Newburgh brothers take top spots in Section 9 golf

By Mike Zummo
Posted 6/16/21

 

A pair of Newburgh brothers finished first and second at the Section 9 golf championships on June 2 at the Stony Ford Golf Course.

Although they golfed in different groups, Newburgh Free …

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Newburgh brothers take top spots in Section 9 golf

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A pair of Newburgh brothers finished first and second at the Section 9 golf championships on June 2 at the Stony Ford Golf Course.

Although they golfed in different groups, Newburgh Free Academy freshman Mark Yan finished Stony Ford with a score of 71 with his seventh-grade brother, Josh, taking second four strokes behind him at 75.

“Our goal coming into the sectional tournament was to go 1 and 2,” Mark Yan said. “If I were to win, he’d get second place, and if he were to win, I’d get second place.”

Obviously, a goal doesn’t necessarily guarantee the result, but the brothers found a way to make it happen.

The brothers were split up, as Mark golfed with John S. Burke Catholic’s Jackson Hoovler and Spackenkill’s Luke Whalen, while Josh was grouped with Warwick’s John Solari and FDR’s Mike Bucholsky.

The brothers were tied after the first nine holes at 38 strokes each and Solari, who ultimately finished third with a 77 held a two-stroke lead at 36.

However, fortunes changed on Hole No. 11, where Mark Yan, outdid both his brother and Solari. Mark shot a five, while Josh shot a 6. Solari struggled the most there with a nine, giving the brothers some breathing room and the eventual top 2 finishes.

“We were pretty happy and excited for each other,” Josh Yan said. “We saw our parents, and they were happy, too.”

Mark, was enjoying his first sectional champion, and the first Newburgh champion since Kevin Golden in 1975.

Mark Yan’s goal for this year was to have a successful state tournament. The COVID-19 pandemic took that off the table for two seasons. It canceled his eighth-grade season in 2020 and the condensed nature of the 2020-21 sports seasons resulted in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association canceling the 2021 state championships.

The state tournament is expected to return next year.

“My goal for this year was to do good at states because I expected myself to get to states because I know how I’m playing,” Mark Yan said. “But COVID hit and that really stunk, but we were lucky to have a golf season. Once we found out we would have sections, I thought I had a good chance of winning it.”
Josh, meanwhile, had less lofty expectations.

“For my first, year, it was a good experience, I wanted to try it out and see how I would do,” Josh said. “I didn’t expect myself to win sections. I hoped I did, but I didn’t think I was going to because I was playing with seniors, sophomores and older kids. I think this year was more of an experience year.”

The brothers have plenty of experience. They were hockey players at ages 7 and 5 when their stepfather introduced them to golf, a sport that appealed to them and for which they were a better fit due to their smaller size.

“It’s really a mental sport and a physical sport at the same time,” Mark Yan said. “You have to make sure you’re staying focused.”

Right now, they’re focused on what’s ahead as they have two big tournaments coming up over the summer. The first is the Dutchess County Amateur Tournament in the middle of July and then, they have the World Championship tournament in July, which brings about 100 kids from around the world.

And next year, they’re looking forward to having a more normal high school season, one that starts in March and culminates in a trip to the state championships.

“My expectations should be pretty high and my expectation to do good is very hard because of how much we practice and how much work we put in,” Mark Yan said.

Section 9 Championships
Wednesday, June 2 (Stony Ford)
1. Mark Yan (Newburgh) 71; 2. Josh Yan (Newburgh) 75; 3. John Solari (Warwick) 77; 4. Jack Landau (Warwick) 77; 5. Oliver Watson (New Paltz) 78; 6. Jackson Hoovler (Burke Catholic) 79; 7. Adam Grady (Onteora) 80; 8. Andrew Hahn (Cornwall) 80; 9. Luke Whalen (Spackenkill) 81; 10. Ben Fox (Saugerties) 81; 11. Aman Patel (Cornwall) 81; 12. Nathan Brown (Pine Bush) 81; 13. Nick Cirulli (Port Jervis) 81; 14. Liam Maloney (Washingtonville) 82; 15. Micah Fox (Kingston) 83; 16. Brendan Boudreau (Warwick) 84; 17. Brendan Geddes (Cornwall) 87; 18. Ori Grady (Onteora) 88; 19. Loyal Goodermote (New Paltz) 89; 20. Adam Williams (Onteora) 90; 21. Mike Bucholsky (FDR) 91; 20. Colin Reichelt (Rhinebeck) 91; 21. Ike Rothman (FDR) 92; 22. Luc Boudreau (Warwick) 93; 23. Avery Burns (Onteora) 99; 24. Andrew Tanous (Minisink Valley) 99; 25. Gavin Clarke (Tri-Valley) 103