and 18 (par 4, 285 yards) went unanswered.  

“[Quartermain] beat me by a shot [for the Junior-Junior Boys’ title] in the Jock MacKenzie (Memorial),” Metroka, 13, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa. “We met at the (Francis X.) Hussey. He is a good player.”

Quartermain, in a sense, validated Metroka’s testament by holding onto his lead like a kangaroo holds her baby: protected in the pouch. It did appear in peril on Nos. 16 and 17. A hedgerow obstructed Quartermain’s third shot on the former. He navigated accordingly, then bumped a wedge to three feet for par. Quartermain missed the 17^th green right with a pitching wedge. He stared at a 15-footer to save par. Next came one of those “nice putts that felt good to make coming in,” Quartermain said.

A smiling Quartermain received a fist bump from his father Michael as he exited Moorestown’s 18^th green. The two planned on traveling to Waynesborough Country Club, site of the Pennsylvania Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship.

“Riley tees off in two minutes,” Michael, 54, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., said.

A new geography for the Quartermain family to conquer.

The Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship returned in 2024 following a two-year hiatus. It is an 18-hole stroke play event, a change from its previous match-play format. The Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship is open to members of GAP Member Clubs who are 10 to 13 years of age.

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 340 Member Clubs and 110,000 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.