I remember the junior golfers we had in western New York in the early 80s. Patty Jordan, EJ Pfister, Tim Straub, Steve Serotte…the list went on. I can’t help but think that we’re fortunate to experience another golden age during the mid 10s. Cases in point are the following: a 1-2-3 sweep of the Girls state junior championship by area young ladies; 3rd, 5th and 6th place finishers in the Boys sub-junior category; and … (the Junior Boys is currently being contested and scores will be posted when they are confirmed)

 

Girls Junior

After round one on Tuesday, Lancaster’s Chelsea Dantonio held a slim lead over Lewiston’s Maren Cipolla. Lurking near the lead were Marah Penn (Hamburg) Sarah Godfrey-Singleton (Depew) and Sydney Shaw (Orchard Park.) When the final putts had been holed on Wednesday, recent Erie County Amateur champion Penn had added another important title to her resume. An even-par 73 was enough to vault her over Cipolla (76) and Dantonio (78) to a two-stroke victory. Cipolla and Dantonio tied for 2nd, with Godfrey-Singleton tied for 4th and Shaw tied for 8th with Lauren Kase of Tan Tara.

From Left to Right above: Maren Cipolla, Chelsea Dantonio, 2014 NYSGA Girls Junior champion Marah Penn and Sarah Godfrey-Singleton

 

Boys Sub-Junior

If you discard Will Thomson (International Junior Masters champion, Porter Cup participant, US Amateur qualifying medalist) who defended his 2013 title with a nineteen-stroke victory today, the Boys division was a tight race. Six players ranged from 157 to 161, including three representatives from Buffalo-Niagara: Aidan Shaw in 3rd (Orchard Park), Ian Wagner in 5th (Medina) and Jacob Mertz in 6th (Williamsville). Thomson was simply unstoppable, marking nine birdies on his card in round one and three more in round two, to finish the tournament at eight-under par. Much like Martin Kaymer ran away with the US Open, and Rory McIlroy did at the Open Championship, Thomson set a high bar for current and future golfers to match.

From Left to Right Above: Jacob Mertz, Aidan Shaw, Ian Wagner

 

Junior Boys:

The Buffalo-Niagara contingent is strong, headed into the final nine holes at Ridgemont. Marc Holzhauer (Clarence Center) is in 5th, four back. Gregory Sibick (Williamsville) and David Hanes (Elma) are in 7th, five back, and Nolan Ditcher (Randolph) finished at plus-six, currently tied for 15th.

From Left To Right Above: Nolan Ditcher, David Hanes, Marc Holzhauer Ben Reichert, Gregory Sibick