Junior Tour golfers in full swing

Last Saturday afternoon when 70 golfers ventured to Enterprise Golf Course in Prince George’s County for the scheduled finale of the spring portion of the Junior Tour, players from across Southern Maryland were well represented in the various age groups for both genders.

In the boys’ 15-18 bracket on April 20, Payton Little and Jack Gladefelter finished tied for first with a two-over-par 38, one shot better than Charlie Solomon, Landon Rottman and Cole Maller. In the 15-18 girls’ division, Hannah Heavener (46) finished four shots clear of Ainsley Kovarik, who was four better than Maggie Bradford.

In the boys’ 12-14 division, which featured 25 players last Saturday, Leonardo Zelaya (35) finished one stroke better than runner-up Philip Verghese, who was one better than Benjamin VanFossen. Luke Gladfelter, who recently finished seventh in the national Drive, Chip & Putt finals in Augusta, Ga., finished the round with a 42. In the girls’ 12-14 bracket, Audriana Johnson (49) finished six shots clear of runner-up Magha Mohanty.

“That whole experience at Augusta was amazing,” Gladfelter said. “I mean, there were television cameras everywhere and we were on live national television. I hit two good drives there and I made one 15-foot putt, which felt really good. Today, I just played OK. I didn’t have any birdies.”

In the ages 9-11 boys bracket, Ashton Bryant (36) finished four shots clear of runner-up Levi Jameson, with Calland Carioso another four shots back in third. In the girls’ 9-11 age bracket, Joslen Bannon (43) finished eight strokes better than runner-up Rosalie Hornbeak. Landon Watts (32) won the 6-8 boys’ division by four shots over Tanner Jameson, while Olivia Lynch (42) won the 6-8 girls’ bracket.

While the outing at Enterprise was initially scheduled to be the last event of the spring for the local golfers, there is still one more makeup event that will take place next month. On May 4, Chesapeake Golf Course in Lusby will host the final two, nine-hole events of the Junior Tour after the initial outing on March 30 was nixed by inclement weather.

One week earlier in a U.S. Kids Golf Foundation Tournament at Breton Bay in Leonardtown, Tanner Jameson (boys 6-under), Levi Jameson (boys 10-under) and Ryan Ritchie (boys 11-12) won titles. Both Jamesons and Ritchie are St. Mary’s County products and Ritchie edged Ashton Bryant of Calvert County for the crown at Breton Bay on April 14.