Locals Tee Off at Blue Hill CC for Golfweek NE Junior Invite

Already hosting several regional invitationals across the country, Golfweek Magazine ventured into New England for the first time this week with the Golfweek New England Junior Invitational at Blue Hills Country Club in Canton.

The tournament, which was a three round affair, replicated the format used at the collegiate level by playing 36 holes on the first day. The final 18 holes were played on the morning and early afternoon of the second day.

Locally, the best performance went to Sharon native and future BC Eagle Isabel Southard who took the girls’ championship with a final score of 231.

“I didn’t play as well as I wanted to, but I played better than I did yesterday,” Southard said.

A former member of the Blue Hill Country Club, Southard was familiar with the course but that only made her aware of the difficulty of the golf she would be playing.

“I knew them, but they were tough,” Southard said about the course. “There are some greens where the pins were really tough. I had a lot of three puts so the greens were really fast.”

Coming in second was Newton’s Vinh-Hop Ngo who was only behind by a stroke with a score of 156 after day one but finished four back at 235. Sophie DiPetrillo of Dover took third place, finishing five shots back with a score of 236.

On the boy’s side, Westwood's own John Lazor shot a 226 to finish 17th, but the story of the day was Patrick Albanesi of Avon, CT, who held off a challenge from Sean Smothers of Tamarac, Florida to take the Boys’ crown by two shots. 

Albanesi had a slim lead after the first day after rounds of 68 and 72 but another 72 on the final day was all that was needed for a win and a final score of 214.

There was a two way tie for third place honors as Mark Reilly of Babylon, N.Y. and Brian Carlson of Madison, Conn. both shot a 216.

In local scores, Patrick O'Leary of Milton finished in seventh place with a score of 220. Chad Stumpo of Chestnut Hill was a stoke behind in ninth place, shooting a 221. Nick Drago of Duxbury tied for 10th place with a score of 222.

John McDonald of Walpole finished the event in 28th place with a score of 231.

Canton local Sam Riemer shot a 245 which was good enough for 56th place. Pat Jenkins of Hingham tied for 60th place with a score of 248.