The first round of the 2013 Stan Trojanowski Northern Junior
concluded this afternoon at Ellington Ridge Country Club. Amid clear skies and
lights winds, a total of ten players posted rounds of par or better in the Boys
Championship, while three over par leads in the Girls Championship.
Evan Grenus of Glastonbury, Connecticut leads the Boys field
after a superb, bogey free round of five under par 67. Grenus, who finds
himself in contention at the Northern Junior for the third consecutive year,
feels very comfortable at Ellington Ridge. “I know this course pretty well, so
I really just tried to hit fairways and greens, and hopefully make some
birdies. You have to keep the ball below the hole out here to avoid bogeys, and
I feel like I did a really good job of that today,” said a beaming Grenus.Evan
has already had quite a noteworthy summer, including finishing Runner Up at the
72nd Connecticut State Junior Amateur Championship.
“The week of the
Connecticut Junior I really figured out my putting, and luckily it’s stayed
with me for the past month or so,” remarked Grenus.“I’ve been watching Brandt
Snedeker putt a lot, and I feel like that’s really helped my feel and my stroke.”
Sitting just two strokes behind Grenus is Brian Carlson of
Madison, Connecticut. Carlson’s round started off hot with a front nine 32, but
he cooled off to shoot 37 on the closing nine and post a three under par 69.
“I
got some great momentum early, making those four birdies on the front nine. My
putter just went cold on the back nine. I hit every green in regulation but
just couldn’t make any putts unfortunately,” said Carlson.
In third place alone
is Conor Rodrigues of Ontario, Canada at two under par, followed by a host of
players at one under, including John YounSung Kim, also from Ontario, Canada.
In the Girls Championship, Alyssa Poentis of Honolulu,
Hawaii and Angela Garvin of Feeding Hills, Massachusetts are tied atop the
leaderboard at three over par. Poentis got off to a rocky start and found
herself three over par after three holes. She would go on to play her next 15
holes at even par, and now finds herself tied for the lead heading into
tomorrow’s final round.
“I didn’t get off to the best start, but I got
comfortable after the 3rd hole and played really well from there.
Overall I’m happy that I was able to just settle down and
play some solid golf,” said Poentis.
Sharing the overnight lead with Poentis is twelve year-old
Angela Garvin. Angela is the youngest player in this year’s Northern Junior,
but that didn’t keep her from playing some of the best golf of the day. Her
round included back to back birdies on holes 14 and 15 which helped to propel her
into the lead alone at two over, before a late bogey at the 17th dropped her back into a share of the lead with Poentis.
Garvin’s summer has
already been action packed, competing in a tournament nearly every week.
“There’s been weeks this summer where it seems like I just roll from one
tournament right into the next. It’s crazy but it’s been a lot of fun,” she
said cheerfully.
Three players sit just one shot behind Poentis and Garvin at
four over par. Amy Ding of Lexington, Massachusetts, Catherine McEvoy of
Riverside, Connecticut, and Rachel Corry of Ridgefield, Connecticut all posted
rounds of 76 in round one.
This year’s Northern Junior field features players from four
different countries and 13 different states and provinces, and the final round
is setting up to be a clash of all ages and nationalities. The final round of
the 2013 Northern Junior will begin tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM, with final
groups teeing off between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM. Admission and parking at
Ellington Ridge Country Club are free and spectators are encouraged to attend.