Sheehan, Ryan brothers lead a dozen District One players headed for PIAA Championship

   FLEETWOOD – Senior Caleb Ryan, who represents Norristown High, will be headed to the state tournament for the third straight fall. For younger brother Joshua Ryan, it will be a second straight trip to the Heritage Hills Golf Resort. For District One champion Patrick Sheehan, a senior at Central Bucks East, it will be a long-awaited first crack at the PIAA Class AAA Championship.

   The emotions were different, but the goal was the same. And they all reached it Monday in the PIAA East Regional at Golden Oaks Golf Club in Berks County.

   It was relatively warm – certainly compared to last year’s East Regional at Golden Oaks – and breezy and the rain pretty much held off until everybody finished nearly simultaneously after a shotgun start.

   But no matter what the weather, Caleb Ryan always seems to be in his comfort zone at Golden Oaks. I’m pretty sure the results page on the PIAA website flipped the scores on the Ryan brothers, although they were only a shot apart.

   Caleb Ryan offset three bogeys with three birdies and had no three-putts on the big greens on the 6,648-yard, par-72 Golden Oaks layout for an even-par 72 that left him the group tied for fifth, three shots behind Central York junior Carson Bacha, who captured the East Region title with a 3-under 69.

   “I think I’ve gone even, 1-over and even here, so obviously I like the course,” said Caleb Ryan. “You start every year with a goal of making states, every year. And the last three years I’ve made it. It starts with a lot of hard work playing in all the tournaments in the summer.”

   Starting on the fourth hole, Caleb Ryan had birdies on the seventh, the 18^th and the third, his final hole of the day.

   “My putting was really good,” Caleb Ryan said.

   Joshua Ryan made sure that the brother act would again make an appearance in the PIAA Class AAA Championship with a solid 1-over 73 that left him a group of four players tied for eighth. The Ryan brothers are home-schooled by Commonwealth Connections Academy, but represent Norristown High on the golf course.

   Joshua Ryan started on the sixth hole and it was not a good start as he knocked his approach to the 420-yard, par-4 hole into the water. But he ultimately got it up and down from 70 yards away to save bogey. And saving a bogey, especially early in the round, can provide as much momentum as a birdie.

   “I came right back and birdied the next hole,” Joshua Ryan said.

   He couldn’t report that he had as good a putting day as his big brother did, though.

   “I think I missed five putts under five feet,” Joshua Ryan said. “The driver’s been good. The irons have been good, not great, but good. My putting wasn’t good.”

   The Ryan brothers made their annual scouting mission to Saturday’s Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Heritage Hills and both played well. Caleb Ryan, however, has reported in the past that it is always a much different Heritage Hills the best high school players in Pennsylvania will play than the one he and Joshua Ryan played for the Junior Tour event.

   Sheehan will be seeing Heritage Hills for the first time when he tees it up in a practice round Sunday. And he’s happy he’ll be there. After a runnerup finish in the District One Class AAA Championship a year ago, Sheehan failed to advance to the state tournament.

   Coming off last week’s thrilling playoff win that earned Sheehan the District One title that eluded him a year ago, he was a more confident golfer at Golden Oaks this year.

   Sheehan, a Penn State recruit, was never in danger of not making it to the state tournament. Playing alongside Bacha, an Auburn recruit who is probably the best high school player in Pennsylvania, Sheehan gave the District Three champion a run for his money for the individual title.

   “I was glad to see I was in the group with him when I saw the pairings come out,” said Sheehan, who plays out of Talamore Country Club. “I’ve played with him before and he’s such a great competitor, he brings out the best in your game, too.”

   I caught up with their group on the 12^th hole, just in time to see Bacha drop a 10-foot birdie putt that got him to 4-under for his round. Sheehan had birdied the par-5 11^th, giving him three birdies on the three par-5s on the course up to that point, to get it to 1-under.

   Bacha came back to Sheehan a little when he three-putted at the par-3 13^th for a bogey and missed the green at the 14^th hole after an errant drive and couldn’t get it up and down for another bogey that dropped him back to 2-under.

   Bacha somehow couldn’t get a three-foot birdie try to fall at the 15^th after a tremendous tee shot into the 179-yard, par-3 hole.

   So when Sheehan found the green with his second shot into the 533-yard, par-5 18^th hole, albeit nearly 50 feet from the hole, and Bacha’s second was right of the green, Sheehan had a really good chance to force a playoff for the title.

   Bacha chipped to six feet and Sheehan’s eagle try just slid by the left side of the cup. When Bacha holed his birdie putt, Sheehan couldn’t catch him. Sheehan missed his short birdie putt for a three-putt par to end up with a 1-under 71 that left him tied for second with two other players, two shots behind Bacha, but Sheehan had given it a good run.

   And more importantly, Sheehan can start planning for a trip to Heritage Hills.

   “My goal was just to compete at all these postseason events and I’ve done that,” Sheehan said. “I finished tied for first in the league, won at districts and now second here. I’m happy with how I  played.”

