AJ Colonna Ready for U.S. Junior Amateur
Rhode Island’s AJ Colonna is set to tee off at the U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley on Monday afternoon.
Colonna got into the tournament after winning the Rhode Island Boys Junior Amateur last summer.
“It’s awesome. It’s kind everything you work for to playin in a big time tournament like this. I have my own locker, registration was really cool. Usage does a tremendous job of putting this together,” Colonna told GolfNewsRI over the phone following a practice round.
Colonna arrived at the course on Friday morning and both walked and played the host courses.
“It’s a big time golf course, a proper golf course and a good test,” said Colonna.
The stroke play portion of the tournament will be played at the Old Course and Grace Course at Saucon Valley.
Once match play begins, the tournament will shift to the Old Course.
“It’s going to be challenging, really thick rough, tough bunkers, undulating greens. Going to be a grind and a battle out there especially with the rain. Not sure if there are going to be crazy low scores, but it should be fun,” added Colonna.
There will be two rounds of stroke play with the top 64 players advancing to match play.
“Obviously the goal is to make match play. I don’t need to do anything crazy. Just keep the ball in front of you. If you end up making match play, then you can be more aggressive. Until then try to make as many fairways as possible,” said Colonna.
Colonna gets his tournament started at 2:05 p.m. on the Grace Course, alongside Milton Kromydas and Juan Saavedra.
Scouting the Courses
Saucon Valley hosted the 2022 U.S. Senior Open and the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur before that.
According to the USGA, the Old Course will play as a par 71 and a 7,082 yards, while the Grace Course will play at a par 70 and at 6,954 yards.
“It’s similar to a lot of courses in Rhode Island. Being at Rhode Island Country Club has helped me prepare for the thick long rough. Nothing compared to the rough in Florida,” said Colonna.
The Old Course consists of three par-5s and four par-3s, which all play a little less than 200 yards.
There is also a 500 yard par-4 and a 617 yard par-5.
Meanwhile, the Grace Course consists of two par-5s and three par-3s.
One of those par-3s is the third hole and it will play at 275 yards.
Overall, this will be the fourth U.S. Junior Amateur to be played in Pennsylvania.
Other Notables in Field
Other notables in the field include Bryant University commit Thomas Constantine, who teed off for his first round this morning.
Constantine fire a six-over 76 in his first round.
Also, Brown University’s Michael Clifford-Levy is in the field as well.