By Marc Pruitt
N.C. Junior Boys’ Championship
Salisbury, June 23-26 • Jack Massei of Cary defeated Jonathan Brightwell of Mint Hill 3 and 2 to win the North Carolina Junior Boys’ Championship at the Country Club of Salisbury.
The 15-year-old Massei, a rising sophomore at Green Hope High School, made birdies on the first and fifth holes in the championship match to take a quick lead.
Massei’s birdie at the 11th hole gave him a 3 up lead, and he closed out the match with a conceded par putt on the 16th hole, defeating a field of 155 players.
Massei was one of four players to shoot 3-under 68s in stroke play and came away with the No. 2 seed in match play.
Massei defeated Logan Lineberry of Yadkinville 3 and 2 in his first-round match, then defeated Preston Ball of Raleigh 4 and 3 in the second round.
In the Round of 16, Massei closed out Jack Speer of Winston-Salem with a 1 up win before defeating Michael Freeman 1 up in the quarterfinals.
Massei trailed Freeman with three holes to play, but won holes 16 and 17 to take command of the match before closing it out on the 18th hole.
Massei, who never trailed in the semifinal or championship matches, defeated Trey Burton of Hickory 3 and 2 to get the championship match.
AJGA FootJoy Invitational
Greensboro, June 8-12 • Stephen Franken of Raleigh notched a fourth-place finish in the AJGA FootJoy Invitational at Sedgefield Country Club.
Franken had rounds of 71-69-71-69 to finish at even par, four shots back of champion Charles Huntzinger of Duluth, Ga.
Franken, who is headed to North Carolina State in the fall, was tied for 18th with Huntzinger after his opening round 71. Franken’s 69 shot him up the leaderboard to a tie for sixth after round two.
Despite a 71 in the third round, Franken inched closer to the top of the leaderboard and was tied for fifth heading into the final round, four shots off the pace of Huntzinger.
Doc Redman of Raleigh finished tied for 44th after posting rounds of 75-69-77-75 (16-over par) and was the only other Triangle-area player in the field.
North Carolina Junior Girls’
Greenville, June 16-19 • Catherine Ashworth of Fuquay-Varina came up just short in her bid to become the North Carolina Junior Girls’ champion, losing in the championship match to Hickory’s Grace Massengill 2 up at Brook Valley Country Club.
Ashworth, who will join the East Carolina program in the fall, grabbed a 1 up lead on the 11th hole, but Massengill responded by winning the 14th and 15th holes to take a 1 up lead.
Both players made pars at 16 and 17, and Massengill’s tee shot on the closing hole landed 7 feet from the hole. Ashworth’s tee shot landed in the rough, and her pitch left her with an 8-footer for par. After she missed her putt for par, she conceded Massengill’s putt for the 2-up win.
The 24-player field played two days of stroke play for seeding into the match play portion of the tournament, with the top 16 players advancing to the Championship bracket.
Jessica Spicer of Bahama grabbed the No. 1 seed for the Championship Flight after rounds of 71-78 during stroke play.
Spicer won her opening match 4 and 3 against Madison Isaacson of Greensboro, but was bounced in the quarterfinals by No. 8 seed Hailey Freedman of Chapel Hill.
Freedman lost 1 up to Ashworth in the semifinals.
Sarah Spicer, Jessica’s twin sister, also advanced to the Championship Flight of match play as the No. 10 seed, but lost her opening match to Wilmington’s Carolina Cahill 2 and 1.
Natalie Peterson of Holly Springs was the No. 14 seed in the Championship Flight and lost her opening match to Annie Collum of Charlotte in 19 holes.
Riley Smith of Cary drew the No. 15 seed and lost her opening match to Samantha Vodry of Mooresville 6 and 5.
In the Tournament Flight, top-seeded Meghan Symonds of Cary came away victorious after a 1 up win against Leann Domitrovits of Newport.
Haeley Wotnosky of Wake Forest drew the No. 2 seed in the Tournament Flight and won her opening match 7 and 6 over Kayla Ricks of Elm City. Wotnosky then lost in the semifinals to Domitrovits 2 and 1.
