Who’s Here – The
field of 111 players consists of 87 Boys Competitors and 24 Girls Competitors.
Angela Garvin,
13, of Feeding Hills, Massachusetts is the youngest player in the field. Garvin
has dominated the Connecticut PGA Junior Tour, winning a total of six
Connecticut PGA Events thus far in 2013, including the 36-hole nationally
ranked Cas Coscina Junior Invitational.
Athan Goulos, 18,
of Peabody, Massachusetts is the oldest player in the field, and will celebrate
his nineteenth birthday on the final round of the event. Players must be 18 at
the start of the Northern Junior to
be eligible to play.
Breakdown by
Graduation Year – Of the 111 competitors, below is the breakdown by High
School Graduation Year:
2013 – 28
Players
2014 – 40 Players
2015 – 25 Players
2016 – 10 Players
2017 – 5 Players
2018 – 1 Player
2019 – 1 Player
States Represented – The
field of 111 competitors is represented by 11 states/provinces and 3 countries.
They are: Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Ontatio (Canada)
and Geneva (Switzerland). Connecticut has the most players of any state, with a
total of 47 players seeking to capture their first Northern Junior title in
their home state.
Sasha Wortelboer,
18, of Geneva, Switzerland, made the longest trip of any competitor in the
field. From Ellington, Connecticut to Geneva is 10,240 miles “as the crow flies”,
nearly the same distance as flying from New York City to Los Angeles four consecutive
times. Wortelboer, a 2013 graduate, recently captured the World Series of
Junior Golf earlier this summer.
Boys Qualifier–
While the majority of the field was selected based on competitive
accomplishments and resume, 11 Boys competitors earned their way into the field
via a Qualifier on Thursday, August 1st. A score of 74 or better was needed to qualify for the field.
The qualifiers are: MacKenzie Nelson (Co-Medalist), John
Roberts (Co-Medalist), Johnson Ko, Matt Cowgill, Max Theodorakis, Victor Zhou,
Andrew Sciarretta, Maxwell Ferrari, Matt Organisak, Matt Johnson and Blake
Kelley.
Brian Carlson,
17, of Madison, Connecticut enters the field as the highest ranked junior in
the field. Carlson, currently ranked 78th in the country, returned
from the US Junior Amateur earlier this week, where he advanced to the Round of
16. Carlson has recorded three consecutive top 10 finishes at the Northern Junior,
including a fifth place finish last year.
John VanDerLaan,
17, of Southbury, Connecticut, is sure to be one of the local favorites after a
top 15 finish in last week’s Connecticut Open Championship. VanDerLaan, who has
a younger brother Michael, 15, also competing in the event, set the competitive
course record at Torrington Country Club in the final round with a six
under-par 66.
Cole Berman, 17,
of Rosemont, Pennsylvania, recently finished 2nd in the 35th North & South
Junior where he recorded rounds of 69-63-70—202. Berman is playing in his
fourth consecutive Northern Junior and is hoping for redemption after narrowly missing
a playoff in 2010.
Tom Hixon, 17, of
Rye, New Hampshire and Connor O’Brien, 15, of Rowayton, Connecticut both
captured their respective state junior amateur championships earlier this
summer. Hixon won the New Hampshire Junior Amateur on June 24th-26th,
and O’Brien captured the Connecticut Junior on July 8th-11th
over Evan Grenus, also in this week’s field.
Timothy Colanta,
16, of Championsgate, Florida, is hoping to improve upon his strong finish last
year . Colanta fired an impressive 68 on Day One to hold the overnight lead
before faltering under windy conditions to finish tied for second.
Drew Brennan, 17, of Ellington,
Connecticut is hoping to capture his first Northern Junior title on his home
course. Brennan, a member at Ellington Ridge Country Club, recently finished 12th
at the AJGA Killington Junior in Killington, Vermont.
Monday, August 5th
Official Practice Rounds
7:30 p.m. – Players Dinner and Ryan Lee Scholarship Presentation
Tuesday, August 6th
First Round of Stroke Play
7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Starting Times (All play will be in threesomes)
Wednesday, August 7th
Second Round of Stroke Play
7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Starting Times (Players will be re-paired by score, with leaders going off last. All play will be in threesomes.)
5:00 p.m. – Awards Ceremony and Trophy Presentation