McGrath leads the way as Temple opens spring campaign by finishing eighth in Wexford Intercollegiate

    Temple opened the spring portion of the wraparound 2021-2022 season with an eighth-place finish in the Wexford Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Wexford Plantation’s Arnold Palmer Signature Course on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

   Head coach Brian Quinn’s Owls were led by junior Connor McGrath, an Academy of the New Church product and winner of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship last summer at Cedarbrook Country Club.

   McGrath, who plays out of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, finished in a tie for 13^th place at 2-over 218 over the 6,913-yard, par-72 Wexford Plantation layout. He matched par with a 72 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round after opening with a 75. McGrath closed with his best round of the tournament, a 1-under 71, in Tuesday’s final round.

   Temple, which plays out of the American Athletic Conference, opened with an 8-over 296 and added an 11-over 299 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with its best round of the tournament, a 4-over 292 for a 23-over 887 total.

   Host Francis Marion rallied in the final round with a 5-under 283 to overtake Mercer and Furman and claim the team crown with a 2-over 866 total. The Patriots, playing out of the Southland Conference, had opened with a 1-over 289 before adding a 6-over 294 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Not all the teams completed Monday’s double round and eight of the 17 teams in the field had to return to finish the second round Tuesday morning before the final round started.

   Furman, at No. 93, the only team in the field in the top 100 in the Golfstat rankings, finished a shot behind Francis Marion in second place with a 3-over 867 total. The Paladins, a Southern Conference entry, trailed Mercer by four shots going into the final round as they added a solid 4-under 284 in Monday afternoon’s second round to their opening-round 295.

   Furman matched par in the final round with a 288 to come up just short of Francis Marion.

   Augusta, another Southland Conference entry, closed with a solid 3-under 285 to finish in third place with a 6-over 870 total. The Jaguars added a 293 in the second round to the 4-over 292 they opened with in Monday’s first round.

   East Carolina, an AAC rival of Temple’s, and Mercer, another SoCon entry, were a shot behind Augusta in a tie for fourth place, each landing on 7-over 871.

   The Pirates started slowly with an 8-over 296 and added a 1-under 287 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 288.

   The Bears, who got a respective 1-2 finish in the individual standings from Tobias Jonsson, a sophomore from Sweden, and Martin Plukka, a senior from Finland, held the lead going into the final round after adding a 5-under 283 to their opening-round 292. Mercer struggled a little in the final round, closing with a 9-over 297.

   Jonsson captured the individual title as he carded back-to-back 71s in the first two rounds before closing with a 2-under 70 for a 4-under 212 total. His teammate, Plukka, rattled off three straight 1-under 71s to earn runnerup honors with a 3-under 213 total, a shot behind his teammate.

   South Carolina Aiken, a Division II program, was three shots behind East Carolina and Mercer in sixth place with a 10-over 874 total. After opening with a 298, the Pacers added a 293 in the second round before finishing strong with a 5-under 283.

   Big South representative Radford finished seven shots behind South Carolina Aiken in seventh place with a 17-over 881 total. The Highlanders shaved seven shots off their opening-round 302 with a 295 in the second round before finishing up with a solid 4-under 284. It was another six shots back to Temple in eighth place in the 17-team field.

   Leading the way for Francis Marion was Mitchell Vance, a junior from Hartsville who finished a shot behind Mercer’s Plukka among the trio tied from third place with a 2-under 214 total. Vance added a 74 in the second round to his 1-under 71 in the opening round before sparking the final-round surge by Francis Marion with a 3-under 69.

   Backing up Vance for the Patriots was McClure Thompson, a senior from Little River, S.C. who finished among the group tied for 15^th place with a 3-over 219 total. Thompson added a 74 in the second round to his opening-round 73 before matching par with a 72 in the final round.

