Gooneratne keeps hot streak going with a Junior Tour victory at Bala

   Rhianna Gooneratne of Plymouth Meeting has been just unbeatable in the final weeks of summer.

Gooneratne ran her Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour winning streak to, by my count, seven in a row with an 88 Sunday, the last day of summer, at Bala Golf Club that gave her the top spot in the 13-to-15 division.

   Only the two girls divisions and the nine-holers teed it up at the 5,306-yard, par-68 Bala layout just inside the city limits of Philadelphia.

   Gooneratne opened her round with three straight pars and finished up the front nine with a birdie at the ninth hole. She has won the 13-to-15 division every time she has teed it up since the Junior Tour turned the calendar to the wraparound 2019-2020 season in late August.

   Josephine Wellons of Montchanin, Del. was the runnerup with a 96, Curstan Bunch of Wilmington, Del. was third with a 104 and Jillian Burks of Paoli was fourth with a 115.

   Burks will represent the Philadelphia Junior Tour at Augusta National Golf Club April 5, the Sunday of Masters week, in the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals.

   Burks advanced out of the regional competition earlier this month at another historic golf venue, Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh, as she finished first in the Girls 10-11 division.

Burks dominated her division, winning the driving and chipping competition and finishing second in putting for a 133 total. The runnerup finished with a 101 total.

   Baldwin freshman Megan Adelman birdied the 16^th hole on her way to a 90 that gave her the top spot in the 16-to-18 division at Bala. Adelman finished seventh as an eighth-grader in the Inter-Ac League Championship at French Creek Golf Club last spring.

   Michelle Quinn of Haddon Heights, N.J. was the runnerup with a 97.

   Philadelphian Hank Kancher, playing in his home town, had three pars to best the field of nine-holers with a 9-over 42. Teddy Plimpton of Lawrenceville, N.J. was the runnerup with a 45.

   Tyler Whitney of Cherry Hill, N.J. won a scorecard playoff with Colton Orris of Hershey for the bronze medal after each posted a 48. Nicholas Gatti of West Chester and Liam McFadden of Bryn Mawr shared fifth place, each carding a 50.

   Nate Celentano of Malvern finished seventh with a 52 and Alex Gibbs of East Norriton, James Ciesielka of Woolwich Township, N.J. and J.P. Klock of Oreland all landed on 54 to end up in a three-way tie for eighth place.

   Declan Conner of Swarthmore took 11^th place with a 56 and Gavin McClaskey of Williamstown, N.J. was 12^th with a 57.