Downingtown West’s Nick Gross came up a little short in his bid to capture the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a freshman last month, finishing in third place, two shots behind Holy Ghost Prep junior Calen Sanderson.
Gross, however, dominated this week to win a national championship, rolling to an eye-popping 13-shot victory in the Boys 13-and-under division in the inaugural Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship, which wrapped up Tuesday at Kosati Pines at Coushatta Resort in Kinder, La.
Gross has turned 14 recently, but he was still 13 when he qualified for the newest national event on the junior golf scene, this one the brain child of Begay, the former PGA Tour player turned television broadcaster. Gross was touring the eastern half of the country, playing in as many junior events as he could find when he fired an 11-under 133 total in the two-day Memphis Regional qualifier for Begay’s Junior Golf National Championship at Orgill Park Golf Course in Millington, Tenn. in August.
Considering two of junior golf’s biggest national events, the U.S. Junior Amateur and the Boys Junior PGA Championship, were both cancelled in 2020, casualties of the coronavirus pandemic, Begay’s event filled some of the void left by the loss of those two events.
The Golf Channel will broadcast highlights from the Junior Golf National Championship Wednesday, Dec. 9 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Gross obviously found the par-72 Kosati Pines layout to his liking as he just kept going lower. He opened with a 3-under 69 then added a sparkling 7-under 65 before finishing it off with a scintillating 8-under 64 for an 18-under 198 total. Gross was likely playing a little shorter golf course than the older Boys 14-to-18 division guys were, but still … this was impressive.
Gross got it going in Sunday’s opening round with birdies at the first, ninth and 10th holes to get it to 3-under. Gross made a bogey at the 14th hole, notable in that it was his only blemish of the week, before closing with a birdie at the last.
In Monday’s second round, after making birdies at the first and second holes, Gross rattled off four straight bridies at seven, eight, nine and 10. He again made birdie at the closing hole, his 7-under round leaving him at 10-under for the championship.
Gross just kept pouring it on in Tuesday’s final round. After birdies at the fifth and eighth holes, Gross made eagle at the par-5 ninth hole. Birdies on the incoming nine at the 10th, 14th, 15th and 17th holes were the finishing touches on a remarkable tour de force for Gross.
Sanderson turned the tables on Gross in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort after Sanderson had finished two shots behind Gross in a tie for third place in the District One Class AAA Championship two weeks earlier at Turtle Creek Golf Club.
Sterling Hurd of Austin, Texas had hung in there with Gross for two rounds as he added a 6-under 66 to his opening-round 71 and trailed Gross by three shots at 7-under 137 going into Tuesday’s final round. Hurd cooled off in the final round with a 2-over 74, but still held on for second place. His final total of 5-under 211, though, wasn’t in the same zip code as Gross.
Malcom Patmon of Alpharetta, Ga. was another shot behind Hurd in third place at 4-under 212 as he matched par in the final round with a 72. Patmon had fired a 5-under 67 in Monday’s second round.
Two more Georgians, Kai Marko of Roswell and Sahish Reddy of Duluth, finished in a tie for fourth place at 3-under 213. Marko, who moved up the leaderboard with a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round, matched par in the final round with a 72. Reddy closed with a solid 1-under 71.
Reed Krosse of York, who has shown up on some Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour leaderboards, finished alone in 29th place at 240. After opening with a 78, Krosse posted back-to-back 81s.
Brandon Valdes of Orlando, Fla. and Nick Dunlap of Huntsville, Ala. offered a preview of a Southeastern Conference rivalry down the road as they shared the top spot in the Boys 14-to-18 division, each landing on 9-under 207.
Valdes, who will join the Auburn program next summer, finished strong with a 5-under 67 after registering a pair of 70s in the first two rounds. Dunlap, who will join the program at Auburn’s cross-state rival Alabama in the summer of 2022, matched Valdes’ final-round 67 to get a piece of first place. Dunlap had added a 3-under 69 to his opening-round 71 to join Valdes at 4-under 140 after two rounds.
It was another four shots back to four players who finished in a tie for third place at 5-under 211, including Gabriel Hansel Hari of Bradenton, Fla., Byungho Lee of Katy, Texas, Matthew Doyle of Madison, Conn. and Drew Wilson of Potts Camp, Miss.
Lower Dauphin senior Derek McGlaughlin finished among the group tied for 36th place at 11-over 227 as he sandwiched a 79 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 2-over 74s.
Evan Barbin of the golfing Barbins of Elkton, Md. – although he’s listed as being from Rising Sun, Md. in the results – was a shot behind McGlaughlin in the group tied for 40th place at 12-over 278. Barbin put up a solid 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round, but struggled a little in an opening-round 79 and again in his closing 78.
Sawyer Brockstedt, the rising star from Rehoboth Beach, Del., also made the trip to Louisiana for the Junior Golf National Championship and had a solid showing, finishing in a tie for sixth place in the Girls 13-and-under division at 3-under 212. Brockstedt got it under par with a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round and matched par with bookend 72s in the first and final rounds.
Yana Wilson of Henderson, Nev. was nearly as dominant as Gross was in capturing the Girls 13-and-under title. After opening with a 1-under 71, Wilson, winner of the Girls 12-13 division in the 2019 Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club, went off in the final two rounds with a 7-under 65 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 5-under 67.
That left Wilson with a 13-under 203 total, six shots clear of runnerup Hailey Han of Duluth, Ga. After opening with a 73, Han ripped off back-to-back 4-under 68s to finish with a 7-under 209 total.
Mia Hammond of New Albany, Ohio had grabbed the opening-round lead with a 2-under 70 before adding another 70 and closing with an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for third place with Madison Messimer of Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Honorine Nobuta Ferry of Pinehurst, N.C. at 4-under 212, three shots behind Han.
Sharing sixth place with Brockstedt at 3-under 213 was Kayla Bryant of Boca Raton, Fla., who had the same splits as Brockstedt, sandwiching a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round with a pair of even-par 72s.
Ellison Lundquist of Furlong finished in a tie for 15th place at 5-over 221. Lundquist, another player who has appeared on Philly Junior Tour leaderboards, carded a solid 2-under 70 after opening with a 74, but struggled a little in the final round, finishing up with a 77.
Allyn Stephens of Houston was an impressive winner of the Girls 14-to-18 division as her 8-under 208 total was three shots clear of the field. After opening with a 74, Stephens fired a sparkling 7-under 65 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 3-under 69.
Isabella McCauley of Inver Grove Heights, Minn. had grabbed the lead after opening with a 4-under 68, but couldn’t keep pace with Stephens despite solid rounds of 72 and 71 in the second and third rounds, respectively, that left her with a 5-under 211 total.
It was another five shots back to Ava Merrill in Johns Creek, Ga. and Chloe Kovelesky of Boca Raton, Fla., both of whom shared third place at even-par 216. Merrill closed with a 1-under 71 while Kovelesky finished up strong with a 2-under 70.
Rockwood senior Vileska Gilpi, the PIAA Class AA champion last month at Heritage Hills, finished alone in 32nd place with a 244 total. Gilpi struggled to an 87 in the opening round, but bounced back with a solid 77 in the second round before closing with an 80.
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