Host Kentucky repeats as winner of Bettie Lou Evans Invitational; Penn State finishes third

   Host Kentucky won the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational for the second straight year and Penn State came up just short of a second straight runnerup finish, ending up in third place a shot behind Big Ten rival Rutgers Sunday at the University Club of Kentucky’s Big Blue Course in Lexington, Ky.

   The Wildcats jumped in front with a 3-under 285 over the 6,115-yard, par-72 Big Blue Course in Friday’s opening round and stayed there the rest of the weekend. Kentucky added 1-under 287s in Saturday’s second round and in Sunday’s windup to finish at 5-under 859.

   It’s the first time Kentucky has won the Bettie Lou Evans back-to-back since 1996 and 1997. The Wildcats, out of the Southeastern Conference, opened the season with a team win in the Minnesota Invitational and their win this weekend gave them back-to-back tournament victories for the first time since 1990-’91.

   Rutgers closed with the best team round of the weekend, a sparkling 7-under 281 that enabled the Red Knights to surge past Penn State into second place with a 10-over 874 total, 15 shots behind Kentucky.

   Penn State opened with a 1-under 287 Friday and remained in second place with a 5-over 293 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a 7-over 295 that left the Nittany Lions a shot behind Rutgers in third place at 11-over 875.

   A year ago, a much different Penn State team closed with a program record 10-under 278 to finish two shots behind Kentucky with a 4-under 860 total that was also a program record.

   Western Kentucky closed with a solid 1-under 287 to take fourth place at 13-over 877, two shots behind Penn State. Middle Tennessee was another seven shots behind the Hilltoppers in fifth place in the 13-team field at 20-over 884 after sandwiching a second-round 300 with a pair of 4-over 292s.

   Kentucky was led by Sarah Shipley, a senior from Hastings, Mich., and Rikke Svejgaard Nielsen, a junior from Denmark, both of whom were among the trio of players tied for fifth place at 2-under 214.

   Shipley opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-under 71. Sveggaard Nielsen was in the hunt for the individual title with rounds of 1-under 71 in Friday’s opening round and 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Casey Ott, a sophomore from Conway, Ark., gave Kentucky a third top-10 finisher as she ended up alone in 10th place at even-par 216. Ott was steady all weekend, matching par in the opening round with a 72 and adding a 1-under 71 before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Jensen Castle, a freshman from West Columbia, S.C., was another shot behind Ott in a tie for 11^th place at 1-over 217 after closing with a 2-under 70. Rounding out the Kentucky lineup was Marissa Wenzler, a freshman from Centerville, Ohio who finished among the group tied for 13^th place at 3-over 219. Wenzler matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 before finishing up with a 2-over 74.

   The individual title went to the reigning NCAA Division II Player of the Year, Indianapolis University’s Pilar Echeverria, a senior from Guatemala. Echeverria sandwiched a 1-under 71 with a pair of 2-under 70s for a 5-under 211 total and a two-shot victory over a trio of pursuers.

   It’s the second time that Echeverria has claimed individual honors in a Division I field as she captured the title in last spring’s Lady Buckeye Invitational at The Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course.

   Penn State was led by Sarah Willis, a sophomore from Eaton, Ohio who was part of the three-way tie for second place at 3-under 213. Willis, who was the breakout freshman star on last year’s veteran team, opened with a 2-under 70 and matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Rutgers’ Carrie-Ann Lee, a senior from Hong Kong, had the best individual round of the tournament, a 5-under 67 in the final round, to earn her share of second place at 3-under. Lee had opened with a 1-under 71 before posting a 3-over 75 in the second round.

   Tulane’s Carlota Palacios, a freshman from Spain, had the individual lead going into the final round after adding a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round to her opening round of 3-under 69. She fell back into the tie for second at 213 with a final-round 73.

   Joining Kentucky’s Shipley and Svejgaard Nielsen in the trio tied for fifth place at 2-under 214 was Middle Tennessee’s Sophie Burks, a junior from Montgomery, Ala. who sandwiched a 2-over 74 with a pair of 2-under 70s.

   Penn State got another strong showing from its standout freshman, Mathilde Delavallade of France. Coming off a tie for eighth place in the Nittany Lion Invitational, Delavallade again got a share of eighth place in the Bettie Lou Evans with Rutgers’ Harriet Allsebrook, a junior from England, at 1-under 215.

