92nd Junior Amateur Championship Results
Last week, Ryan Kelly, of Annapolis and the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Club, won the Washington Metropolitan’s Frank Emmet Schoolboy tournament by seven shots; at Maryland Golf and CC, June 28, it was much closer. This time, he was seven shots behind the leader after the first round, so he was simply playing as well as he could to get into contention on the 6,929-yard, par 73 course in Bel Air.
He did more than get into contention; he won the Maryland State Golf Association’s Junior Amateur championship by two strokes in a combination of a 4-under-par 69 on his own, and a struggling 78 by first-round leader Lou Baker, IV, from Timonium and Baltimore CC. The result left Kelly, 18, at 76-69–145 and Baker at 69-78–147. Baker turned 2 over to lose half of a 4-shot lead, then bogeyed 10, but he calmed down, nursing a one-stroke margin with six successive pars. At the par-5, 546-yard 17th he needed four shots to reach the green and then three-putted. He finished with a par at 18.
“At seven back, I knew I had to get under par to even have a chance,” said Kelly, an Archbishop Spalding graduate who will attend Lehigh University, still somewhat stunned by his sudden good fortune.
He climbed into the hunt with three front-nine birdies, all on par-5 holes, then added two more birdies at the 11th and 15th before ending with three pars. All the putts were from inside 15 feet, and the lone bogey came at the par-3 8th where he missed the green and didn’t save par.
Baker, 15, won the 14-15 title with his 147, tying for second overall with Brad Riley, Norbeck CC, 72-75, and Evan Katz, Bethesda CC, 73-74–147. Baker will be a sophomore at St. Paul’s School in the fall.
Austin Barbin (77-71) and Benton Weinberg (74-74) tied at 148, trailed by Gordon Brixi, Jordan Weitz, and Sean McGarrity at 149. Last year. Weitz was a runner-up after losing a playoff to Rij Patel.
Reported by John Stewart
Photos
Day 1 Results
Lou Baker, IV, from Baltimore Country Club, fired a 4-under-par 35-34–69 and took a three-stroke lead after the first round of the 92nd Maryland State Junior Amateur championship at Maryland Golf & Country Club in Bel Air, June 27. Afterward, the field of 114 was cut to the low 24 and ties, and 33 players at 78 or better will play the final round, June 28.
Baker, 15, a St. Paul’s School sophomore, finished with five birdies and one bogey over a 6,929-yard course that plays to a par of 37-36–73. Citing “a putter that was on fire,” he noted that all of his birdies were on putts outside of 10 feet after hitting most of the greens in regulation.
The Timonium resident, who carries a 1 handicap at BCC, said his best shot of the day was his drive at the 534-yard fourth, but he hit a tree with his second, leading to his only bogey. Even so, “this ties my best effort vs. par and matches a score I had last week in a Junior PGA event in Harrisburg.”
Brad Riley, 16, from Norbeck CC, held the lead through much of the round with a 1-under-par 72. His tour included birdie putts from 40 and 20 feet and a 5-iron second shot at the 502-yard first hole to set up an eagle-3.
Evan Katz, from Bethesda CC, and Tyler Koch, from Swan Point Y&CC, were next at 73, followed by Benton Weinberg, TPC Potomac, at 74.
The 14-15 and 16-18 age group winners will be determined by 36-hole scores. The respective leaders are Baker IV and Riley.
Connor McGarrity, 13, from Kenwood Golf & CC, won his second straight 12-13 title, following last year’s 75 with a 38-34–72. His 1-under total included four birdies, three bogeys. It was the Bethesda resident’s best score against par.
Reported by John Stewart
