Fairfield, Connecticut (July 23, 2024) – The semifinals at the 55th Borck Junior hosted by Brooklawn Country Club have been set.
In the Boys’ Division the top three seeds advanced to the semifinals where they will be joined by the surprise of the day 15-seed Brennan Meyers.
Meyers (Shuttle Meadow CC) began his day with a Round of 16 upset over two-seed Robby Rosati (Mill River CC) and then bested Maxwell Pawloski with a clutch 20-foot putt on the 20th hole in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Meyers will square off against recent Connecticut Junior Amateur winner Luke Stennett (Tallwood CC).
Tuesday proved to be an easy day for Stennett as he earned a 4&3 victory in the Round of 16 over William Giaquinto (New Haven CC) and then bested Harrison Brown (Great River GC) 5&3 in the quarterfinals.
Top-seed Thomas Bonomo (The Stanwich Club) moved on with a pair of 2&1 victories over Trey Wallace (CC of Waterbury) in the Round of 16 and Will Lord (Suffield CC), who beat Bonomo in the Round of 32 of the Connecticut Junior Amateur, in the quarterfinals.
Tied in his quarterfinal match against Lord, Bonomo took command of the tilt after nine holes with back-to-back victories on Nos. 10 and 11. The second of the two victories came on the strength of an eagle on the par-5 11th.
Rhett duPont (Woodway CC) began his day with a 2&1 triumph over Robert Ryan (Greenwich CC) in the Round of 16 before needing 22 holes to handle Luke Kowalchik (Race Brook CC) in the quarterfinals.
Trailing 2 down after 12 holes in his quarterfinal duel duPont rallied back late in the match capping his comeback with a birdie on the par-4 18th hole to force extra holes.
Meanwhile, in the quarterfinals of the Girls’ Division top-seed Caroline McShea battled her way to a 1-up win over Lauren Ogrodowicz (Great River GC).
With the match tied through five holes, McShea (EClub of Connecticut) found another gear capturing victories on Nos. 6, 7, 8, and 10 to seemingly take control of the match. However, Ogrodowicz wasn’t going anywhere as she came storming all the way back tying the match with a birdie on the par-4 17th hole.
Unfazed by relinquishing her lead McShea rebounded and closed out the match by winning the closing par-4.
McShea will now face Paige McKenna (Tashua Knolls GC) in the semifinals. Trailing early in her match against Maxie Mirin (Silver Spring CC), McKenna tied the match on No. 3 and then took her first lead with a victory on the par-4 sixth. Once in front, McKenna extended her lead to 3 up by the turn.
That lead would be short-lived as Mirin rallied to tie the match by the 13th hole and then took her first lead since the second hole with a victory on No. 14.
That lead change would not be the final of the day as McKenna dug deep and won the last three holes to advance 2 up.
The second semifinal match will feature Junxi Guo (EClub of Connecticut) and Kenna Roman (Shuttle Meadow CC).
Guo handled Claire Yu (EClub of Connecticut) thanks to a quick start that saw her win four of the final five holes on the front side to make the turn 4 up. Once up comfortably Guo cruised 5&4.
Roman punched her ticket to the semifinals with a comfortable 6&5 win over Isabella Hassan (Rolling Hills CC). Following two ties to begin the match Roman, a rising sophomore at Stonehill College, sprinted her way to a 5 up lead by the time the two made the turn and never looked back.
The final day of the 55th Borck Junior will begin with the first of four semifinal matches at 8 a.m. Following the conclusion of the semifinal matches will be the championship matches of both divisions.
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.
