Haverford School junior Charlie Baker has been solid all
summer long on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour and elsewhere.
Friday, he fired a 1-under-par 69 on Philmont Country Club’s
short, but challenging South Course to cruise to a three-shot victory in a
Junior Tour Precision Pro Golf Open event, which offers Junior Golf Scoreboard
points.
Baker opened the two-day Precision Pro Golf Open event with
a solid 3-over 73 over the tougher 6,604-yard North Course at Philmont
Thursday. When he bettered par with his 69 on the 5,309-yard, par-70 South
Course Friday, it gave Baker a 36-hole total of 2-over 142.
Baker was a key figure in The Haverford School’s run to a
championship in a very balanced and competitive Inter-Ac League last fall.
Baker’s 2-under 34 at Merion Golf Club’s West Course led the way in the final
invitational of the Inter-Ac regular season that helped the Fords nail down the
league title.
Baker showed that same kind of competitiveness at Philmont.
His opening-round 73 trailed Jack Reid of Medford, N.J. in the overall 13-to-18
scoring as Reid, a 13-to-15 entry, fired an outstanding 1-under 69 on the North
Course.
But Baker had four birdies Friday at the South Course to run
away with a win in both the overall 13-to-18 scoring and in the 16-to-18
division. The Junior Tour scores its regular divisions in addition to the
overall 13-to-18 scoring.
Hayden Moffat of Hatboro had the best round of the day in
Friday’s second round, a 3-under 67 at the South Course highlighted by a
hole-out for eagle on the 16th hole. Combined with his opening-round
78 at the North Course, Moffat ended up with a 5-over 145 total that left him
in second place in the 16-to-18 division, three shots behind Baker, and tied
for second in the overall scoring with 13-to-15 division winner Ryan McCabe of
Media.
McCabe had a pretty good scholastic season last fall himself
and has been really solid this summer as well. McCabe captured the District One
Class AA individual title and led Devon Prep to the district team title as a freshman.
McCabe got it going on the back nine in the opening round
Thursday with a birdie at the 13th and an eagle on the 15th
on his way to a 2-over 72 on the North Course. McCabe made birdies at the
first, sixth and 16th holes in Friday’s second round at the South
Course on his way to a 3-over 73 that gave him a 5-over 145 total. That was
good enough to give him a share of second with Moffat in the overall scoring
and the top spot in the 13-to-15 division.
Reid made five birdies in putting up the only sub-par round
with his 1-under 69 Thursday at the North Course. But the tight South Course
can jump up and get you and Reid struggled to an 80 for a 9-over 149 total.
Still, he was the runnerup to McCabe in the 13-to-15 division and finished tied
for fourth in the overall scoring.
Jaden Weisman of Malvern added a 76 Friday at the South
Course to the solid 73 he posted Thursday at the North Course to finish third
in the 16-to-18 division and tied for fourth with Reid in the overall scoring
at 9-over 149.
Stephen Lorenzo of Lower Gwynedd took fourth among the older
guys and sixth overall at 153 as he added a 75 at the South Course to his
opening-round 78 at the North. William Tone of Moorestown, N.J. was another
shot behind Lorenzo at 154, finishing fifth in the division and seventh
overall. Tone bounced back from an 80 at the North Course with a solid 74 in
the second round at the South.
Hunter King of Atglen also struggled in the opening round at
the North Course with an 81, but came back with a 4-over 74 at the South as he
finished a shot behind Tone at 155. That was good for sixth in the division and
eighth overall.
Matthew Lafond of Blue Bell had steady rounds of 77 at the
North Course and 79 at the South for a 156 total that left him in seventh place
in the 16-to-18 division and in a four-way tied for ninth in the overall
scoring with three of the younger guys.
Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Andrew
Benner (81-76) of Hellertown in eighth at 157, McCabe’s Devon Prep teammate Bryan
Donato (83-75) of Chester Springs in ninth at 158, and Jack Hamilton (81-79) of
Wayne, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at Radnor last fall,
in 10th at 160.
Three players finished tied for third in the 13-to-15
division, seven shots behind the runnerup Reid at 156, which also left them
tied with Lafond for ninth in the overall scoring. That group included Garnet
Valley junior Jacob Sokalsky, Corey Haydu of Doylestown and Luke Watson of
Royersford. Sokalsky and Haydu each added a 76 at the South Course to an
opening-round 80 at the North while Watson opened with a 79 at the North and
finished up with a 77 at the South Course.
