STATEN ISLAND. N.Y. — There are four junior golf events run annually in the borough by the Staten Island Golf Association — the North Central Kiwanis, the Jody Memorial, the Lowney and the Staten Island Junior Amateur.
This year, Anthony Rzeszutko, a rising senior at Tottenville High School, goes for the “Grand Slam” of these events Sunday at Richmond County Country Club in the Staten Island Junior Amateur. Rzeszutko has already won the other three events this summer and looks to complete the task Sunday against St. Joseph by-the-Sea’s Michael Avallone at 12:30 at RCCC in the title match.
Rzeszutko started this event on Thursday at Silver Lake, taking the No. 1 seed, by firing a 73 to outpace Alex Oliveri (Sea sophomore) by two strokes. Avallone was third with a 76.
Rzeszutko met surprising resistance in his first match, on Friday, against Savas Carabases, a rising senior from Xaverian in Brooklyn. Carabases was 3-up through six holes, and after firing a 2-over par 37 on the front nine, and winning the 10th hole with a par, he maintained that lead. Unfortunately for Carabases, Rzeszutko finally found his game, starting on the 11th hole as he shot 2-under-par for the next seven holes, winning five of those holes, and taking a 2 & 1 victory.
On Saturday, at Richmond County, Rzeszutko faced Mason Marrone, a sophomore from St. Peter’s, who had won his first match against Dylan Prue, from Tottenville, one up. Rzeszutko dominated from the beginning, even eagling the par-5, 7th-hole on his way to shooting even par for the first eight holes, and take a 6-up lead.
Marrone tried to fight back, winning the 11th and 12th holes, but it was not enough and Rzeszutko was headed to the finals with a 6 & 5 victory.
Avallone will be a formidable opponent as he doesn’t miss putts within 10 feet of the hole. In his first match against St. Peter’s senior Luke Salome, Avallone had two birdies in shooting one-over par for 16 holes of their match, winning 3 & 2. Salome had a great summer, finishing second in two of the other three junior events (and third in the third event), but he had no answer for Avallone’s scintillating round.
In the semifinal match against his high school teammate, Alex Oliveri, Avallone putted “lights out,” making four putts between eight and 12 feet, in the first eight holes, to keep the match even. Oliveri had defeated another Sea teammate, Sean Bailey, in his first match, 5 & 4.
But Oliveri was clearly frustrated by Avallone’s putting and missed his own short putt on the ninth green to go one-down. Avallone made putts on the 10th and 11th to maintain his lead and then won the 12th to go two-up. Oliveri could get no closer, and after wins at the 15th and 16th, Avallone had a 4 & 2 victory and a chance to ruin Rzeszutko’s historic run.
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NOTES: Special thanks to Richmond County Country Club for hosting the semifinal and final rounds and Silver Lake for conducting the first two rounds. Both courses were in excellent condition. Also assisting at the event have been William Zuntag and Chad Marrone. … There were only two girl entrants — Siene Andersen and Yuriko Perpetua — and so they will also play on Sunday for the girls’ division championship. The girls were given the opportunity to also compete against the boys at the Thursday qualifying round, but neither made the cut. Andersen missed by one stroke. All results will be posted on www.sigagolf.com after Sunday. (DO NOT GOOGLE the website name as you will get the wrong website).
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