Mitchell makes seven birdies to capture a Junior Tour victory at Linfield National

    Sam Mitchell of Pottstown stayed aggressive all day, making seven birdies at Linfield National Golf Club in the Linfield section of Limerick Township on his way to an even-par 71 that gave him a victory in the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour event Saturday.

   Mitchell made birdies on the fourth and eighth holes on the outgoing nine of the par-71 Linfield National layout, then really got it going on the incoming nine, ripping off three straight birdies at 10, 11 and 12 and adding back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17. Mitchell also had five pars on his scorecard.

   Andrew Bauer of Reading claimed runnerup honors with a 4-over 75 that featured back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth holes and 11 pars, seven of them on the back nine at Linfield National, including five in a row from 10 through 14.

   Downingtown West junior Brady Manning and Hayden Bond of Morgantown shared third place, each posting a 6-over 77, two shots behind Bauer. Manning made birdies at the second, 15^th and 16^th holes and had seven pars on his scorecard. Bond made birdies at the second and 17^th holes and had 10 pars on his card.

   Colin Keiser of West Chester took fifth place with a 79 and Nathan Jones of Wayne and another West Chester entry, William Aprahamian, finished in a tie for sixth, each landing on 80.

   Grey Conta of Hummelstown finished alone in eighth place with an 81 and Frankie Sass of Exton and Perkiomen Valley senior Ryan Horenci rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as they shared ninth, each carding an 84.

   Radnor sophomore Shaun Mazzalupi, coming off a tie for 34^th place with a 79 in the PIAA Class AAA Championship Tuesday at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort, registered a solid 2-over 73 to finish atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division. Mazzalupi made back-to-back birdies at the second and third holes and had 13 pars on his scorecard, including eight in a row from four through 11.

   Boyertown freshman Chase Dillman and John Curran of Malvern shared second place, each signing for a 79 that left them six shots behind Mazzalupi. Dillman made a birdie at the 17^th hole and had 10 pars on his card. Curran made birdies at the fourth, 14^th and 17^th holes and had eight pars on his card. Curran finished strong, going 2-under for his last five holes.

   Danny DeLeila of Wayne and Tyler Sikorski of Lincoln University finished in a tie for fourth place, each registering an 80, and three more players were another shot behind DeLeila and Sikorski in a tie for sixth, including Michael Liu of Garnet Valley, Shane Callahan of Schwenksville and Seiji Sako of Wynnewood.

   Rounding out the top 10 among the younger 13-to-15 division competitors were two players, Liam McFadden of Bryn Mawr and Ryan Quinn of Jamison, who landed in a tie for ninth place, each signing for an 83.

   The best score among the girls emerged from the 13-to-15 division as Danielle Higbee of Mickleton, N.J. had five pars on her way to an 88 to capture the victory. Central Bucks South freshman Sophia Branca made a birdie at the 14^th hole and had five pars on her scorecard as she finished two shots behind Higbee in second place with a 90.

   Isabella Magno of Delran, N.J. had three pars on her card as she finished in third place with a 101. Malaina Druffner of Downingtown took fourth place with a 109 and a couple of Chester Springs entries, Charlotte Anstine and Julia Nawalany, rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as they finished fifth and sixth with respective scores of 113 and 128.

   Heidi Wegscheider of Boyertown earned top honors in the 16-to-18 division with a 93 that featured a birdie at the 10^th hole and two pars. Central Bucks East senior Nina Harris had five pars as she finished a shot behind Wegscheider in second place to round out the field of older girls with a 94 that was highlighted by five pars.

   Quin Zuegner of New Hope made a birdie at the sixth hole and had four pars on his scorecard, opening his round with three straight pars to best the field of nine-holers with a 4-over 39.

   Jason Mack of Delaware Water Gap had four pars as he claimed runnerup honors with a 40 that left him a shot behind Zuegner. Trevor Sieben of Medford, N.J. was another shot behind Mack in third place with a 41 that also included four pars.

   Grant McColl of Haverford took fourth place with a 43, Giulia Weisser of Reading was fifth with a 46 and three players, including Chase Pizel of Gap, Preston Minio of Lansdale and Ayden Gallen of Broomall, finished in a tie for sixth, each posting a 47.

   Jake Julian of Malvern took ninth place with a 49 and Ryan Kelly of Harleysville and Anderson Brexler of Doylestown rounded out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division as they finished in a tie for 10^th, each signing for a 50.

   Paid a visit to the Linfield National pro shop late in the summer to talk with Robert Kleckner, the head pro and owner, for a story I was doing on the facility for Joe Burkhardt’s Tri-State Golfer. Kleckner is dedicated to promoting the game he loves, paying particular attention to junior golf because he realizes that is the future of the game.

   I’m sure Kleckner and his team pulled out all  the stops for Saturday’s Philly Junior Tour stop at Linfield National.