Semifinal matches set at #PoloGolfJC

Jersey City, NJ – 36 holes later day two of competition at the Polo Golf Junior Classic is complete. The morning kicked off with the final round of pool play. Followed by playoffs to determine who would move out of pool in the event of ties. The day ended with the Quarterfinal matches due to forecasted inclement weather on July 1^st.

In the Polo Division, Pools A and G went to a sudden-death stroke play playoff to determine who would move on from pool play to the quarterfinals.

In pool A, Zach Heffernan of Boerne, Texas, won his match over Ben James of Milford, Connecticut, 4 & 2 aided by Sebastian Moss of Houston, Texas, 4 & 3 over Allan Kournikova of Palm Beach, Florida, to force a playoff. Moss went out on hole No. 1 with a bogey to Heffernan and James’ par. Heffernan and James went on to Hole No. 2 where James pared to take the playoff.

In Pool G, Bryan Lee of Fairfax, Virginia, Jase Summy of Keller, Texas, and Jack Turner of Orlando, Florida, went on a five-hole playoff with Turner coming out on top.

The field of 64 cut down to the 16 pool play champions for the quarterfinals. In the Polo Division Ben James (Pool A) took on Matthew Doyle of Madison, Connecticut. The all-Connecticut matchup was back and forth keeping it close with the biggest lead at any one point by James 2-up. The match finished on No. 17 with a birdie by James moving him to 2 & 1.

Frankie Harris of Boca Raton, Florida, out of Pool D faced Jacob Sosa of Austin, Texas, out of Pool E. Harris won 3 & 2 advancing to tomorrow morning’s semifinals.

Nicholas Dunlap of Huntsville, Alabama, out of Pool C took on the upset winner out of Pool F, Mahanth Chiravurri of Chandler, Arizona. Dunlap’s hot play continued beating the 2022 grad 6 & 4. Dunlap moves to 4-0 on the week in match play. The University of Alabama verbal commit is looking for his first AJGA invitational title this week.

Maxwell Ford of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, won his quarterfinal match after a withdraw by Jack Turner after three holes. Ford has one AJGA invitational title to his name. The University of Georgia verbal commit won the Wyndham Invitational presented by Truist two weeks ago at Sedgefield Country Club.

On the Liberty Division side, four ladies advanced to the semifinals of the Polo Golf Junior Classic for the first time. Megha Ganne of Holmdel, New Jersey, competed against Kylee Choi of Murrieta, California. Choi and Ganne remained close on the front nine, but Ganne pulled away on the back holding a 2-up lead to finish 2 & 1 on hole No. 17. Ganne came into this week as the top ranked girl in the field at No. 2 in the Rolex AJGA Rankings. The Stanford commit recently earned low amateur honors at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Liberty Division match 2 included Madison Hewlett of Oldsmar, Florida, and local New Jerseyan Katie Li. Hewlett was up on Li the entire match. The largest lead was 4-up on hole No. 7. Li chipped away at Hewlett’s lead until they were all square on holes No. 13 and 14. Li won holes No. 15 and 16 to go 2-up, lost hole No. 17 to move to 1-up and parred hole No. 18 to remain 1-up and win the match.

The 2023 graduate Kiara Romero of San Jose, California, took down the Arizona State University letter of intent signee Kendall Todd of Goodyear, Arizona, 1-up. Todd held control of the match on the front nine remaining at 1-up until hole No. 9 where she moved to 2-up on Romero. Romero fought back until the match was all square on hole No. 16. Romero birdied hole No. 17 to win 1-up. Romero is on an impressive match play hot streak. The California native won the California Junior Girls’ State Championship last week on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

The final girls match of the day took the full 18 holes to decide as well. A well balanced match between two 2021 graduates in Brooke Biermann of Wildwood, Missouri, and Xin (Cindy) Kou of Valencia, California, 11 of 18 holes in the match were all square. Biermann birdied No. 18 to finish 1-up on Kou. Both Biermann and Kou are letter of intent signees. Biermann is attending Michigan State University and Kou the University of Southern California this fall.

Semifinal Match-Ups:

• Polo Division
  • James vs. Harris
  • Dunlap vs. Ford
• Liberty Division
  • Ganne vs. Li
  • Romero vs. Biermann

Semifinal matches will be conducted on Thursday, July 1 with tee times beginning at 7 a.m. ET off Liberty National Golf Course No. 1.

Full Results

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About Liberty National Golf Club

Liberty National Golf Club located on the banks of the Hudson River in New Jersey opened in 2006. The course designed by Bob Cupp and World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Kite has played host to many PGA TOUR events over the years including The Barclays, The Northern Trust and the 2017 Presidents Cup. The views from the course are often referred to as the “best skyline in sports” with views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.

About Polo Ralph Lauren

Polo Ralph Lauren, a premium lifestyle brand, has been a partner for more than three decades. Since 1995, Polo Ralph Lauren has supported junior golfers who become the next generation of college graduates and business leaders. Every week through AJGA social and digital content, Polo Ralph Lauren celebrates the top performances of AJGA members worldwide, through Polo Ralph Lauren #InspiredPerformances . Polo Ralph Lauren has hosted the Polo Golf Junior Classic, an Invitational dating back to 1978 and one of the longest-running events in AJGA history.