The RDGA Junior Championships
The third longest-running major championship on the Rochester District Golf Association schedule, the District Junior Championships date to 1939, when Mort Reed won the first of three consecutive titles.
Like many RDGA tournaments, the Junior Championship has evolved through time. Initially conducted as a match play championship for all junior boys, ages 17 and under, the RDGA Junior Championship included two flights: Juniors (for boys ages 15 to 17) and Sub-Juniors (for boys ages 14 and under). In 1976, a third flight was added – Pee Wees – for boys ages 11 and under.
The RDGA Junior Championships continued with that same format of three flights – Juniors (ages 15 to 17), Sub-Juniors (ages 12 to 14) and Pee Wees (ages 7 to 11) – for the next 25 years, until 2000, when girls divisions were added for each of the age flights of the Championship, becoming the first RDGA competition to include female competitors.
Between 2000 and 2019, the RDGA Junior Championships were conducted using this same format – as match play, with boys and girls divisions in three age flights – although beginning in 2016, the format of the Girls Junior and Girls Sub Junior Championships were changed to stroke play. The Pee Wee Championships – for both Boys and Girls – have always been conducted as two 9-hole stroke play rounds.
Since 2020, all six RDGA Junior Championships have been conducted as two-day stroke play championships, with the Boys Junior and Boys Sub Junior competitions also changing to stroke play. There are good reasons for this change – first and foremost, it had become increasingly apparent that the match play format imposed a grueling schedule on competitors – especially in the Junior ranks, where some players were competing in up to five rounds over the course of three days. A second significant reason for adopting a new stroke play format for our Junior Championships is that a two-day, 36-hole format has become the benchmark by which many junior championships around the country are conducted. In fact, the nationally-recognized Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings will only consider events that follow this format.
Through the years, RDGA Junior champions have included many of the well-known names of local golfers who later went on to win other District championships as adults – and some who went on to careers as golf professionals.
Bob Hill won his first RDGA title in the 1947 District Junior Championship – later winning back-to-back RDGA District Championships in 1952 and 1953 before moving on to a long career in golf. Warren Simmons won three consecutive RDGA Junior Championships beginning in 1954 – the third coming in 1956, the same year he also won the RDGA District Championship. In the years since, there have been several Junior champions – boys and girls – who have gone on to win the District Championship title as well.
There have been a number of past Junior champions who later became local PGA and club professionals, including Bill Walsh, Rob Horak, Davidde Giordano and Brad McCluski, and at least one who went on to become a Div. I NCAA golf coach – Andrew DiBitetto. There have even been a couple of RDGA Junior champions who later went on to star as pro tour golfers, including 1967 RDGA Junior champion Terry Diehl; 1971 RDGA Sub-Junior champion Jeff Sluman; 2002 RDGA Girls Sub-Junior Champion Tessa Teachman – and most recently, 2005 RDGA Boys Sub Junior champion, Dominic Bozzelli.
The list of 2023 RDGA Junior champions included Brodie Burgess, in the RDGA Boys Junior Championship, who held off Alex Hill in an all-Cobblestone Creek Country Club final round to win by one shot – and earn his first RDGA title. In the 2023 RDGA Girls Junior Championship, Harper Dittman of the RDGA Junior Membership posted a final round of 6-over-par 78 for a 162 total to win the 2023 title by a close 3-shot margin over RDGA Junior Member Kylie Dean, for her second consecutive Junior title.
In the other RDGA Junior Championships of 2023, Fletcher Weins won the Boys Sub-Junior title, and in the Boys’ Pee Wee Championships, Maksym Babyk won the title for the second consecutive year.
The information provided below is based on the best available records stored in the RDGA archives. Unfortunately, some information from the earlier years of this Championship are incomplete or are non-existant. If you have any records (trophies, plaques, photos, newspaper clippings, etc.) that indicate any missing information below, please call us at 585-292-5950, or email RDGA Communications Director Dave Eaton at daveeaton@RDGA.org.
