WESTON, CT — Three straight birdies on the back nine Wednesday helped Will Lord of Suffield claim the lead in the final match of the 56th Borck Junior, en route to closing out Max Pawloski on the 16th hold and capturing the prestigious championship.

Lord, 16, a rising junior at Suffield Academy, entered the 2-day tournament as the No. 9 seed, but disposed of eighth-seeded Brady Pill and top-seeded Brody Dibenedetto by identical 3&2 scores Tuesday to advance to the semifinals at Aspetuck Valley Country Club.

In his first match Wednesday, Lord handily beat fellow Suffield Country Club member Justin Crossen 7&6, setting up a championship showdown with Pawloski, a member of the eClub of Connecticut.

Lord jumped to an early lead with a birdie on the first hole, but lost holes 2, 3 and 5 to fall 2-down. He evened the match by winning holes 6 and 7, but made a double-bogey at 9 to make the turn 1-down.

The opponents traded wins on the first two holes of the back nine before Lord pulled even again with a birdie on the par-3 12th. After nearly driving the green on the par-4 13th, he assumed his first lead since the opening hole with another birdie.

An errant tee shot on the par-4 14th nearly went out of bounds, but stayed in play about 135 yards from the pin. With a 50-degree wedge, Lord knocked his approach shot eight feet from the cup, setting up a third consecutive birdie and extending his advantage to 2-up.

He clinched the title with a birdie at the par-4 16th, finishing the day with four birdies in his final five holes.

“This is the fourth year I’ve played in the Borck Junior,” Lord said. “I haven’t missed match play yet. I lost in the round of 16 once, and then lost in the quarterfinals, I think the other three times. It felt good to break through and start winning some matches.”

He entered the tournament on a hot streak, having won the U.S. Challenge Cup Boys Championship last week at Agawan Hunt Country Club in Rhode Island with rounds of 71-62.

“It felt good to come out here and win this one too,” he said.

Paige McKenna of the eClub of Connecticut, a rising senior at Fairfield Warde High School, easily captured the girls’ title, defeating Zorah Williams of Stonington Country Club by a 5&4 margin.

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