Archbishop Spalding Scrimmage

The first "match" of the season we faced Spalding at Lake Presidential and we were very rusty. The course was in good shape given that it was March 16th so there were no excuses for the high scores. We shot 210, Spalding 215.
Denny McCarthy - 39
Nate Cohan - 40
Greg Bourdon - 41
Justin Butler - 45
Chris Rolle - 45
Brendan O'Hare - 47
Joey Brigatti - 55
Sam Spikell hurt his hand (broke it) just before the match. There were a number of stories circulating but the guys all think it happened when he slammed his fist on a desk because of a grade he received in Math. Don't know how long he will be out; hopefully, he can make it back before IACs. He got sick right before the IAC tournament started last year and had to withdraw after 4 holes.
Rough start for the Hoyas almost 21 stokes above their average last season.
An interesting note: the boys from Spalding were excited that they came close to beating Denny. He will have a target on him all season, and beating him will make some kid's highlight for the year!

End of Year Awards - 2010

Polo Junior All-Americans
Denny McCarthy was selected to the first team All-American Squad, the first player from Maryland ever to be so selected since the program began in 1979. Andrew Lister (Haymarket) was chosen for Honorable Mention. Tyler Wingo (Paul VI) was tapped for the H-P Scholastic All-American team in part because he was ranked #2 in his class. Congratulations to all three.
Washington Metropolitan Golf Association
For the third year in a row Denny McCarthy was picked to be the WMGA Junior Player of the Year - the first time that has happened.Denny won the first two tournaments of the junior summer circuit and then dominated the field at the Williamson Cup in Ontario in August.
Maryland State Golf Association Player of the Year
Denny McCarthy finished second in the race for POY to Chris Baloga of Hillendale who tied for 8th in the final event to eke out a close win.
Maryland State Public School Golf Championship
Kudos to the Hawks of Urbana HS of Frederick CO who edged out Damascus HS by just three shots in the two day event at University of Maryland Golf Course. Kyler Rose led Urbana with a 149 to finish in a tie for 8th in the individual standings. Brett Myers finished tied for fourth (147)to post low score for the Hornets of Damascus. Bart George led Broadneck to a third place team total of 628. Not certain why Churchill was not given third place? Their four-man squad was only one shot behind Damascus.
Top Ten Individuals at Public School States:
1) Connor Tendall (Wooton) 143
2t) Bart George (Broadneck) 145
2t) Cas Dickerson (McDonough) 145
4t) Brett Myers (Damascus) 147
4t) Ryan Cole (Linganore) 147
4t) Ryan Triller (North Harford) 147
4t) Austin Doerr (Northern - Garrett) 147
8t) Chris Yoo (Marriotts Ridge) 149
8t) Eric Sawchuck (North Point) 149
8t) Kyler Rose (Urbana) 149
Other Montgomery County Top 20 Finishers:
11) Nathan Tenpas (BCC) 150
15t) Bradley Rotter (Churchill) 153
15t) Phillup Ahn (Churchill) 153
15t) Andrew Barth (Walt Whitman) 153

Montgomery County Districts (Public Schools)
In a closely contested tournament, Bradey Rotter (Churchill) took first place in the District tourney to lead Churchill to a tie for first place with Damascus. Both teams posted 317 and qualified for States. Walt Whitman came in third with 321

Top 10 Individuals at Districts:
1)Bradley Rotter (Churchill) 72
2) Evan Hughes (Quince Orchard) 73
3) Connor Tendall (Wootton) 75
4) James Lillie (Walter Johnson) 76
5t) Cody Pestun (Damascus) 77
5t) Brandon Eng (Walter Johnson) 77
5t) Nick Ponafala (Paint Branch) 77
5t) Nathan Tenpas (Bethesda Chevy Chase) 77
5t) Pat Moriarty (Rockville) 77
5t) Phillup Ahn (Churchill) 77

St. Andrews claims MAC Title in 4-peat

Tim Gregg led St. Andrews to an upset win in the MAC conference championship with a one stroke victory over Flint Hill 326 - 327. Potomac finished third (337)and Sidwell Friends came in fourth (358). The MAC counts the top 4 out of 6 players and St. Andrews needed their #6 player Jacob Reiskin to post his best ever score to pull out the narrow win. Reiskin shot 90 with a par on the last hole.

