Radley Run’s Gianelos grabs Junior Boys’ medal, breaks record

HADDONFIELD, N.J. — A triple bogey is a tough way to start a tournament. Ten birdies thereafter are an unbelievable way to recover. | Scorecards | Photo gallery | Medalists history | Junior Team Championship history | Video recap |
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  Radley Run Country Club’s Nicholas Gianelos experienced that wild scenario Wednesday during the 102nd Junior Boys’ Championship Qualifier at Tavistock Country Club (par 72, 6,346 yards). He carded a 7-under-par 65 to top the field of 142. Gianelos broke the event’s scoring record, in relation to par, of 67 — a mark set in 2013 by Talamore Country Club’s Jalen Griffin.

  The rising Unionville High School junior will face No. 16 seed Griffin Smith of Jericho National Golf Club in the Championship Flight. Match play begins at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow.

  “After starting off with a triple (bogey), I was like, ‘Forget it and see what happens,’” Gianelos, 16, of West Chester, Pa., said. “I got a practice round in here before, so I learned the greens very well. That helped greatly, knowing how to play the slopes.”

  After striping a “perfect drive” on No. 1 (par 4, 326 yards), Gianelos thinned a 75-yard wedge shot into a bed of mulch behind the green. A chunk here, a smack there and a 7 on the scorecard.

  “My mindset was just to forget. I know that I’m good enough to keep on playing and get strokes back,” he said.

  Gianelos proved it.

  On the par 5, 533-yard No. 2, he knocked a wedge 97 yards to 15 feet for birdie. He stuffed a pitching wedge to a foot on No. 4 (par 3, 142 yards). A “make the cut” round soon became an unforgettable round. Gianelos, a visual player who models his pre-shot routine after Jason Day, rattled off four consecutive birdies to flip his scorecard. Knowing the behavior of Tavistock’s green complexes, he played a 4-iron off the No. 8 (par 3, 190 yards) slope and watched it drift to two feet. On No. 9 (par 4, 340 yards), he choked down on a pitching wedge from 132 yards and dropped a five-footer. A “mediocre, three-quarter 60-degree wedge” shot from 85 yards on the par 4, 432-yard 10th hole stranded Gianelos 20 feet from a front-center hole location. He promptly returned to birdie shore. Gianelos lifted a pitching wedge from 123 yards to 25 feet and converted a left-to-right bender.

  “In between Nos. 9 and 10, I felt like I could pull this round together after a bad start,” he said.

  Gianelos pulled together and pushed himself into the GAP history books. A flurry finish awed his groupmates and set the scoring area abuzz. Gianelos stopped a 110-yard wedge at two feet on No. 15 (par 5, 508 yards). He accounted for the slope on No. 16 (par 3, 168 yards), aimed a 6-iron right and sunk a slippery five-footer for birdie. Gianelos nearly holed out for eagle on the next hole (par 5, 487 yards), landing a 60-yard wedge below the hole location and letting it trickle into tap-in territory. On the par 4, 380-yard 18th hole, he safely launched a 9-iron from 125 yards to 25 feet right of the flagstick. Next came a smile and a fist bump.

  “The putt broke about seven feet. It felt good to make that one,” Gianelos said.

  “That was ridiculous. The way he was putting today, you knew it was going in,” playing partner Ron Robinson said. “We were both making a lot of birdies. It was really fun for the both of us.”

  Robinson, a Commonwealth National Golf Club member, carded a 3-under-par 69. He is seeded No. 3.

  Gianelos’ 65 marked his best competitive round, in relation to par. He didn’t realize it broke a scoring record.

  “That’s pretty cool. It feels great,” he said. “Today was pretty perfect. No complaints.”

  Gianelos made his Junior Boys’ Championship debut a year ago. He was a victim in a seven-for-one playoff for the Championship Flight, but went on to capture the First Flight title.

  “That whole tournament gave me a lot of confidence because, like this year, it had a lot of good players in it. I know that I can compete with everyone,” Gianelos said.

  Without a doubt.

  Huntingdon Valley Country Club, represented by Conor McGrath, D.J. Pinciotti, III and Brent Schoeller, took the Junior Team Championship with a score of 229. It tied Whitford Country Club, but the addition of a fourth score served as the method by which the deadlock was broken. The Junior Team Championship runs concurrently with the 18-hole qualifier on the event’s first day. Teams consist of three or four players with the low three scores counting toward the final total. Huntingdon Valley Country Club holds the most titles with 10.

NOTES — Kyle Vance of the GAP Junior Players Club, the tournament’s defending champion, didn’t compete Wednesday … Tavistock’s own Doug Ergood is the lone home-club representative in the Championship flight. He carded a 1-under-par 71 to advance … DuPont Country Club’s Danny Dougherty, Rolling Green Golf Club’s Joseph Dougherty and Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Justin Dougherty played in the same group. Although they share the same last name, no relation.

  The Junior Boys’ Championship is the premier Major in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Division. It is open to GAP Member Club golfers aged 14-18 who have not started their college education and who hold a handicap index of 14.4 or lower. Sixteen players qualify for match play; an additional 16 advancing into the event’s First Flight.

  The Junior Boys’ Champion is awarded the Peg Burnett Trophy, named in honor of the Association’s Executive Secretary from 1951-76. Ms. Burnett was an ardent Junior golf supporter who emphasized sportsmanship and respect for the game. “I was very strict about checking the rule book. I didn’t make the rules, but since they are there, you have to abide by them.”

Golf Association of Philadelphia
  Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 151 Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.