Downingtown East senior Dylan Gute has been playing some of his best golf on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour since his scholastic postseason came to an end in the District One Class AAA Championship, including a victory in a stop at Crossgate Golf Club in Millersville.
The Junior Tour players got to test out their rain gear in Sunday’s second round of a Precision Pro Golf Open event at the Seaview Resort’s Bay Course, home to the LPGA ShopRite Classic, just across the bay from Atlantic City. It was hoped that the rain might be spotty in nature, but once it started, it never stopped and the overall boys competition, which began with 18 holes in chilly conditions Saturday, was limited to nine holes Sunday.
The coed 12-and-under division played nine holes Saturday and play was halted after six holes Sunday.
Gute had trailed the leaders following Saturday’s opening round – Logan Hay of Bordentown, N.J. and Nick Mahoney of Lewisburg, both of whom posted a solid 3-over-par 74 – by one with a 4-over 75.
Gute toured the front nine at the Bay Course Sunday in 2-over 39 to share the victory in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring for the 13-to-18 field with Hay and Matthew Normand of Lumberton, N.J. at 6-over 114.
Hay followed up his opening-round 74 with a 3-over 40 and Normand, who opened with a 77 Saturday, had the best nine of the day Sunday, an even-par 37 to join Gute at 114.
The Precision Pro Golf Open events are usually 36 holes and players can earn Junior Golf Scoreboard points that can open up some competitive opportunities on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit.
Gute struggled a little on the front nine Saturday, getting a birdie at the seventh hole to offset three bogeys and a double bogey. But then he settled down and rattled off 10 straight pars to finish his round.
He again struggled a little early in Sunday’s second round, getting a birdie at the third hole in between bogeys at the first and second and fourth and fifth. But a birdie at the eighth hole got him to 6-over for 27 holes and earned him a share of the title.
Hay also got off to a rough start in Saturday’s opening round with bogeys at the first, second and fifth holes around a birdie at the third hole. A double bogey at the sixth hole dropped Hay back to 4-over for his round. But he righted the ship with back-to-back birdies at the ninth and 10th holes and went 1-under for the last 12 holes to get a share of the opening-round lead.
Hay got off to a good start Sunday with a birdie at the first hole, but bogeys at the second, fourth, sixth and ninth holes dropped him back into the three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard.
Normand, always a consistent Junior Tour performer, eagled the par-5 ninth hole, but it the was the lone bright spot in an opening-round 77. Still, he was only three shots out of the lead. Normand’s steady front nine Sunday included a bogey at the fifth hole and a birdie at the ninth and his even-par 37 gave him a piece of the title.
Boyertown senior John Engle, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier a year ago, was just a shot out of the lead after an opening-round 75 and a 3-over 40 Sunday left him alone in fourth place, a shot behind the co-medalists at 7-over 115.
Mahoney added a 44 to his opening-round 74 and was three shots behind Engle in fifth place at 10-over 118.
Garnet Valley senior Matt Pulcinella, coming off a tie for 13th place in the Central League Championship at Downingtown Country Club Monday, was another three shots behind Mahoney in sixth place with a 121 total. Pulcinella had opened with a 79 and added a 42 Sunday.
Robert Dominy of Moorestown, N.J. added a 43 to his opening-round 80 for a 123 total that left him alone in seventh place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for seventh overall with Central Bucks West sophomore Charles Feraco, the winner of the 13-to-15 division, in the overall scoring.
Cardinal O’Hara senior Thomas Larkin registered a solid 5-over 42 Sunday after opening with an 82. Larkin’s 124 total left him alone in eighth place among the older guys and earned him a share of ninth in the overall scoring with a trio of players -- Strath haven sophomore Tyler Debusschere, Brendan Reilly of Doylestown and William Irons of Blue Bell – who shared runnerup honors behind Feraco in the 13-to-15 division.
Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Sean Kelly of Lewisburg and Riley Mostecki of Linwood, N.J., both of whom landed on 126 and finished in a tie for ninth place. Kelly added a 41 to his opening-round 85 and Mostecki, who opened with an 84, finished up with a 42.
Feraco had opened with an 80 Saturday and added a 43 in Sunday’s rain-shortened round for a 15-over 123 total that gave him the top spot in the 13-to-15 division and a share of seventh place overall.
Irons posted the best opening round among the younger guys with a solid 77. He struggled a little Sunday with a 47 to fall into the tie for second in the division and tied for ninth overall with Debusschere and Reilly at 124, a shot behind Feraco.
Debusschere had finished fourth in the Central League Championship at Downingtown Monday, leading Strath Haven to the team title. The league normally only awards a title to the dual-match champion, but in a concession to this most unusual of years, will give the Panthers a trophy for the tournament team crown.
After struggling to an 84 in Saturday’s opening round, Debusschere battled to a 3-over 40 Sunday to join Irons and Reilly at 124. Reilly had also opened with an 84 and matched Debusschere for the low score in the 13-to-15 division Sunday with a 40 to also land at 124.
Justin Forman of Sewell, N.J. and Julien de Brechard of Brooklyn were another three shots behind the trio at 124 as they shared fifth place in the 13-to-15 division at 127. Forman added a 41 Sunday to his opening-round 86 while de Brechard opened with an 83 before finishing up with a 44.
Andrew Zieg of Kennett Square was the only player among the younger guys beside Irons to break 80 in Saturday’s opening round with a solid 79. Zieg added a 49 Sunday to finish alone in seventh place at 128. It was another three shots back to Aidan Farkas of Ardmore, who added a 43 to his opening-round 88 to end up in eighth place at 131.
Holden Hummel of Philadelphia finished in ninth place in the division at 135 as he added a 46 to his opening-round 89. Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was Fort Washington’s Travis Robertson, who registered a 46 Sunday after an opening-round 90 for a 136 total.
Tyler Whitney of Cherry Hill, N.J. opened with a solid 9-over 46 Saturday and trailed Trevor Sieben of Medford, N.J. by a shot among the nine-holers heading into Sunday’s final round. The nine-holers only got in six holes Sunday and Whitney made three pars and three bogeys for a 3-over 28 that enabled him to claim the victory in the coed 12-and-under division with a 12-over 74.
Sieben had three pars in his opening round of 8-over 45 and had two pars in a 33 Sunday that left him four shots behind Whitney in second place with a 78.
Liam McFadden of Bryn Mawr bounced back from an opening-round 50 with two pars in a 31 Sunday that left him alone in third place with an 81, three shots behind Sieben.
Katherine Liu of Moorestown, N.J. continued a recent run of solid play as she added a 34 to her opening-round 48 for an 82 to finish in fourth place. Benjamin Mayer of Garnet Valley opened with a 51 before adding a 33 for an 84 that left him in fifth place.
Mia Martinez of Little Egg Harbor, N.J. added a 32 to her opening-round 54 to land in sixth place at 86. It was another seven shots back to Winston Chew of Exton in seventh place as he registered a 37 for six holes Sunday after opening with a 56 for a 93 total.
I had wondered if Kennett Square’s Lily Kochersperger might be the daughter of Strath Haven golf coach Kevin Kochersperger and I got my answer at Monday’s Central League Championship. Lily Kochersperger is the daughter of a proud Kevin and she finished in eighth place among the nine-holers at Seaview with a 98 total. After signing for a 53 in Saturday’s opening round, Lily Kochersperger posted a 45 for six holes Sunday.
Rounding out the field of coed 12-and-under division competitors was Jameson Foreman of Somers Point, N.J., who finished in ninth place with a 107 total. Foreman opened with a 61 Saturday before adding a 48 for six holes Sunday.
thank you for the nice write up!
ReplyDelete