Full House for Rehoboth Junior Open
June 18, 2010
One hundred young golfers filled all of the available spots for this year’s Rehoboth Beach Junior Open, held June 14 at Rehoboth Beach Country Club.
The event is one of the most popular junior tournaments on the Delmarva Peninsula, bringing avid young golfers and their parents from all over Delaware and surrounding states.
Ralph Blasey, 17, won the overall championship with a 73. The Kensington, Maryland resident is an incoming senior at Landon High School, where he just completed his spring season on their golf team.
“I loved it,” he said. “I play here a lot in the summers. My grandparents are members here [Ralph and Paula Blasey]. I had two birdies and three bogeys. I hit a lot of greens and fairways. My iron and wedge play helped a lot today.” Blasey expects to compete in a few AJCA events, as well as other DC-area tournaments this summer.
Christina Vosters beat Emma Sills in the girls’ championship on the first playoff hole with a par score, after both girls fired a pair of 76s. Amanda Ploener took the third spot with an 80, beating five other girls.
Vosters was recently awarded a first place scholarship from the Delaware State Golf Association Scholarship Fund, and was pleased with her effort in the tournament. “I didn’t play as consistently as I would have liked, and I scrambled a bit. I had a good time,” she said.
The recent Worcester Prep graduate is enrolled for her freshman year at Pennsylvania State University’s main campus, where she plans to play for the Big Ten school’s women’s golf team. Vosters, 18, captained her high school squad last fall, and won her conference championship.
Sills will be a senior at Red Lion Christian Academy near Wilmington. The Bear resident played for Red Lion last season, but didn’t make the cut for the second round in the state high school championship. The 17-year-old plans to compete in the upcoming Delaware State Women’s Amateur and other challenging tournaments this summer.
Bobby Svigals won first place in the boys’ 16-18 category with a 75. Svigals, 17, lives in Villanova, Pennsylvania and will be a senior at Episcopal Academy this fall. The Radnor Valley CC member plays to a 3 handicap. “This was a nice course,” he said. “I’ve never played here before.”
Luke Weierbach took second place honors with a 76. He will be a senior at Lancaster Mennonite High School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and plays to a 4 handicap. “My birdie putts weren’t falling, but I couldn’t miss a par putt,” he said. This was his second time playing the Rehoboth Junior.
Cole Berman won the boys’ 14-15 category with his 74. Berman, of Rosemont, Pennsylvania is a member of the Philadelphia Cricket Club, and attends the Haverford School. “I liked the course set up. It worked well for me,” he said. “The greens were tough, though.”
Braden Shattuck of Aston, Pennsylvania, won second place with his 75. The Brandywine CC member also plays for the Sun Valley High School team. “I was scrambling my way around the course all day,” he said. “I was three-putting a lot.”
Ryan Rucinski finished first in the boys’ 12-13 category, with a fine 72. The 13-year-old plays out of Hartefeld National, and this fall will be entering the eighth grade at St. Catherine of Siena in suburban Wilmington. “The wind hurt me a little. I had a couple birdies, though,” he said.
Alex Fisher came in second in the 12-13 segment with his 73. The 13-year-old Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania resident is a member at Merion Golf Club, and attends the Haverford School. “This was the best round of my life,” he said. “I made a lot more putts than normal, and really struck them well.”