   Rounding out the Patriots’ lineup were three players – Casper Kennedy, a junior from Norway, Grant Sellers, a senior from McBee, S.C., and Michael Rials, a fifth-year player from Florence, S.C. – all of whom landed among the group tied for 21^st place at 4-over 220.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Kennedy posted a solid 1-under 71 in the second round before falling back in the final round with a 77. Sellers added a 75 in the second round to his opening-round 73 before matching par in the final round with a 72. Rials registered back-to-back 75s in the first two rounds before contributing a 2-under 70 to Francis Marion’s strong finish.

   A pair of East Carolina players – Stephen Carroll, a graduate student from Concord, N.C., and Tyler DeChellis, a freshman from Clayton, N.C. – joined Francis Marion’s Vance in the tie for third place at 2-under 214. After opening with a 73, Carroll posted a 1-under 71 in the second round before closing with a 2-under 70. DeChellis added a 1-under 71 after opening with a 2-under 70 before finishing up with a 73.

   Eastern Michigan’s Ty Celone, a senior from Canada, finished alone in sixth place with a 1-under 215 as he added a 2-under 70 to his opening-round 73 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Three more players – Presbyterian’s Jimmy McCollum, a junior from Greer, S.C., South Carolina Aiken’s Leo Bono, a junior from Switzerland, and Furman’s Jack Crosby, a senior from Memphis, Tenn. – finished in a tie for seventh place, each ending up at even-par 216.

   McCollum got a little better in each round, matching par with a 72 in the second round after opening with a 74 before closing with a solid 2-under 70. Bono matched par the opening round with a 72, added a 73 in the second round and finished up with a 1-under 71. Crosby was the picture of consistency, rattling off three straight even-par 72s.

   Backing up McGrath for Temple was junior Buddy Hansen, a scholastic standout at La Salle who sandwiched a 76 in the second round with a pair of 1-over 73s to finish among the group tied for 31^st place at 6-over 222.

   Graham Chase, a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., sandwiched a 77 in the second round with a pair of 1-over 73s to finish in the group tied for 37^th place at 7-over 223.

   Rounding out the Temple lineup were senior Dawson Anders, a Souderton product and the 2017 Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ Championship winner, and Ethan Whitney, a freshman from Westminster, Mass., both of whom were part of a trio of players tied for 57^th place at 12-over 228.

   After opening with a 78, Anders added a pair of 3-over 75s. Whitney added a 76 to his opening-round 75 before closing with a 77.

   All five players on Hilton Head Island were in the Temple lineup when it closed out the fall portion of the 2021-’22 season in the City 6 Championship at Llanerch Country Club. Teams in the City 6 Championship had six-man lineups and the sixth for the Owls was a product of the Llanerch junior program, freshman Joey Morganti, who starred scholastically at St. Joseph’s Prep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jackson finding his groove as he leads Notre Dame to third in Watersound Invitational

    Palmer Jackson, the 2018 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Franklin Regional, entered Notre Dame on a major roll after a monster summer of 2019.

   First, came the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio where Jackson stunned defending champion Michael Thorbjornsen in the second round of match play before falling in the round of 16. Then came a tie for seventh place in the Boys Junior PGA Championship at the Keney Park Golf Course in Windsor, Conn.

   That all turned out to be prelude that summer when Jackson made a remarkable run to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina before falling to John Augenstein, the eventual runnerup.

   Jackson carried that momentum right to South Bend, Ind. as he helped the Irish put together an historically good fall portion to the season. And then … it all came to a crashing halt in March of 2020 when the rest of the wraparound 2019-2020 season – the rest of Jackson’s freshman season – was abruptly cancelled with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

   It seemed like Jackson was slow to get his groove back, although even the best of players can hit a lull from time to time. And who wasn’t affected by the biggest disruption in our every-day lives in most of our lifetimes?

   Notre Dame was seeded fifth in the Stillwater Regional last spring, but never fired, failing to advance to the NCAA Championship at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., although Jackson had a solid showing, finishing in a tie for 12^th place in the individual standings.

