Ryan, Jones are winners in IJGT's Labor Day Classic at Hershey's East Course

   Two of the area’s top sophomore players, Joshua Ryan, who plays at Norristown High, and Lauren Jones, who led Episcopal Academy to the Inter-Ac League title as a freshman in the spring, kicked off the International Junior Golf Tour’s 2018-’19 season by taking the boys and girls titles, respectively, in the Labor Day Classic this weekend at Hershey Country Club’s East Course.

   Ryan, who is home-schooled via Commonwealth Connections Academy, reached the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a freshman last fall, joining older brother Caleb in the field at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort.

   Ryan also won the IJGT stop at Hershey in May, the Faldo Series Northeast Championship, so the challenging 6,880-yard, par-71 East Course clearly fits his game. He’s also been playing some pretty good golf this summer as was evidenced by the scintillating 7-under 64 he shot in winning a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Paxon Hollow Country Club last month.

   Ryan opened with a 3-over 74 in Saturday’s first round and added a 2-over 73 in Sunday’s second round for a 5-over 147 total that was matched by Evan Owan of Germantown, Md., who opened with a 73 and added a 74 in the final round.

   Ryan sank a six-foot putt for par on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to claim the win.

Ryan birdied the first hole he played, the par-5 first hole at Hershey’s East Course, and didn’t birdie another hole. But he was consistent and patient.

   He had four bogeys, offset by that lone birdie, in the first round. His final round featured two bogeys and 16 pars. A lot of young kids would get frustrated by the lack of birdies, but Ryan kept making pars and was rewarded with a championship.

   Ian Rivers of East Syracuse, N.Y. grabbed the lead after the opening round by matching par with a 71, the best single round of the tournament. He fell back with a 78 Sunday, but his 7-over 149 total was still good enough to finish alone in third, just two shots behind the top two.

   Jaden Weisman of Malvern, coming off a winning performance in a two-day Junior Tour event at Newark Country Club, took third at 152 after adding a 75 to his opening-round 77. Hunter King of Atglen was fifth at 155 as he opened with a 77 and finished up with a 78.

   Jack Farkus of Ardmore and James Dalzell of Linwood, N.J. shared sixth place, each ending up at 160. Farkus added an 82 to his opening-round 78 while Dalzell was the opposite, improving four shots from his opening-round 82 with a final-round 78.

   Payton Knauf of New Canaan, Conn. finished eighth at 162, improving 10 shots from his opening-round 86 with a final-round 76. Patrick Rowland of Monkton, Md. was ninth at 163 as he improved seven shots from an opening-round 85 with a 78.

   Charles Blount of Baltimore rounded out the top 10, finishing alone in 10^th at 164 after adding an 87 to his opening-round 77.

   With Kaitlyn Lees and Meghan Fahey of Agnes Irwin moving on after graduating, Jones will be the best player in the Inter-Ac next spring. She was the runnerup to Lees as an eighth-grader and finished third behind Lees and Fahey this spring in the Inter-Ac League Championship at Gulph Mills Golf Club.

   Jones of Newtown Square has had a nice summer, highlighted by a victory in the Junior Tour Championship at Old York Road Country Club and a runnerup finish in the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Girls’ Championship at West Chester Country Club.

   Jones, who plays out of Merion Golf Club, dominated the girls division in the Labor Day Classic, opening with a 74 Saturday and adding a 75 in Sunday’s final round for a 7-over 149 total that was seven shots clear of the field.

   Jones got off to a shaky start with bogeys on her first three holes in the opening round. She birdied the sixth hole, but a double bogey at the seventh left her at 4-over at the turn. But she birdied three of the next five holes, 10, 13 and 14, more than offsetting a double bogey at 11, to finish at 3-over.

   After a bogey at the first to open her final round, Jones birdied the fifth and sixth holes before a bogey at the seventh left her at even-par for the front nine. A birdie at the 12^th briefly had her under par for the round before she cooled off with a bogey at 14, a double bogey at 16 and bogeys at 17 and 18.

   Mary Kate Norcross of Chambersburg, who won the girls division in last spring’s Faldo Series Northeast Championship, was the runnerup to Jones. Norcross opened with a 79 and added a 77 for a 156 total.

   Haverford High sophomore Riley Quartermain, a product of the junior program at Llanerch Country Club, finished third at 158. Quartermain only trailed Jones by two after an opening-round 76, but struggled a little in a final-round 82.

   Amanda Gerrish of Hummelstown finished a shot behind Quartermain in fourth at 159 after adding an 82 to her opening-round 77.

   Emily Kase of North Tonawanda, N.Y. finished fifth at 168 as she opened with a 78 before struggling home with a final-round 90. Sydnee Gaines of Nottingham, Md. was sixth at 173 after improving seven shots from her opening-round 90 with a final-round 83.

   Colin Vineburg of Sparks, Md. was a dominant winner of the boys 14-and-under division as he added an 85 to his opening-round 82 for a 167 total that left him nine shots clear of the field.

   Davis Perry of Basking Ridge, N.J. was the runnerup as he had a pair of 89s for a 176 total. Griffin Walizer of Mill Hall was third at 191 as he opened with a 98 before finishing up with a 93 and Mac Arida of Gambrills, Md. was fourth at 230 as he improved 12 shots from an opening-round 121 with a final-round 109.