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Christman victory at Salem Hills gets him into finals; Heinbaugh qualifies
By STEVE WILAJ
salem
Cole Christman went into Thursday’s fifth round of the Flynn Automotive Group Juniors Greatest Golfer of the Valley tournament feeling a little heat.
“I was thinking I might not qualify [for the championship round], because I know I don’t have enough points,” he said.
Christman has nothing to worry about anymore.
The Boardman High sophomore shot a 72 at Salem Hills Golf & Country Club for a first-place finish in the boys 17-U division. With the strong performance, he clinched a spot in the Greatest Golfer finals on July 22-23.
“It’s a relief,” Christman said. “My putting was really good, my irons were actually really good and my wedges were better than they usually are. I gave myself some chances. Although my driving, which is usually really good, was not good at all.”
Sydney Heinbaugh clinched her spot in the girls 17-U championship with an 84. She finished second to Jenna Vivo (74), although Vivo already qualified earlier in the season.
It was a sweet victory for the Ursuline High senior, who missed qualifying for the Greatest Golfer finals last year by one stroke.
“I’m excited to come back and hopefully I can win,” said Heinbaugh, who shot a 79 at Mill Creek last week for a second-place finish. “I thought I played pretty well.
“My short game was going good. On the back, my drives kind of got away from me and my irons kind of got away — I had almost a 10-stoke difference. But it was still OK. I started chipping really good during the front. And then I had a streak of pars with a birdie in there and was making my putts.”
Just one qualifying round remains (July 14 at Trumbull Country Club), as Christman joins Brian Terlesky, Anthony Graziano, Cade Kreps and Bryan Kordupel as boys 17-U qualifiers so far. All but Graziano hail from Boardman High.
After bogeying No. 5, the lefty birdied No. 7 before taking pars on every remaining hole (except for a bogey on No. 11).
“The seventh hole was good,” Christman said. “I birdied that hole after I made a really bad bogey on five. It was nice to get back and not have to worry about that bogey anymore.
“It’s nice that we’re all qualified. It’s gonna be fun.”
In Thursday’s girls 17-U play, Hannah Keffler (already qualified) and Erika Hoover both took 85s, Jenna Jacobson shot an 87, Taylor Ross notched an 89 and Britney Jonda shot a 90.
Back to the boys 17-U, Zach Jacobson and Dean Austalosh each shot a 74 for second place, while R.J. Pozzuto and Jimmy Graham both took 76s. Also, Bobby Jonda, Ryan Turnbull and Zachery Bernat all shot an 80 and John Popa notched an 81.
“Today I hit a lot of fairways and it gave me a lot of birdie opportunities,” Zach Jacobson said. “I didn’t quite capitalize on everything I wanted to, but I was happy with the way I hit the ball.
“I didn’t hit the ball very well the first three [Greatest Golfer qualifiers] I played. But I think, with a lot of practice and range time, I’m where I want to be and I’m ready to finish strong in Trumbull.”
Anthony Clark was the qualifier in the boys 14-U, as his 84 landed him in third place. He finished behind Michael Porter (82) and Luke Nord (83), who both have already clinched their spot in the finals.
Jayne Bernard was the lone participant in the girls 14-U, taking a 97.
This is the seventh season for Greatest Golfer, and it has grown from an event serving 90 golfers to now impacting 3,000 golfers, 12 golf courses and 24 charities.