The summer campaign for the PIAA Class AAA champion
Unionville golf team continued its successful run this week as senior Richard
Kline III dominated a Makefield Highlands Country Club layout that was pretty
tough on the rest of the field in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour
Precision Pro Golf Open event.
Kline backed up an opening round of 3-under-par 69 over the
6,608-yard, par-72 Makefield Highlands layout in Yardley Tuesday with another
69 in Wednesday’s second round for a 6-under 138 total. It gave him a nine-shot
victory in the overall 13-to-18 scoring in the Junior Golf Scoreboard event.
Kline ripped off seven birdies in his sparkling
opening-round effort. He did most of his damage in the second round on the back
nine with a burst that included back-to-back birdies at the 12th and
13th holes and an eagle at the 16th in a sizzling 2-under
34 on Makefield Highlands’ incoming nine.
I’m not exactly sure how many of the members of the
Unionville team that won the state championship at Heritage Hills Golf Resort
in York County’s Springettsbury Township are back, but several of them have
been playing really solid golf in various junior events this summer.
The true measure of Kline’s showing at Makefield Highlands
can be found by looking at the scores turned in by the rest of the field. A
couple of players matched par, but nobody besides Kline bettered par, let alone
broke 70.
Alec Ryden of Moorestown, N.J. was the runnerup to Kline in
the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring as he added an even-par 72 to
an opening-round 75 for a solid 3-over 147 total. Still, he found himself nine
shots behind Kline.
Matthew Law of Yardley was another three shots behind Ryden
in third at 150 after opening with an even-par 72 before falling back with a
second-round 78. Jack Cooley of Chadds Ford took fourth with a pair of 76s and
a 152 total. Hayden Greer, another Moorestown, N.J. entry, finished fifth at
153 after adding a 75 to his opening-round 78.
Three players shared sixth place at 154 as Andrew Koh of
Dresher bounced back from an opening-round 82 by matching par with a
second-round 72, Frank Rauscher of Wayne added a 78 to his opening-round 76 and
Jaden Weisman of Malvern posted a pair of 77s.
Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 scoring in a tie for
ninth and tied for 11th in the overall scoring were Evan Drummond of
Exton and Matthew Lafond of Blue Bell, both of whom landed on 159. Drummond and
Lafond had the same splits, each opening with a 77 and then backing off a
little with a second-round 82.
Only the top two finishers in the 13-to-15 division were
able to crack the top 10 in the overall scoring, led by Zachary Loninger of
Crosswicks, N.J., who topped the division with a 155 total that left him ninth
in the overall standings. Loninger matched par in the opening round with a 72
before struggling to an 83 in the second round when Makefield Highlands seemed
to play a little tougher – except for Kline, of course.
James Dalzell of Linwood, N.J. was the runnerup to Loninger
in the 13-to-15 division at 157, which left him alone in 10th in the
overall scoring. Dalzell opened with a 75 before adding a second-round 82.
Chase Stephano, who figures to compete for a spot in
Radnor’s top eight as a freshman this fall, finished third in the 13-to-15
division, finishing four shots behind Dalzell at 161 after adding an 82 to his
opening-round 79.
Ryan McCabe, who captured the District One Class AA title as
a freshman at Devon Prep last fall, was another four shots behind Stephano in
fourth at 165. McCabe, who has had a very solid summer on the links, opened
with a 76 before struggling home with an 89 Wednesday.
Christopher Myers of Yardley had a pair of 83s to take sixth
at 166 and Corey Haydu of Doylestown added an 88 to his opening-round 81 to
finish sixth at 169. A couple of Yardley guys, Joshua Cicco and Ryan Rearden,
placed seventh and eighth with respective totals of 172 and 173. Cicco added an
85 to his opening-round 87 while Rearden opened with an 84 before finishing up
with an 89.
Dave Fitzgerald Jr. (93-92) of Bryn Mawr finished ninth with
a 184 total and Seth Roth (95-90) of Hatboro rounded out the top 10, taking 10th
at 185.
The overall girls competition was closely contested between
the two divisional winners as Olivia Wirsching of Blue Bell, who captured the
16-to-18 division with a 168 total, edged Sarah Scarpill of Warrington, the
13-to-15 division winner with a 169 total, by a shot.
Wirsching, a member of Mount St. Joseph’s District One Class
AAA championship team as a sophomore last fall, opened with an 83 Tuesday and
came back with an 85 Wednesday. Wirsching birdied the ninth hole to cap a
5-over 41 on the outgoing nine in her opening round and had five pars on her
front-nine card on her way to another 41 in Wednesday’s final round.
Carolyn Mueller of Holland was the runnerup in the 16-to-18
division and fifth overall with a 197 total. Mueller, a senior on Villa Joseph
Marie’s District One Class AA championship team last fall, improved by five
shots from her opening-round 101 with a final-round 96.
Julia Cohen of Yardley finished third in the division and
seventh overall with a 207 total after adding a 102 to her opening-round 105.
Scarpill opened with a 90, but came roaring back in
Wednesday’s final round, making birdies at the fifth, ninth and 12th
holes on her way to a 79, her low round of the year.
Madilyn Siuta of Coopersburg had grabbed the lead in the
13-to-15 division with an opening-round 88 that featured a birdie at the
seventh hole. A final-round 90 left her with a 178 total that gave her runnerup
honors in the 13-to-15 division and third overall.
Abigail Lynn of Furlong took six shots off her opening-round
99 with a final-round 93 to finish third in the division and fourth overall
with a 182 total. Kayla Loninger of Team Loninger from Crosswicks, N.J.
finished fourth in the division and sixth overall with a 198 total. Loninger
opened with a 97 before adding a 101 in the final round.
It was a tight battle among the nine-holers as well as
George Deming of Philadelphia finished up with back-to-back birdies on the
eighth and ninth holes to edge Rhianna Gooneratne of Plymouth Meeting by a shot
for the victory.
Deming’s strong finish enabled him to post a final-round 40
after he had opened with a 43, giving him a total of 83. Gooneratne had grabbed
the opening-round lead with a 42 that included a birdie at the 12th
and back-to-back pars at the 13th and 14th holes. She
added a 44 to finish a shot behind Deming at 84.
Brendan Burke of Churchville finished third as he added a 48
to his opening-round 52 for a total of 100. Shea Braun of Upper Makefield took
fourth at 107 after following up an opening-round 56 with a 51.
The Precision Pro Golf Open event also featured a men’s
17-to-24 division and Nicholas Scott of Harleysville fired a 1-over 73 in
Wednesday’s final round to surge past Brent Schoeller of Jenkintown for the
victory. Scott had back-to-back birdies on the eighth and ninth holes to
highlight his outstanding second round. Combined with an opening-round 77, it
gave Scott a 150 total.
Schoeller had grabbed the opening-round lead with a 2-over
74 that included three birdies in a sparkling 1-under 35 on the back nine. He
added a 79 in Wednesday’s second round to take runnerup honors at 153, three
shots behind Scott.
Colin Walsh of Warminster took third at 155 after adding a
79 to a solid opening-round 76. Ryan Barley (81-82) of Mt. Laurel, N.J.
finished fourth at 163 and Michael Robinson (77-91) of Gettysburg was fifth at
168.
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