Maletto goes 4-under on front nine at Laurel Creek on her way to a Junior Tour victory

   Kayla Maletto of Sinking Spring had a front nine to remember on her way to a sparkling 1-under-par 70 that gave her a victory in the girls 13-to-15 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior stop at Laurel Creek Country Club in Mount Laurel, N.J. on a blessedly cooler Tuesday.

   Maletto might be a 13-year-old, but she blitzed the outward nine at Laurel Creek, making birdies at the second, fifth, eighth and ninth holes for a remarkable 4-under 32. She cooled off with three bogeys on the incoming nine, but her 1-under-par round was the most impressive of the day at Laurel Creek.

   Rhianna Gooneratne, a 12-year-old from Plymouth Meeting, wasn’t bad herself in taking runnerup honors to Maletto in the 13-to-15 division with a 6-over 77. Gooneratne birdied the 14^th hole and made 10 pars.

   Harriton junior Niosha Parvizi edged Episcopal Academy junior Kathleen Mark by a shot in the battle for top honors in the 16-to-18 division.

   Parvizi had three pars while posting a 92 while Mark, who helped the Churchwomen claim their second straight Inter-Ac League title this spring, had two pars while carding a 93 that left her a shot behind Parvizi in second place.

   Zoe Sousa of Millstone, N.J. finished third with a 110.

   Hayden Greer of Moorestown, N.J. fired a solid 1-over 72 to hold off a whole gang of Yardley golfers and take the top spot in the boys 16-to-18 division. Greer had four birdies and matched par on the front nine with a 35.

   The next six golfers on the 16-to-18 division leaderboard were all from Yardley, led by Jack Gerity, who earned runnerup honors with a 4-over 75, three shots behind Greer. Jack Gerity had three birdies on his scorecard.

   Ethan Finkelstein took third with a 78 that included a birdie at the eighth hole. Will Gerity of Yardley’s Team Gerity and Chris Myers shared fourth place, each posting a 79.

Rounding out the Yardley invasion were Ryan Rearden and Joshua Cicco, who finished sixth and seventh with respective scores of 80 and 81.

   Finkelstein and Will Gerity were juniors and Chris Myers a sophomore when they represented Pennsbury on Day 2 of the District One Class AAA Tournament last fall. I’m guessing this was a little team-bonding trip for what might be shaping up as a pretty strong Pennsbury team this fall.

   Garnet Valley senior Jake Sokalsky, coming off a runnerup finish Monday at Wilmington Country Club’s North Course, finished alone in eighth place with an 82. Leonard Gipson of Philadelphia and Logan Hay of Bordentown, N.J. rounded out the top 10 as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each signing for an 83.

   Tyler Smith of Maple Shade, N.J. matched Greer’s 1-over 72 to claim a victory in the 13-to-15 division. Smith had two birdies and carded an even-par 35 on the back nine.

   Matthew Normand of Lumberton, N.J. posted a solid 2-over 73 to take runnerup honors in the division. Normand had two birdies on the front nine while matching par on the outgoing nine with a 35.

   Riley Palomata of Westampton, N.J. and Ryan Garvey of Media shared third place, each carding an 80. Chase Cristella of Mount Laurel, N.J. finished alone in fifth place with an 82.

   John Lee of Jamison and Cyrus Parvizi, another member of Gladwyne’s Team Parvizi, ended up in a tie for sixth place, each signing for an 83 and Luke Turse of Hainesport, N.J. and Zachary Antao of Chadds Ford shared eighth place, each carding an 84.

   Rounding out the top 10 were three players tied for 10^th place at 85, including Jack Quinn of Jamison, Nathan Guertler of Merchantville, N.J. and Kendell Gordon of Burlington Township, N.J.

   There was a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard for the nine-holers as Tommy Marshall of Marlton, N.J., Will Zhang of Cherry Hill, N.J. and Hank Kancher of Philadelphia all landed on 5-over 41.

   Marshall had four pars on his scorecard, Zhang had four pars and finished his round with a birdie at the ninth hole and Kancher had two pars and a birdie at the sixth hole.

   Ethan Legarda of Voorhees, N.J. finished fourth with a 44, Jake Grossman of Elkins Park was fifth with a 46, Jack Cranmer of Riverton, N.J. was sixth with a 51, Savannah Laverty of Moorestown, N.J. was seventh with a 53 and Joseph Collazo of Mount Laurel, N.J. was eighth with a 57.