Jimmy Creed Boys’ Junior Invitational
May 23-24, Camden S.C. • Eric Bae of Pinehurst made a 20-foot putt for par on the final hole to secure a one-shot win against Walker Simas of Charlotte in the Jimmy Creed Boys’ Junior Invitational at Camden Country Club.
Bae, who won the 4-A state championship in May and helped lead Pinecrest to the team title, had rounds of 69-71
Bae had a one-shot lead over Simas heading into the final round, but an opening nine 38 led to a two-shot deficit at the turn.
Bae battled back and had a two-shot lead heading to 18, but hit an errant tee shot that landed in an adjacent fairway. His punch out back to the fairway and subsequent approach to the green left him with a 20-footer for par.
Meanwhile, Simas hit his approach to 35 feet and sank his birdie putt, leaving him one shot behind.
But Bae’s putt was on the same line as Simas’ and gave Bae an advantage as he rolled in the winning par putt.
A.J. Beechler of Pinehurst finished tied for 17th, 12 shots back of Bae.
Peggy Kirk Bell Tour Open
May 23-25, Salisbury • Catherine Ashworth of Fuquay-Varina rolled to a win at the Peggy Kirk Bell Open at the Country Club of Salisbury.
Ashworth had rounds of 72-70-71 to finish even par, six shots ahead of Elizabeth Bose of Norfolk, Va., for a wire-to-wire win.
Ashworth’s 1-under 70 in the second round was the only under par round shot by any player in the field over the course of the three-day event. It included an eagle, one birdie, two bogeys, and 14 pars.
Hailey Freedman of Chapel Hill finished in third place at 10-over par after rounds of 75-75-73.
Peggy Kirk Bell Tour Wolfpack Classic
June 6-7, Raleigh • Siranon Shoomee of Sanford was the runner-up in the Prep Division of the Peggy Kirk Bell Tour Wolfpack Classic at Lonnie Poole.
Shoomee had rounds of 75-73 and finished tied for second with Joliana Elias of Jamestown, one stroke back of champion Grace Massengill of Hickory.
Katharina Floyd of Chapel Hill finished fourth, three shots behind Massengill, after rounds of 75-75.
Riley Smyth of Cary (T5) and Elizabeth Nguyen of Pinehurst (seventh) also recorded top-10 finishes.
Kayla Ward of Raleigh (12th), Mackenzie Battle of Aberdeen (14th), Natalie Petersen of Holly Springs (T15), Casey Burroughs of Wake Forest (T15), Hailey Freedman of Chapel Hill (17th), and Jillian Preisach of Fuquay-Varina (T18) all posted top-20 finishes.
TYGA Bojangles Junior Open
June 6-7, Snow Hill • Patrick Stephenson of Four Oaks shot consecutive under par rounds of 71-68 to capture the TYGA Bojangles Junior Open at Cutter Creek Golf by five shots over Raleigh’s Corey Wilson.
Stephenson started the final round with a one shot lead over Allen Smith III of Durham, who shot a 72 in the opening round.
Stephenson, who has committed to play at East Carolina, stated after round one that his focus for the final round was on making pars.
That changed from the outset of his final round, as he hit his approach on the first hole to 3 feet and made the putt for a birdie.
Stephenson went on to make four more birdies in the final round to pull away for the win.
Brian Chen of Cary finished third after rounds of 73-73, seven shots behind Stephenson.
Jimbo Stanley of Raleigh was tied for fourth after posting 73-74.
Smith III wound up tied for sixth after a 76 in the final round.
A trio of Triangle-area players finished tied for eighth—Walter Brinker of Sanford, Dylan Lukes of Chapel Hill, and Peter Fountain of Raleigh.
In the boys 15-16 division, Chen was the medalist by one shot over Chris Ford of Matthews and Stanley.
Austin Bonfiglio of Holly Springs was sixth, four shots behind Chen, and Joey Pettis of Raleigh was tied for eighth.
In the boys 13-14 division, Peter Fountain of Raleigh was the medalist after posting rounds of 76-73 gave him a two-shot win over Cary’s Chris Kim.
Grayson Wotnosky of Wake Forest was third, five shots behind Fountain, after consecutive rounds of 77.
Spencer Oxendine of Fayetteville (sixth) and Britt Stroud of Raleigh (ninth) also had top-10 finishes.
