Petro Finishes 20th At AJGA EventThe third annual AJGA Stonehenge Junior Open is in the books, and chairman Ben Barkey was pleased with how the three-day tournament turned out. Blessed with good weather, the American Junior Golf Association tournament went off without a hitch, as Nick Hardy, of Northbrook, Ill., won with a 202 on the par-71 Stonehenge Golf Club course. In the girls division, Maria Vesga, of Piedecuesta, Colombia, was the victor, shooting a 216. "It's a good thing for the community," Barkey, who's also the Warsaw Community High School boys golf coach, said in a phone interview Thursday afternoon. "It's great for our local kids, not only at Warsaw, but for other local high school kids that played in it as well." Locally, incoming East Noble senior Michael Sharp, who's verbally committed to Michigan State, finished eighth with a 210, Columbia City sophomore Tyler Green was 17th with a 212, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger sophomore Callahan Elzey shot a 213, finishing 18th and Warsaw senior Will Petro was in a 20th-place tie, recording a 214. Petro entered the final round in a tie for third place with a 137, shooting a 69 Tuesday and 68 Wednesday. Recording five birdies in the first round and six in the second, he struggled a little more Thursday, making just one, while bogeying two and double bogeying another, finishing with a 77. "Will did great," Barkey said. "He was a little disappointed with (Thursday's) round – shooting six over. But we had seven or eight guys from the team out there watching him today, which gives some excitement for next season." In all, six Warsaw Tigers participated in the tournament, although Petro was the only one to compete in the final round, which had a 148 cut. Warsaw's other participants were junior Jonny Hollar (150), junior Ryan Cultice (159), junior Joshua Ahlersmeyer (160), junior Brandon Eckert (162), junior Reid Cameron (174). "Of the six players in it, five players at least shot in the 70s once, with Jonny and Will shooting in the 70s twice," Barkey said. "That's nice to see on your home course." The boys division winner actually entered the final round in a seventh-place tie, but his eight-under 63 Thursday turned things around, as he came back to defeat Cameron Michalak, of Orient, Ohio, who led the first two rounds, but finished with a 205. "The course record is a 62, so I'm sure there haven't been too many 63s," Barkey said of Hardy's score. The 63 was the low score of the tournament, but in the AJGA tournament, it wasn't all that shocking to Barkey. "You had really good players out there," he said. "In high school golf, if there was a 63 shot, it would be state news. In the AJGA, it's more of, 'OK, that's pretty exciting.' It happens – not frequently - but it happens."
