Close Scores at Range End
York Junior Golf Open
Dillsburg, PA, March 31st, 2025— Buckeye Junior Golf Tour held its 2nd annual tournament at Range End Golf Club this past weekend. The natural beauty that is Range End is tough to compete with for other courses. The large hills and brooks that meander through the course make for a beautiful scenery as you try to master the course.
Round 1 – Saturday, March 29th— It was a decent weather weekend for March in central Pennsylvania.
The hardest hole for the Boys 15-19 in Round 1 was Hole-16. This is the 3rd-hardest hole on the golf course and is a very long Par-4 that sits at 419-yards. There is a small creek that runs through the hole at the end that can wreck havoc on even the best of approach shots. The green is very long and skinny with 2 giant bunkers guarding each of its sides. Getting to the hole is enough of a problem with the distance but when you have to be extremely accurate and long hitting with your approach shot it can really hurt your scorecard. Only 27% of the field were able to pick up Pars on this hole. The Boys 15-19 started off in tremendous fashion playing Hole-1 the best on the day. This is a 509-yard, Par-5 that sits at the 12th-handicap. There is a large fairway bunker that sits on the right side. However, it is almost too far into the rough to bother you off the tee unless you really push your drive right. The approach on this hole is where it can be very difficult. There is a huge bunker that juts into the fairway right at the 150-yard marker. Going into this bunker is extremely easy to do on your 2nd-shot. This extremely small green is guarded by 3 small bunkers on the front. Best to club up and see if you can get the distance to carry these bunkers. Dallas Inch from York, Pennsylvania set his mark on the tournament extremely early by having the only Eagle in the tournament on this hole. Dallas’ Eagle on Hole #1 helped him to lead the tournament after Round 1 shooting an amazing E, 71. Following Dallas was Ryan Hilyard from Hanover, Pennsylvania shooting a +4, 75. Round 2 was shaping up to be a lot fun between these two Boys 15-19.
The hardest hole for the Boys 10-14 was the hardest hole on the golf course Hole-12. This is a relatively average distance Par-4, sitting at 354-yards. This hole is completely slanted right. Landing a tee shot on the fairway is an extremely impressive feat. If you do aim left to try and get your drive to land in the fairway there is a large bunker guarding that side of the rough. Another long skinny green awaits you. This green has two large bunkers guarding it at the front. However, you can’t really club up as going off the back side of this green send you down a mountain or worse into the woods behind the green. Unfortunately, nothing higher than a double bogey was achieved by the Field on the hole. The easiest hole for the Boys 10-14 in Round 1 was Hole-5. This is the 10th-handicap hole and a very short Par-4 that sits at only 261-yards. The creek comes back into play on this hole. A 200+ yard tee shot is needed to clear the creek on this hole. Something that the Boys 10-14 are most likely able to do. If not, your layup drive should not be too bad either. As the fairway is extremely wide and open. Just don’t go left off the drive as there is a plethora of trees. There are 3 bunkers guarding almost the entire left and right sides of this long and skinny green. Again, clubbing up probably is the play as going too far will not pose too much of a problem. 60% of the Field were able to pick up Pars on the hole. At the end of Round 1 it was Ethan Saccante from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania leading the Division. Following closely behind was last week’s Runner-Up Alexander Serrano from Forest Hill, Maryland.
The Girls 14-19 found Hole-9 to be playing the toughest in Round 1. This was a surprise as it is the easiest hole on the course sitting at the 18th-handicap. Sitting at 291-yards, it is a relatively short Par-4. There is a drainage ditch going through the middle of the hole. If the pond gets too high on the left this can change the ditch from an easy up and out to losing a ball. The green is surrounded by 3 bunkers again so staying away from those is huge. There is also a large patch of fescue on the left side so watch out over there. Sofia Grobova from Carlisle, Pennsylvania and Marlee Bentz from Hummelstown, Pennsylvania helped to lead the Division with the Bogeys. The Girls played Hole-15 the best in Round 1. This is the 2nd-easiest hole on the course. Sitting at 163-Yards this Par-3 requires precision off the tee. The green is extremely small. It is also surrounded by 3 bunkers. Behind the green sits a row of trees. This is one hole were trying to club down might be for the best as landing on the apron is a totally okay scenario. Marlee Bentz’s Par on the hole led the Division. After Round 1 it was Sofia Grobova leading the way. Marlee Bentz followed closely behind.
Round 2 – Sunday, March 23rd— Another decent day for weather for Round 2.
