Shmonov betters par with a 71 at Bidermann to claim a Junior Tour victory

   Jake Shmonov of Harrisburg tamed a challenging Bidermann Golf Club layout with a 1-under-par 71 to claim a victory in the 13-to-15 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop Monday in Wilmington, Del.

   Shmonov eagled the par-5 sixth hole and added a birdie on the 12^th to better par over the 6,491-yard, par-72 Bidermann course. Henry Stone of Kennett Square had birdies at the eighth and 11^th holes and 11 pars on his scorecard as earned runnerup honors with a solid 3-over 75. Stone was coming off a Junior Tour victory last week at Landis Creek Golf Club.

   Eli Shah of Newtown Square and Sachin Blake of Berwyn shared third place, each carding a 5-over 77. Christopher Buysse of Paoli and Kevin Lafond of Blue Bell were another two shots behind Shah and Blake in a tie for fifth, each signing for a 79.

   Andrew Bilson of Lititz finished alone in seventh place with an 81. Rounding out the top 10 were three players tied for eighth place at 84, including Radnor High sophomore Chase Stephano, Lucas Steinmetz of Gilbertsville and Zachary Sandler of Gladwyne.

   Jack Cooley, a member of the Unionville team that was the PIAA Class AAA runnerup last fall, opened his round with seven straight pars and added birdies at the 16^th and 18^th holes as he finished with a solid 2-over 74 that earned him top honors in the 16-to-18 division.

   Ben Smith of Blain, a member of a strong incoming group of Pennsylvania recruits joining Greg Nye’s Penn State program, Ryan McCabe, who finished in a tie for second in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a sophomore at Devon Prep last fall, and Christopher Waldemann of Malvern were a shot behind Cooley in a tie for second, each posting a 75.

   Strath Haven senior Nick Cardow finished alone in fifth place with a 76 and his teammate with the Panthers, senior David Merz, and James Omalley of Harleysville shared sixth place, each carding a 77.

   Plymouth-Whitemarsh junior Dylan Gooneratne and Collin Salesky of Wilmington, Del. finished in a tie for eighth, each signing for a 78. Garnet Valley senior Jake Sokalsky rounded out the top 10 as he carded a solid 79 to finish alone in 10^th place.

   Ava Svindland of Wilmington, Del. had a birdie at the seventh hole and then went back-to-back with birdies at the 14^th and 15^th holes as she posted a solid 79 to claim a victory in the girls 13-to-15 division.

   Rhianna Gooneratne of Plymouth Meeting’s Team Gooneratne had a birdie on the 15^th hole and eight pars on her scorecard as she earned runnerup honors with an 86. Ellie Overly of Lititz birdied the second hole and had five pars as she took third place with an 88.

   Curstan Bunch of Wilmington, Del. finished in fourth place with a 94 and Sophia DeSantis of Glen Mills was fifth with a 112.

   Sean Curran of Newtown Square birdied the second hole and had five pars as he posted a 3-over 39 to best the field of nine-holers. Curran, who plays out of Merion Golf Club, was coming off a run to the final of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship last week at Flourtown Country Club, where he dropped a hard-fought 1-up decision to Wilmington Country Club’s Jack Homer.

   Declan Conner of Swarthmore had birdies at the fourth and seventh holes and added two pars to earn runnerup honors with a 5-over 41. Davis Conaway of West Chester opened with pars at the first two holes as he took third place with a 44.

   Jax Puskar of Kennett Square finished fourth with a 46, Emily Mayo of Boothwyn was fifth with a 51, Jonathan Brubaker of Wayne was sixth with a 52 and Makayla Stone of Garnet Valley was seventh with a 58.