   Delavallade had a share of the lead following the opening round after she fired a 3-under 69. She matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a 2-over 74. Allesbrook closed with a sparkling 4-under 68 to get her share of eighth place.

   Penn State got another solid showing from junior Olivia Zambruno, the 2016 PIAA Class AA champion as a senior at Greensburg Central Catholic who had her best round of the weekend in Sunday’s final round, a 1-over 73 that left her in the group tied for 22^nd at 8-over 224. Zambruno lost in the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur final to former Penn State teammate Jackie Rogowicz at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Militia Hill Course this summer.

   Senior Megan McLean, who starred scholastically at Voorhees High, matched par in the opening round with a 72 before struggling a little with respective rounds of 76 and 77 in the last two rounds as she landed among the group tied for 29^th place at 9-over 225.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was senior Madelein Herr, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Council Rock North who finished alone in 52^nd place at 230. Herr sandwiched a 2-over 74 in the second round with a pair of 78s.

   Ashni Dhurva, a senior from Katy, Texas, competed as an individual for the Nittany Lions, closing with a solid 1-over 73 to finish among the group tied for 53^rd place at 231.

Staudt leads the way as Seton Hall captures team title at Princeton Invitational

   Behind a program record-setting performance by senior Sammie Staudt, a four-time PIAA qualifier at Coatesville, Seton Hall claimed a seven-shot victory over host Princeton in the Princeton Invitational, which wrapped up Sunday at Springdale Golf Club.

   Staudt opened with a sparkling 4-under-par 68 in Saturday’s opening round over the 6,121-yard, par-72 Springdale layout as the Pirates had the only under-par team round of the tournament, a 5-under 283. Staudt then closed with a 1-over 73 Sunday for a 3-under 141 total that earned her a share of second place in the individual standings and helped Seton Hall finish with a 4-over 292.

   The Pirates ended up with a 1-under 575 total, seven shots clear of Princeton, which added a 2-over 290 to its opening round of 4-over 292 for a 6-over 582 total.

   Staudt’s 141 total bettered the previous Seton Hall record for a 36-hole tournament on a par-72 course by five shots. Staudt had just one top-five finish in her career before this season, but her second straight top-five finish to open her senior season has increased that total to three top-five finishes.

   Seton Hall also turned the tables on Penn, which had claimed the title in last weekend’s Nittany Lion Invitational while the Pirates finished third. Penn settled for third place at Princeton, the Quakers adding a 7-over 295 to their opening round of 3-over 291 for a 10-over 586 total.

   Yale, behind individual champion Ami Gianchandani, a sophomore out of The Pingry School, was two shots behind Ivy League rival Penn at 12-over 588 after posting a second straight 6-over 294.

It was 15 shots back to Rollins College in fifth place at 27-over 603 as the Tars, after opening with a 297, posted a 306 in Sunday’s final round. St. John’s, like Seton Hall a Big East representative, was five shots behind Rollins in sixth place at 32-over 608. The Red Storm added a 303 to their opening-round 305.

   The Ivy League had five teams among the top eight in the 13-team field as Dartmouth and Columbia finished in a tie for seventh place at 34-over 610. The Big Green, a runnerup to Harvard in last spring’s Ivy League Championship, shaved two shots off their opening-round 306 with a final-round 304. The Lions, after opening with a 301, posted a 309 in Sunday’s final round.

   Seton Hall’s Sarah Fouratt, a sophomore from Santa Maria, Calif., and Maddie Sager, a senior who was the 2015 PIAA Class AAA runnerup as a senior at Owen J. Roberts, were two of the three individual co-champions in last week’s Nittany Lion Invitational and continued their strong play.

   Fouratt carded a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s second round after matching par with a 72 in the opening round to finish alone in fourth place, two shots behind her teammate Staudt. Sager contributed a 3-under 69 to Seton Hall’s fast start in Saturday’s opening round before backing off a little with a 4-over 76 in Sunday’s final round as she joined the group tied for eighth place at 1-over 145. It was Sager’s eighth career top-10 finish.

   Carolina Ronchel Salas, a senior from Spain, landed among the group tied for 18^th place at 5-over 149 after adding a 3-over 75 to her opening-round 74. Ronchel Salas had a share of the Seton Hall 36-hole record on a par-72 course that Staudt broke with her 146 total at Springdale in this event a year ago.

