June 20, 2009

ELVERSON, Pa. – After losing five out of the first seven holes of the 36-hole match play championship, Kentucky junior golfer James Kania, couldn’t fight off the slow start and fell to Conrad Von Borsig, 6-and-4, in the 109th Philadelphia Amateur Championship, Saturday at Stonewall.
 
After the first 18 holes of golf Saturday, which was suspended for a short amount of time after the first seven holes due to rain, Von Borsig led Kania by seven holes and stayed in command of the match the rest of the way. Von Borsig then won the 19th hole to take his lead to eight, which all but wrapped up the first amateur title of his young career.
 
Kania, who was also in search for his first amateur title of his career, started to play better golf after the rain delay, paring seven straight holes before posting a bogey on the par-three 17th. On the final 18 holes, Kania started to get his game going, cutting Von Borsig’s lead in half to four after winning the 29th hole. Von Borsig claimed a share of the tournament title after he won the 31st hole and was five holes up with only five holes to go. When Kania then lost the 32nd hole, Von Borsig claimed the title outright.    
 
Heading into the championship round, Kania was hoping to make history. If the native of Haverford, Pa., had won the title it would have marked only the first father-son combination to win the 109-year old tournament. James’s father, James Kania Sr., won the title in 1995. Although Kania did not win the title Saturday, his appearance in the final marked only the second time that a father-son duo have both played in the championships final round.
 
Kania played in 29 rounds as a sophomore for the Wildcats during the 2008-2009 season, posting a season-stroke average of 74.65. Last year, as a sophomore, Kania had a season-low round of 69 at the Schenkel E-Z Go Invitational. Kania gathered three top-15 finishes on the year including placing sixth at the Jacksonville University Invitational. The former Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Player of the Year in 2004, he played some of his best golf late in the season finishing in the top-30 in two of his last three tournaments including placing tied for 27th at the NCAA Regional.
 
Blann, Fuqua at the Top

Fresh off impressive individual performances at the 2009 AT&T Kentucky State Amateur Championship, Jordan Blann and 2008-2009 senior Ben Fuqua, sit first and second, respectfully on the Kentucky Golf Association Player of the Year leader board.
 
Blann, a 2009-10 senior and native of Bowling Green, Ky., picked up leads with a total of 150 points so far this summer gathering 125 points for winning the State-Am title and 25 points for his play in U.S. Open qualifying. Blann sits 50 points ahead of Fuqua, his former teammate at Kentucky.
 
A native of Danville, Ky., Fuqua has totaled 100 points on the season with 50 coming in his top-five finish at the State-Am and the other fifty coming in qualifying rounds for the U.S. Open. Fuqua is 20 points ahead of Crit Reddick who sits in third place with 80 points.