Lees wins Pennsylvania Junior Girls' crown for a third time; Bacha takes Boys' title

   The record will show that Kaitlyn Lees was the best junior golfer of her era in Pennsylvania.

   The recent Agnes Irwin graduate could have made a pretty decent case for that claim even before the 2018 Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship, presented by LECOM, with two titles, a runnerup finish and a fifth-place finish.

   But Tuesday the Dartmouth-bound Lees, playing out of Philadelphia Country Club, made it undeniable by capturing her third Pennsylvania Junior title in four years with a two-shot victory over a top-notch field at Hershey Country Club’s East Course.

   Lees carved out a second straight 2-over-par 73 over the 5,707-yard, par-71 Hershey East layout for a 4-over 146 total that was two shots better than defending champion Rylie Heflin, a Tower Hill School sophomore who plays out of Hartefeld National Golf Club. Heflin, who had matched par in the opening round with a 71, slipped back with a 77 to take second at 6-over 148.

   In addition to beating the defending champion, Lees bettered Heflin’s Tower Hill teammate Jennifer Cleary, who plays out of Applecross Country Club and is one of the top junior players in this part of the country, and reigning PIAA Class AAA champion Lauren Freyvogel, a Pine Richland senior who plays out of Treesdale Golf & Country Club.

   Cleary finished sixth at 152 after adding a 78 to her opening-round 74 and Freyvogel was eighth at 156 after posting a 79 Tuesday.

   Hershey East played tough Tuesday, but that only played into the hands of Lees. Her combination of talent and mental toughness were on display in the final round. Starting on the back nine, Lees made bogeys on 11 and 12. She grinded her way to seven straight pars before a bogey at two made her 3-over for the round.

   But Lees knocked a 54-degree wedge to two feet for a birdie at the fifth. Then she made a winning shot that was oddly similar to the one she hit to win her third Inter-League title last month at Gulph Mills Golf Club’s par-5 seventh hole.

   Lees had 174 yards into the par-5 sixth hole at Hershey East and ripped a 4-hybrid to 10 feet. She dropped the curling putt for eagle – she made eagle at Gulph Mills’ seventh in the Inter-Ac Championship -- and was suddenly even for the round. Lees had enough of a cushion to get away with a bogey at the seventh and a bogey at the ninth, where her tee shot found the water.

   “When I started playing in this tournament five years ago, I was a runnerup in my first one of these,” Lees told the Pennsylvania Golf Association (PAGA) website. “That was such a huge confidence boost for me. I really enjoyed coming back here because the course is always great and so is the competition. To be able to close out one final time means a lot to me.”

   Butler Country Club’s Caroline Wrigley and Saucon Valley Country Club’s Julia McLaughlin finished tied for third, two shots behind Heflin at 150. Wrigley, a senior at North Allegheny who finished third in the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall, carded a second straight 75 while McLaughlin added a 74 to her opening-round 76.

   Lydia Swan of Lake View Country Club added a 77 to her opening-round 74 to finish alone in fifth at 151, a shot ahead of Cleary in sixth.

   Danae Rugola of Uniontown Country Club finished seventh at 155 as she improved by five shots from her opening-round 80 with a 75, a shot better than Freyvogel.

   Elizabeth Beek, an eighth-grader who plays out of Bluestone Country Club, added a 79 to her opening-round 80 to finish alone in ninth at 159.

   Rounding out the top 10 were Natasha Kiel of Jericho National Golf Club and Ellen Wager of Overlook Golf Course as they shared 10^th place at 160. Kiel had her second straight 80 while Wager, a Manheim Township senior who finished fifth in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship, added an 83 to her opening-round 77.

   Cleary teamed up with Liddie McCook, the Downingtown East senior who was the runnerup to Freyvogel in the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall, to bring the team championship back to Applecross. McCook matched Cleary’s 78 Tuesday as Applecross added a 156 to its opening-round 157 for a 313 total that was 14 shots better than runnerup Uniontown. It was the second straight team crown for Applecross.

