Denny McCarthy Shoots 1-Under at Thunderbird, Tied for 11th

Denny McCarthy of Burtonsville, MD carded a first round 1-under at the AJGA’s Thunderbird International Junior.  The 54-hole, stroke play invitational tournament is being played at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ.  The course plays to a par 72 for both the Boys and Girls Divisions.  The Boys play 7112 yards and the Girls play 6275 yards.  There were six players tied for 5th at 2-under.  The first round leader, Anthony Paolucci of Del Mar, CA, was in the clubhouse at six under.  The number one player in the country, Jordan Spieth of Dallas, TX was tied for 2nd at 3-under.  A little note on Spieth. He is a 16-year old junior (2011) who finished tied for 16th in last week’s 2010 Byron Nelson Championship.  He is also the reigning 2009 US Junior Amateur Champion.  McCarthy finished tied for 17th at the US Junior.  The point here is that McCarthy has clearly stepped up to the highest level of junior play and is in the mix with the top players in the country (world).

McCarthy is a junior at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, MD.  His current Polo Golf Ranking of 32 makes him a top player in the country as well as the highest ranked player in the DC Metro Area.  His summer schedule is likely to be awfully busy.  Hopefully, we can keep up with him.   Here is another article on Denny from last summer that chronicled his summer success.

And, here is a link to the complete first round recap.  If you want to keep track of Denny’s play as well as all the other competitors, checkout the FootJoy Live Scoring here.