Blandine the boys winner, Lu captures girls title in Bustard Memorial Invitational

   Shawn Blandine of Ringwood, N.J. had four birdies, three of them on the front nine at Old York Country Club in Chesterfield, N.J., on his way to a 3-under-par 68 that gave him the overall boys title in the Bustard Memorial Invitational Saturday.

   The Bustard Memorial, which honors the memory of Paul Bustard, a long-time Old York member and big supporter of junior golf, brings together top players from the New Jersey Section PGA Junior Tour and the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour. Scheduled to be a 36-hole tournament, the Bustard Memorial was shortened to 18 holes because of anticipated wet weather Sunday.

   Blandine’s 68 topped the boys 16-to-18 division and gave him the overall victory among players 11 to 18. Maxwell Sorger of Montclair, N.J. was the runnerup to Blandine in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring with a 2-over 73 that featured two birdies, one on each side.

   Zachary Loninger of Crosswicks, N.J. carded a solid 4-over 75 that left him in third place in the division and in a tie for fifth in the overall scoring. Liam Larkin of Green Brook, N.J. and   Muhlenberg senior Tyler Kipp, who played in last week’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort, each carded a 5-over 76 and were tied for fourth in the division and part of a group of three players tied for seventh place in the overall scoring.

   Shane Lawler, coming off a solid junior season at Episcopal Academy, La Salle senior Steve Lorenzo, who led the Explorers to a third-place finish in last week’s PIAA Class AAA team competition, and Benny Hagerty of Manasquan, N.J. finished in a tie for sixth place in the 16-to-18 division, each posting a 6-over 77. The trio were also part of a four-way tie for 10^th place in the overall scoring.

   Devon Prep junior Ryan McCabe, who finished in a tie for third in last week’s PIAA Class AA Championship, was a shot behind the trio tied for sixth at 77 with a 78 as he finished alone in ninth place.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was Carl Ernst of Mickelton, N.J., who signed for a 79 that left him alone in 10^th place.

   Ethan Lee of Jackson, N.J. and Hunter Po of Bridgewater, N.J. shared the top spot in the 11-to-15 division, each carding a 3-over 74 that left them tied for third in the overall scoring. Lee’s steady round included one birdie and 13 pars while Po had a pair of birdies in his round.

   Colin Summers of Westfield, N.J. took third place in the division with a 4-over 75 that also gave him a share of fifth place in the overall scoring with Loninger. Isaiah Williams of Flemington, N.J. was a shot behind Summers in fourth place in the division with a 76 and that also left him tied for seventh in the overall scoring with Kipp and Larkin.

   Derek Gutierrez of Cranford, N.J. finished fifth in the division with a 6-over 77. That also earned him a top-10 finish in the overall scoring as he ended up in a tie for 10^th place with Lawler, Lorenzo and Hagerty from the older division.

Christopher Vitale of Staten Island, N.Y. finished alone in sixth place in the 11-to-15 division with a 78.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the division were four players tied for seventh place at 80, including another Staten Island entry, Colin Elias, Franklin Zhu of Warren, N.J., Matthew Normand of Lumberton, N.J. and Mihir Roperia of Cranbury, N.J.

   The overall winner among the girls came out of the younger 11-to-15 division as Claire Lu of Edison, N.J. fired a 3-over 74 to take the division and claim the overall victory. Claire Lu opened her round with seven straight pars and then birdied two of her next four holes.

   Kaia Wu of Princeton, N.J. was a shot behind Claire Lu with a 4-over 75 that included two birdies on the back nine as Wu was the runnerup in the division and shared second place in the overall scoring.

   Grace Lu of Team Lu of Edison, N.J. and Megan Meng of Pennington, N.J. were two shots behind Wu in a tie for third place in the division and a tie for fourth in the overall scoring, each posting a 77.

Sammie Dolce of Florham Park, N.J. carded an 80 to finish alone in fifth place in the division and in a tie for sixth in the overall scoring.

   Rhianna Gooneratne of Plymouth Meeting, who has been the top 13-to-15 player on the Philly Junior Tour since the calendar turned to the start of the wraparound 2019-2020 season, finished sixth in the 11-to-15 division with a 90.

   Kiera Bartholomew of Westampton, N.J. had four birdies, including three in a solid back-nine 35, to finish atop the 16-to-18 division and tied for second with Wu in the overall scoring with a 4-over 75. Bartholomew finished eighth in last summer’s Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship at Hershey Country Club’s East Course while playing out of Indian Valley Country Club.

   Eden Richmond of Princeton, N.J. was the runnerup to Bartholomew in the division and shared sixth place overall with Dolce with an 80.

   Strath Haven sophomore Grace Smith, coming off a solid ninth-place showing in her debut performance in the PIAA Class AAA Championship last week, carded an 82 to finish third in the division and eighth overall.

   Ava Lozito of Fairfield, N.J. and Zara Jacob of Summit, N.J. each signed for an 84 to end up in a tie for fourth place in the division and rounded out the top 10 in the overall scoring as they were tied for ninth place.

   Olivia Strigh of Hammonton, N.J. finished alone in sixth place in the division with an 88 and Jada Walch of Morganville, N.J. took seventh place in the division with a 90.