MCG Tourney
Robert Balaban and Ralph Blasey both from Landon tied for first (72) in this invitational held at Falls Road GC even though Landon is NOT supposed to play any fall events because their season is in the Spring. Balaban won a playoff on the first extra hole. Connor Tendall upheld public school honors with a third place finish just one shot off - 73.
Here is the top ten:
1) Robert Balaban (Landon) 72*
2) Ralph Blasey (Landon) 72
3) Connor Tendall (Wootton) 73
4) Michael Fuller (St. Andrews) 75
5t) Andrew Barth (Walt Whitman) 76
5t) Joey Berkinshaw (Northwest) 76
5t) Alex Kosh (Northwest) 76
9) Jeremy Ponafala (Paint Branch) 77
10t) Alex Lu (Churchill) 78
10t) Sam Pastorila (Walt WHitman) 78
10t) Taylor Powell (Gaithersburg) 78
10t) Austin Sanquist (Damascus) 78
10t) Brandon Spiegel (Churchill) 78

The Coach's Top 15 for 2010

These are final overall individual results from performances in the 6 major junior golf tournaments conducted during the summer for the WMGA, MAGA, and MSGA (Frank Emmet Schoolboy Championship, Maryland State Junior, Middle Atlantic Junior Boys, Bobby Gorin, Bob Riley Junior Open, and Dewey Ricketts Memorial)All of these tournaments are conducted at stroke play with the one exception of the Gorin which is a match play contest.
20 points is awarded for a first place finish; 18 for second place; 16 for third; 15 for fourth down to 9 points for tenth.

1) Jordan Sweet (DeMatha) 69 pts. -
Jordan won both the Mid-Atlantic and Bobby Gorin, 2nd - MD Junior, 8th - Emmet
2) Bart George (Broadneck) 50 pts -
Bart: 6th - Emmet,8t - Mid-Atlantic, quarters - Gorin, 3t - Riley.
3) Alex Taylor (Glenelg) 48 pts -
Alex won the Riley, 3rd - Ricketts, quarters - Gorin
4) Keegan Boone (Gonzaga) 46.5 -
Keegan: 7th - Emmet, 2nd - MidAtlantic, 3t - MD State
5) Denny McCarthy (Georgetown Prep) 40 pts -
Denny won both the Emmet and the MD State.
6) Brian McCormick (Gonzaga) 39.5 pts -
Brian: 4th - MidAtlantic, qualified - Gorin, 3rd - Ricketts
7) Thomas Curley (Vienna, VA) - 31 pts.
Tom : 2nd - Riley, 7th - Ricketts
8) Ryan Cole (Linganore, MD) - 30 pts
Ryan: 2nd at Emmet, 7th - MD State
9) Greg Bourdon (Georgetown Prep) - 29.5 pts
Greg: 9th - Emmet, 10th - MD State, quarters - Gorin
10)Ralph Blasey (Landon) - 28.5 pts
Ralph: 8t - MD State, 2nd - Gorin
11)Sam Stewart ( Gilman) - 26.5 pts
Sam: 8t - MD State, 3rd - Mid Atlantic
12)Joe Simpson (Langley) - 26 pts
Joe: 8t - Riley, Semifinals - Gorin
13)Mason Short (St. Mary's Ryken) - 24.5 pts
Mason: 6t - MidAtlantic, quarters - Gorin
14)Kyler Rose (Urbana, MD) - 23 pts
Kyler: 10th - Emmet, 5th - Ricketts
14)Brian Petrosky (Crofton, MD) - 23 pts
Brian: 10th - MidAtlantic, 3t at Riley

Tourney Winners:

Frank Emmet Schoolboy - Denny McCarthy
Maryland State Junior - Denny McCarthy
Middle Atlantic Junior - Jordan Sweet * won playoff
Bobby Gorin - Jordan Sweet
Bob Riley Junior Open - Alex Taylor * won playoff
Dewey Ricketts Memorial - Bradley Rotter * won playoff

