Round 2
Kelly Chinn, from Great Falls, Va., separated himself from the field early in his round and went on to shoot 35-33–68 for a 36-hole total of 139, and the top spot in the 10th Mid-Atlantic Junior Boys’ Invitational at River Bend Country Club in Great Falls, Va., October 28.
Chinn, 15, a Langley High School sophomore, led Virginia, which totaled 442-437–879 and racked up its fifth straight victory in the series. Liam Powderly, from Cockeysville, finished 72-72-144 to take scoring honors for Maryland (454-441–895), while Carson Proffitt, from Camp Creek led West Virginia (483-467–950) with 79-75–154. The top six scorers each day from the three eight-man teams were used in scoring.
Chinn, who began the second round one shot off the lead, broke away with three front-nine birdies, then added two on the back when he sealed the verdict by hitting it to a foot at No.11 and draining a 30-foot putt from the fringe at No. 12. Later, citing focus, fairways, and two-putts as his game plan, he carried it out perfectly by closing with six pars. He said this capped a season during which he was the on-site medalist for the U.S. Junior Amateur championship at Baltusrol GC in Springfield, N.J., later losing in the second round.
Powderly admitted he did not putt very well, pointing to bogeys on the two par-3’s on the back nine, but he avoided the 16th green, as he chipped in. Powderly was one of four 72’s that shared second place in the second-day scoring behind Chinn. Ford Bennett, 17, a McDonogh senior from Owings Mills, Md., said he hit the ball poorly, but made up for it with misses in the right places and 25 putts. The other two were Michael Brennan, Leesburg, Va., 16, the reigning two-time Middle Atlantic Amateur champion, and Virginia teammate Ross Funderburke.
Maryland started the second day 12 shots behind Virginia, but at one point in the round, it had closed to within six, before Virginia expanded its margin. Also, during the round, Powderly; Pieter Degroot, 17, a Gonzaga High School senior from Potomac, and Lou Baker, IV, 17, a St. Paul’s School senior from Timonium, Md., were 2-3-4 behind Chinn, but at the finish it was Chinn, Powderly, and Brennan, with Baker and Degroot tied for fourth.
Round 1
Jimmy Taylor, from Alexandria, led a powerful Virginia attack with a 1-under-par 70, as the home side placed four players among the top seven in the first round of the 10th Mid-Atlantic Junior Boys Invitational golf tournament at River Bend Country Club in Great Falls, Va., October 27
The event, which features eight players (top six to count in scoring) from Virginia (which ended the round with a score of 444), Maryland (454), and West Virginia (483) consists of two 18-hole stroke-play rounds. The second round will be played October 28, with Virginia shooting for its fifth successive triumph.
Taylor, who finished 33-37, had four front-nine birdies and one bogey, then one birdie and three bogeys on the back, including 17 and 18, The Gonzaga High School senior, 17, reported his longest putts were in the 12-15-foot range.
Teammate Kelly Chinn, 15, from Great Falls, followed with 37-34–71. “The conditions were tough [rain early and wind late in 50-degree weather], but my swing was solid and I putted better in the later holes,” he said. His 1-under back nine included two birdies in the last four holes.
Liam Powderly, from Cockeysville, shot 38-34–72 to lead the Maryland entry, backed by Pieter Degroot, from Potomac, at 74. Powderly, 18, a McDonogh School senior, had one birdie and said that the weather conditions made club selection especially important.
Joseph Kalaskey (49-39), from Charleston; Carson Proffitt (40-39), from Camp Creek, and Ayden Wyckoff (42-37), from Weston, shared the West Virginia scoring honors with 79’s.
Maryland’s team featured five holdovers from a year ago — Powderly, Degroot, Lou Baker, IV, Austin Barbin, and Trent Geritz — while West Virginia returned Kalaskey and Christian Boyde. Virginia had no returning starters.
Reported by John Stewart