   After tying for fifth in the state tournament as a freshman, Bacha missed the regional last year because he had a conflict with an American Junior Golf Association event. He did, however, represent Central York in the team competition at Heritage Hills.

   Having concluded the recruiting process, Bacha was ready for the high school postseason this fall.

   “I think of high school golf as a team thing first,” Bacha said. “And we lost out to Manheim Township in District Three, so I can concentrate on the individual stuff now. I won (York County) and I won District Three, both at Briarwood.

   “And I played very well today. I hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation. And I got that birdie when I needed it on 18.”

   Council Rock South senior Matt Fleming and Carlisle sophomore John Peters shared second place with Sheehan, each matching Sheehan’s 1-under 71.

   Sheehan and Fleming led a dozen District One players who advanced to the state tournament out of the 26 available berths at Golden Oaks.

   The Ryans won’t be the only brother act at Heritage Hills as Unionville seniors Will and Connor Bennink --- pretty sure they’re twins, but I keep missing the Unionville crew at these things – both advanced. Will Bennink carded a 3-over 75 to join a group of six players tied for 12^th. Connor Bennink had a 5-over 77 and was part of a group of seven players tied for seventh that nabbed the final tickets out of Class AAA to Heritage Hills.

   The Bennink brothers will be part of a Unionville team that should be a strong contender to repeat as the PIAA Class AAA team champion next week.

   Harriton will send two players to the state tournament as junior Andrew Wallace, who barely survived having the shaft of his driver snap in two on a swing at the District One Championship, matched par with a 72 to join Caleb Ryan in the group tied for fifth, and junior David Fitzgerald finished in a tie for 18^th with Berks Catholic senior Nick Fioravante at 4-over 76.

   Central Bucks West senior Luca Jezzeny, who also got a piece of the Suburban One Conference individual title, was in the group with Joshua Ryan tied for eighth at 1-over 73.

   Also in the group tied for 12^th at 3-over 75 along with Unionville’s Will Bennink were Holy Ghost Prep senior Liam Hart, who will get a shot to defend the PIAA Class AAA title he won a year ago, and Souderton sophomore Stephen Butler.

   Spring-Ford senior Axel Kalbach carded a 77 to join that group of seven players tied for 20^th that made the cut on the number.

   Also in that group was La Salle junior Steve Lorenzo, the District 12 champion who will give the Philadelphia Catholic League a representative at the state tournament.

   Also in the group tied for eighth at 1-over 73 along with Joshua Ryan and Jezzeny was Wallenpaupack senior Alex Pillar, the District Two champion who was in the group along with Bacha and Sheehan. Got a chance to talk some golf with his dad, John Pillar, the director of golf at The Country Club of Woodloch Springs who was just like every other anxious parent following their son or daughter.

   District One dominated the Class AAA girls bracket, led by Pennsbury sophomore Jade Gu, who fired a strong 1-under 71 to turn the tables on West Chester East freshman Victoria Kim, who won the District One title last week, by two shots.

   Gu started on the 18^th hole and birdied the two par-3s on Golden Oaks front nine, the fourth and the ninth holes, to offset a bogey at the sixth. She birdied the par-5 11^th and bogeyed the par-4 16^th on her way in.

   Downingtown East senior Liddie McCook, the PIAA Class AAA runnerup at Heritage Hills a year ago, finished third, four shots behind Kim with a 77.

   Conestoga senior Samantha Yao, who has been one of the top players in the state for the last three seasons, carded a 79 to get a share of fifth place with three other players. Yao was the East Regional champion as a sophomore and lost in a playoff for the title a year ago at Golden Oaks. She was the runnerup in the PIAA Championship as a sophomore and finished fourth last year.

   Haverford High sophomore Riley Quartermain and Mount St. Joseph junior Olivia Wirsching were in the group tied for ninth with an 80. Quartermain is the first Haverford player to make it to the state tournament since … Fords head coach Nate Oxman is working on it.

   Might be Kevin McDermott losing in a four-man playoff after finishing tied for first in 1994 at Penn State. The winner of that playoff was Brookville sophomore Nathan Smith, who has gone on to win four U.S. Mid-Amateur titles.

   Unionville sophomore Charlotte Scully grabbed the 13^th and final ticket to Heritage Hills with an 81, giving District One seven of the 13 berths available to the state tournament.

   Notre Dame of Stroudsburg senior William Mirams captured the Class AA boys title with a 74. Mirams, who finished in a tie for second in the PIAA Class AA Championship a year ago, fired a 2-under 69 Saturday to claim the 16-to-18 division in the Junior Tour stop at Heritage Hills.

   Devon Prep sophomore Ryan McCabe, the District 12 champion, finished in a tie for third with a 76. McCabe won the District One title a year ago, but it seems Devon Prep has joined the Philadelphia Catholic League, putting it in District 12.

   MMI Prep senior Jessica McClellan, who regularly shows up on Junior Tour leaderboards, captured the Class AA girls title with a 77. Hamburg’s Aly Rentschler was the runnerup with a 78.