The Boys 15-19 were once again struggling the most with Hole-16 in Round 2. Only 1 Par was earned by the Division in Round 2 and it came from Round 1 Leader Dallas Inch. The Boys 15-19 once again, played Hole-1 the best in Round 2. This Par-5 was coughing up all kinds of Birdies throughout the tournament and Round 2 was no different with 45% of the Field taking a Birdie on the hole to start their 2nd-Round. It was wild down the stretch as Ryan Hilyard was able to make a comeback and tie it up on Dallas Inch late in Round 2. However, Dallas gathered his composure and came in as our Champion. Dallas’ Eagle to start the tournament really set the tone for how he was going to play throughout the event. Dallas played the hardest Back-9 at Range End the best in the tournament by 4-strokes. This was the real difference maker as getting through the final holes out at Range End can be extremely tough but Dallas took on the challenge and it helped him to reach his Champion finish. Dallas’ 10-Hole Bogey-Free-Streak in Round 1 from Holes 8-17 helped him to make sure that the rest of the Field was chasing him in Round 2. Congratulations to Dallas on a great tournament and his first ever BJGT Champion Flag! Ryan Hilyard played an amazing tournament as well. Making a big comeback on Dallas late in the tournament helped to really keep both players competitive throughout the event. Ryan led the Division with Most Pars or Better with 28 of those in 36-Holes. Ryan played the easier Front-9 absolutely amazing throughout the tournament going -1 on those 18-holes in the tournament. Taking 4 Birdies, 1 Bogey and 1 Double Bogey on those holes. Ryan’s competitive nature really showed with his 3-Hole Birdie Streak in Round 2 on Holes 7-9. Congratulations to Ryan on a fantastic tournament and earning himself his 3rd-Runner-Up Finish in his BJGT career.
Hole-16 was an absolute menace in the event. The Boys 10-14 were struggling the most with it in Round 2. Luke Del Balzo from Point of Rocks, Maryland was the only player in the Field to be able to Par this Hole in Round 2. The Boys 10-14 found Hole-14 to be playing the easiest in Round 2. This is a 450-yard, Par-5 with the 11th-handicap. You are going to want to stay right on your drive on this hole as OB lurks left with tree jail also sitting there to keep your drive from going too far. Your 2nd shot on this hole is relatively easy as there is not much in the way. The green is a real tough shot though as 4 bunkers guard the green at the front and sides. Another hole where clubbing up is probably a good option as going too far will not cause you too much trouble. Luke Del Balzo shined again on the hole gaining a minimum of a stroke on the rest of the field with his Birdie. Ethan Saccante shot an amazing Round 2 beating his Round 1 by 7-strokes to come in as our Champion. Ethan led the Division with 21 Pars or Better on the course throughout the tournament. Just like Dallas for the Boys 15-19, Ethan played the much harder Back-9 the best in the tournament by 5-strokes. Conquering this Back-9 was a huge way to land at the top of the leaderboard. Ethan further cemented his top finish with his Bogey-Free-Streak of 5-Holes in Round 2 from Holes 11-15. Congratulations to Ethan on a fantastic tournament and his first ever BJGT Champion Flag! Alexander Serrano played an amazing tournament. After his Runner-Up finish last week Alexander was hungry to get that Champion flag. Alexander followed the Runner-Up for the Boys 15-19 Division by playing the Front-9 the best in his Division. Alexander’s 4-Hole Bogey-Free-Streak to end Round 1 and start Round 2 was a great way to try and fight back up the Leaderboard. Congratulations to Alexander on 2 great back-to-back tournaments and earning his 2nd Runner-Up Finish in a row!
In a twist the Girls were having the most trouble with Hole-1 in Round 2. Nothing better than a Double Bogey was achieved on the Hole. The Girls were also able to play Hole-14 the best in Round 2. As the Par-5’s out at Range End were giving up all kinds of great scores. Pars from Sofia Grobova and Marlee Bentz helped to lead the Division. In the end Sofia Grobova came in as our Champion. Sofia was able to play the Par-4’s the best in the Division. This is always such an important stat to lead in. Congratulations to Sofia on a fantastic tournament and earning her first ever BJGT Champion flag. Marlee Bentz came in as our Runner-Up. Marlee led the Division in Pars with 5. Marlee has a cannon of a drive and she was able to show that off by taking the Par-5’s the best in the tournament. Congratulations to Marlee on earning her first ever BJGT trophy flag!
Thank you to everyone for joining us for our 2nd year out at Range End. This week we have our AJGA PBE Star event for Boys 10-14 at Briarwood. Special note about Briarwood is it was the first event we ever booked for the tour 7 years ago. After Briarwood we head out at to Twin Lakes to play our annual tournament on their Lakes Course which always looks beautiful this time of year. Looking forward to seeing everyone out on tour this year!