Harrisburg's Engle finishes tied for seventh in Jones Cup Junior Invitational

    Harrisburg native Garrett Engle put together three solid rounds to finish in a tie for seventh place in the Jones Cup Junior Invitational, which wrapped up Saturday at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course in Sea Island, Ga.

   Engle was home-schooled while representing Central Dauphin on the golf course, although he never competed in the PIAA postseason, preferring to concentrate on American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) events.

   Hey, there are a lot of ways to get where you want to go and it worked out pretty good for Engle, who will join the program at Big 12 power Oklahoma next summer. Engle is spending his senior year at Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines, N.C., not far from the Pinehurst Resort.

   The Pinehurst area has become a popular destination for the parents of players in the Mid-Atlantic looking for a base of operation that includes tons of great golf courses and a lot of competitive opportunities within a few hours in every direction.

   Case in point is the Jones Cup, which is not an AJGA event, although performance in AJGA events seems to be the basis for most of its invitations.

   Engle was up and down a little in the first two rounds of the 54-hole Jones Cup Junior, although in both rounds he landed on 2-over 72 over what looks like a big-boy layout in the 7,005-yard, par-70 Seaside Course to stand at 4-over 144 heading into the final round.

   Pretty sure Deven Patel, a Virginia recruit from Johns Creek, Ga., had the lead after two rounds as he carded a pair of 1-under 69s – there weren’t a lot of sub-par rounds in the three days of the tournament – for a 2-under 138 total.

   Engle was really solid in Saturday’s final round, despite not having a birdie. He had three bogeys and 15 pars in a 3-over 73 that left him in the group tied for seventh place at 7-over 217.

   Patel struggled in the final round with a 77 that left him in a group of five players tied for second place at 5-over 215, two shots behind the winner, Shawn Lalmoni of Orlando, Fla.

   Lalmoni matched par in the opening round with a 70 and trailed Patel by three going into the final round after carding a 2-over 72 in Friday’s second round. Lalmoni birdied the final two holes on the Seaside Course to separate himself from a tight pack and capture the title. The two birdies gave him a 1-over 71 and a 3-over 213 total.

   Caleb Surratt of Indian Trail, N.C., who plans to join the North Carolina State program in the summer of 2022, and Boyd Owens, a junior at Episcopal-Baton Rouge in Louisiana, had each carded a 1-under 69 in Friday’s second round to join Lalmini at 2-over 142 after two rounds.

   Surratt, who finished in a tie for eighth place in last month’s Rolex Tournament of Champions, AJGA’s premier event, at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Owens, posted matching 73s in the final round to join the logjam at 215.

   Rounding out the quintet tied for second place at 5-over were Andrew Swanson of Bluffton, S.C. and Jay Nimmo of Barton, Ky. Swanson had one of just four sub-70 rounds in Saturday’s final round with a 1-under 69. Nimmo, who won his second straight Kentucky state championship this fall and will join the Mississippi State program next summer, carded his second straight 1-over 71 in Saturday’s final round.

   Jack Irons of Naples, Fla., who would show up on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour leaderboards when he would visit his grandparents in South Jersey, finished among the group tied for 40^th place at 226. Irons’ final-round 74 was his best of the tournament.

   Carlisle senior John Peters, winner of last summer’s Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ Championship at Hershey Country Club’s East Course, also closed with a 74 after registering a pair of 77s in the first two rounds to land among the group tied for 48^th place at 228.

   Downingtown West freshman Nick Gross, who captured the District One Class AAA crown this fall at Turtle Creek Golf Club, was another two shots behind Peters in the group tied for 59^th place at 230. Gross had finished two shots ahead of Peters when both teed it up in the Rolex Tournament of Champions last month at PGA National.

   Gross, who finished third in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County in October, was one of the youngest players in a field that mostly consisted of high school juniors and seniors. He hadn’t played since the Rolex Tournament of Champions and it showed as he struggled in the opening round with an 83.

   But Gross bounced right back with an even-par 70 in Friday’s second round. After a bogey at the first hole, Gross made birdies at four, 10, 13 and 15 to get it to 3-under for the round before falling back to even-par with a double bogey at 16 and a bogey at the last.

   Gross only managed one birdie in a final-round 77 that included six bogeys and a double bogey. But he didn’t hang his head after the tough opening round and battled against older players and on a tough golf course. That’s how you get better.