Conestoga junior Morgan Lofland knows his way around Turtle
Creek Golf Club.
Lofland fired a 1-under-par 71 to get a share of the Central
League individual title with Radnor senior David Colleran last fall. And
Lofland has twice advanced out of the District One Championship at the
6,602-yard, par-71 Turtle Creek layout to the Class AAA East Regional.
After reaching the PIAA Championship as a freshman, Lofland
made no effort to hide his disappointment when he failed in his attempt to make
it back to the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in last fall’s regional at Golden
Oaks Golf Club.
You could tell Lofland was already thinking about his junior
year and it certainly looks like he’s gearing up for a big year. He matched par
at the Turtle with a 72 Thursday to complete a four-shot victory in a
Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour Precision Pro Golf Open event.
Lofland had grabbed the lead by making three birdies on his
way to a 1-under 71 in Wednesday’s opening round. He added four more birdies in
Thursday’s second round and his 72 gave him a 1-under 143 total. He also was
closest to the pin at the par-3 third hole Thursday and was awarded a
range-finder from Precision Pro Golf.
The Precision Pro Golf Open stops are 36-hole events and
there is overall 13-to-18 scoring in addition to the traditional Junior Tour
age groups. Lofland’s total gave him a victory in the 16-to-18 division and in
the overall 13-to-18 scoring.
Matthew Zerfass of Macungie, who captured the top spot in
the 13-to-15 division with an 8-over 152 total, was the only player from the
younger group to break into the top 10 in the overall 13-to-18 scoring.
Speaking of Turtle Creek, if the latest edition of Tri-State
Golfer was laying around in the pro shop and you read a story about how the
Waltz family turned some Limerick farmland into one of the must-play spots for
public-course golfers, your favorite golf blogger authored that piece.
Turtle Creek does a great job supporting junior golf by
staging events like the Precision Pro Golf Open and the District One
Championship year after year. I have a lot of great memories of watching some
of the top high school players competing at the Turtle since the district
championship was first held there in 2002.
Elijah Ruppert, a PIAA Class AA qualifier as a sophomore at
Brandywine Heights last fall, also had four birdies in carding the low round of
the day Thursday, a 1-under 71, to earn runnerup honors at 3-over 147. Ruppert
opened with a 4-over 76.
Mario Ventresca III of Blue Bell added a 3-over 75 to his
opening-round 73 to finish in third place at 4-over 148, a shot behind Ruppert.
Isaac Slater came in from New York City to compete in the
Precision Pro Golf Open and trailed Lofland by just a shot after opening with
an even-par 72 Wednesday that featured a birdie at the fifth hole. He fell back
a little with a 5-over 77 Thursday to take fourth place at 5-over 149.
A couple of PIAA Class AAA qualifiers from last fall,
Souderton junior Stephen Butler and Harriton senior David Fitzgerald Jr. shared
fifth place as each landed on 6-over 150. Butler followed up an opening-round
74 with a 76 in Thursday’s second round. Fitzgerald got into contention with an
opening round of 1-over 73 before backing off a little with a 77 Thursday.
Plymouth-Whitemarsh junior Dylan Gooneratne shaved five
shots off his opening-round 78 with a 1-over 73 Thursday to finish alone in
seventh place at 151.
Jack Reid of Medford, N.J. and Nick Martin of Audubon
finished in a tie for eighth in the 16-to-18 division and tied for ninth
overall as they both ended up at 9-over 153. Reid improved by five shots from
his opening-round 79 with a 74 Thursday while Martin added a 76 Thursday to his
opening-round 77.
Devon Prep junior Ryan McCabe, who shared second place in
the PIAA Class AA Championship last fall, rounded out the top 10 in the
16-to-18 division as he added a 76 Thursday to his opening-round 78 for a 154
total that left him alone in 10th place. McCabe, who plays out of
The Springhaven Club, was coming off a Junior Tour victory at Wyncote Golf Club
in Oxford earlier this week.
Zerfass, a Class AAA East Regional qualifier at Emmaus as a
freshman last fall, birdied the fourth hole and had a run of six straight pars
in a 3-over 75 Thursday that enabled him to finish atop the 13-to-15 division
at 8-over 152.
Zerfass had trailed opening-round leader Paul Brady of
Schwenksville by two shots after opening with a 77 Wednesday. The 152 total by
Zerfass left him alone in eighth place in the overall 13-to-18 scoring.
Andrew Feraco of Furlong had back-to-back birdies at the
second and third holes in an opening-round 76 that left him just a shot behind
Brady. Feraco added an 80 in Thursday’s second round and shared second place in
the division with Ajeet Bagga of Blue Bell at 12-over 156, four shots behind
Zerfass. Bagga carded a second straight 78 Thursday.
