High seeds shake up Junior 10-12 opening round

By Jared Rubado

Alexandria Echo Press

Anything can happen in nine holes of golf, and the high seeds proved that on Monday afternoon in the Junior 10-12 Division.

The opening round of match play saw the field of 16 dwindle down to eight, with three double-digit seeds moving on. Ellie Sticha, Jack Harris and Tyler Cullen pulled off seeding upsets to earn a spot in the quarterfinal round on Wednesday afternoon. Here’s how all eight matchups played out on Monday on the back nine.

W. Hacker def. Srock, 3-2

Four consecutive pars to start the round for top-seeded Will Hacker was enough of a cushion to beat 16th-seed Gavin Srock.

Hacker won the first four holes before backto-back bogeys won the round 3-2. Srock made bogey on Nos. 10, 13, and 14 in his knockout round. Hacker secured the top seed with a qualifying score of 38 on Sunday afternoon.

Esterline def.

Geris, 1-up

It went down to the final hole in the 8-9 matchup between Bronx Esterline and Jameson Geris.

Through eight holes, Esterline and Geris were all squared. On the par-4 18th hole, Esterline’s bogey was good enough to complete the come- back and send him to the quarterfinal round.

Geris led by one through three holes with a par on No. 12. But Esterline’s bogey on No. 14 squared the match.

Esterline took a onehole lead with a par on No. 15 before Geris made par on No. 17 to square the match again. Esterline bogeyed seven holes to advance.

Buttweiler def. Paulsen, 4-3

Fourth-seeded Henry Buttweiler didn’t lose a hole in his opening round of match play against Bennett Paulsen. Pars on Nos. 10, 14 and 15, were enough to beat Paulsen 4-3. Paulsen ended his day with a par on No. 14, but he needed to win the hole to keep his championship hopes alive. Buttweiler will look to take down Ellie Sticha, who upset Braum Peterson, on Wednesday.

Sticha def. Peterson, 4-2

Ellie Sticha knocked off the fifth-seeded Braum Paterson by a score of 4-2.

Sticha, the 12th-seed, made par on six of the eight holes she played to advance to the quarterfinals. Sticha was even through the first four holes and up three over Peterson.

After dropping No. 14, she came back with two more hole wins on Nos. 15 and 16. A bogey on No. 16 clinched the win.

J. Hacker def. G. Johnson, 2-1

Second-seeded Jaxn Hacker took care of business over 15th-seeded Garrison Johnson with a 2-1 win.

Hacker made par on Nos. 10, 13, 15 and 16 to take a one-hole advantage to the par-3 No. 17. Hacker’s bogey sealed a spot in the quarterfinal round. Johnson made par on Nos. 13 and 15, and won No. 4 with a bogey.

Harris def. L. Johnson, 2-1

Jack Harris will look to knock off second-seeded Jaxn Hacker after beating seventh-seeded Layne Johnson 2-1.

Harris shot sevenover-par through eight holes to pick up the win. He picked up a onehole lead with a par on No. 11 before Johnson squared the match with a bogey on No. 13. Harris regained the lead with a bogey on No. 14 and doubled it with a par on No. 15. Johnson got a hole back with his second par of the day on No. 16, but a double bogey on No. 17 ended his run.

Cullen def. Kuhn, 3-2

Tyler Cullen wasn’t intimidated by third-seeded Lewis Kuhn in his 3-2 opening-round win.

The 14th-seed in the 10-12 Division is moving on after a 6-overpar round in seven holes. Cullen took a three-hole lead with two bogeys and a par in the first three holes before Kuhn’s only par of the day got one back on No. 13. Cullen made bogey on No. 14 before his second par of the round won the match on No. 16.

Odland def. Bell, 1-up

Sixth-seeded Graham Odland came out on top of a back-andforth contest against 11th-seeded Josh Bell. Odland won the first two holes with a double bogey and a par to take an early lead. Bell got one back with a par on No. 14 before Odland’s bogey regained the two-hole advantage on No. 15.

Needing to make some magic, Bell made par on Nos. 16 and 17 to pull within one heading to 18. But a double bogey wasn’t enough to pull off the upset.