Lofland claims Junior Tour victory in return to Heritage Hills

   Conestoga sophomore Morgan Lofland knows his way around the golf course at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County’s Springettsbury Township.

   Lofland teed it up at Heritage Hills as a freshman in the fall of 2017 in the PIAA Class AAA Championship, just getting there being a pretty impressive feat for a first-year high school player.

Lofland was playing good golf last fall, earning a share of the Central League individual title with a 1-under-par 71 at Turtle Creek Golf Club. But a bad round at the PIAA East Regional at Golden Oaks Golf Club – and that’s all it takes – cost him a return trip to the state tournament.

   Lofland got back to the 6,312-yard, par-71 Heritage Hills layout for a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop on a rainy Good Friday and captured top honors in the 16-to-18 division with a solid 5-over 76. He had three birdies, going back-to-back on the par-5 seventh and the testy par-3 eighth. Don’t be surprised if he’s teeing it up at Heritage Hills in the state tournament in late October.

   Christopher Myers of Yardley was three shots behind Lofland in second place with an 8-over 79. Myers was solid down the stretch, making pars on his last five holes.

   There was a four-way tie for third place at 80 among Tyler Kipp, a Muhlenberg junior who was a PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Heritage Hills last fall, Trey Heffelfinger of Mount Union, Elijah Ruppert of Fleetwood and Andrew Koh of Dresher. Kevin Deng of Newtown Square and Logan Hess, a Penn Manor senior who was a PIAA Class AAA East Regional qualifier last fall, each posting an 82.

   Luke Ciccarelli of Danville finished ninth with an 83 and the trio of Benjamin Files of Bethesda, Md., Reese Watson of Mechanicsburg and M.J. Stivals of Dunmore rounded out the top 10 as they finished tied for 10^th, each carding an 84.

   The older guys was the only division that was able to complete 18 holes before rain halted play.

Matthew Vital of Bethlehem, last seen on The Golf Channel a couple of Sundays ago chipping in and holing a 30-foot putt to capture top honors in the Boys 12-13 division of the Drive, Chip & Putt National  finals at the Augusta National Golf Club, fired a 1-under 35 on the front nine at Heritage Hills to claim a win in the 13-to-15 division.

   Vital, still riding the wave from his impressive performance the Sunday of Masters week, birdied the par-5 seventh hole and parred the rest of the holes on the front nine at Heritage Hills. Trevor Snyder of Dover was the ruunerup with a 4-over 40.

   Four players finished tied for third at 5-over 41, including Darren Nolan of Glenside, Benjamin Saggers, winner of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior-Junior Championship last summer from West Chester, John Olsen of Boalsburg and Ajeet Bagga of Blue Bell.

   Brady Davidson of Mechanicsburg and Michael Vital, another entry from Bethlehem’s Team Vital, shared seventh place, each carding a 42. Daniel Shin of Horsham finished ninth with a 46 and Dante Billoni of Lancaster rounded out the top 10 as he finished alone in 10^th place with a 49.

   Central Bucks East junior Sarah Scarpill, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, captured the top spot in the girls 16-to-18 division with a solid 5-over 41, finishing up with pars at a couple of tough holes, the par-3 eighth and the par-4 ninth.

   Episcopal Academy sophomore Kathleen Mark was the runnerup with a 44. The Churchwomen are in the midst of defending the Inter-Ac League crown they won last spring. Marin Dremock of Drums finished third with a 47.

   Abigail Han of Hummelstown finished third with a 48, Grace Babinchak of Hazleton was fifth with a 50 and Aleena Ghanta of Phoenixville was sixth with a 51.

   Paige Richter of Camp Hill birdied the par-5 seventh hole on her way to a 7-over 43 that gave her a win in the 13-to-15 division. Kayla Maletto of Sinking Spring was the ruunerup with a 45.

   Taylor Hicks of Dallastown took third with a 46, McKensy Knaub of York was fourth with a 47, Tristan Groff of Lancaster was fifth with a 51, Hannah Barrett of Carlisle was sixth with a 52 and Mary Grace Dunigan of Kennett Square was seventh with a 58.

   Davis Conaway of West Chester bested the field of nine-holers with a 9-over 45, two shots better than runnerup Ethan Martin of North Wales.

   Lawson Leeper of York and Carson Holmes of Thorndale finished in a tie for third place, each posting a 48. Reed Krosse of York, Joseph McGinty of Lititz and Avery O’Neill of Romansville shared fifth place, each coming in with a 51.

   Mason Tucker of York finished eighth with a 53, Mia Pace of Exton was ninth with a 56, Colton Orris of Hershey was 10^th with a 57 and Elliott Evans of York was 11^th with a 58.