Alonso, Graboyes, Palazzolo, Purcell Advance To Junior Semis
Eighth-seeded Erick Alonso of Darlington, who helped lead Bergen Catholic to the state scholastic Tournament of Champions victory this spring, had a tough road to reach Thursday’s semifinals of the 93rd NJSGA Billy Y. Dear Junior Championships at Suburban Golf Club in Union.
First Alonso, an incoming freshman at St. Leo College in Florida, had to defeat his high school teammate and fellow Bergen Catholic co-captain Zach Egermayer of Paramus, which he did, 2 and 1. Next up was top-seeded Leo Lee of Darlington, who had advanced by defeating another Bergen Catholic representative, Brendon Kim of Valley Brook, 1 up.
Alonso found himself trailing Lee by two holes at the turn, yet rallied to win five of the next seven holes for a 3 and 2 triumph over Lee and a trip into the semifinals where he will meet state high school individual champion and 13th-seeded Mike Graboyes of Twin Brooks, who defeated Sam Goldenring of Brooklake, 3 and 2.
In the other semifinal match, second-seeded Vince Palazzolo of Colts Neck, who bested Matt Cocorikis of Forsgate, 5 and 4, will meet sixth-seeded Kieran Purcell of Essex County, a 3 and 1 victor over Kwanwoo Kim of Valley Brook.
JUNIOR, BOYS BRACKETS PHOTO GALLERY
In the 44th Boys Championship, top-seeded Jimmy Criscione of Paramus will face fifth-seeded J.D. Driscoll of Arcola while seventh-seeded Bobby Wiese of Battleground meets 14th-seeded Garrett Mooney of Echo Lake.
“I played solid all day. I was consistent and minimized my mistakes. A few birdies got me going,” said Alonso, whose 74 led Bergen Catholic to the Tournament of Champions victory. “I came in with expectations to win, like I do in every event in which I compete. This would be nice to win before I being my college career.”
In his match against Lee, Alonso had to scramble on his back nine to pull out the victory since he trailed by two holes heading into the final nine. He did it by winning the 10th and 11th holes with pars, the par-5 12th with a birdie, and 15th and 16th holes with pars.
Against Egermayer, Alonso led by two holes with seven to play, but Egermayer rallied to go all square by winning the par-5 12th with an eagle and the par-4 15th with a par. But Alonso claimed the victory with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th holes.
This summer, Alonso has qualified for the State Amateur, the Ike, the Met Amateur and the Met Junior. He will play in next week’s Carter Cup at Baltusrol as will Graboyes.
“I’ve been struggling with my driver. Every driver, I’m swinging out of my shoes and every iron I’m shooting at the pin,” said Graboyes, whose brother Luke won the state high school crown in 2013. “My short game is solid and I’m not making a lot of mistakes. I’ve made a lot of birdies out here.”
Graboyes, who attends Cornell in the fall, had little trouble in the quarterfinal match, losing the third hole to Goldenring, but then claiming the fifth, sixth and seventh holes with birdies and never looking back. He beat Dawson Jones of Eagle Ridge, who won last week’s Met Junior, in the Round of 16, 2 and 1, after building a four-hole lead with four to play.
Palazzolo, a recent graduate of Christian Brothers Academy, needed 21 holes to defeat Paolo Matti of Plainfield West in the round of 16. He did it with a birdie on the third playoff hole, the par-5 12th when he hit to within three feet of the hole.
In the quarterfinals against Cocorikis, Palazzolo birdied the seventh, ninth and 14th holes and played four-under par in that session.
“I’m looking forward to the semifinals. Hopefully, I can play like I did in the afternoon when I hit all of my shots,” said Palazzolo, who is playing in the Junior for the first time. “In the afternoon, I wanted to stay confident with my putter. I trusted it and it worked,” added Palazzolo, who played in last week’s State Open at Essex County.
Purcell, the runner-up in last week’s Arcola Cup, beat Nick Rencis of Ballyowen, 1 up, in the Round of 16 thanks to a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th hole. The players halved the 18th hole.
Versus Kim in the quarterfinals, Purcell, a graduate of St. Peter’s Prep who will attend Delaware in the fall, had three birdies during the 3-and-1 triumph.
“I played great in the Arcola Cup. I hit it and putted well. I’m putting awesome right now. It really saved me today,” said Purcell, who was 16th in the State Amateur and qualified for the State Open and Met Open.
Two weeks ago, Criscione was low scorer at 216 in the American High School Championships at St Andrews in Scotland, leading Bergen Catholic to the team title. He received a replica of the fame Claret Jug.
“I’m pretty confident because my game has come a long way,” said the Bergen Catholic sophomore. “I’m playing good golf right now. It’s good that I’m playing on a high note.”
