With little help, Strang wins

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Among the spectators watching Bethesda’s Wes Strang in the Bobby Gorin Memorial Thursday was his swing coach Steve Bosdosh. But Strang wasn’t about to receive any tips. His opponent in the 14-15 Division final was Bosdosh’s son, Sean.

After Strang’s 1 up victory in a competitive, well-played match at Woodmont Country Club, Steve Bosdosh had reason to be proud — of his student and his son.

“Either way I would have had one of my students win,” quipped Bosdosh, an acclaimed teaching pro whose tips appear in Sports Illustrated and Golf Magazine. “Wes is the best junior in the state, and that’s at age 15. I was happy to see Sean take him to 18 [holes].”

Steve Bosdosh dispenses his knowledge to many of the top players in the area, including some who live in his Clarksburg home — wife Deborah, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the Maryland Women’s Amateur this week, daughter Stephanie, an emerging junior player, and sons Stephen, 17, and Sean, 15.

On Thursday Sean was on the verge of winning the title, leading 1 up after 16 holes. But on No. 17, Bosdosh hit his drive into a fairway bunker and made a bogey. On No. 18, a par 5, Bosdosh hooked a 4-iron lay up under a tree, then hit his approach over the green.

“I got a little fast. That’s my problem,” said Bosdosh, a home-schooled freshman who competes for Covenant Life. “But give Wes credit. He made a great birdie on 18.”

Strang, a sophomore this fall at Georgetown Prep, overpowered the 561-yard finishing hole, blasting a 305-yard drive to the middle of the fairway, then a 250-yard 3 wood to the fringe. His 6-foot birdie putt ended an afternoon of frustration on the greens. He had missed four putts inside 10 feet on the previous nine holes.

“Inside 50 yards is Wes’s weakness. He knows that,” said Steve Bosdosh, the pro at Four Streams. “I was playing in front of him at the state open. He hit every shot within 15 feet and he shot even par. If he can get his short game together, he’s shooting 66s.”

With the birdie on No. 18, Strang got the lead for the first time in the match. Bosdosh took a 1 up lead on No. 9 when he chipped in. It stayed that way until Bosdosh hit two balls in the water on No. 15, a par 3. But Bosdosh got it right back with a birdie at No. 16 — hitting a hybrid from 200 yards out to within 15 feet.

Other Gorin matches

» In the 16-17 Division, Timonium’s Church Waesche took a 5 up lead in the first seven holes and cruised to a 3 and 1 victory over Ersin Levent (Landon).

» In the 13-and-under Division, Jordan Sweet (Glen Dale) defeated Keegan Boone (Bethesda) 2 and 1.

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