Middle Atlantic (MAGA) Junior Boys & Girls Amateur Championship
John Stewart, Reporting from Falls Road Golf Club
POTOMAC, MD (July 1, 2005) -- Jonathan Zorn, from Monkton, claimed his first major title, and Hilary Lawson, of Gaithersburg, won for the second straight year, as the MAGA held its annual Junior Boys/Girls championships at Falls Road Golf Course, June 30-July 1.
Zorn, 16, a St. Paul's School junior, shot 69-68 for a 3-under-par total of 137 to edge first-day leader Justin Wingo, Fairfax, Va., 65-73--138. Wingo, 17, a St. Paul VI School senior, who had eight birdies and three-bogeys in pacing the 74-boy field in the first round, led through 15 holes of the second day. However, Zorn birdied the 469-yard 16th to tie; they both birdied the 368-yard 17th, and after Zorn made par, Wingo slipped back when he could not get up and down from in front of the green to save his par at the 366-yard finishing hole.
In a battle of high school juniors, Lawson, 15, from Magruder, out-dueled Kelly Lynch, of Severna Park, also 15, in overtime. After starting their playoff bogey-birdie, Lawson won on the third extra hole with a par. The two had tied in regulation with 4-over 74's for the 5,780-yard layout.
With the age-group leaders determined by the first-day scores over a 6,161-yard course, and no multiple winners, Roger Waesche, Timonium, placed first in 16-17 with 34-32--66. His tour included an eagle, six birdies, and four bogeys.
Jason Frankel, from Phoenix, topped the 14-15 division with 35-35--70, followed by Brad Miller, Timonium, 73. Miller added a career-best 67 in the second round to finish sixth overall. Church Waesche, Roger's younger brother, turned back Wes Strang, of Bethesda, 40-36--76 to 40-37--77. A birdie at the 16th produced the winning margin, reversing the outcome of the Maryland State Juniors earlier in the week, when Strang had 79, and Waesche, 81.
Among the girls, where there were 13 entries, Mary Mattson, Ijamsville, won in 16-17 with 40-39--72; Lynch placed first in 14-15, and Diana Brown, Potomac, first in 10-13 with 44-45--89.