Fairfield, Connecticut (July 31, 2023) – Will Lord in the boys’ division along with three players in the girls’ division – Isabella Thomas, Sadie Lee, and Maxie Mirin – earned medalist honors at the 54th Borck Junior Tournament hosted by The Patterson Club.
Lord, a freshman at Suffield Academy, put together a stellar round of golf firing a 3-under 68 on a picture perfect last day of July. The Suffield Country Club member wasted no time getting his round started holing his first birdie of the day on the par-4 second hole. A bogey did follow on No. 3 but a strong wedge shot into the par-4 ninth after a wayward drive set up a long-range birdie that moved Lord into the red as he made the turn.
Photo Gallery I Stroke Play Qualifying Results
“Going into it I’m going to be honest I wasn’t very confident. The fact that I was able to get out of the front nine at 1-under (was huge),” Will Lord said. “I made three good birdies on 9, 10, and 11 and that got me to a good place and I was just cruising for the rest of the round.”
Lord began the back nine where he left off on the front nine. A wedge to 20 feet on the par-4 10th resulted in another birdie and then on the downhill par-4 11th, his 9 iron came to rest five feet from the cup resulting in a third straight birdie.
Despite a bogey on No. 12 Lord held steady down the stretch and capped his day with a birdie on the closing par-5. Lord now turns his attention to match play.
“I will probably be a little more aggressive in (match play),” said Lord who earned the two-seed in early July at the Connecticut Junior Amateur. “Stroke play and match play are two completely different things. In match play, you try to go for more pins cause you can only lose a hole. I’m going to try to give myself some good looks at birdie and hopefully, I can get a win.”
Luke Hoglund (CC of Fairfield) finished second at 1-under, Leo Graham (Greenwich CC) was third at even-par, Andrew Beauton (Pine Orchard CC) took fourth with a level-par tally while Sean Watchmaker (CC of New Canaan), Peter Manuel (The Stanwich Club), and Cameron St. Pierre (Newtown CC) all tied for fifth at 2-over.
The final spot in the Round of 16 was earned by Will Huntington (CC of Fairfield). On the first playoff hole Huntington converted a par to advance past Aryan Gautam (Tashua Knolls GC).
On Tuesday morning the boys’ division will begin match play with the Round of 16 starting at 8:00 a.m. and the quarterfinals scheduled to follow in the afternoon.
In the girls’ division Isabella Thomas, Sadie Lee, and Maxie Mirin all finished 10-over to share medalist honors.
Thomas (Tashua Knolls GC) came out of the gates strong firing a 3-over 39 on the front nine highlighted by a birdie on the 140-yard par-3 fifth. Her second birdie of the day came on the 455-yard par-5 18th.
Lee (EClub of Connecticut) played her way to the top of the leaderboard with steady play throughout her round. The tone for Lee’s day was set early in her round when she played Nos. 1-5 in 1-over.
“I felt relaxed and had a clear head (throughout my round),” 13-year-old Sadie Lee said. “It feels great knowing I can keep up with the older girls. This is my eighth tournament of the year and I feel like I’m just starting to pick up momentum. This is why I love the game.”
Mirin (Silver Spring CC) turned in two birdies on her way to co-medalist honors. Her birdies dropped on the par-3 fifth and the par-4 13th.
The top five was rounded out by Shawna Aurora (EClub of Connecticut), 2021 champion Mia Holbrook (Silver Spring CC), and Isabella Hassan (Rolling Hills CC) all of whom finished in a tie for fourth at 11-over.
On Tuesday afternoon match play begins for the girls’ division with the quarterfinals commencing at 12:00 p.m.
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Borck Junior is one of 20 championships conducted by the Connecticut State Golf Association. The CSGA functions as an extension of the USGA and provides stewardship for amateur golf in Connecticut. Founded in 1899, it is the country’s oldest state golf association and conducts over 60 Championships, Qualifiers, and One Day Tournaments throughout the year.
