RINGOES, N.J. — If a Golf Association of Philadelphia scoring record needs to remain intact, then it shouldn’t be placed within Jalen Griffin’s crosshairs. The Talamore Country Club youngster is likely to shatter it, as evident by his performance Tuesday in the qualifying round of the 99th Junior Boys’ Championship at a serene The Ridge at Back Brook (par 72, 6,358 yards). Less than a year removed from a record-setting victory in The Christman Cup (a 7-under-par 133), Griffin set another scoring benchmark, carding a 5-under-par 67 to earn medalist honors.
His score, in relation to par, breaks Kevin Melnick, Jr. of Plymouth Country Club’s mark of 67, set at Cavaliers Country Club, a par 71, in 2007.
“That’s absolutely amazing,” a jubilant Griffin, 17, of Ambler, Pa., said. “I’m definitely getting my game back. Hopefully someone can beat me in the next few years. Not to sound cocky, but I guess I’m giving someone a number to go after.”
Griffin will occupy the No. 2 seed when match play begins tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. Fox Hill Country Club’s Mariano Medico is seeded No. 1 because he is returning as the tournament’s defending champion. Medico, 17, of Shavertown, Pa., filed a 5-over-par 77 Tuesday.
Griffin’s effort came as a slight surprise, given his wobbly golf game as of late. In last week’s Amateur Championship Qualifier, Griffin posted a resonate 163-total and failed to advance into match play. The incoming Wissahickon High School senior completed his final exams three days ago (“That was a big stress reliever I guess,” he said), purchased a new putter and, with the academic year in the books, dedicated more time to the practice range. The new flatstick is clearly working wonders; Griffin tallied 25 putts on receptive surfaces en route to the Junior Boys’ medal.
“The greens are unbelievably perfect. Everything runs so true,” he said. “I really hit my lines today.”
Short in stature yet tall in talent, Griffin, who represented GAP in the 2012 Williamson Cup, played The Ridge at Back Brook’s par 5s in 4 under. He executed a 20-yard pitch shot that caught the downslope and stopped two feet from the No. 5 (515 yards) cup. With 80 yards to the No. 7 (550 yards) flagstick, he left a lob wedge 25 feet above the hole and canned the 12-inch breaker. Griffin faced an identical yardage on No. 14 (517 yards), used the same club for his approach and swept in a five-footer. After nearly reaching the 512-yard 11th hole with a 3-wood from 243 yards, Griffin utilized the unbridled terrain by hitting a flop shot that settled five feet from the jar.
“My short game was unbelievable today. I hit everything exactly where I wanted,” he said. “I put myself in 80 yards a lot today. I was hitting lob wedge dead perfect.”
Griffin didn’t leave the par 4s and 3s unscathed, either. He hit a pitching wedge 140 yards to 15 feet for birdie on the No. 4 (par 4, 380 yards). And on the par 3, 163-yard 17th hole, Griffin stopped a 9-iron nine feet left of the flagstick and sunk a downhill left-to-right slider that dropped in the heart. His lone blemish occurred on the challenging No. 9 (par 4, 370 yards). After knocking a wedge from 55 yards to 35 feet above the hole, Griffin proceeded to three-putt.
“I’m not a big scoreboard watcher, but I was trying to see who was on it,” he said. “I guess I wasn’t focused on putting much there.”
All are now bound to watch Griffin’s name on the scoreboard.
To secure the medalist’s scoring record, Griffin needed to rely on the power he felt in the aforementioned 80-yard hot zone. He launched a downhill 6-iron from 203 yards into an environmentally sensitive area, took a drop and stopped, you guessed it, a lob wedge three feet from the hole location.
Griffin’s company Tuesday also factored into his 5 under score. He played alongside Makefield Highlands Golf Club’s Reilly Erhardt, Merchantville Country Club’s Connor Goodrich and Riverton Country Club’s Kevin Kramarski. The foursome posted a combined 3 under.
Schedule conflicts prevented Griffin from previously competing in the Junior Boys’ Championship. Now, he looks forward to his match play debut.
“Hopefully, I won’t put too much pressure on myself,” Griffin said. “Instead of looking at scoreboards, I’ll know where I am in the match.”