Tyler Zimmer of Bryn Mawr finished sixth among the younger
guys at 159 after adding an 81 at the South Course to a solid 78 at the North
in the opening round.
It was another eight shots back to Luke Kelly of Wayne in
seventh at 168 with a pair of 84s. John Cicco of Yardley was a shot behind
Kelly in eighth at 169 as he added an 84 in the second round at the South
Course to his opening-round 85 at the North.
Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Tyler
Tornoe (89-81) of Wayne and Matthew Normand (87-83) of Lumberton, N.J, both of
whom finished tied for ninth, each coming in at 170.
The overall winner among the girls emerged from the younger
13-to-15 division as Victoria Kim of West Chester was steady throughout the two
days, posting an 83 in her opening round at the North Course and adding an 82
at the South Course in the second round for a 165 total that was five shots
clear of Maya Torpey of Malvern, the winner of the 16-to-18 division.
After a slow start, Torpey fired a back-nine 40 at the North
Course in round 1 on her way to an 86. She birdied the eighth on the South
Course to highlight an 84 that left her with a 170 total.
Carolyn Mueller, a District One Class AA runnerup who helped
Villa Joseph Marie claim the district team title in Class AA as a senior last
fall, finished second in the 16-to-18 division and eighth overall at 220.
Mueller opened with a 103 at the North Course and added a 117 in the second
round at the South.
Another West Chester gal, Lily Yang, was the runnerup to Kim
in the 13-to-15 division and third overall at 171, a shot behind Torpey. Yang
birdied the 18th hole on the North Course for the best score of the
day among the girls in the opening round, an 82. She fell back a little at the
South Course with an 89.
Niosha Darvizi of Gladwyne and Caroline Gola of North Wales
shared third place in the division and were tied for fourth overall at 182.
Darvizi opened with a 92 on the North Course before adding a 90 at the South.
Gola improved six shots from the 94 she opened with at the North by posting a
solid 88 at the South.
Olivia Strigh of Hammonton, N.J. finished fifth in the division
and sixth overall at 187 as she added a 91 at the South Course to her
opening-round 96 at the North. Rounding out the division in sixth place and
seventh overall was Kayla Loninger of Crosswicks, N.J., who added a 94 at the
South Course to her opening-round 99 at the North for a 193 total.
Nicholas Gross of Downingtown had himself a week among the
nine-holers on the Junior Tour. Coming off back-to-back wins at Kennett Square
Golf & Country Club and Mahoning Valley Country Club, Gross carded a 39 Thursday
at the North Course and then rattled off six straight pars to begin his second
round Friday at the South Course on his way to a 36.
Gross’ 3-over 75 total was 13 shots better than his closest
pursuer. The runnerup was Hunter Probst of Bear Creek, who was within four
shots of Gross with his opening-round 43 at the North Course before a 45 at the
South left him with an 88. George Deming of Philadelphia added a 45 at the
South Course to his opening-round 46 at the North Course to finish third with a
91 total.
Another member of Downingtown’s Team Gross, Evan Gross,
shared fourth placed with Rhianna Gooneratne of Plymouth Meeting at 93. Evan
Gross added a solid 44 at the South Course to his opening-round 49 at the North
while Gooneratne added a solid 45 at the South Course to her opening-round 48
at the North Course.
A couple more Team Loninger entries from Crosswicks, N.J.
accounted for the next two spots on the leaderboard. Amelia Loninger finished
sixth as she added a 50 at the South Course to her opening-round 54 at the
North Course and Samantha Loninger took seventh with a pair of 54s and a 108
total.
Rounding out the contingent of nine-holers were Elora Walker
(54-56) of Philadelphia in eighth at 110 and Brian Raby (57-60) of Jamison in
ninth. Raby is a Class of 2028 competitor, which makes him, what, a
third-grader. That’s not bad playing on some big-boy golf courses at Philmont.
The Precision Pro Golf Open events also offer divisions for
men and women. None of the gals chose to participate, but Joe Polidoro of
Glassboro, N.J. topped the men’s 17-to-24 division with a 158 total. He opened
with a solid 78 at the North Course and birdied the opening hole at the South
Course on his way to an 80.
The runnerup was Austin Regan of Mullica Hill, N.J., who
added a 100 at the South Course to his opening-round 95 at the North for a 195
total.
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