Yermish trails by a shot after opening round of PKBGT National Tournament of Champions

   Lower Merion junior Sydney Yermish, the reigning PIAA Class AAA champion, opened defense of her Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour (PKBGT) National Tournament of Champions title with a 1-over-par 73 that left her in a group of six players tied for second place, a shot out of the lead, following Saturday’s opening round at the Forest Oaks Golf Club in Pinehurst, N.C.

   Yermish’s family has established a home away from home in the golf-rich Pinehurst area and the PKBGT’s National Series’ December and January events have proven to be a good fit in Yermish’s schedule, bridging the fall scholastic season and the spring and summer seasons to come.

   There is no shortage of talent in the Carolinas and the PKBGT National Series draws players from Pennsylvania to Georgia.

   Morgan Ketchum of Winston-Salem, N.C., who captured the North Carolina 4-A crown this fall as a senior at Reagan, birdied the 18^th hole to complete an even-par 72 over the 6,000-yard, par-72 Forest Creek layout.

   Ketchum, who will join the Virginia Tech program next summer, had a steady round. She bounced back from an early bogey at the third hole with a birdie at eight. She fell back to 1-over with a bogey at 10, but after seven straight pars she closed with that birdie at the last to get it back to even and separate herself from the logjam in second place at 1-over.

   Yermish, who has committed to join the Michigan program in the summer of 2023, opened with a birdie at the first hole, but bogeys at five, six and 10 dropped her back to 2-over. Birdies at the 12^th and 15^th holes got Yermish back to even-par for her round before a bogey at 18 left her in the large group at 1-over.

   Yermish, who plays out of Rolling Green Golf Club, was coming off a solid showing in the marquee event on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) calendar as she finished strong to get a share of 20^th place in the Rolex Tournament of Champions, which wrapped up Thanksgiving Day at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

   Earlier this month, the AJGA named her the female winner of the Jerry Cole Sportsmanship Award, the winners of which were announced as part of the Rolex Junior All-America Virtual Awards Banquet at PGA National.

   Yermish was recognized for the $18,000 she raised to donate to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Md. Throughout Yermish’s scholastic postseason this fall she had a fund-raising program, “Birdies for the Fallen,” to honor the memory of Sean DeMuynck, her fellow volunteer firefighter at the Penn Wynne-Overbrook Hills Fire Station No. 21 who lost his life in the line of duty in July.

   Yermish had solicited pledges before the scholastic postseason began for every birdie she made during the Central League, District One and PIAA Championships. It proved to be no small motivation for the talented Yermish as she won all three titles. Her 16 birdies and one eagle (which counted for double) added up to 18 birdies.

   There’s a pretty neat picture on the AJGA website of Yermish, in her dress firefighter attire, accepting the Jerry Cole Sportsmanship Award along with the male winner, Rafe Cochran of Palm Beach, Fla., like Yermish a 16-year-old. The Jerry Cole Sportsmanship Award goes to male and female junior golfers who display exemplary sportsmanship and integrity in the game of golf.

   Joining Yermish in the group at 1-over at Forest Creek was Kiera Bartholomew, the North Carolina Junior Player of Year in 2020 from Wake Forest, N.C. Pretty sure Bartholmew’s early days of junior success came in the Philadelphia area as she played out of Indian Valley Country Club in Telford before her family moved to North Carolina.

   Reigning Georgia State Golf Association Girls champion Hailey Han of Duluth, Ga. also landed in the tie for second place with a 73. Rounding out the six-pack of contenders at 1-over were Karsyn Roberts of Pikeville, N.C., Elizabeth Rudisill of Charlotte, N.C. and Elsie MacCreery of Crozet, Va.

   Baldwin junior Megan Adelman and Sussex Academy sophomore Sarah Lydic of Ocean View, Del. were among the group tied for 23^rd place as each carded an 80 in Saturday’s opening round. The PKBGT National Tournament of Champions concludes with Sunday’s final round.

   Emma Niebauer of High Point, N.C. registered a 3-over 75 to take a one-shot lead in the Prep Preview Division.

   Hannah Lowery of Chesapeake, Va. and Riley Grimm, a Pinehurst home girl, were tied for second place as each posted a 76.

   Danielle Higbee of Mickelton, N.J., whose name often appears on Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour leaderboards, signed for an 88 that left her in a tie for 23^rd place.