Time for golf – in some spots

Likely you’re still thawing out from a blast of brutal winter cold and a look out your window would hardly support the notion that golf is being played. But it is – in warmer locales, of course – and a few golfers with New England connections wisely traveled south.

At the Boys’ Junior Orange Bowl in Coral Gables, Fla., John Broderick of Wellesley shot 72-70-7-74 to finished joint 11th. A senior at Belmont Hill, Broderick is committed to Vanderbilt in the fall of 2002.

The New Year’s Invitational in St. Petersburg, Fla., former Harvard golfer Rij Patel finished T-28 after rounds of 69-74-76-71.

A healthy contingent of women made the trip to play in the South Atlantic Women’s Amateur, affectionally called “The Sally.” Meiyi Yan, a Havard sophomore, and Molly Smith of Vesper CC each shot 309 to finish in a tie for 25th. Boston College’s Canice Screene, a sophomore from England, shot 313 to finish T-31, and Catie Scherneker of Harvard, the reigning Massachusetts Women Amateur champion, was tied for 50th with a 323 total. Allison Paik, a Rhode Island native who plays at Columbia, finished at 326, while Morgan Smith, Molly’s sister, and Tara-Joy Connelly, the Duxbury native who now lives in Florida, were in a large group tied at 327.