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Miamisburg, Ohio--Junior golfers from across the area descended on Pipestone Golf Course to compete in the Miami Valley's premier youth competition, the Junior Metropolitan Championship presented by McGohan Brabender.
The tournament, which took place June 29 and 30, gave juniors a great opportunity to match up with peers of similar ability. Participants didn’t waste any time in their quest to become the top golfer in their respective age groups.
A great time was had by all juniors who participated. The MVGA would like to thank Mike and Scott from McGohan Brabender. These partners are critical for the success of events such as the Junior Metropolitan.
Below you will find recaps for all age groups in both the boys and girls division, as well as a scoring analysis.
Boys Recap: First Round
Leaders in the boys division following the first round of play included Michael Gearhardt and Drake Dunaway, both of whom shot 77 in the 16 to 18-year-old bracket. Austin Sipe led the 14 and 15 year olds with a 75 after the first round, while Alec Velasco’s round of 72 was the best among 12 to 14 year olds.
Second Round:
There was major movement on the scoreboard among the 16 to 18-year-old flight in the second round. Jake North overcame a three stroke deficit by shooting a 73 in the final round. His two round total of 153 put him at +9 and gave him a two stroke victory over Dunaway, who shot a 78 in the second round.
The 14 to 15-year-old final round flight belonged to Caleb Wolters. Wolters shot a 68 in the second round, making him -4 for the day. He finished even for his two-round total. Runner up Alex Elger, finished 8 strokes back.
As for the 12 and 13 year old flight, Alec Velasco stayed consistent in the second round by shooting a 73, one stroke off his first round performance. None-the-less, his combined score of 145 put him at +1 for the championship and paved the way for an eight stroke victory over Ryan Flick.
Girls Recap: First Round
For the girls, Alee Everman’s 80 gave her a one stroke lead over Kellie Anderson among 16 to 18 year olds. Nina Kulkarni’s 83 left the junior three stokes ahead of  Molly Skapik in the 14 and 15 year-old flight while Esha Kulkarni was the top performer among 12 and 13 year olds with a round of 123.
Second Round:
During the second round, Everman never looked back. She ended up shooting a 79, which put her at +15 for the tournament and five strokes ahead of Anderson on the final leaderboard of the 16 to18-year-old flight.
Kelsey Auditore, who shot a 91 in the first round, bounced back with a third place finish after shooting a 74 in the second round. It was the best round posted by any girl in the flight during the tournament.
Nina Kulkarni went coast-to-coast in the 14 and 15-year-old flight. She improved on her first round score by shooting an 80 on the second day. She finished with a combined score of 163, which put her +19 for the tournament.
In the 12 to 13-year-old flight, both Esha Kulkarni and Andee Everman were able to shave multiple strokes off of their first round scores. Kulkarni shot 111 in the second round, taking 12 strokes off of her first round total while Everman shot 115, an imporvement of 19 strokes from the previous day.
Scoring Analysis:
Pipestone GC, playing to 6,580 yards for the boys and 5,145 yards for the girls yielded 47 birdies and 294 pars during the first round.
Two holes that golfers loved to play were 12 and 18. Fourteen entrants had birdies while seven others had par on the 413/530-yard 12th hole. Those numbers were almost duplicated on the 403/490-yard par 4 18th hole.
As the stats indicate, many of the juniors were able to end their round on a good note as seven kids had par, while 17 had birdies on the final hole.
The holes that proved to be the most difficult included the par 4 fifth hole, as well as the par 4 10th hole.
With a distance of 359/431 yards and 279/430 yards, respectively, golfers had 19 bogeys and 3 double bogeys on hole 5, while racking up 20 bogeys and 3 double bogeys on 10.
The 359/404-yard par 4 15th hole also proved to be challenge, as 11 double bogey’s were had by the juniors.
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