This has been a summer of success for 15-year-old Denny McCarthy. Sunday at Woodmont Country Club, the Georgetown Prep sophomore stepped out of the junior ranks and tried to make history.
Playing in the finals of the 89th Metropolitan Amateur, McCarthy was aiming to become the youngest champion of the storied event. But waiting in the finals was Jonathan Orchin, 25, who seized the 36-hole match with a brilliant start.
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Firing a 3-under-par 32 on the opening nine at Woodmont South, Orchin took a 4-up lead on his way to the biggest win of his career, 5 and 4.
Orchin, a District resident and member at Kenwood, survived a grueling four days of golf, which included qualifying Thursday and four rounds of match play, two each Friday and Saturday. His biggest win before the finals, came in the quarters, 5 and 4, over defending champion Greg Carlin.
“Ball striking and driving, all four days,” said Orchin. “I just got a new driver, the new Taylor Made. I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, made a lot of pars.”
Orchin’s fast start came with birdie putts of 8, 3, and 15 feet at Nos. 2, 5, and 9, respectively. On the second 18, McCarthy, a member at Argyle, threatened to reverse the momentum, but Orchin held it with three brilliant iron shots.
At No. 6, after McCarthy nearly holed a shot from the fairway, Orchin answered with a 9-iron from a fairway bunker to within three feet. At No. 11, Orchin drove into the trees, but faded an iron shot to the front of the green and won the hole with a par. On No. 14, Orchin clinched it with a shot from the rough to within two feet.
