Many winners at 2003 Rehoboth Beach Junior Open
June 13, 2003
During the Rehoboth Beach Junior Open on June 9 at Rehoboth Beach Country Club, Tyler Witman hit a 6-iron shot that traveled only 15 yards.
It was the shortest mid-iron shot I’ve ever seen him make–but it wasn’t for lack of effort.
Witman’s drive on the 17th hole landed in the right side fairway bunker, only a foot or so from the lip. His 6-iron recovery shot hit the bunker lip, took off at a nearly vertical climb, and landed 45 feet closer to the hole.
The state’s 2003 high school golf champion then tried to make the green from well beyond 215 yards with his 2-iron. He hit it “a little thin” and the ball rolled up to the apron between two greenside bunkers. Witman’s subsequent chip shot stopped a foot from the pin, and he made his routine par.
Recoveries like that one led to Witman’s eventual 74 score for the day, tied with Kyle Hall. The two boys in the 16-18 division then parred the first playoff hole. On the next hole, the par-five 9th, Witman put his second shot on the green, 35 feet below the hole. Hall’s great flop shot attempt for a birdie failed, and Witman coolly rolled in his second putt from five feet for his 4 and the win.
“This is the third time I’ve won this tournament since I was 13,” Witman grinned, “but it’s been a while.”
Julia Robinson repeated her first victory last year with a great 79, two shots below her handicap at Rehoboth, for a three-shot win over Christine Shimel of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Robinson, a Cape Region resident who will enter the ninth grade next fall at Worcester Prep, said she had a steady round, with only one double bogey on the first hole. “My drive missed the fairway, and the rough was really, really tough. I pulled my second shot left of the green, and couldn’t recover. But I also had 2 up-and-downs for pars,” she smiled.
Max Wyndorf of Wilmington will play for Tatnall School next year, and he should be a big help to the prep school team. He shot a fine 76 to win the 14-15 division, with Cape’s John Purple taking runner-up honors.
Johnny Mlynarski shot the best score of the day, winning the 11-13 division with his 73. Jerry Temple took second place with his 84.
During the lunch preceding the shotgun start to the golf tournament, the Delaware State Golf Association Scholarship Committee announced their annual award recipients of college scholarships, funded with several events throughout the year.
Andrew Seagraves of Milford received a $4,000 scholarship, which he’ll use to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Seagraves is a member of Shawnee Country Club, a good player, and a nice kid.
David Simmons of Wilmington, who took second place to Witman in this year’s state high school championship, earned a $3,000 stipend. He plans to enter the Professional Golf Management Program at New Mexico State University.
Laura Ford of Ursuline Academy in Wilmington was awarded $2,000. The active junior golfer has not yet selected a college.
The Committee awarded Witman a $1,000 scholarship, which he’ll use in conjunction with other scholarship funds to attend the University of Maryland.
Jessica Reno from St. Mark’s High School received a special engraved gift from the Committee, in recognition of her many achievements in junior golf in Delaware. She’s receiving a full scholarship from Maryland, and was therefore ineligible to receive scholarship proceeds from the DSGA.
The scholarships are for one year, but are potentially renewable based on committee resources and the students’ academic performance while in college. Junior golfers who reside in the DSGA membership area, which includes all of Delaware and portions of Maryland and Pennsylvania, can learn more about the scholarship program by contacting Ron Barrows, head golf professional at Rehoboth CC, at 302-227-3616.