Zimmer helps Haverford School get off to fast start with sweep of invitational at Merion West

   The Haverford School lost some significant talent to graduation from a group that had helped the Fords to the last two Inter-Ac League crowns.

   But on Lancaster Avenue, the Fords don’t really rebuild, they just reload.

   With Tyler Zimmer taking individual medalist honors with a sparkling 2-under-par 33 at Merion Golf Club’s West Course, Haverford School took its first step toward a third straight league title by sweeping the first of the Inter-Ac’s six invitationals that make up the regular season, this one hosted by Episcopal Academy Tuesday.

   The Fords, who made a perfect 30-0 run through the six Inter-Ac invitationals a year ago, posted a 182 total to finish 12 shots clear of runnerup Episcopal Academy, which ended up with a 194 total. Malvern Prep, the third member of the Inter-Ac’s Big Three along with Haverford School and Episcopal Academy that have dominated the league since the invitational format for the regular season was adopted, was another six shots behind EA in third place at 200.

   Springside Chestnut Hill Academy finished fourth at 205, Germantown Academy took fifth with a 208 total and Penn Charter was sixth at 212.

   Two of Haverford School’s key returnees from last year’s Inter-Ac championship team, junior Jake Maddaloni and senior Charlie Baker backed up Zimmer for the Fords as Maddaloni matched par with a 35 and Baker carded a 1-over 36.

   Rounding out the counters for the Fords were Michael Bozzi with a 38 and Alec Stern with a 40.

Junior Shane Lawler and eighth-grader Jack Yearley led the way for Episcopal Academy, each posting a solid 2-over 37 over a Merion West layout that played unusually tough.

   Senior co-captain Jacob Zeng and juniors Max Giles and Giles Elliott each carded a 5-over 40 to round out the scoring for the Churchmen. Zeng is coming off a junior season in which he led the league in the individual points race based on the results of the six invitationals.

   Keller Mulhern, coming off a solid freshman season for Malvern Prep a year ago, led the way for the Friars with a 3-over 38.

   Ryan Kennedy, Patrick Traynor and Dylan O’Connor each posted a 5-over 40 for Malvern Prep. Three other Friars, James Gradisek, Dimitri Collias and Jack Fialko, signed for 42, one of which went toward Malvern Prep’s final total.

   Springside Chestnut Hill was led by Justin Dougherty, who carded a 3-over 38, Germantown Academy was paced by Luke Marvin, who came in at 4-over 39, and Patrick Isztwan was the low man for Penn Charter with a 2-over 37.

   Isztwan, a junior, won the Bert Linton Memorial Inter-Ac League individual title as a freshman on his home course at Huntingdon Valley Country Club in the fall of 2017. He is coming off a strong summer of golf, including a run to the semifinals of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship at Coatesville Country Club and a tie for fifth in the Imperial Headwear Junior Classic, an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) stop at DuPont Country Club last month.