   Jackson did win the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s R. Jay Sigel Match Play Championship at Sewickley Heights Golf Club, defeating Penn State’s Patrick Sheehan, who finished in a tie for third place behind Jackson in the state championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in 2018, in the final.

   I’m guessing that Jackson, like just about every other western Pennsylvania amateur that earned a spot in the field, had high hopes for the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club, one of America’s iconic courses just outside Pittsburgh.

   But Jackson never got it going in the qualifying for match play, opening with a 76 at The Longue Vue Club and adding a 76 at the much more difficult Oakmont.

   But don’t sleep on Palmer Jackson. He has really started to look like his old self this month. In the Watersound Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Shark’s Tooth Golf Course in Panama City Beach, Fla., Jackson led Notre Dame to a third-place finish in the team standings as he finished among a group of five players tied for fourth place with a 4-under 212 total.

   It was the first tournament on the spring portion of Notre Dame’s wraparound 2021-’22 season, but Jackson had a little bit of a jump on the rest of his teammates.

   Earlier in the month, Jackson parlayed a fast start into an impressive three-shot victory in the Jones Cup Invitational at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga. over an elite field of amateurs. Jackson’s opening round featured six birdies and an eagle as he fired a spectacular 6-under 66.

   He added a 3-under 69 in the second round before winter suddenly found its way to Sea Island with a howling wind and temperatures in the 40s for the final round. Jackson gutted out a four-bogey, 14-par 76 that gave him a 5-under 211 total, but it was good enough to hold off Oklahoma’s Will McAllister, a senior from Oklahoma City, Okla. and No. 11 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), by three shots.

   Jackson, who has risen to No. 46 in the WAGR, opened with a 73 Sunday at the 7,202-yard, par-72 Shark’s Tooth layout, but got it going with a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Davis Chatfield, a graduate student from Attleboro, Mass., gave Notre Dame, which has risen to No. 14 in the Golfstat rankings, a second player inside the top 10 as he finished among a quartet of players tied for ninth place at 3-under 213. Chatfield matched par in the opening round with a 72, added a 71 in Monday’s second round and closed with a solid 2-under 70.

   Jackson and Chatfield eased the pain of the disappointing end to Notre Dame’s season in the Stillwater Regional last spring by making a run to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship in May at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. Chatfield also reached the quarterfinals in the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont.

   After opening with a disappointing 301, Notre Dame ripped off a sizzling 15-under 273 in Monday’s second round, the best team round of the week, before closing with a 4-under 284 that gave the Irish a 6-under 858 total.

   The ACC had 12 of the 14 teams in the field and Notre Dame finished ahead of all but one of them, perennial conference power Georgia Tech, ranked 12^th. The rankings I’m working with are updated in the aftermath of the Watersound Invitational.

   The Yellowjackets, behind the runnerup finish of Ross Steelman, a junior from Columbia, Mo., captured the team crown with a 15-under 849 total, their third tournament victory of the wraparound 2021-’22 season.

   Seeded fifth in the Tallahassee Regional at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club last spring, Georgia Tech advanced to the NCAA Championship with a third-place finish, but never got it going at Grayhawk. The Yellow Jackets were really solid at Shark’s Tooth, going wire to wire. After opening with a 3-under 285, Georgia Tech fired an 11-under 277 in Monday’s second round and closed with a 1-under 287.

   Southeastern Conference power Alabama, ranked 20^th, got a spectacular performance from individual champion Canon Claycomb, a junior from Bowling Green, Ky., to surge to a runnerup finish with a 10-under 854 total that left the Crimson Tide five shots behind Georgia Tech.

   Alabama struggled a little in the opening round with an 8-over 296, but shaved 20 shots off that with a sparkling 12-under 276 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 6-under 282 total.

   Nobody has ever doubted Claycomb’s talent. He was in that round of 16 along with Notre Dame’s Jackson in 2019 in the U.S. Junior Amateur at Inverness and was the runnerup in the Boys Junior PGA Championship at Keney Park that summer.