   Rounding out the Seton Hall lineup was Lizzie Winn, a senior from Sylvania, Ohio who finished among the group tied for 42^nd place at 10-over 154. After struggling to an opening-round 81, Winn, the individual runnerup in the Big East Championship last spring, bounced back with a 1-over 73 that was a crucial counter for the Pirates.

   Junior Mia Kness, the 2016 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Peters Township, competed as an individual and was solid, adding a 2-over 74 to her opening-round 75 to join her teammate Ronchel Salas in the group tied for 18^th place at 5-over 149.

   Gianchandani opened with the best individual round of the weekend, a 5-under 67, before adding a 1-under 71 in Sunday’s final round for a 6-under 138 total that gave her a three-shot victory.

   Joining Staudt in the tie for second place at 3-under 141 was host Princeton’s Grace Ni, a freshman from Cypress, Texas who finished strong with a 3-under 69 after matching par in the opening round with a 72.

   Three players finished in a tie for fifth place at even-par 144 and one of them was a very familiar name to followers of the local high school scene in the Philadelphia area, Dartmouth freshman Samantha Yao, a two-time District One Class AAA champion at Conestoga.

   Yao, competing as individual, opened with a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s opening round before adding a 2-over 74 that featured a hole-in-one at the 156-yard 11^th hole at Springdale in Sunday’s final round.

   Yao had made her college debut in the Dartmouth Invitational in the starting lineup for the Big Green two weeks ago. She might very well have worked her way back into the first five for Dartmouth with her top-five finish this weekend at Princeton.

   Joining Yao at even-par were Rollins’ Seher Atwal, a senior from India, and Princeton’s Maya Walton, a senior from Austin, Texas. Atwal added a 1-under 71 to her opening-round 73 while Walton, after opening with a 2-under 70, closed with a 2-over 74 in Sunday’s final round.

   It was another strong showing for a young Penn team that was led by Mary Shin, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif., and Susan Xiao, a freshman from Canada, both of whom were in the group along with Seton Hall’s Sager tied for eighth at 1-over 145.

   Shin shaved five shots off her opening-round 75 with a 2-under 70 in Sunday’s final round. Xiao opened with a 1-under 71 before adding a 2-over 74.

   Lelia Dizon, a sophomore from Los Angeles, also opened with a 1-under 71 before adding a 76 that left her in the group tied for 14^th place at 3-over 147. Christina Park, the Quakers’ veteran senior from San Diego, gave them four players inside the top 18 as she added a 3-over 75 to her opening-round 74 to finish among the group tied for 18^th place at 5-over 149.

   Rounding out the starting lineup for Penn was Abigail Wiranatha, a freshman from West Covina, Calif. who finished among the group tied for 47^th place at 155. Wiranatha added a 4-over 76 to her opening-round 79.

   Penn also field a four-woman B team, which finished last in the 13-team field. The Quakers’ B team was led by sophomore Olivia Traynor, who captured the 2015 Inter-Ac League championship as a freshman at the Academy of Notre Dame. Traynor opened with a 2-over 74 before adding a 79 as she finished among the group tied for 35^th place at 9-over 153.

   Dartmouth’s team effort was led by Kristen Chen, a sophomore from Thousand Oaks, Calif. who joined the group tied for 18^th place at 5-over 149 as she added a 2-over 74 to her opening-round 75. Angela Zhang, a freshman from Canada, finished among the group tied for 23^rd place at 151 after adding a 75 to her opening-round 76.

   Sophomore Kaitlyn Lees, a three-time winner of the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship who starred scholastically at Agnes Irwin, improved by four shots from her opening-round 79 with a 3-over 75 Sunday that left her in the group tied for 42^nd at 10-over 154.

   Lees had led the way for Dartmouth in its season-opening Dartmouth Invitational two weeks ago as she finished in a tie for 11^th place on her home course at Hanover Country Club. The Big Green took fifth place. Lees capped a solid freshman season at Dartmouth with a third-place finish in the Ivy League Championship at The Ridge at Back Brook last spring.