Year | Boys Junior (15-18) | Girls Junior (15-18) | Boys Sub-Junior (12-14) | Girls Sub-Junior (12-14) | Boys Pee Wee (7-11) | Girls Pee Wee (7-11) | Tournament Site |
2023 | Brody Burgess | Harper Dittman | Fletcher Weins | Maksym Babak | Caledonia CC | ||
2022 | Connor Kiel | Harper Dittman | Barrett Paolini | Emily Zigrossi | Maksym Babak | Reagan Paolini | Wild Wood CC |
2021 | Ryan Connors | Julia Zigrossi | Jackson Ormond | Tatiana Tutko | Fletcher Weins | Delaney Abel | Webster Golf Club |
2020 | Mason Rivera | Julia Zigrossi | Brody Burgess | Mary Devine | Ethan Domajnko | Emily Zigrossi | Mendon GC |
2019 | Philip Minnehan | Jayde Ford | Tyler Fink | Sophia Cellura | Ethan Domajnko | Emily Zigrossi | Blue Heron Hills |
2018 | Aiden Spampinato | Jenny Simonsen | Jeremy Edmunds | Raina Hoffmann | Tacoma Ames | Lauren Garcin | Ontario CC |
2017 | Jeremy Summerson | Lena Kaufman | Graham Gaenzle | Michaela Eichas | George Green | Julia Zigrossi | Mill Creek GC |
2016 | Jason Lohwater | Lena Kaufman | Graham Gaenzle | Kahlan Vanschaffel | Noah Barravecchia | Julia Zigrossi | Clifton Springs CC |
2015 | Jack O’Donovan | Sydney Ball | Luke Bucci | Sophie Renzi | Jeremy Edmunds | Raina Hoffmann | Oak Hill CC (West) |
2014 | Gunnar Doyle | Maddie Glynn | T.J. Buck | Lena Kaufman | Evan Zito | Mendon GC | |
2013 | Gunnar Doyle | Sarah Bothner | Christian Chapman | Sydney Ball | Alex Diehl | Kahlan Vanschaffel | Ridgemont CC |
2012 | Ian Spellane | Danielle Fuss | Gunnar Doyle | Sarah Gerken | Jeremy Summerson | Katherine Brown | Clifton Springs CC |
2011 | Doug Uhazie | Christine Schmitt | Gunnar Doyle | Sarah Bothner | Will Thomson | Katie Kroos | Midvale CC |
2010 | Chris Blyth | Maria Noriega | Danny Drummond | Christine Schmitt | Craig Eichas | Katie Kroos | Wild Wood CC |
2009 | Joey Colosi | Jenna Hoecker | Thomas Kolb | Danielle Fuss | Timothy Costello | Madeleine Brown | Mendon GC |
2008 | Brendan Glavin | Elizabeth Blyth | Ian Cumming | Danielle Fuss | Alex Kinel | Larissa Carter | Monroe GC |
2007 | Ben Finn | Alexandra Battle | Alex Bourdelais | Gabrielle Sacheli | Doug Kulikowski | Kristen Bromley | CC of Rochester |
2006 | Kevin Lewis | Sara Eichelberger | Joey Colosi | Jenna Hoecker | Ben Gibson | Ontario GC | |
2005 | Thomas Muto Jr. | Nicole Paton | Dominic Bozzelli | Elizabeth Blyth | Doug Uhazie | Danielle Fuss | Mill Creek GC |
2004 | Keith Remizowski | Christina Pachuta | Joey Colosi | Joelle Sacheli | Nicholas Ehmann | Danielle Fuss | Ridgemont CC |
2003 | Mike Colosi | Melissa Agostinelli | Andrew Kay | Cassandra Blaney | Joey Colosi | Shaina Watkins | Cobblestone Creek |
2002 | Josh Sandman | Maggie Ward | John Ryan | Tessa Teachman | Lucas Pachuta | Christine Elam | Irondequoit CC |
2001 | Andrew DiBitetto | Maggie Ward | Mike Schwert | Christina Pachuta | Dominic Bozzelli | Tessa Teachman | Midvale CC |
2000 | Jon Gonzalez | Maggie Ward | Mike Colosi | Melissa Agostinelli | Nathan Minnehan | Tessa Teachman | CenterPointe CC |
1999 | Shaun Morrison | Ben Schulman | Greg Merz | CC of Rochester | |||
1998 | Brad McCluski | Ben Schulman | Greg Merz | Green Hills GC | |||
1997 | Davidde Giordano | Adam Condello | Andrew DiBitetto | Caledonia CC | |||
1996 | Davidde Giordano | Kevin White | Andrew DiBitetto | CC of Rochester | |||
