Romanov helps Philadelphia PGA juniors claim Jon M. Pritsch Cup

   Nikita Romanov of Wilmington, Del. started playing solid golf when the spring portion of the 2016-2017 Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour teed off in the chill of March and it’s been that way ever since.

   It was team week for Romanov, who capped his week by helping a team of 12 Philadelphia Section PGA juniors claim a 13.5-4.5 victory over a dozen junior standouts from the New Jersey Section PGA in the 11^th Jon M. Pritsch Cup, presented by Under Armour, Friday at Sunnybrook Golf Club in Whitemarsh Township.

   It was Team Philadelphia's third straight victory in the Jon M. Pritsch Cup after New Jersey had swept the first eight editions of the event.

   The Jon M Pritsch Cup is named for a standout junior golfer who died at age 17 of heart disease in 1991. The Jon M. Pritsch Memorial Fund, started by Pritsch’s parents, has awarded more than $200,000 in scholarships to junior golfers planning to pursue a career in a golf-related field. Each of the 24 players is encouraged to apply for a scholarship.

   Earlier in the week, Romanov teamed with the Barbin brothers, Austin and Zachary, and Danny Dougherty on a Delaware team that finished fourth in the 54^th A. Fred Williamson Cup, a competition that featured teams from all over the Mid-Atlantic region and was played at the Pittsburgh Field Club.

   Romanov got to go up against top-level junior competition on two great golf courses. It’s how you get better.

   Earlier this summer, Romanov teed it up in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship at Spring-Ford Country Club. He qualified for match play and gave eventual champion Dawson Anders all he wanted, the match going to the 18^th hole before Anders pulled out a 2-up decision.

   The teams matched up in foursomes at Sunnybrook with singles and four-ball matches contested simultaneously.

   Team Philadelphia swept all six four-ball matches, but the guys and gals from Jersey battled. Four of the six matches weren’t decided until the 18^th hole.

   Romanov teamed with the older of Norristown’s Ryan brothers, Caleb, and they claimed a 2-up decision over TJ Terpanick of Colonia, N.J. and Ryan Fitzsimmons of North Haledon, N.J.

   Romanov accounted for the half-point in the final score as he and Terpanick battled to a draw in their singles match. Caleb Ryan cruised to a 7 and 5 decision over Fitzsimmons, helping Team Philadelphia to a 7.5-4.5 edge in the singles matches.

   The younger of the Ryan brothers, Joshua, teamed with Win Thomas of Unionville to earn a 3 and 2 victory over Garrett Kessler of North Caldwell, N.J. and Derek Weaver of Hackettstown, N.J. Dylan Gooneratne of Plymouth Meeting and Jack Cooley of Chadds Ford held on for a 2-up win over Max Sorger of Montclair, N.J. and Bennett Knowles of West Orange, N.J.

   Central Bucks East junior Patrick Sheehan and Logan Paczewski of Dallas rolled to a 5 and 3 victory over Dean Cerimido of Glen Ridge, N.J. and Edmund Broderick of Bayonne, N.J. Alec Ryden of Moorestown, N.J. and Thomas Butler of Telford edged Lucas Artigliere of Madison, N.J. and Brian Li of Warren, N.J., 1-up.

    And Philly girls Grace Hickey of Downingtown and Wissahickon Middle School seventh-grader Elizabeth Beek claimed a narrow 1-up decision over Jersey girls Emma Lee of Englewood Cliffs, N.J. and Zara Jacob of Sumnit, N.J.

   In addition to Caleb Ryan’s singles win and the draw for Romanov, Team Philadelphia got singles wins from Paczewski, Ryden, Gooneratne, Sheehan, Cooley and Hickey.

   New Jersey’s singles winners were Li,  Kessler, Weaver and Jacob, who pulled out a hard-fought 2 and 1 decision over Beek in one of the feature matches of the day.