Lewis beats Ryden in playoff for Elite Tour win at Makefield Highlands

   Tommy Lewis of Doylestown made a birdie on the second hole of a playoff to finish first in the 13-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour Precision Pro Elite Tour event Wednesday at Makefield Highlands Golf Club in Yardley.

   Lewis fired a 2-under 70 over the 6,516-yard, par-72 Makefield Highlands layout Wednesday, which combined with an opening-round 71, left him with a 3-under 141 total. Alec Ryden of Moorestown, N.J. added a sparkling 4-under 68 to his opening-round 73 to catch Lewis at 141.

   After both players parred the first hole of the playoff, Lewis came up with a birdie on the second hole, the par-5 ninth at Makefield Highlands, to take the title.

   Andrew Gallagher of Mount Laurel, N.J. finished up with a 2-under 70 to take third at 2-under 142. Another shot back in fourth at 1-under 143 was Frederick Hammer of Wayne. Hammer also posted a 2-under 70 Wednesday.

   Noah Schwartz of Cherry Hill, N.J. had grabbed the opening-round lead with a 70 Tuesday, but fell back with a 75 to finish in a tie for fifth at 1-over 145. Earlier in the week, the 16-year-old junior at Penn Charter lost in a playoff in the Jock MacKenzie Memorial at Sandy Run Country Club.   Schwartz was joined at 145 by Ryan Tall of Collegeville, who added a 74 to his opening-round 71.

   Nicholas Scott (74-73) of Harleysville and J.T. Spina (72-75) of Schwenksville finished in a tie for seventh at 3-over 147. Akhil Giri of Moorestown, N.J. had rounds of 78 and 70 to finish alone in ninth place at 4-over 148.

   Rounding out the top 10 were Episcopal Academy sophomore Michael Zeng of Downingtown and Buddy Hansen IV of Blue Bell, who finished in a tie for 10^th at 5-over 149. Zeng and Hansen both matched par with 72s Wednesday.

   Chloe Niu of Gladwyne was the only entrant in the girls 13-to-18 division and claimed the title with rounds of 93 and 85 for a 178 total. Makefield Highlands measured 5,833 yards for Niu.

   Nick Beckish of Clarks Summit was also unopposed in the men’s 17-to-24 division and won the title with rounds of 78 and 74 for a 152 total.

   Maddie Sager, who was the runnerup in the PIAA Class AAA Tournament as a senior at Owen J. Roberts last fall, fired an impressive 3-under 69 to top the field in the women’s 17-to-24 division with a 3-over 147 total.

   Sager, who had five birdies in her round, had opened with a 78 Tuesday.

   Hannah Fireman of Ambler was the runnerup with rounds of 81 and 83 for a 164 total. Annalia Kostow of Lebanon had rounds of 83 and 96 to finish third at 179 and Samantha Thompson of Doylestown had rounds of 93 and 90 to finish fourth at 183.

   Elite Tour sponsor Precision Pro also awarded a rangefinder to the player who hit it closest to the pin at the par-3 17^th and A.J. Adams of Malvern was the winner as he stiffed it to one foot, seven inches.