DiLisio fifth at MGA Junior Amateur Championships

Steven DiLisio has enjoyed considerable success at the MGA Junior Amateur Championships over the years, winning five titles in the boys and pre-junior divisions. This year he was looking to make it six in a row, but it wasn?t in the cards.DiLisio finished fifth in the Junior Division with a 220 (73-74-73). The winner, Matthew Naumec (CC of Wilbraham), shot a 2-under 214 (69-75-70). Naumec hit the final round five strokes back, but shot a blistering 3-under-par over his final five holes to win by one stroke. The tournament was held at Nashawtuc Country Club in Concord.?I felt like I left a lot of shots out there,” DiLisio said. “I didn?t play my best, for sure. I didn?t putt as well as I would have liked and it was reflected in my scores.”DiLisio (The Item?s Player of the Year as a sophomore at St. John?s Prep this past year) has emerged as one of the top young golfers in the state. His St. John?s Prep team won the Division 1 state championship in the fall.The Salem Country Club member said on the first day of the tournament, the course was soft because of all the rain, but by the final day (Wednesday) it played fast.?It can play so much different from day to day,” he said. “You just play the best you can on any given day, whether a great score is even par or 4-under.”DiLisio, who is still eligible to play in the Junior Division one more year, said he really enjoys this tournament. “It?s a great-run tournament,” he said. “We (the junior golfers) get great treatment on great courses. It?s really well-run.”When DiLisio returns next summer, he?ll have a year at Phillips Exeter Academy under his belt. DiLisio said it was difficult to leave St. John?s Prep, but Phillips Exeter is a great opportunity for him. He?ll enter as a junior.?I definitely didn?t leave because I was unhappy,” he said. “I loved the (St. John?s Prep) environment. Larry O?Neill is a great head coach. I really enjoyed my two years playing for him. We won a state title this year. That was awesome. We had great team chemistry and we were all friends off the course.”DiLisio still has some golf to play this summer with two more American Junior Golf Association tournaments on tap. Both are national tournaments, in North Carolina and Delaware. He?ll also be playing for Team Massachusetts in the New England Junior Tournament at Ledgemont Country Club in Seekonk. When DiLisio isn?t playing golf, he?s caddying, primarily at Tedesco Country Club.Matthew Organisak (Nashawtuc CC) finished second with a 215. Andrew DiPetrillo (Blue Hill CC) and David Miccali (Ludlow CC) tied for third with a 219. Shawn MacBurnie, a golfer and hockey player at St. Mary?s, tied for 24th with a 231. He plays out of Ferncroft Country Club.