Final Comment

Congratulations to all the winners and everyone who competed during the year. This may have been one of the more competitive years for junior golf in this area topped by the showing of McCarthy, Sweet, George, and Boone at the Williamson Cup in Ontario, Canada. McCarthy posted 63-65 - 138 and yet the team was so strong that Jordan, Bart, and Keegan would have won without Denny's scores!
McCarthy distinguished himself on the national level this past year with a semifinal appearance at the USGA Juniors and qualifying for the match play portion of the USGA Men's Amateur. He also qualified to be a member of the US Junior Ryder Cup by virtue of winning the Junior PGA Championship in August. He finished the season ranked 3rd in the Nation by Polo Junior Rankings.
Ben Warnquist (135), Ryan Cole (139), Alex Church (185), Connor Tendall (212), Christopher Hickman (214), Nate Cohan (422), Jordan Sweet (424), and Ralph Blasey (498) all from Maryland made it into the top 500 Juniors in the country. From Virginia - Andrew Lister (56) Tyler Wingo (64), Noori Hyun (142), Ji Soo Park (168), Jay Pinkos (209), and Andrew Brenneman (490) were ranked in the top 500.
The Montgomery County Gazette released its All-Gazette Golf team in November of this year. And yet again it left out deserving players from private schools. What I don't understand is that they included someone on the first team based solely on his finish in the MCG Invitational but his team was not playing this season. And they did not include his Landon teammate who tied and then lost in a playoff. If the Gazette's argument in making selections is that private schools play in the spring while public schools play in the fall, then why take any private school players? Or certainly not ones who play in the spring!
Connor Tendall deserves his selection as POY because he finished first in the MD State Public School Championship and third in Districts and third in the MCG.
The Gazette will not identify who makes the selections or the criteria they use. Their counterpart in Prince George's County makes a team selection in the spring that includes private school players as well as public school players. Why can't the sports writers at the Montgomery Gazette do the same? It is frustrating to see so many private school golfers who performed so well over the year not be recognized.
Thank goodness golfers know who the better players are and have a pretty good notion who are the very best players in the area. Scores in tournament golf are clear cut indicators and very hard to debate.
Well, the Gazette won't change and life will go on. Looking forward to the spring and more good golf.

Welcome to 2010 Season

First match of the year fell victim to the back end of a coastal storm that opened the spigots on the CC of Maryland where we were supposed to play Calvert Hall - a first time for both of us. Hopefully, we can find a time to play later in the season.
Second match , which became the first, took place at Four Streams in Poolesville against Good Counsel on Wednesday, March 31. Clear skies but a little breezy. Course played down with only a few wet spots where balls would plug. Great conditions for the early part of the season. The team won 195-207 from the blended tees on the front nine.
The guys scored well against the course and there were some interesting numbers.
1) Wes Strang (GP)- 35 (-1)
2) Sam Spikell (GP) - 37 (+1)
3) Tom Horton (GP) - 38 (+2)
4) Denny McCarthy (GP) - 39 (+3)
4) Kevin Joesph (GC) - 39 (+3)
6) Paul McDuffie (GC) - 40 (+4)
7) Wilson Spencer (GC) - 41 (+5)
8) Bobby Kessler (GC) - 43 (+7)
9) Jason Horsley (GC) - 44 (+8)
10) Daniel O'Brien (GC) - 45 (+9)
11) Chris Rolle (GP) - 46 (+10)
11) Charlie Garner (GP) - 46 (+10)
13) Joey Brigati (GP) - 47 (+11)
13) Andrew Shirdon (GC) - 47 (+11)
15) David Hermann (GC) - 48 (+12)
Wes drained a 15 footer on the 4th hole for his only birdie of the day.
Sam posted two birdies, one on the difficult 7th hole a par-3 into the wind over water, but had a 3-putt on the last from about 50 feet to finish one-over.
Denny started with a birdie on the par-5 first and just missed a second birdie on the par-5 fourth but a plugged ball in the trap on 5 cost him a double bogey.
Tom had trouble off the first tee on his way to a double bogey 7 but bounced back with a bird on the second hole and played evenly the rest of the way.
Chris started with four straight 6s but almost made a hole-in-one on the 5th just missing by inches, and Charlie bounced back from a lost ball triple on the second with a birdie on the third.
Joey lost a ball on his third shot on the opening hole and could not recover from that triple.
Nate Cohan (Hilton Head), Greg Bourdon (Barcelona), Justin Butler (Nassau), and Devin Drewyer (wisdom teeth extraction) should be back in town for the next match, Monday April 5th against Episcopal at Norbeck CC.

Brown & Bourdon Tie for Sixth at Riley

August 3-4, 2009

Belle Haven CC

Matt Brown opened the first round of the Bob Riley Open (formerly the Washington Metro Junior Open) with a 73 that put him in a tie for third behind Garrett Fitzgerald (71) and Justin Butler (72); Greg Bourdon shot an opening 76 that tied him 10th. I should point out that Justin Butler is a rising junior at Prep but he plays tennis during the school season and golf during the summer.
Fitzgerald duplicated his 71 as he cruised to an easy 7 stroke win with a 142. Matt slipped to a 79 (152) while Greg shot another 76 for his 152. Justin tumbled way down the board with an 87 for 159.