Griffin will face Phoenixville Country Club’s Kyle Allan, who emerged from a seven-for-three sudden-death playoff to advance. The cut line for the Championship flight stopped at 76 by day’s end.
NOTES—Play was suspended for an hour and five minutes due to lightning in the area … Erhardt, the 2011 Junior Player of the Year, and Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Cole Berman, the reigning Junior POY and Harry Hammond Award winner, both finished at 1 under to advance into match play … Riverton’s Matthew Ade, David Gall, Ben Litt and Kramarski won the Junior Team Championship. Counting three of four scores, the group carded a collective 222 to lead their home course to its first Junior Team title.
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 143 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.
Qualifiers
Championship Flight
Name, Club
Scores
Jalen Griffin, Talamore Country Club
67
Reilly Erhardt, Makefield Highlands Golf Course
71
Cole Berman, Philadelphia Cricket Club
71
Michael Massimino, The Ridge at Back Brook
72
Kevin Kramarski, Riverton Country Club
72
Jack Quirk, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
72
Will Flood, Manufacturers Golf & Country Club
72
Carey Bina, Radnor Valley Country Club
72
Matthew Ade, Riverton Country Club
74
Nick Cappetti, Burlington Country Club
75
Connor Goodrich, Merchantville Country Club
75
Nate Menon, LedgeRock Golf Club
75
*Liam Lafferty, Links Golf Club
76
*Kyle Allan, Phoenixville Country Club
76
*Jake Van Arkel, Merion Golf Club
76
First Flight
J.T. Twomey, Jericho National Golf Club
76
Ben Litt, Riverton Country Club
76
Stewart Rickenbach, Talamore Country Club
76
Alexander Dupre, Rolling Green Golf Club
76
JB Bradbeer, Merion Golf Club
77
Mariano Medico, Fox Hill Country Club
77
Michael Cook, Applebrook Golf Club
77
Sam Gallen, Berkshire Country Club
77
Paul Mauer, Stonewall
77
Brian Todaro, Rolling Green Golf Club
78
R.J. Wren, Applecross Country Club
78
Peter Bradbeer, Merion Golf Club
78
Evan Thornton, Berkshire Country Club
78
Ryan Bowman, Aronimink Golf Club
78
Drew Guarino, Burlington Country Club
78
Chase Makowski, Huntsville Golf Club
78
*Matthew Bastian, Jr., Rolling Green Golf Club
79
Failed to qualify
Regan Erhardt, Makefield Highlands Golf Course
79
Joey Russo, Laurel Creek Country Club
79
Trey Croney, Overbrook Golf Club
79
Brock Kovach, Berkshire Country Club
79
Kevin Conners, Jr., Whitford Country Club
79
Alex Willey, Burlington Country Club
79
Jack Fowler, Hopewell Valley Golf Club
80
Drew Petri, Jericho National Golf Club
80
Steven Altieri, Hopewell Valley Golf Club
80
Luke McKeogh, Commonwealth National Golf Club
80
Justin Elwell, Running Deer Golf Club
80
Liam McGrath, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
80
Jay Losty, Merion Golf Club
80
John Concannon, Concord Country Club
80
Christopher Chizauskie, Concord Country Club
80
Nat Gallen, Berkshire Country Club
80
John Buliga, Yardley Country Club
81
Connor Sharp, Torresdale-Frankford Country Club
81
Joseph Markmann, Talamore Country Club
81
Nick Calabrese, Edgmont Country Club
81
Forrest Swisher, Jericho National Golf Club
82
Brad Ebersole, The Ridge at Back Brook
82
Daniel Altieri, Hopewell Valley Golf Club
82
Robert Newhouse, The Ridge at Back Brook
82
Robert Firth, Jr, Commonwealth National Golf Club
82
Chris Binet, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
82
Blaine Lafferty, Links Golf Club
83
