Nicholas Ciocca of Berwyn fired a 1-under-par 70 at Avalon
Golf Club on a windy Tuesday in Cape May Court House, N.J. to lead a group of
11 more players who punched their ticket to the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA
Championship, the first step toward a possible berth in the 44th
Boys Junior PGA Championship later this summer.
Ciocca had five birdies and nine pars on a day when many of
the junior players in the field struggled with the gusty winds over the
6,272-yard, par-71 Avalon layout. Ciocca was one of three boys in the younger
13-to-15 division to advance to the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour
qualifier July 1 at The Springhaven Club.
The top finishers at Springhaven advance to one of the top
junior events in the country, which tees off July 30 at the Keney Park Golf
Course in Hartford, Conn.
Jack Ross of Medford Lakes, N.J. and Michael Lynch III of
Dunmore were the other two boys from the 13-to-15 division to earn a trip to
Springhaven for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship. Ross had a
steady 7-over 78 that featured a lot of pars and Michael Lynch had seven pars
on the back nine to get in at 80, one shot below the cut line in the overall
13-to-18 division.
Another member of Dunmore’s Team Lynch, Thomas Lynch, and
Tyler Debusschere of Wallingford shared fourth place in the 13-to-15 division
as each posted an 84.
Cole Apeldorn of Southampton finished sixth with an 87, Ryan
Garvey of Media was seventh with an 89, Joseph Fargnoli of Mickleton, N.J. was
eighth with a 91 and Aidan Gallagher of Gladwyne was ninth with a 97.
Eric Holt of Philadelphia took 10th with a 99 and
Jack Cimino of Gladwyne was 11th with a 113.
Jack Reid of Medford, N.J. led the way in the 16-to-18
division and was the runnerup to Ciocca in the overall 13-to-18 scoring with a
3-over 74 that featured 11 pars.
Ryan McCabe, who finished tied for second in the PIAA Class
AA Championship as a sophomore at Devon Prep last fall, and Nicky Scarpone of
Broomall shared second place, each carding a solid 6-over 77.
Joseph Morganti, a St. Joseph’s Prep senior from Havertown,
finished alone in fourth place with a 79. Three players – Shane Lawler of
Malvern, Michael Mitnick of Linwood, N.J. and Noah Petracci of Atco, N.J. –
landed on 80 and shared fifth place.
The final two tickets to Springhaven went to Strath Haven
senior Kevin Smith and Elijah Ruppert of Fleetwood as they finished in a tie
for eighth in the 16-to-18 division, each posting an 81. Springhaven is Smith’s
home course and I’m sure he was determined to get a shot at a berth in the Boys
Junior PGA Championship in familiar surroundings.
Rounding out the top 10 among the older guys was Thomas
Newman of Rydal, who carded an 84 to finish alone in 10th place.
It was a regular Junior Tour stop for the girls and for the
coed 12-and-under nine-holers. The girls will play their qualifier for the 44th
Girls Junior PGA Championship when the Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA
Championship tees off June 20 at Bellewood Country Club.
Episcopal Academy teammates Lauren Jones of Newtown Square
and Kathleen Mark of Media battled it out for divisional honors in the girls
16-to-18 division. Jones made seven pars on the front nine for an 86 that was
one shot better than Mark’s 87. Mark had six pars in her round.
Jones and Mark just completed their sophomore seasons at
Episcopal as they led the Churchwomen to their second straight Inter-Ac League
title. Jones was the runnerup in last month’s Inter-Ac individual championship
at French Creek Golf Club and Mark finished in a tie for fourth.
Julia Li of Hockessin, Del. finished third in the division
with a 93 and Michelle Quinn of Haddon Heights, N.J. was fourth with a 102.
Megan Adelman, who finished seventh in the Inter-Ac
Championship at French Creek as an eighth-grader at Baldwin this spring, was
the only competitor in the 13-to-15 division and was the winner with an 81, the
best score in either of the girls divisions. Adelman’s back nine at Avalon
featured four pars and a pair of birdies.
Hudson Clary of Easley, S.C. had two birdies in a 1-over 37
to top the field of nine-holers. The Falconi sisters of Pennington, N.J., Ryan
and Reagan, finished second and third with respective scores of 48 and 55.
Savannah Thompson of Seaville, N.J. was fourth with a 63.
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