Sand Ridge Golf Club didn’t disappoint as the highly rated Chardon course played host to 51 juniors from Northeast Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania. Day one was met with hot and humid conditions and, eventually, some afternoon showers. Luckily the lightning stayed to our south and all 51 golfers completed their 18 holes in under 4 hours and 20 minutes on the challenging track.
Looking at the current standings its a pair of high school teammates sitting atop the Boys 16 to 19 leaderboard as Fairview (PA) High School teammates Anthony Laboda (Fairview, PA) and Tegan Rucks (Fairview, PA) find themselves at first and second overall. Laboda was the only player in red numbers as he carded a round of one under par 71. His round included a chip in eagle from 50 yards and 4 birdies including three in his last 5 holes. Rucks shares the second spot with last year’s champion Henry Phillips (Warren). The two posted matching rounds of 2 over par 74. Behind them is a virtual traffic jam of players at 4 over. Tuesday is up for grabs for sure as 10 players are within 5 shots of the lead.
In Boys 13 to 15 action, it’s another pair of Pennsylvania boys at the top of the pack with Lukas Miller (Titusville, PA) leading the way at 9 over par (81). Miller sits five shots clear of Penn Recio (Fairview, PA), the younger brother of 2025 Jim Dawson Champion Chase Recio. Hamilton Miller (Concord) sits third, one back of Recio.
In our Girls 19 and Under age division, two share the top spot as Elena Varga (Hudson) and Saijal Jawa (Highland Heights) posted matching 80’s. Jawa recovered from an uncharacteristic 9 on the par 5 14th to card 2 birdies in her last 4 holes. Varga steadied herself down the stretch to post twin 40s on the front and back. Peyton Leet (Bradford, PA) trails the pair by 3.
The shot of the day came from the women’s field as Keira Chang (Chagrin Falls) didn’t let a drive into the rough on 13 stand in her was of carding her first eagle. Sitting 123 yards from the hole, Chang hit paydirt out of the rough to mark a 2 on her scorecard and securing her first big bird.
Action gets back underway Tuesday at 8am. Go to ncjt.org to follow hole by hole, live results.