1995 | Jeff Yonker | Ben Becher | Andrew DiBitetto | Ridgemont CC | |||
1994 | Dugan Condon | Kevin Haefner | Ben Becher | Oak Hill CC | |||
1993 | Tom Jamalkowski | Kevin Haefner | Steven Tokarz | Irondequoit CC | |||
1992 | Brian Bombard | Tom Jamalkowski | Chris Horgan | Monroe GC | |||
1991 | Jeremy Fioravanti | Frank Scallone | Kevin Haefner | Lake Shore CC | |||
1990 | Brian Bombard | Jeff Nimeh | Marty Mills | Locust Hill CC | |||
1989 | Mark Nimeh | Brian Bombard | Tom Jamalkowski | Midvale CC | |||
1988 | Dave Champagne | Jeff Hysner | Steve Persia | Ridgemont CC | |||
1987 | Jeff Ruotolo | John Friel | Jeff Flannigan | CC of Rochester | |||
1986 | Chris Burgess | Mike Zimmerman | Jeremy Fioravanti | Lake Shore CC | |||
1985 | John Bartell | Tom Nixon | Brian Bombard | Ontario GC | |||
1984 | Ray Ziats Jr. | Tom Nixon | Mike McNamara | Wild Wood CC | |||
1983 | Doug Slattery | Drew Savage | Matt Young | Stafford CC | |||
1982 | Peter Jacob | Mike Urzetta | Tom Nixon | Deerfield CC | |||
1981 | Peter Bush Jr. | Doug Slattery | Tom Nixon | Irondequoit CC | |||
1980 | Scott McGregor | Dick Butler | Tom Nixon | Monroe GC | |||
1979 | John Ryan Jr. | Rob Fogel | Mike Urzetta | Penfield CC | |||
1978 | George Kavanagh | Gary Gallagher | Doug Slattery | Midvale CC | |||
1977 | Rob Horak | Scott McGregor | Doug Slattery | Ridgemont CC | |||
1976 | John Salamone | John Ryan Jr. | Rob Fogel | Oak Hill CC (West) | |||
1975 | Dave Boeff | John Ryan Jr. | Ontario GC | ||||
1974 | Steve Cruse | Steve Hakes | Penfield CC | ||||
1973 | Rob Ladd | John Kircher | Brook-Lea CC | ||||
1972 | Doug Miller | Ken Yount Jr. | Irondequoit CC | ||||
1971 | Doug Miller | Jeff Sluman | Durand Eastman GC | ||||
1970 | Bill Walsh | Terry O’Brien | Monroe GC | ||||
1969 | Corky Root Jr. | Doug Miller | Ridgemont CC | ||||
1968 | James Spitz Jr. | Martin Muehe | Genesee Valley GC | ||||
1967 | Terry Diehl | Robert Ryan | Penfield CC | ||||
1966 | Brook-Lea CC | ||||||
1965 | CC of Rochester | ||||||
1964 | John Licciardi | Pat Thornton | Midvale CC | ||||
1963 | Carl DiCesare | Terry Diehl | Irondequoit CC | ||||
1962 | Monroe GC | ||||||
1961 | Oak Hill CC | ||||||
1960 | Gerry Kuntz | Carl DiCesare | Ridgemont CC | ||||
1959 | Jerry Kling | Geoffrey Robertson | Locust Hill CC | ||||
1958 | Peter Friedes | Carl DiCesare | Brook-Lea CC | ||||
1957 | Chip Lillich | Jerry Kling | CC of Rochester | ||||
1956 | Warren Simmons | Peter Friedes | Ridgemont CC | ||||
1955 | Warren Simmons | Jim Craib | Oak Hill CC (West) | ||||
1954 | Warren Simmons | Jim Craib | Locust Hill CC | ||||
1953 | Chris Kling | D. Tripp | Irondequoit CC | ||||
1952 | Terry Thomas | Warren Simmons | Monroe GC | ||||
1951 | Joe Haefner | Chris Kling | CC of Rochester | ||||
1950 | Pete Wingate | Monroe GC | |||||
1949 | Ray Lang | Ridgemont CC | |||||
1948 | Ray Allen Jr. | Oak Hill CC | |||||
1947 | Bob Hill | CC of Rochester | |||||
1946 | Jim Lane | Irondequoit CC | |||||
1945 | Byron Proseus | Lake Shore CC | |||||
1944 | Tom Lunt Jr. | George Christ Jr. | Monroe GC | ||||
1943 | NO TOURNAMENT | NO TOURNAMENT | |||||
1942 | Don Martin | Lake Shore CC | |||||
1941 | Mort Reed | Oak Hill CC | |||||
1940 | Mort Reed | Irondequoit CC | |||||
1939 | Mort Reed | Sam Urzetta | CC of Rochester |