   On the boys side, Central York junior Carson Bacha carded a second straight even-par 71 on a Hershey East layout that measures 6,743 yards for the guys for a 142 total that gave him a two-shot victory.

   And much like Lees, Bacha had to beat a really tough field to claim his first Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ crown.

   Joshua Ryan, who will be a sophomore on the Norristown High golf team this fall, and Central Bucks East senior Patrick Sheehan, shared second place at 2-over 144. Ryan, a PAGA individual member, had his second straight 72 while the talented Sheehan, who plays out of Talamore Country Club, had the best round of the tournament, a 4-under 68, after opening with a 76.

   Two of the three players tied for fourth at 3-over 145 come out of Huntingdon Valley Country Club’s Isztwan family.

   Younger brother Patrick Isztwan, a Penn Charter sophomore who is the reigning Bert Linton Inter-Ac League individual champion, had grabbed the opening-round lead with a 1-under 70, but slipped back with a 75. Older brother Brian Isztwan, a recent Penn Charter graduate who is headed for Harvard, added a 72 to his opening-round 73.

   Joining Team Isztwan in the trio tied for fourth was Garrett Engle of the Country Club of Harrisburg, who added a 73 to his opening-round 72.

   Playing in the same group with his younger brother Joshua, Caleb Ryan, who will be a senior on the Norristown High golf team this fall, finished tied for seventh at 5-over 147. Caleb Ryan, also a PAGA individual member, added a 75 to his opening-round 72.

   Caleb Ryan was joined at 147 by Jack Irons of Makefield Highlands Golf Club. Irons improved by three shots from his opening-round 75 with a 1-over 72.

   Llanerch Country Club’s Joseph Morganti, a sophomore at St. Joseph’s Prep, headed a group of four players tied for ninth at 6-over 148. After opening with a 76, Morganti fired a solid 1-over 72 Tuesday.

   Joining Morganti at 148 was a trio of western Pennsylvania standouts, including Oakmont Country Club’s Jimmy Meyers, who finished fourth in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a junior at Pittsburgh Central Catholic last fall, Latrobe senior Brady Pevarnik, who plays out of Hannastown Golf Club, and Pine Richland senior Donnie Professori, a PAGA individual member.

All three of them played well Tuesday with Meyers carding a 2-over 73, Pevarnik posting a 1-over 72 and Professori signing for a second straight 74.

   Capping a pretty remarkable June in 13^th place was Spring-Ford Country Club’s Ryan Tall, a recent Conestoga graduate who added a 73 to his opening-round 76 for a 149 total. Tall, who is headed for Lafayette, reached the semifinals of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club two weeks ago and then captured the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 104^th Junior Boys’ Championship at Blue Bell Country Club last week.

   The Isztwan brothers teamed with Frankie Gregor to bring a state team trophy back to Huntingdon Valley. Gregor added a 79 to Brian Isztwan’s 72 and Patrick Isztwan’s 75 to give Huntingdon Valley a second straight 226 for a 452 total.

   Tall and a Spring-Ford team that included Ben Pochet (74), a two-time District One Class AAA champion at Spring-Ford, recent Pope John Paul II graduate J.T. Spina (73) and Hill School senior Drew Steinmetz (79, which Spring-Ford was able to toss) made a big push with a final-round 220, but came up a shot short at 453.

   Benjamin Saggers, who has honed his game on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour, made up a seven-shot deficit with a sparkling 1-under 65 at the 4,250-yard, par-66 Spring Grove Golf Club layout to take the Junior-Junior crown with a 10-over 142 total.

   Andrew Bilson of Bent Creek Country Club had opened with a 70, but had to settle for second despite a solid 75, at 145, three shots behind Saggers.

   Megan Adelman of Bala Golf Club cruised to the girls’ Junior-Junior crown, adding a 70 to her opening round of 1-over 67 for a 5-over 137 total. Hannah Barrett of Chambersburg Country Club improved eight shots from her opening-round 86 with a 78 to  take runnerup honors with a 164 total.