   He finally put it all together at Shark’s Tooth, adding a sizzling 6-under 66 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 67 before closing with a 3-under 69 for a 14-under 202 total that was eight shots clear of Georgia Tech’s Steelman.

   Three more ACC entries were lined up behind Notre Dame as No. 44 Virginia Tech took fourth place with a 2-under 862 total, No. 25 Clemson, the reigning ACC champion, was fifth at even-par 864 and No. 4 North Carolina was sixth, a shot behind Clemson at 1-over 865.

   Virginia Tech added a solid 6-under 282 in Monday’s second round to its opening-round 286 before falling back with a 6-over 294 in the final round. After opening with a 294, Clemson registered a solid 8-under 280 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 2-over 290.

   North Carolina was the ACC’s lone representative in the match-play bracket in last spring’s NCAA Championship at Grayhawk, the Tar Heels falling to Arizona State in the quarterfinals. North Carolina added a 287 in Monday’s second round to its 2-under 286 in the opening round before finishing up with a 4-over 292.

   No. 7 Arkansas, out of the SEC, and No. 32 North Carolina State, another ACC entry, finished in a tie for seventh place in the loaded 14-team field, each landing on 3-over 867, two shots behind North Carolina.

   After opening with a 293, Arkansas carded a 3-under 285 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-over 289. The Wolfpack were steady, matching par in Monday’s second round with a 288 after opening with a 287 before closing with a 4-over 292.

   Steelman, who made a run to the quarterfinals of last summer’s U.S. Amateur at Oakmont, led the way for Georgia Tech with his runnerup finish. After opening with a 73, Steelman came on strong with a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round and a 4-under 68 in the final round. Steelman had an eagle-birdie finish in the final round that solidified his runnerup finish and the team victory for Georgia Tech.

   Backing up Steelman for the Yellow Jackets was Bartley Forrester, a redshirt junior from Gainesville, Ga. who was part of the foursome tied for fourth place at 4-under 212. Forrester contributed a 4-under 68 to Georgia Tech’s second-round surge after he had opened with a 71. Forrester finished up with a 1-over 73.

   Connor Howe, a junior from Ogden, Utah and No. 84 in the WAGR, opened with a solid 2-under 70, added a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round and closed with a 73 to join the group tied for 13^th place at 2-under 214.

   Christo Lamprecht, a sophomore from South Africa and No. 91 in the WAGR, added a pair of 73s in the final two rounds to his opening round of 1-under 71 to finish in the group tied for 23^rd place with a 1-over 217 total.

   Rounding out the Georgia Tech lineup, Benjamin Reuter, a freshman from the Netherlands, contributed a 3-under 69 to the Yellow Jackets’ strong showing in Monday’s second round after opening with a 74. A final-round 76 left Reuter in a tie for 34^th place at 3-over 219.

   Florida State’s Frederik Kjettrup, a sophomore from Denmark, finished alone in third place in the individual standings, a shot behind Steelman with a 5-under 211 total. Kjettrup sandwiched a sparkling 5-under 67 in Monday’s second round with a pair of even-par 72s.

   Joining Notre Dame’s Jackson and Georgia Tech’s Forrester in the group tied for fourth place at 4-under 212 were Clemson’s Jacob Bridgeman, a senior from Inman, S.C. and No. 30 in the WAGR, and Louisville’s Jiri Zuska, a senior from the Czech Republic.

   Bridgeman made a splash in the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont last summer, opening with a 7-under 63 at The Longue Vue Club and finishing in a tie for seventh place in qualifying for match play before reaching the round of 16. After opening with a 73 at Shark’s Tooth, Bridgeman registered a solid 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 71.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Zusak posted back-to-back 2-under 70s in the final two rounds.

   One of the players joining Notre Dame’s Chatfield in the tie for ninth place at 3-under was North Carolina’s Austin Greaser, a junior from Vandalia, Ohio and No. 22 in the WAGR. Greaser added a 71 to his opening round of 3-under 69 before closing with a 73.

