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 10th at 192.
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