   Julianne Strauch, a junior from Advance, N.C., added an 80 to her opening-round 77 to finish in the group tied for 53^rd at 157 for Dartmouth. Rounding out the Big Green lineup was Maddie Nelson, a senior from Sammamish, Wash. who, after opening with a 78, posted a final-round 84 that left her alone in 73^rd place at 162.

   Freshman Esther Park, a Charter School of Wilmington product, helped Georgetown finish ninth as she ended up in the group tied for 59^th at 158 after adding an 82 to her opening-round 76. The Hoyas, one of the Seton Hall’s chief rivals in the Big East, added a 308 to their opening-round 303 for a 611 total.

   Senior Kate Evanko, a former Unionville standout, competed as an individual for Georgetown and finished among the group tied for 53^rd at 157 after adding an 80 to her opening-round 77.

Waldmann finishes the job as he claims Junior Tour victory at Linwood

   Christopher Waldmann of Malvern has been in contention in a number of Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour events in the last six weeks.

   Sunday, in a stop at Linwood Country Club in Linwood, N.J., Waldmann broke through, carding a 7-over-par 77 to claim a victory in the 16-to-18 division. Waldmann had birdies on two par-3s on the front nine, the third and sixth holes, added another birdie on the back and, with victory in his grasp, made pars on two of his last three holes.

   The rest of the finishers in the 16-to-18 division were Jersey guys with Riley Mostecki, playing not far from his Linwood home, and Tyler Peters of Berlin sharing second place, each posting an 8-over 78 in breezy conditions over the 6,237-yard, par-70 Linwood layout. Mostecki birdied the ninth hole and then went 2-over on the incoming nine. Peters was solid down the stretch, registering pars on eight of his last nine holes.

   P.J. Schulte of Cape May Court House and James Dalzell, another Linwood entry, finished in a tie for fourth place, each signing for an 82. Carl Michael Lim of Franklinville took sixth place with an 89 and Colton Murray of Sewell was seventh with a 91.

   Nathan Guertler of Merchantville, N.J. had two birdies, one on each side, and had seven pars on his scorecard on his way to an 8-over 78 that gave him top honors in the 13-to-15 division.

   Evan Goldberg, another Linwood, N.J. guy playing close to home, was the runnerup with an 82 that included a birdie on the par-4 14^th hole and two pars in a row down the stretch.

   Matthew Normand of Lumberton, N.J. and Joseph Fargnoli of Mickleton, N.J. finished in a tie for third place, each posting an 83. Reese Dalzell of Warrington took fifth place with an 84 and Julien de Brechard, making one of his occasional road trips from Brooklyn to play a Junior Tour event, finished sixth with an 85.

   Francis Wren of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. and Luca Gherardi of Hammonton, N.J. shared seventh place, each signing for an 87 and Jake Hennelly, another Linwood, N.J. entry, and Michael Henry of Wayne ended up in a tie for ninth place, each carding an 89.

   Chase Cristella of Mount Laurel, N.J. finished in 11^th place with a 90, Tommy Marshall of Marlton, N.J. was 12^th with a 92 and Justin Forman of Sewell, N.J. was 13^th with a 96.

   Rhianna Gooneratne of Plymouth Meeting ran her win streak in the girls 13-to-15 division to eight straight with a sparkling 79 that included birdies at the par-5 ninth and the par-4 15^th holes and seven pars. Gooneratne has finished nowhere but first since the calendar turned to the wraparound 2019-2020 season on the Junior Tour.

   Elora Walker of Philadelphia was the runnerup with a 97 that featured two pars, one on each side. Savannah Thompson of Seaville, N.J. finished in third place, a shot behind Walker, as she made a birdie on the 10^th hole and added a par on the 12^th hole on her way to a 98.

   Savannah Laverty of Moorestown, N.J. and Paul Reilly of West Creek, N.J. shared first place among the nine-holers, each posting an 8-over 42. Laverty had back-to-back pars on the third and fourth holes and added another par on the sixth hole. Reilly made a birdie on the sixth hole and preserved his share of the top spot with a clutch par on the ninth hole.

   Laverty and Reilly are both listed as Class of 2027 players, which, if my math is right, makes them fifth-graders. That’s pretty good playing for a couple of fifth-graders.

   Mia Martinez of Little Egg Harbor, N.J. had two pars as she took third place with a 44. Keller Tannehill of Margate, N.J. finished in fourth place with a 47.