Brady matched par on the back nine with a 36 in his
opening-round 75 before struggling to an 83 Thursday that left him in a tie for
fourth at 158 with Luke Corcoran of Lansdale, who added a 78 to his
opening-round 80. Nicholas Ciocca of Berwyn was another three shots behind
Brady and Corcoran in sixth place at 161 after Ciocca added a 79 to his
opening-round 82.
Another member of Furlong’s Team Feraco, Charles Feraco, and
Scott Hughes of Ambler finished in a tie for seventh place at 164. Charles
Feraco took six shots off an opening-round 85 with a 79 Thursday and Hughes
improved four shots from an opening-round 84 with an 80 Thursday.
Eric Morgan of Newtown Square carded a solid 79 in
Thursday’s second round after opening with an 86 to finish alone in ninth place
at 165.
Kevin Lydon of Doylestown and Lucas Steinmetz of
Gilbertsville rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as they finished
in a tie for 10th place, each landing on 167. Lydon added an 85 to
his opening-round 82 while Steinmetz carded a solid 78 in Wednesday’s opening
round before struggling to an 89 Thursday.
There are divisions for the older guys and gals in a
Precision Pro Golf Open event and Nicholas Campanelli of Manahawkin, N.J. edged
Colin Walsh of Warminster in a tight battle for top honors in the men’s 17-to-24
division.
Campanelli and Walsh had shared the lead after posting
matching 77s in Wednesday’s opening round. Campanelli had three birdies and
eight pars in a 4-over 76 Thursday for a 153 total that was two shots better
than Walsh.
Walsh had two birdies and parred his last five holes to keep
the pressure on Campanelli, but a second-round 78 left Walsh in second place
with a 155 total.
The overall winner among the girls in the 13-to-18 scoring
emerged from the younger 13-to-15 division as Rhianna Gooneratne of Plymouth
Meeting’s Team Gooneratne fired a pair of 80s for a 160 total.
It was pretty good playing for Gooneratne, who is a Class of
2025 entry, which means, I’m pretty sure, she will be a seventh-grader this
fall. She had a birdie in her opening-round 80 and shared the overall lead with
Mary Grace Dunigan of Kennett Square, who matched Gooneratne’s 80.
Gooneratne birdied the par-5 second hole and had a run of
four straight pars on the back nine in her second-round 80 Thursday.
Dunigan, who also had a birdie in her opening-round 80, fell
back with an 86 Thursday that gave her runnerup honors in the 13-to-15 division
and left her in third place overall with a 166 total.
Episcopal Academy junior Kathleen Mark, the 16-to-18 winner,
had the best round of the tournament among the girls, a 79, Thursday to move
past Dunigan for runnerup honors in the overall scoring at 162. Mark, who
helped the Churchwomen win their second straight Inter-Ac League title this
spring, birdied the par-5 second hole and finished strong with birdies at the
last two holes.
Mark, who finished in a tie for fourth in the Inter-Ac
Championship at French Creek Golf Club last month, had opened with an 83.
Radnor High senior Jacqueline Slinkard was the runnerup to
Mark in the 16-to-18 division and fourth in the overall scoring as she added an
86 to her opening-round 87 for a 173 total.
Serena Bagga of Blue Bell’s Team Bagga was third in the
13-to-15 division as she posted a pair of 93s for a 186 total. Caroline Gola of
North Wales, a member of Mount St. Joseph’s District One Class AAA championship
team last fall, added a 100 to her opening-round 97 to finish fourth in the
division at 197. Gola will be a sophomore at the Mount this fall.
A couple of past Junior Tour standouts, 2017 Morgan Company
16-to-18 Player of the Year Grace Hickey of Downingtown and 2016 Morgan Company
16-to-18 Player of the Year Casey Oppenheimer of Conshohocken, were locked in a
tight battle in the women’s 17-to-24 division with Hickey edging Oppenheimer by
three shots for the victory.
Oppenheimer, who won the Women’s Golf Association of
Philadelphia’s Junior Girls’ Championship for the second straight year last
summer, had grabbed the opening-round lead with an 85 that featured 11 pars.
Hickey was two shots behind Oppenheimer with an 87.
But Hickey charged past Oppenheimer with two birdies on the
front nine on her way to an 83 that gave her a 170 total. Oppenheimer carded an
88 to claim runnerup honors with a 173 total.
A third member of Blue Bell’s Team Bagga, Kiran Bagga, bested
the field of nine-holers as a crucial par at the third hole in a second-round
49 Thursday gave her a 97 and a one-shot advantage over Colton Orris of
Hershey. Kiran Bagga had posted a 48 in Wednesday’s opening round.
Orris had opened with a 50 Wednesday before adding a 48
Thursday for a 98 total. Dylan Cyr of Phoenixville added a 55 to his
opening-round 50 to take third place with a 105 total.
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