For more than two decades, Jody Haggerty of West Brighton sponsored the Junior Matchplay golf championship that bears his name. The “Jody” was run by Steve Zuntag of the Staten Island Golf Association, along with several others intermittently over the years. The tournament has become a staple on the Staten Island “Junior” circuit, and it continues this Tuesday at Silver Lake Golf Course.
The “old guard” has passed on as Jody died in April of 2016 and Zuntag in October of 2014, and in 2018 we unfortunately lost the matriarch of the Haggerty clan, Mary, who continued the tradition since her husband’s passing. Still, the next generation continues to carry the tournament forward, as Terence Haggerty, and the rest of the Haggerty family, still provide full emotional and financial support for the tournament, and Matt Zuntag, of the Staten Island Golf Association, runs the event.
The tournament is divided into three divisions: Juniors (15-18-year old males), Boys (11-14-year-old males); and Girls. Since there are only two girls, as with last year, they will compete against each other for the female title, and then also be allowed to play in the Boys division (since they hit from the same tees).
The first round (Tuesday at 10 a.m.) is a qualifying round, in which the top eight Juniors and top four Boys/Girls competitors will move on to matches starting on Wednesday.
The 2022 winner (and this week’s champ of the 2024 Kiwanis Junior Championships) – Michael Hui – will be playing this week; but the winner from last year, Jayden Guan, will not be present.
Qualifiers from last year’s matches – Sean Bailey, Soren Andersen (who finished third in last week’s 47th annual Kiwanis Junior event); Andrew Biscocho; Michael Avallone (fourth in the Kiwanis) and Michael Molina – also return to compete for the title that eluded them last year. Anthony Rzeszutko, who finished runner-up last week, is also competing.
In the Girls Division, Siene Andersen, who missed last week’s Kiwanis, but dominated the division last year, looks to continue her domination. In the Boys Division, Alex Oliveri, who won last week’s Kiwanis, looks to “double up,” but he should have some strong competition against Andersen, who won this division last year (since it was combined then too), and Steven Barbarino, a seventh-grader, who recently captured his second straight CYO/Atlas Grammar School Championship.
The tee order is below:
JUNIORS:
10 – Anthony Rzeszutko; Michael Avallone; Michael Molina; Andrew Jankowski;
10:09 – Soren Andersen; Andrew Biscocho; Luke Salome; Dylan Prue;
10:18 – Michael Hui; Logan Hynes; Sean Bailey; Joseph Pizzuto;
GIRLS/BOYS:
10:27 – Alex Oliveri; Steven Barbarino; Ace Vandenheuvel;
10:36 – Siene Andersen; Stella Vandenheuvel; Vincent Mohan; Kingston Vandenheuvel