If you haven’t figured out that Downingtown West junior Nick Gross is one of the best young players in the country, the kid issued another reminder Monday deep in the heart of Texas.
Entering Monday’s final round of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Simplify Boys Championship at Colton Woods at The Club of Colton Woods’ Fazio Championship Course in The Woodlands, Texas in a tie for sixth place, but only three shots out of the lead, Gross littered eight birdies throughout his scorecard in a sizzling 6-under-par 66 that gave him a two-shot victory over many of the best junior golfers in America.
It was the first AJGA victory in two years for Gross, although he was the runnerup in the Simplify Boys Championship a year ago. But competing in the country’s premier junior golf circuit clearly set Gross up for a sensational summer of 2022.
Gross had strong showings in the two premier national junior events not associated with the AJGA, reaching the second round of match play in the U.S. Junior Amateur at the Bandon Dunes Resort on the rugged Oregon coastline and then finishing in third place in the Boys Junior PGA Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in suburban Chicago.
All of which turned out to be prelude for Gross’ startling run to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur at Ridgewood Country Club, the A.W. Tillinghast gem in Paramus, N.J., a week before his 16th birthday.
Gross came home and teed it up in the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course in October, capturing his second individual district crown with a breathtaking 8-under 64 in the final round at the Turtle and leading the Whippets to the first district team crown in the program’s history.
Gross hit the wall a little in a third-place finish in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State’s White Course in defense of the state crown he had won at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in 2021.
He contended throughout AJGA’s premier event, the Rolex Tournament of Champions the week of Thanksgiving at TPC San Antonio’s Canyons Course before struggling a little in the final round and finishing in 10th place.
Gross, who announced last fall that he has made a verbal commitment to join the program at Southeastern Conference power Alabama in the summer of 2024, was back in Texas for a Presidents Day weekend event, one of longest-running tournaments on the AJGA schedule.
I’m sure Gross has made the most of his chances to get out and play and practice on simulators. We’ve had a mild winter in southeastern Pennsylvania, but sneaking out for a quick round at his home course of Kennett Square Golf & Country Club isn’t quite the same as teeing it up against a field of the top junior players in the country.
Gross carded a 2-under 70 over the 7,322-yard, par-72 Fazio Championship Course at Carlton Woods in Saturday’s opening round. A solid 3-under 69 in Sunday’s second round left him at 5-under, three shots behind co-leaders Bryan Kim of Brookeville, Md., who plans to join the program at Atlantic Coast Conference power Duke this summer, and Preston Stout of Richardson, Texas, who is headed for Big 12 power Oklahoma State this summer.
Kim had opened with a 5-under 67 before adding a 69 in Sunday’s second round to get it to 8-under going into Monday’s final round. Stout had opened with a 71, but surged to a share of the 36-hole lead on the strength of a 7-under 65 in Sunday’s second round, the best individual round of the tournament.
Turned out Gross, who came to Carlton Woods at No. 4 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, was just lurking.
He opened the final round with back-to-back birdies at the second and third holes and, after a bogey at five, went back-to-back again with birdies at seven and eight. A bogey at the ninth hole left Gross at 7-under for the tournament.
Gross then proceeded to pull away on the back nine. Birdies at the 11th and 13th holes got him to 9-under and then Gross went back-to-back one last time with birdies at 16 and 17 for a 66 that enabled him to finish with an 11-under 205 total.
“I had good vibes coming in, but to be able to pull it out this year is pretty special,” Gross told the AJGA website. “It’s my first AJGA win in 14 months, so pretty proud of that.
“There’s a lot of talent out here, so when you do win, it’s special because you know how tough it is to do. So, I’m really happy and really proud.”
Gross’ closest pursuer turned out to be Ethan Fang, a University of California recruit from Plano, Texas. Fang carded a third straight 3-under 69 to finish in second place with a 9-under 208 total, two shots behind Gross. Fang was tied for the lead with Gross when Fang reached 9-under, with a birdie at the 11th hole, but he was unable to match Gross’ two late birdies.
Stout matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish in a tie for third place with Ethan Gao, a Stanford recruit from Alpharetta, Ga., and Boston Bracken of Saint George, Utah who plans to join the program at one of Stanford’s Pac-12 rivals, Arizona State, in the summer of 2024, as all three landed on 8-under 208, a shot behind Fang.
Gao had added a 3-under 69 in Sunday’s second round to his opening-round 71 before closing with a 4-under 68. Bracken closed with his second straight 3-under 69 after opening with a 70.
Kim struggled a little in the final round, closing with a 2-over 74, to finish in a tie for sixth place with Nicolas Dominguez Alvarez of Winter Garden, Fla. via Mexico, each ending up at 6-under 210.
Dominguez Alvarez, who will join the program at Missouri in the SEC later this summer, sandwiched a 4-under 68 in Sunday’s second round with a pair of 1-under 71s.
Rocco Salvitti, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Pittsburgh Central Catholic, finished alone in 65th place with an 11-over 227 total. Salvitti, who will join the program at rising ACC power Notre Dame this summer, opened with a 4-over 76, added his best round of the weekend, a 2-over 74, in Sunday’s second round and finished up with a 77.
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