Homer brings Junior-Junior title home with victory over Curran in final at Flourtown

   A year ago in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship at Merchantville Country Club, Wilmington Country Club’s Team Homer accounted for three of the eight quarterfinalists.

   Jack Homer, the youngest of the siblings, fell to big brother Matthew, 2 and 1, in the quarterfinals and Matthew Homer, the qualifying medalist, went on to reach the final before falling to Benjamin Saggers.

   Matthew and twin brother Jeffrey, the third Homer quarterfinalist, had turned 14 and were no longer eligible for the 71^st edition of the Junior-Junior, part of the GAP Junior Series, presented by Citadel.

   With his two big brothers out of the picture, 12-year-old Jack Homer, an eighth-grader at the Tatnall School, cruised to the Junior-Junior title, capping a solid three-day performance with a 1-up victory over Merion Golf Club’s Sean Curran Jr. in the 18-hole final Wednesday at Flourtown Country Club.

   Jack Homer had shown a penchant for coming from behind in match play and that ability was very much on display in the final as Curran, an 11-year-old student at The Haverford School, twice had Homer 3-down before watching the left-hander rally.

   Homer’s favorite holes at the 2,405-yard, par-34 Flourtown layout – Homer and Curran played the nine-hole layout twice in the final – were the last three. After finding himself 3-down after six holes in the final, Homer rattled off wins at the seventh, eighth and ninth holes to get the match back to even.

   But Curran responded by winning the next three holes, taking the 10^th hole with a par and the 11^th and 12^th holes with birdies to again build a 3-up advantage.

   Homer, however, turned the match around again when he got it up-and-down for birdie after nearly reaching the green with his drive at the 225-yard, par-4 13^th hole. Homer then won the next three holes to take a 1-up advantage.

   Curran battled back, sinking a 12-foot birdie putt at the 120-yard, par-3 17^th hole to send the match to the final hole all square.

   Homer, who had stiffed his approach to the ninth hole the first time around the Flourtown nine, did it again, knocking a gap wedge four feet from the cup. Curran got in trouble off the tee and Homer had the luxury of taking two putts from four feet to win the match.

   And, of course, get some bragging rights in the Homer household.

   “(This) will give me a nice feeling when I walk into the house,” Jack Homer told the GAP website.

   A day earlier in a morning quarterfinal, Homer was 2-down to Kyle Spirit of Talamore Country Club with three holes to go, those final three holes he played well all week. Homer won the last three holes to advance to Tuesday afternoon’s semifinals.

   Homer then rolled to a 4 and 2 decision over qualifying medalist Kasim Narinesingh-Smith of Radley Run Country Club in the semifinals. Narinesingh-Smith had reached the semifinals with a 3 and 2 victory over Paul Reilly of Hidden Creek Golf Club in Tuesday morning’s quarterfinals.

   Curran knocked off J.P. Hoban of McCall Golf Club, 3 and 2, in Tuesday morning’s quarterfinals before punching his ticket to the final with a hard-fought victory over Jack Dare of Riverton Country Club on the 10^th hole.

   Dare, a 2 and 1 winner over Liam McFadden of Overbrook Golf Club in his quarterfinal match, won the final two holes in regulation against Curran to send the match to the 10^th hole. But Curran dropped a clutch five-footer for par to claim the win.

   Narinesingh-Smith had opened the week Monday morning by earning medalist honors in qualifying with a solid 3-over 37. Justin Forman of Running Deer Golf Club was a shot behind Narinesingh-Smith in second place with a 4-over 38.

   Hoban took third with a 39 and Homer and Curran, the eventual finalists, and Spirit were tied for fourth, each posting a 41.

   Narinesingh-Smith opened match play Monday afternoon with a 2-up victory over Reilly Shaffer of Llanerch Country Club. Shaffer had earned the final spot in the match-play bracket by draining a 25-foot putt for birdie to beat Jackson Puskar of Kennett Square Golf & Country Club in a playoff after each had carded a 45 in qualifying.

   Homer opened his road to the title Monday afternoon with a 4 and 3 victory over Jack O’Connor of Bellewood Country Club. Curran was also a 4 and 3 winner over Tommy Marshall of Medford Lakes Country Club in his opening-round match.