Gross cruises to seven-shot victory at Toftrees for second straight AJGA win

    Downingtown West freshman Nicholas Gross, building on the momentum from his first American Junior Golf Association victory a week earlier, made it two straight with a runaway seven-shot win in the AJGA Junior All-Star at Toftrees, which wrapped up Thursday at the Toftrees Golf Resort in State College.

   Gross had cruised to a five-shot victory in the Junior Golf Hub Junior All-Star presented by Explore York at Regents’ Glen Country Club for his first career AJGA win.

   That success seemed to have carried over to Toftrees as Gross opened the tournament with a spectacular course-record 6-under-par 66 over the 6,598-yard, par-72 layout in Tuesday’s first round.

   Gross backed off in the second round with a 1-under 71 and John Hiller of New York, N.Y. caught him by finishing his round with five straight birdies. But Gross kept the pedal squarely on the floor with a final round of 2-under 70 for a 9-under 207 that left Hiller and the rest of the field in the dust.

   The highlight of the week was the remarkable opening round. It started with an unremarkable bogey at the first hole. But then Gross went off. In a stretch of 11 holes starting with the fifth and concluding with the 15^th, Gross ripped off eight birdies to get it to 7-under. A bogey at the last left him with a scintillating 66.

   Hiller, who had opened with a 68, had that closing burst in Wednesday’s second round that enabled him to join Gross atop the leaderboard at 7-under 137. But Hiller couldn’t keep up with Gross, a final-round 77 leaving him in second place at 2-under 214.

   Still, a pretty solid showing by Hiller, but Gross is just too tough right now. I wrapped up his summer-long roll in last week’s post on his victory at Regents’ Glen.

   “Start to finish, it was really a great tournament,” Gross told the AJGA website. “Obviously, the course record the first day was something really special.”

   With the announcement Friday that the Ches-Mont League will not allow the playing of fall sports, it looks like Gross’ scholastic debut will have to wait. But he was able to find a lot of competitive opportunities in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic this summer, so he’ll likely find some places to play this fall.

   The two AJGA wins will open up some opportunities on that national junior circuit.

   Elias Kennon of Old Greenwich, Conn. finished two shots behind Hiller in third place at even-par 216. Kennon had rounds of 71 and 70 to trail Gross and Hiller by four shots after the first two days before closing with a 3-over 75.

   Matt Vital, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Bethlehem Liberty a year ago, had a solid showing at Toftrees, closing with a 2-over 74 to join the group tied for seventh place at 4-over 220.

   After opening with a 75, Vital, who captured the Boys 12-13 division in the 2019 Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club, had his best round of the week, a 1-under 71 in Wednesday’s second round. Vital had 14 birdies for the week at Toftrees.

   Win Thomas of Unionville had a strong start, firing a 3-under 69 in Tuesday’s opening round. He struggled to a 79 in the second round before closing with a 2-over 74 that left him alone in 14^th place at 6-over 222.

   Devon Prep freshman Nick Ciocca closed with a 3-over 75 to finish tied for 15^th place at 223. Ciocca, whose summer was highlighted by a victory in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at Bellewood Country Club, was at his best in Wednesday’s second round, posting a 2-under 70.

   Ajeet Bagga of Blue Bell finished up with a 3-over 75 to land in the group tied for 21^st place at 11-over 227. Bagga opened with a 2-over 74 before adding a 78 in the second round.

   Bishop Shanahan sophomore Benjamin Saggers was a shot behind Bagga in a tie for 28^th place at 12-over 228 after a final-round 77. Saggers opened with a 75 before adding a 4-over 76 in Wednesday’s second round.

   In the Girls Division at Toftrees, Sophia Sarrazin of Westport, Conn. claimed her second career AJGA victory, holding off Maggie Ni of Cypress, Texas to claim a one-shot victory.

   Sarrazin had built a big lead with an opening round of 3-under 69 followed by a 1-under 71 for a 4-under 140 total through two rounds over a Tofrtrees layout that measured 5,587 yards for the girls.

   But Sarrazin, who birdied the par-5 eighth hole in each round, struggled a little in the final round with a 5-over 77, although her 1-over 217 total was good enough for the victory. Sarrazin had 10 birdies in registering her fourth top-5 AJGA finish.

   Ni posted a pair of 1-over 73s in the first two rounds and trailed Sarrazin by six shots after two rounds. But Ni matched par in the final round with a 72 for a 2-over 218 total that left her a shot behind Sarrazin in second place.

   Sarah Shao of Green Brook, N.J. made a big move in the final round with a 2-under 70 that enabled her to finish third at 4-over 220, two shots behind Ni.

   Abigail Lynn of Furlong finished among the group tied for eighth place at 228. Lynn opened with a solid 1-over 73 and added a 79 in the second round before closing with a 76.

   Kayla Maletto of Sinking Spring ended up in the group tied for 13^th place at 232 after closing with her best round of the week, a 4-over 76, in Thursday’s final round.