Liberty’s Vital wedges way to medalist honors
Michael Vital stood over a 6-foot slider from right to left on the 18th green Monday at Olde Homestead Golf Club.
The Liberty sophomore needed to make it to secure a par-4 and a par-72 round.
Vital gave a subtle fist pump when the ball curled in the hole to secure medalist honors at the District 11 Class 3A golf qualifier.
More importantly, the evenpar score moved Vital one step closer to his goal.
“I just want to qualify,” he said of the PIAA Championships, which are later this month at York’s Heritage Hills Golf Resort.
Vital led a group of 16 Class 3A qualifiers into Wednesday’s district tournament at Steel Club in Hellertown. He’ll be joined by Liberty teammates Jimmy Barker (80), Ryan Evans (80), Jase Barker (81) plus automatic qualifier Matt Vital, his brother.
“I just kept trying to make pars,” Vital said after bogeys at Nos. 1 and 5.
Returning state qualifiers and those who finished among the top five in scoring average during the season automatically qualified for the district Class 3A event. The top five finishers and ties from last week’s Colonial League tournament also qualify for the 2A tournament.
Vital said his wedges allowed him to make several up-anddowns for par, including his sand wedge on No. 18, when his 7-iron left him short-sided in the left bunker. He also said his irons overall were solid during Monday’s round.
Sitting at 2-over through five holes, the Hurricane found himself under a tree and on a few rocks on No. 6, the third-hardest hole on the course.
“I had to hit a fade out of the rocks,” he said, “and I hit it perfectly. It went straight at the pin and ended up 10 feet short.”
Vital made the par, then birdied the par-4 seventh hole to continue the momentum. He got it back to even par on the par-4 11th hole thanks to a stellar approach to a narrow green guarded by bunkers on both sides and water on the right.
“I had 69 yards in,” he recalled. “The plan was to land it 65 yards and let it roll out. That’s what happened, and I had 10 feet left.”
Vital birdied the 11th, then rebounded from a bogey on the par-4 14th with a birdie on the tough, uphill, par-4 15th before parring the last three holes.
The Liberty sophomore is counting on his course knowledge Wednesday to make it to states, where his brother finished 36th last season as a freshman.
“My friend is a member so I’ve gotten to play there a lot,” he said. “I feel like I can play a straighter ball instead of a fade or draw.”
Nazareth is well represented with district 3A qualifiers after T.J. Bohl (74), Ethan Honsil (78), Owen Fahs (79), Aiden Greenberg (80) and Chase Skrapits (80) all finished in the top seven.
Coll in Wong had four birdies, but had to sweat out the last 30 minutes or so after his tee shot on No. 18 was not found in the left f es cue. He had to re-tee, and finished with a double-bogey six but made the cut ontheline with an82.
Pleasant Valley’s Mary Scully shot 92 to lead the 3A girls qualifiers. She made an eagle-2 on the
par-4 sixth when she knocked in her approach shot with a hybrid club from 160 yards.
Northampton’s Madison Salter and Bangor’s Natalie White shot 94s to finish two shots back. Pocono Mountain West’s Ashlyn McCormick and Whitehall’s Kristine Landis each had two birdies and advanced with 96 and 100, respectively.
All girls who shot 110 or better advanced. Emmaus’ Michelle Cox, who was fourth last year at states and Moravian Academy’s Grace Sanborn, who repeated as Colonial League champion, were automatic qualifiers.
In 2A boys, Central Catholic’s Charlie Long and Aaron Janis were 1-2. Palmerton’s Derek Rea will join automatic qualifying teammates Tyler Hager, Josh
Suto and Connor Reinhard after tied with Janis with an 80.
Moravian Academy’s Joe Smith and Sebby Holbrook also qualified.
Those competing for the district team title are: (3A) Liberty, Stroudsburg, Blue Mountain and Lehighton; (2A) Palmerton, Moravian Academy, Mahanoy Area and Weatherly.