The Jock MacKenzie Memorial, a U.S. Amateur qualifier at Hartefeld National, the opening round of qualifying for match play in the Brewer Cup, the opening round of qualifying for match play in the U.S. Junior Amateur at the Country Club of North Carolina at Pinehurst, the opening round of the GALV Lehigh Valley Open on the Philadelphia Section PGA circuit, a Philly Junior Tour event at Wilmington Country Club … all on the same day. What’s a golf blogger to do? Heck, I just realized I’ve got some catching up to do with the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia, which held its Match Play Championship last week at Saucon Valley Country Club’s Grace Course and its Junior Girls’ Championship earlier this month at Applecross Country Club. I’m planning to get to all of them at some point, but let’s get started with the Jock MacKenzie …
July has been a Homer month when it comes to the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s major junior championships.
Matt Homer capped it Monday as he fired a scintillating 5-under 67 to capture the Jock MacKenzie Memorial at Sandy Run Country Club in Oreland.
Not that twin brother Jeffrey went home empty-handed. Jeffrey Homer, winner of the other GAP junior championship in July a couple of weeks ago with an impressive four-shot victory in the Christman Cup at Chester Valley Golf Club, carded a solid 3-over 75 over the 6,492-yard, par-72 Sandy Run layout that enabled him to earn the Harry Hammond Award that goes to the junior stroke-play champion.
The Harry Hammond Award combines scores from qualifying for match play in the GAP Junior Boys’ Championship, the two rounds of the Christman Cup and the Jock MacKenzie for a 72-hole total.
Jeffrey Homer carded a solid 1-over 71 in the Junior Boys’ qualifying at Overbrook Golf Club, rounds of 2-over 72 and 3-under 67 in his Christman Cup victory at Chester Valley and a 75 at Sandy Run Monday for a 3-over 285 total.
Recent Haverford School graduate Jake Maddaloni and the Homer twins’ Tatnall School teammate, Anthony Ciconte, shared runnerup honors, each finishing six shots behind Jeffrey Homer at 9-over 291.
Fourth place in the Harry Hammond scoring? Matt Homer, of course, two shots behind Ciconte and Maddaloni at 11-over 293.
Matt and Jeffrey Homer will be juniors at Tatnall this fall and Ciconte will be a senior. All three play out of Wilmington Country Club.
Monday belonged to Matt Homer. He had a pretty good idea it was going to be his day when he rolled in a 30-footer for birdie after sending in a sand wedge from 118 yards into Sandy Run’s 350-yard, par-4 opener and then dropped another birdie bomb, this one from 50 feet, after his 6-iron shot found the putting surface at the 188-yard, par-3 second hole.
A lob wedge from 60 yards away at the 535-yard, par-5 eighth hole finished five feet from the stick and Matt Homer converted that birdie try.
Maddaloni dropped a 12-footer for birdie at the 171-yard, par-3 12th hole to briefly tie his playing partner for the lead, but Matt Homer answered by making his 10-foot birdie putt and Maddaloni never got closer, finishing three shots behind Matt Homer with a 2-under 70 that earned him runnerup honors.
Hey, it’s been that kind of month for Team Homer.
“We learn a lot from reach other and feed off of each other,” Matt Homer told the GAP website concerning the golf dynamic that exists between him and his twin and rival. “We play golf every day with each other and are so competitive that when we play, we want to beat each other.
“I was very happy when he won the Christman Cup. I went out and watched him finish. He made a lot of clutch putts. I said, ‘If he can do it, why can’t I?’”
Maddaloni, too, has had a solid summer of junior golf. He had helped the Fords win back-to-back Inter-Ac League titles in 2018 and 2019, but concerns over the coronavirus pandemic made for a limited senior season for Maddaloni. He will continue his academic and golf pursuits at Bucknell later this summer.
Golden Oaks Golf Club’s Elijah Ruppert, a recent Brandywine Heights graduate, matched par with a 72 to finish alone in third place. Ruppert finished in a tie for third place in the PIAA Class AA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort each of the last two falls.
Ciconte got his share of second place in the Harry Hammond Award standings by carding a solid 1-over 73 that left him a tie for fourth place with Indian Valley Country Club’s Stephen Butler, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Souderton, and Philadelphia Country Club’s James Gradisek, a recent Malvern Prep graduate.
Maddaloni’s Aronimink clubmate, Devon Prep sophomore Nick Ciocca, shared seventh place with Ajeet Bagga of Manufacturers’ Golf & Country Club, each signing for a 2-over 74.
Ciocca represented the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour in last week’s Boys Junior PGA Championship at the Kearney Hills Golf Links in Lexington, Ky.
Jeffrey Homer shared ninth place with Adam Fluehr of North Hills Country Club as each posted a 2-over 75.
Did somebody say Homer? Can’t forget the younger member of Team Homer, Jack Homer, who will be a freshman at Tatnall this fall. Jack Homer shared 11th place with recent Cardinal O’Hara graduate Thomas Larkin, a GAP Youth on Course entry, as each registered a 4-over 76.
Recent Spring-Ford graduate Luke Watson, playing out of the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve, Connor Toussant of North Hills Country Club and Mario Ventresca of Cedarbrook Country Club finished in a tie for 13th place, each carding a 5-over 77.
Huntingdon Valley Country Club’s Molly Gregor, a senior at Gwynedd Mercy Academy, posted an 82 to claim top honors in the Junior Girls division. The girls played a Sandy Run course that measured 5,619 yards.
Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Nora Blatney, a member of Mount St. Joseph’s 2019 PIAA Class AAA championship team, was the runnerup with an 87.
Chester Valley’s Thomas Ploszay won the Junior-Junior Boys division with a 2-over 38 over nine holes at Sandy Run that measured 2,784.
Ploszay, an eighth-grader at Malvern Prep, has spent most of his summer playing goalie for Tigers XXVI, his club lacrosse team.
Nicky Noma of Merion Golf Club was the runnerup with a 40 and Ian Larsen of Honeybrook Golf Club took third place with a 41. Larsen has had a strong summer as he teamed with Davis Conaway to win the Junior-Junior division in the Francis X. Hussey Memorial at Rolling Green Golf Club and also claimed a victory in the Junior-Junior division in the Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ Championship at Lebanon Country Club.
Liam McFadden of Overbrook finished in fourth place with a 43 and Sean Curran of Merion and Nick Shanahan of Applecross Country Club shared fifth, each landing on 44.
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