EA's Stetson earns a spot in match-play bracket in U.S. Junior Amateur at Daniel Island

 

   Episcopal Academy senior Hunter Stetson carded a steady even-par 72 at the Daniel Island Club’s Ralston Creek Course in Charleston, S.C. Tuesday to nail down a spot in the match-play bracket of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

   I had the two qualifying sites backwards in my post on the opening round and went back and fixed the post (the beauty of a blog). Stetson had opened with a 1-under 70 at the 7,039-yard, par-71 Beresford Creek Course Monday.

   By matching par at the 7,367-yard, par-72 Ralston Creek Course, which appeared to be the tougher of the two qualifying sites, Stetson finished in a tie for 25^th place with a 1-under 142 total. It was a really strong effort by Stetson in a loaded field of junior golfers from all over the world.

   Stetson has been one of the best players in the Inter-Ac League the last two falls. He captured the title in a playoff in the Bert Linton Inter-Ac League individual championship at Bluestone Country Club as a sophomore in the fall of 2021.

   Stetson finished in second place in the Inter-Ac’s points standings compiled during the six invitationals that make up the regular season last fall. He then finished in third place in defense of his Bert Linton individual crown in a terrific battle among Stetson, Malvern Prep’s Davis Conaway, the eventual winner, and Germantown Academy’s Ajeet Bagga.

   Stetson, a product of the junior program at Aronimink Golf Club, picked up an early birdie at the third hole Tuesday at Ralston Creek, but gave the shot back with a bogey at 10. A birdie at the 14^th hole got him back into red figures for the round, but a bogey at the last left him at even for the day.

   Match play will get under way Wednesday and Stetson will square off against Josh Duangmanee of Fairfax, Va., who also landed at 1-under 142. Duangmanee will join the program at Atlantic Coast Conference power Virginia next month. Stetson’s match is scheduled to tee off at 11:30 a.m.

   Match play will commence following a playoff among 14 players who finished at 2-over 145 battling it out for the last seven spots in the match-play bracket. Matches will be played at the Ralston Creek Course.

   Stetson has been playing some really solid golf this summer. He fired a 67 in a Golf Association of Philadelphia-administered local qualifier for the U.S. Junior Amateur at the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve.

   Last week Stetson was the runnerup in two very competitive fields in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at the Toftrees Resort outside of State College and in the Christman Cup, one of GAP’s major junior championships held at Gulph Mills Golf Club, the Donald Ross classic in King of Prussia.

   The runnerup finish at Toftrees earned Stetson a trip to another of the major national junior events, the Boys Junior PGA Championship, which tees off Monday at Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs, Ark.

   It was a disappointing two days in Charleston for Downingtown West senior Nick Gross, the reigning District One Class AAA champion and the PIAA Class AAA champion in the fall of 2021.

   After struggling to a 4-over 75 at the Beresford Creek Course in Monday’s opening round, Gross had to make something happen on the Ralston Creek Course in Tuesday’s second round and couldn’t get it going. His 1-over 73 left him with a 5-over 148 total, three shots out of the playoff for the final seven spots in the match-play bracket.

   Gross, who will join the program at Southeastern Conference power Alabama in the summer of 2024, just might take out his frustration at Hot Springs when the Boys Junior PGA Championship tees off Monday. Gross finished in third place in last year’s Boys Junior PGA Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Palos Park, Ill.

   That proved to be a jumping-off point for what turned out to be a remarkable run to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. That quarterfinal berth exempted Gross from qualifying for this year’s U.S. Amateur, so he will be in the field next month at Cherry Hills Country Club, a William Flynn design in Cherry Hills Village, Colo.

   Penn Trafford senior Nick Turowski, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier, also failed to make the match-play bracket as he added a 3-over 74 at the Beresford Creek Course in Tuesday’s second round to his opening round of 4-over 76 at the Ralston Creek Course for a 7-over 150 total.

   Caden Blanchette, a senior at Northeastern High in Manchester, York County, carded a solid 5-over 76 at the Beresford Creek Course Tuesday after opening with a 6-over 78 at the Ralston Creek Course for an 11-over 154 total. Blanchette was a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall.

   Blanchette was the medalist in a GAP-administered qualifier for the U.S. Junior Amateur at Chambersburg Country Club.

   Texas sophomore Tommy Morrison birdied his last two holes, the 17^th and 18^th at the Ralston Creek Course, to claim qualifying medalist honors with an 8-under 135 total. Morrison had opened with a 6-under 66 Monday at Beresford Creek.

   Everything is big in Texas and that apparently includes its junior golfers. The 6-foot-9 Morrison, a Dallas native, got off to a great start in Tuesday’s second round with a birdie at the first, an eagle at the par-5 sixth and a birdie at eight.

   Morrison stumbled a little on the incoming nine at Ralston Creek, making a bogey at the 12^th hole and a double bogey at 16 before bouncing back with those birdies at the last two holes to complete a 3-under 69.

   Morrison, who joined the Texas program in January after graduating from high school early, was in the starting lineup for the Longhorns in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. in the spring.

   Andrew Gregory, a native South Carolinian from Spartanburg, added a 1-under 70 at Beresford Creek in Tuesday’s second round to the opening round of 6-under 66 he posted at Ralston Creek as he finished a shot behind Morrison in stroke play with a 7-under 136 total.

   Gregory will join the program at ASUN power Liberty later this summer.

   Another Texan, Tyler Sanford of Montgomery recorded a sparkling 5-under 67 Tuesday at Ralston Creek after opening with a 1-under 70 at Beresford Creek as he finished in third place, a shot behind Gregory with a 6-under 137 total.

   Sanford is a junior at Lake Creek High School.

   Will Hartman of Charlotte, N.C. came out of the GAP-administered qualifier at Chambersburg to reach Daniel Island. Hartman matched par with a 72 Tuesday at Ralston Creek after opening with a 5-under 66 at Beresford Creek and finished among a group of five players tied for fourth place with a 5-under 138 total.

   Hartman will take on Stanley Lin of Chinese Taipei in the opening round of match play Wednesday. Lin carded a solid 2-under 70 at Ralston Creek to finish with a 1-over 144 total.