Results:
1) Garrett Fitzgerald 71 - 71 = 142
2) Tim Gregg 77 - 72 = 149
3) Morgan Hill 76 - 74 = 150
4) Garrett Harding 78 - 73 = 151
4) Brian McCormick 75 - 76 = 151
6) Matt Brown 73 - 79 = 152
6) Greg Bourdon 76 - 76 = 152
6) Marc Youngentob 78 - 74 =152
6) Robert Lobban 76 - 76 = 152
6) Max Ruge 75 - 77 = 152
6) Brennan Wallman 75 - 77 = 152
12) Bart George 75 - 78 = 153
12) Robert Zehnder 73 - 80 = 153
14) Casey Taylor 78 - 76 = 154
15) Chris Soderlund 78 - 77 = 155
16) Garrett Burke 78 - 78 = 156
17) Ryan Lee-Young 78 - 79 = 157
18) Nathan Bubes 76 - 83 = 159
18) Justin Butler 72 - 87 = 159
20) Alex Taylor 78 - 84 = 162
20) Evan Hughes 75 - 87 = 162
20) Richie Steinwand 75 - 87 = 162

McCarthy Falters in Second Round at US AM; Strang, Cohan, & Bourdon Tie in AJGA

August 24, 2009
Southern Hills CC

Denny McCarthy came up short of making the cut for the match play portion of the USGA Amateur at Southern Hills CC in Tulsa, OK. He fired a three-over 73 on the very tough Southern Hills course on Monday but slipped on the longer but seemingly easier scoring Cedar Ridge course today. He closed with a double bogey on 17 and a bogey on 18 for a 78 = 151. There will be a playoff for four slots tomorrow am for all those who shot 148.
He was the low individual from the local area and he tied for 7th among all the juniors who played in the field of 312. He tied for 122.
In the AJGA tournament at Kingsmill this week Wes Strang, Nate Cohan, and Greg Bourdon all shot 76 to finish tied for 37th. There a number of local players in this field including Jordan Sweet (69), Tyler Wingo (73), Mason Short (73), Jerrel Parrish (75), Connor Tendall (77), and Jay Pinkos (83). There are two more days to play

McCarthy Makes SI's "Faces in the Crowd"

July 27, 2009

Denny McCarthy became the latest GP student to be recognized in this international publication.
Check out the link at Sports Illustrated.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/scorecard/faces/2009/07/27/

STA victory and IAC standings

The most frequently asked question of the day was - when will this weather finally turn spring-like?! Another cold, slightly damp golf day and even some raindrops towards the end for today's match with St. Albans at Columbia CC.
We played a 10 hole match - just because the tenth hole comes back toward the clubhouse while the ninth green is one of the farthest points away. The team won handily 215-259. The nine hole score would have been 191 - 232.
Denny McCarthy tied for low man on the day. His two-over score included three birdies, three pars, two doubles, and one bogey. The double bogeys were partially due to some three putts.
Matt Brown continued his steady play with his own 37 - albeit a bit less volatile. Only one birdie, one bogey and one double.
Sam Spikell, who plays regularly at Columbia, had a rough day on the greens but managed a 38. He recorded three doubles, three birdies, and three pars.
Nate Cohan had his own adventure on the hilly course but posted a 39 by finishing with four straight 4's. His first few wedge shots were leaking right and he was forced to make some necessary recoveries.
Greg Bourdon and Jack Myers (another member) both notched 40's. Jack was particularly frustrated because after a poor first hole that led to a double he hit seven of the next 8 greens in regulation but had two three putts. Greg's round was pretty consistent with the exception of the long #6 where he took a triple bogey.
Among the alternates Wes Strang demonstrated some effective ball striking (according to the St. Albans coach) on his way to an even par 35. Kyle Soltesz who has been out sick for the last three matches posted a 40 and Tom Horton had a 43.
For STA senior Glory Roper was low with a 37. Roper hits the drive a very long way often outdriving Sam by as much as 20-30 yards. And Sam is considered the longest hitter on the team.
Other Bulldogs were Sam Kleinman (48), Peter Jahnig (48), Prominski (49), Alex Basil (50), and Bennett (59).

IAC Standings (as of April 13)

Georgetown Prep 3-0
Episcopal 2-0
Landon 1-1
Bullis 1-1
SSSA 0-2
STA 0-3

The regular season counts for one half while the tournament counts for one half in determining the league champion. The IAC tournament will be April 28th at Shenandoah Valley GC.