Neither James Bradley, 16, of Springs nor Michael Clifford-Levy, 15, of East Hampton has read Harvey Penick’s “Little Red Book,” though in recent days, following Penick’s dictum, they have taken dead aim.
Bradley, who has been a golf student at the Altitude Academy in Port Saint Lucie, Fla., the past two years — after having won Suffolk County’s individual championship as an East Hampton High School freshman — qualified earlier this month for the United States Golf Association’s national junior amateur tournament to be played at the Daniel Island Club in Charleston, S.C., from July 24 to 29.
Mike Clifford-Levy Photo
And on June 21, Clifford-Levy won the Long Island Golf Association’s boys championship at the Smithtown Landing Country Club, shooting an even-par 72, bettering his nearest opponent by two strokes — thanks largely, he said, to his chipping and putting. Two of the putts he sank, Clifford-Levy said, were 30-footers. Henry Riegger, an East Hampton Golf Club caddie, served as Clifford-Levy’s caddie that day. Later this summer, he will play in the 106th Met junior championship at the Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield, N.J., from July 17 to 19, and, from July 26 to 28, he’ll play in the New York State boys and girls junior golf championship at the Lake Placid Club.
“It was 100 percent my biggest win so far,” Clifford-Levy said by phone on Friday as he and his father were on their way to the Kerry Cup in Waterville, Ireland, a convocation of U.S. college coaches and accomplished high school golfers that will last from Sunday through Friday, July 7.
Bradley qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur in a tournament at the Pelham Country Club in Pelham Manor on June 6. Clifford-Levy played in that tourney too, falling short of qualifying for the Junior Amateur by one stroke.
Interestingly, Bradley — who as a 10-year-old would play so deep into the day at Poxabogue that his mother, Gina, bought him a headlamp so the course’s staffers could see him when it got dark in the fall — vied in a five-hole playoff for the last two qualifying spots at Pelham in the dark.
He was facing a six-foot downhill putt for par on the 17th hole when play was suspended because of thunderstorm activity. Following a three-hour wait, he sank that putt, and went on to par the 18th, which got him into the playoff.
“It was a nail-biter,” said his mother, who accompanied him to an interview at The Star last week. “It was so dark you couldn’t see a thing. Finally, on the fifth hole, James parred and the other kid, a boy from Quebec, bogeyed. It was really intense, really good golf.”
His game has improved a lot, Bradley said, since he and this writer last talked after he’d won the county championship in April 2021 — thus joining Zach Grossman and Turner Foster as the only Bonac golfers ever to win a county individual title. He was driving 260 to 270 yards now on average, and his short game, he said, was good.
Clive McCann, Bradley’s Altitude Academy instructor, said of him in an email: “I have been teaching for many years and I have only met a handful of students as hard-working and dedicated as James Bradley. There are not enough hours in the day for this young man with regard to playing and practicing his golf game. I have no doubt that James will reach his dreams and goals for college and as a professional. It’s been great to watch him blossom daily in all areas of his life and golf game.”
Brendan Creagh, Clifford-Levy’s coach at the Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Mass., where he just finished his freshman year, said in an email that “Michael is a fantastic young man and an excellent ball striker. And when his putter gets hot he has the ability to shoot low scores. . . . He never rushes the down-swing, so he has an effortless and powerful move to the ball. There’s no question that Michael’s best golf is in front of him. He was an exceptionally impactful player as a ninth grader. He works tirelessly on his game, and I expect to see him atop many more leaderboards in the future!”
The 75th Junior Amateur, a number of whose winners went on to successful careers as touring professionals, is to have a field of 264 from among the 4,000 or so who played in qualifiers around the world.
Asked if he still aimed to play on the pro tour, Bradley, who is working in the Montauk Downs pro shop this summer, quickly replied in the affirmative.
He would have said the same thing when he was hitting balls in the dark at Poxabogue.
“He’s chasing his passion,” Scott Bradley said of his 10-year-old son, who, when his father asked him what his dreams were, replied, “I want to win the Masters . . . I want to win three or four majors, and I want to be in the top 10 in the world.”
“Those are good dreams,” his father had said.
“No, Dad, those are goals,” he responded James said.