Thanks to a 1-over 73, Avon's Beau Titsworth, whose family lives along the 10th hole, shot himself into contention with a 36-hole total of 151.
Avon's Beau Titsworth is on a crowded leaderboard at the PGA Cleveland Junior Open, just four shots out of the lead.AVON, Ohio -- An area golfer has never won the junior golf event held at Red Tail Golf Club in Avon. One has never even come close.
That could end Thursday when the 54-hole Cleveland Junior Open -- previously known as the SAP Junior Open -- comes to a conclusion after three days of lower-than-normal temperatures and higher-than-normal scores.
Thanks to a 1-over 73 -- one of three that came in as the day's best -- Avon's Beau Titsworth, whose family lives along the 10th hole, shot himself into contention with a 36-hole total of 151.
Pepper Pike's Scott Smith, the first-round leader, remained in contention despite shooting an 80 for a two-day total of 151. Medina's Mike Bishop and Chagrin Falls' Jacob Forsythe (both at 152) also are in the hunt. While he isn't from the area, Girard's Boo Timko (150) also has a chance.
They all trail 15-year-old Francesco Ruffino, from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and 17-year-old Andrew Wong, of Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Ruffino, playing in just his second American Junior Golf Association event, had sole possession of first place at 72-75-147 and Wong was alone in second at 73-76-149.
Eight players are within six shots of the lead and with water coming into play on 16 of the 18 holes and Red Tail's persistent winds, the boys competition is far from over.
Allison Harper, who played at Upper Arlington and is on her way to Marshall, remained in first place in the girls race with a round of 3-over 75 for a 36-hole total of 4 over 148. Minija Luo, of San Diego, is second at 150 and Linda Luo, of Florida, was third at 151.
The field of 117 was trimmed to the top 48 boys and 18 girls, plus ties. The magic number for the boys was 168 and 169 for the girls.
Titsworth, who will be a junior at St. Ignatius, was 2 under until the final hole when he made double bogey and turned a two-shot deficit into four. He pulled his drive into a fairway bunker and then clipped the upper branches of a dying tree, sending his ball into the creek that cuts the fairway in front of the green.
"I'm going to go out and cut that tree down," he said.
After making the turn at 1 over, Titsworth scrambled home with four birdies, two bogeys, two pars and the aforementioned double.
"That's nothing," he said. "I've had three birdies, three pars and three bogeys on that side before."
Ruffino, 12th in last week's Natural Resource Partners Bluegrass Junior in Ashland, Ky., had just one birdie en route to his 3-over 75.
"I struggled with my irons and missed a lot of greens," said Ruffino. "And, when I did hit the green I left myself a lot of 15-and 20-footers."
Canadian Andrew Kay scored the first hole-in-one of the tournament when his 5 iron tee shot on the 170-yard 12th landed in front of the green, took one hop and rolled into the hole in the back-right location.