R.J. Derhodge has six top-three finishes, including three wins, in seven tour stops
Jul 31, 2018 by Bernd Franke - Niagara Falls Review
R.J. Derhodge remains on course to end his third year on the Niagara District Junior Golf Tour as the boys under-19 champion.
With three stops remaining on the 10-event tour, the Grand Niagara member tops the standings with 702.5 points. Lookout Point's Ethan Siebert is second with 655.6 points, while Matt Gibson, also from Lookout Point, so far has amassed 600 points, good enough for third in the standings.
Derhodge's three tour victories — all in a row — is tops in the division, ahead of Siebert, with two, one official, one unofficial; and Bridgewater's Mike Athoe, one victory each.
On this summer's tour the 17-year-old from Niagara Falls has been faring well on the fairways, even when he didn't top the leaderboard. Before reeling off first-place finishes at Rolling Meadows, Grand Niagara and Willodell, he finished regulation at the tour opener at Rockway Vineyard one stroke behind Gibson who went on beat Andrew Scott in a playoff.
Derhodge and Luke Delgobbo each carded a 5-over-par 77 at Lookout Point, finishing tied for second three strokes behind Siebert on his home course.
Derhodge and Blake McGowan, each with a 4-over 76, were tied for third, five strokes back of Nolan Piazza, the unofficial winner, and two back of Siebert, the official winner, when the tour visited Legends on the Niagara's Usshers Creek layout.
An 8-over 80, for seventh overall, at Twenty Valley so far has been Derhodge's only finish out of the top three on this year's junior tour.
Derhodge, who is going into Grade 12 at Saint Michael Catholic High School, hopes to earn an athletic scholarship to a U.S. program, preferably somewhere in the south. His first choice would be University of Arizona.
"So I can play all year round," he said.
While Piazza earned the win playing as a guest and as the defending Ontario junior champion at Legends, Siebert was awarded 120 points for the victory as the tour regular.