Morganti holds on for IJGT victory at Greate Bay

   Joseph Morganti, the St. Joseph’s Prep sophomore from Havertown, carded an 80 in Saturday’s second round to hold on for a one-shot victory in the 15-to-19 age group of The Jersey Tee Off Classic, an International Junior Golf Tour event held at Greate Bay Country Club in Somers Point, N.J.

   Morganti’s 80, combined with his opening-round 79 – the only sub-80 round carded Friday – gave him a 19-over-par 159 total over the 6,440-yard, par-70 Greate Bay layout. Judging by the scores, the players were challenged by some tough ocean breezes at Greate Bay Friday and Saturday.

Jeffrey Li of Basking Ridge, N.J. chased Morganti all the way home, posting a solid 6-over 76 to come up just a shot short in second at 160.

   Morganti’s opening round Friday featured just five pars as he offset eight bogeys and two double bogeys with birdies at five, six and 12 to grab the lead with his 9-over 79. He birdied the sixth again in Saturday’s second round, but struggled at times with five bogeys and three double bogeys.

   Par was a good score in Saturday’s second round, which Li proved by making 11 of them in the best round of the tournament. Li opened with an 84 Friday and his steady second round left him with a solid runnerup finish.

   Andrzej Wierzba, which, if I’m reading this right, is from Poland – hey, it says International right in the organization’s name -- added an 80 to his opening-round 82 to finish third at 162, two shots behind Li. Benny Hagerty of Manasquan, N.J. was another two shots behind Wierzba in fourth at 164 after following up an opening-round 81 with an 83.

   David Fitzgerald of Bryn Mawr -- I’m guessing he’s the David Fitzgerald who just missed qualifying for the District One Championship as a sophomore at Harriton last fall -- finished fifth at 168. Fitzgerald was tied with Hagerty for second behind Morganti with his opening-round 81 before falling back with an 87 for a 168 total.

   Jared LeClerc of Dunstable, Md., had a solid 81 in Saturday’s second round to take sixth at 170, Alex Burnett (90-85) of Owings Mill, Md., finished seventh at 175 and James Dalzell (86-91) of Linwood, N.J. was eighth at 177.

   Jaden Han of Mahwah, N.J. took top honors among the younger guys, 14 and under, with rounds of 101 and 98 for a 199 total. Andrew Liu of Clinton, N.J. was the runnerup with rounds of 112 and 103 for 215 total.

   The girls division was populated entirely be Jersey girls and Katie Li of Basking Ridge – likely the sister of the boys 15-to-19 runnerup Jeffrey – took top honors with solid rounds of 81 and 79 for a 160 total.

   Li’s final round featured an eagle on the par-5 sixth and she avoided any big numbers, making nine bogeys and just one double bogey to card Saturday’s only sub-80 round.

   Emma Shen of Tenafly had grabbed the lead in the opening round with a 7-over 77, but fell back with an 87 to share second place with Angela Lee of Hillsdale at 164, four shots behind Li. Lee also got off to a strong start with a 79 before posting an 85 in Saturday’s second round.

   Angelina Tolentino of Mount Laurel, who has become a fixture on Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour leaderboards, posted solid rounds of 83 and 87 to finish alone in fourth at 170. Kaia Wu of Princeton was another shot behind Tolentino in fifth at 171 after rounds of 84 and 87.

   Grace Lu of Edison finished sixth at 172 with a pair of 86s and Amelia Shen, another of the Tenafly Shens, was four shots behind Lu in seventh at 176 with rounds of 89 and 87.

   Claire Lu (92-94), another of the Edison Lus, finished eighth at 186, Jenna Han (98-92), likely a sibling of the boys 14-and-under winner Jaden, was ninth at 190 and Ashley Liu (101-91), likely a sibling of the boys 14-and-under runnerup Andrew, was 10^th at 192.