Before his family moved to the TPC at Avenel in lower Montgomery County, six years ago, Silver Spring’s Jay Mulieri spent his formative years at Glenn Dale Golf Club, in upper Prince George’s.
This week Mulieri renewed his memories of his old club and did it in style, winning the 62nd Bubby Worsham Memorial. Firing a 3-under-par 67 Thursday, Mulieri took control of the final round early and won his second Washington Metropolitan Golf Association event.
“This is where I learned to play golf,” said Mulieri, 18. “This is pretty cool to come back here and play well and win.”
The tournament, for players age 17-19, holds historical significance. The first winner, Arnold Palmer, helped create the event in the memory of his former Wake Forest roommate, Bubby Worsham, a schoolboy standout from Chevy Chase.
Mulieri, a recent graduate of Gonzaga, finished with a three-round score of 205 to beat first-round leader, Charlie Winegardner by five strokes. It was the thanks Winegardner got for hosting Mulieri at his home in Lothian while Mulieri’s family spent the week in Niagara Falls watching Mulieri’s older brother, Mike, play in the Porter Cup.
Wearing his lucky purple Gonzaga shirt, which he dons for the final round of all tournaments, and playing with former Purple Eagles teammate, Ryan McCarthy, Mulieri made five birides Thursday.
“It was a little more relaxing. I wasn’t really nervous the whole day,” said Mulieri of playing with McCarthy. Both will join Mulieri’s older brother this fall on the golf team at Loyola College in Baltimore.
Mulieri rolled in birdie putts of 15, 8, and 8 feet at Nos. 3, 6, and 8 respectively. On the back nine, Mulieri’s putting remained solid as he made a 15-footer for birdie at No. 13, then followed with two-putt pars from at least 40 feet on the next three holes. At No. 18, a 462-yard par five, Mulieri reached the green in two and followed with two putts from 25 feet.
“My game has changed 100 percent since I was last here,” said Mulieri. “It does help to have a little background knowledge, where you can miss on some holes. In terms of distances though, it doesn’t help at all. That was a long time ago that I played here.”
