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Graziano’s recovery on Pine Lakes’ No. 8 earns spot in finals
Graziano’s recovery
Photo
William D. Lewis The vindicator Anthony Graziano competes in GGOV junior qualifier 5/22/16 at Pines Lakes in Hubbard.
on Pine Lakes’ No. 8
earns spot in finals
By STEVE WILAJ
HUBBARD
At the time, Anthony Graziano didn’t know his par on hole No. 8 at Pine Lakes on Sunday was so important.
Nonetheless, here is how it went down: Graziano’s drive landed under trees, causing him to punch out before he chipped onto the green and nailed a 10-foot putt.
“It kind of jumped me and felt good,” the Girard High junior said.
Turns out, that par qualified Graziano for the Flynn Automotive Group Juniors Greatest Golfer of the Valley 17-U championship in July.
While he shot a 77 in the tournament’s second round, so did Joey Vitali. But Graziano earned the tie-breaker by winning a scorecard playoff, as his par on No. 8 beat Vitali’s bogey.
“I’ve been working extra hard since I shot an 84 last week and just missed first place,” Graziano said. “I wanted to come in today and qualify.”
Said Vitali: “I don’t personally like scorecard playoffs, but it is what it is. It happens. Shows that every shot counts.”
The two golfers finished behind Brian Terlesky, who shot a 72 for first place in the boys U-17. Since he won the opener at Squaw Creek and was already qualified for the finals, the qualifying spot went to Graziano.
“I played the par-fives really well today,” said Terlesky, who birdied four holes. “They were pretty short, so I needed to take advantage of them. I hit the ball pretty straight — unlike last week (83). It was definitely a little different than last week. I’ll take it.”
Vitali bounced back from a 91 at Squaw Creek, while Graziano improved from an 84. Bobby Jonda finished fourth on Sunday with a 79 and Jimmy Graham notched an 80.
“My drives and my iron shots went really well,” Vitali said. “I probably could have done better, but I was happy with how I played.”
Said Graziano: “My 100-yard-in wedges, I worked extremely hard on them this week. Last week I kept doubling, so I spent most of my time this week on that and it paid off for me.”
Meanwhile, Jenna Vivo shot an 80 to win the girls 17-U division. Erika Hoover took second with an 81, while Emily Koehler and Britney Jonda shot 84s for third place.
“I hit my second shots pretty straight onto the green,” Vivo said. “It was just that my putting and my short game were rough because these greens are hard to get used to. But besides that, my driving and second shots were pretty decent.”
Vivo birdied four holes, as she joins Hannah Keffler as qualifiers for the championship round.
In the boys 14-U, Justin Atkinson notched an 82 to place first and qualify for the finals.
Jayne Bernard won the girls 14-U with a 103, while Olivia Taylor shot a 105. They are the division’s lone players.
The tournament now takes a month-break until play resumes on June 24 at Tam O’Shanter.
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.