Philadelphia Cricket’s Berman nabs Junior Boys’ No. 1 seed

 PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Schedule conflicts and other competitive commitments prevented Cole Berman from playing in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship in previous years. With his calendar clear and goals shifted this year, though, the Haverford, Pa. resident booked a spot in the tournament’s 98th edition. He validated that decision Monday, carding an even-par 70 at a challenging Torresdale-Frankford Country Club (par 70, 6,087 yards).

  Berman earned medalist honors and will be the No. 1 seed when match play begins at 8 a.m. tomorrow. He will face Zachary Melnick of Plymouth Country Club, who emerged from a three-for-one playoff to grab the final spot in the Championship Flight. The cut line fell to 78 at the end of the day.

   “I’ve wanted to play in this for awhile. I just haven’t been able to,” Berman, who won the Association’s Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship in 2009, said. “I kind of just wanted to play a good round and get into match play. I stayed steady today. I made a couple of bad bogeys, but I had a good amount of birdies, too.”

  For an example of the aforementioned “bad bogeys,” look no farther than Berman’s first hole (par 4, 331 yards) Monday. He flew the green with a 110-yard pitching wedge shot that crossed into a “no-par” zone.

   “You can’t do anything if you’re long there,” Berman, 16, an incoming junior at The Haverford School, said.

  Berman reclaimed the lost stroke with a birdie on No. 2 (par 4, 370 yards). He drilled an 8-iron 140 yards to two feet. But those “bad bogeys” didn’t stay away for long as Berman encountered trouble on No. 3 (par 4, 377 yards). He drive landed in a divot and Berman failed to get up-and-down.

  With past success tucked in his arsenal, Berman leveled his played until No. 10 (par 5, 471 yards), where he blocked a 3-wood into the right tree-line. Berman’s low-liner pitching wedge landed on the green but released into the back rough. Berman nudged his ensuing downhill chip 10 feet past the jar and missed the comebacker for par. Another miss right led to a bogey on No. 12 (par 4, 323 yards). Berman steered his drive underneath towering trees, obstructed from the green. He exhausted his second stroke on a sideways punch-out and couldn’t save par.

  But the resilient yet reserved Berman kept his composure and fired consecutive birdies to return to 1 over. He knocked a lob wedge 70 yards to eight feet on No. 13 (par 5, 545 yards). Berman put a hybrid 20 feet below the No. 14 (par 3, 180 yards) flagstick and drained a downhill, right-to-left breaker for birdie. He added a fourth red figure to the scorecard on the par 5, 548-yard 16th hole, sticking a lob wedge 60 yards to two feet.

  Berman’s grown, both physically and mentally, since his 2009 victory.

   “I think my game’s been a little more mature this year,” he said. “I’m getting some distance and making more birdies than I use to. I’m limiting the mistakes, or trying to.”

  Also working in Berman’s favor this year is his affiliation with Philadelphia Cricket Club, which finished second in the GAP Team Matches, qualified for the Team Championship and fielded the GAP Middle-Amateur Champion in John Brennan.

   “We’re all very competitive with each other,” Berman said. “That’s helped me and it’s helped all of us.”

  NOTES — Play was delayed an hour due to lightning in the area … Yardley Country Club’s Reilly Erhardt, the reigning Junior Player of the Year and Harry Hammond Award winner, carded a 5-over-par 75 to qualify as the No. 8 seed. He will oppose Mariano Medico of Fox Hill Country Club tomorrow.

  Berkshire Country Club’s Sam Gallen, Brock Kovach and Evan Thornton won the Junior Team Championship. The trio carded a collective 236 — four strokes clear of nearest rival Yardley Country Club.