Austin Bailey, The Ridge at Back Brook
83
D.J. Quinn, Links Golf Club
83
Peter Dissinger, Merion Golf Club
83
Brandon Raihl, Heidelberg Country Club
83
Griffin Colvin, Concord Country Club
83
Gregory Szrom, GAP Junior Players Club
83
Joseph Rueter, Jr., Huntingdon Valley Country Club
84
Quinn Dolan, Rolling Green Golf Club
84
Leo Massimino, The Ridge at Back Brook
85
Jake Fitts, Talamore Country Club
85
Daniel Yahr, Talamore Country Club
85
Jeff St. Amour, Llanerch Country Club
85
Luca Jezzeny, The Bucks Club
85
Phillip Held, Jr., Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
85
Carlos Fullerton, Brookside C.C. of Allentown
85
Austin Bond, Seaview Resort & Spa
85
Jordan Yahr, Talamore Country Club
86
Gary McCabe, Jr., RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
86
Jack McAleese, Aronimink Golf Club
86
David Gall, Riverton Country Club
87
Lukas Clark, Jericho National Golf Club
87
Jack Hirsh, Philadelphia Cricket Club
87
Ryan Conner, Jericho National Golf Club
88
Jake Fazio, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
88
Troy Thierolf, The Bucks Club
88
David Pontari, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
88
Connor Jones, Tavistock Country Club
88
Jack St. Amour, Llanerch Country Club
89
Patrick Clearkin, Old York Road Country Club
89
Blake Kurtzman, Bala Golf Club
89
Austin Gobbo, Sea Oaks Golf Club
89
Cameron Cathcart, The Ridge at Back Brook
90
Max Siegfried, Philadelphia Country Club
90
Patrick McGrath, GAP Junior Players Club
90
Andrew Wallace, Green Valley Country Club
91
Hank Kaufmann, Yardley Country Club
91
Matt Grubb, Overbrook Golf Club
91
Cabot Asplundh, The Ridge at Back Brook
95
Michael Barychewsky, Yardley Country Club
95
Rich Antonio, GAP Junior Players Club
95
Zack Burd, Burlington Country Club
96
Harrison Moon, St. Davids Golf Club
96
Liam Hanna, Torresdale-Frankford Country Club
98
Ryan Brennan, Rolling Green Golf Club
99
Max Harrington, Brookside C.C. of Allentown
99
Timothy Wolak, Saucon Valley Country Club
WD
Trey Swanson, Penn Oaks Golf Club
WD
Hugh Farris, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
WD
Junior Team Championship results
Team
Scores
Riverton Country Club
222
Matthew Ade
74*
David Gall
87
Kevin Kramarski
72*
Ben Litt
76*
Talamore Country Club
224
Jake Fitts
85
Jalen Griffin
67*
Joseph Markmann
81*
Stewart Rickenbach
76*
Burlington Country Club
232
Zack Burd
96
Nick Cappetti
75*
Drew Guarino
78*
Alex Willey
79*
Merion Golf Club
233
JB Bradbeer
77*
Peter Dissinger
83
Jay Losty
80*
Jake Van Arkel
76*
Rolling Green Golf Club
233
Matthew Bastian, Jr.
79*
Quinn Dolan
84
Alexander Dupre
76*
Brian Todaro
78*
Berkshire Country Club
234
Sam Gallen
77*
Evan Thornton
78*
Brock Kovach
79*
Nat Gallen
80
Huntingdon Valley Country Club
236
Jake Fazio
88
Liam McGrath
80*
Jack Quirk
72*
Joseph Rueter, Jr.
84*
The Ridge at Back Brook
236
Michael Massimino
72*
Brad Ebersole
82*
Leo Massimino
85
Robert Newhouse
82*
Jericho National Golf Club
238
Drew Petri
80*
Forrest Swisher
82*
J.T. Twomey
76*
Ryan Conner
88
Hopewell Valley Golf Club
242
Daniel Altieri
82*
Steven Altieri
80*
Jack Fowler
80*
Links Golf Club
242
Blaine Lafferty
83*
Liam Lafferty
76*
D.J. Quinn
83*
Concord Country Club
243
Christopher Chizauskie
80*
Griffin Colvin
83*
John Concannon
80*
Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
255
Chris Binet
82*
Phillip Held, Jr.
85*
David Pontari
88*
Yardley Country Club
267
Michael Barychewsky
95*
John Buliga
81*
Hank Kaufmann
91*
