Sean Bosdosh is having the best summer of his golf career. Just one problem – so is Wes Strang. Three weeks ago, in the Bobby Gorin Memorial, the duo battled to the 18th hole, with Strang winning 1 up. Wednesday in the 25th Dewey Ricketts Memorial, they were at it again in another high-level duel. Fighting for the title in the 14-15 division, Bosdosh fired a 1-under-par 69, only to see Strang match him stroke for stroke at Manor Country Club.
With a closing-round 69, Strang finished with a three-day total of 211 to hold off Bosdosh by two strokes. “I’ve been playing well,” said Bosdosh, a Clarksburg resident who competes for Covenant Life. “But I have to do a little better to beat Wes. He’s very tough.” It was the third victory this summer for Strang, a 15-year-old who also took the Mid-Atlantic Junior title where he was one of the youngest players in the 17-and-under field. “I’m having a solid summer,” said Strang, a Bethesda resident who enters his sophomore year this fall at Georgetown Prep.
“Yesterday I hit 16 greens [in regulation]. Same today.” How good were Strang and Bosdosh in this tournament? Playing from the same tees as the competitors in the 16-17 division, both had significantly better scores than 16-17 champion Josh Eure (216). After playing the front nine in 2-under, Bosdosh pulled into a tie for the lead. But Strang resumed control making a 15-foot birdie putt at No. 10 and a 25-footer at No. 13 to take a three-stroke lead. Bosdosh whittled it to one with a 6-foot putt for birdie on No. 15 and with a par on No. 16, where Strang missed the green and made bogey. But Strang, a member at Congressional, was steady on the final two holes.
“On Monday, I was four-over through the first five holes of the tournament,” said Strang. “But I battled back nicely.” Eure is pure Golf was a virtual birth rite for Josh Eure. He was born in Augusta, Ga. And spent the first eight years of his life in the town that hosts the legendary Masters tournament. Wednesday at Manor Country Club, Eure demonstrated his mastery of the Ricketts’ 16-17 division, firing a final-round 70 to win by seven strokes. It was the second straight Ricketts win for Eure, last year’s 14-15 division champion. Eure, a junior this fall at South River, began the day two strokes behind. But leader Connor Wielgus, a Potomac resident and senior this fall at Churchill, struggled to a 79 and finished in a five-way tie for second place. “I lost my rhythm a little on the front – three straight bogeys – but then I got it back,” said Eure. “Connor just didn’t have his stuff today.”
Eure, will defend his Maryland public school championship this year. Earlier this summer, he won the Maryland Junior.