   Greaser made a special run to the final of the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont last summer before falling to Michigan State’s James Piot. Along the way, Greaser knocked off ACC rivals Bridgeman in the round of 16 and Steelman in the quarterfinals.

   Rounding out the foursome tied for ninth place at 213 were N.C. State’s Easton Paxton, a grad student from Riverton, Wyo., and Duke’s Quinn Riley, a senior from Raleigh, N.C.

   Paxton was the picture of consistency, rattling off three straight 1-under 71s. After opening with a 74, Riley carded a solid 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 70.

 

Florida State springs into action with victory in Moon Golf Invitational; LSU's Lindblad the individual winner

    Florida State finished one maddening shot from forcing a playoff for the final two spots in match play in the NCAA Championship last spring at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Still, it was a pretty special spring for the Seminoles as they lost in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s first match-play final to Duke and claimed the team crown in the Louisville Regional, the first regional title in program history.

   Somehow Florida State entered this week’s Moon Golf Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Suntree Country Club’s Classic Course in Melbourne, Fla., at No. 31 in the latest Golfstat rankings.

   But with everybody back from the team that won the Louisville Regional a year ago, Florida State, opening the spring portion of the wraparound 2021-2022 season, proved that it still belongs among the country’s top teams with a six-shot victory over a loaded field.

   Behind Charlotte Heath, a sophomore from England and No. 54 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) who finished alone in fourth place, and Beatrice Wallin, a senior from Sweden and No. 5 in the Women’s WAGR who finished in a tie for fifth, Florida State pulled away from ACC rival Virginia with a 7-under-par 281 in the final round over Suntree’s 6,479-yard, par-72 Classic Course layout.

   Battling Florida’s typically fickle February winds, the Seminoles carded a 2-under 286 in Sunday’s opening round that gave them a one-shot lead over No. 8 Virginia. A 1-under 287 in Monday’s second round gave Florida State a two-shot lead over the Cavaliers heading into the final round.

   Their 7-under final round left the Seminoles with a 10-under 854 total. Virginia matched par in the second round with a 288 after its opening-round 286 and the Cavaliers closed with a solid 3-under 285 for a 4-under 860 total.

   Virginia was coming off a third-place finish in the UCF Challenge at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla. where a couple of program records fell, but, somehow, 27-under left it 18 shots behind the winner, Wake Forest.

   No. 21 LSU, out of the Southeastern Conference, was right there with Florida State at Grayhawk, tied for ninth place, one frustrating shot from forcing a playoff for a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship.

   The Bayou Tigers, behind individual champion Ingrid Lindblad, a junior from Sweden and No. 2 in the Women’s WAGR, bounced back from an opening-round 292 with a 1-under 287 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 6-under 282 that left them a shot behind Virginia in third place with a 3-under 861 total.

   Lindblad was one of six players who finished a shot out of the playoff between eventual champion Tsubasa Kajitani and Emilia Migliaccio in a tie for third place in last spring’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship. Lindblad looked like every bit the No. 2 amateur player in the world on Suntree’s Classic Course, opening with a sparkling 6-under 66, adding a 67 in Monday’s second round and closing with a 73 for a 10-under 206 total that was three shots clear of a very tough field.

   Another SEC power, No. 9 Alabama, finished a shot behind LSU in fourth place with a 2-under 862 total. The Crimson Tide started slowly with a 297, but posted a solid 2-under 286 in Monday’s second round before closing with the best team round of the tournament, a 9-under 279.

   No. 30 Central Florida got it in under par for the week, finishing a shot behind Alabama in fifth place with a 1-under 863 total. After opening with a 292, the Knights, out of the American Athletic Conference, added a 2-under 286 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 3-under 285.

   It was seven shots back to another SEC entry, No. 7 Florida, in sixth place as the Gators added a 290 to their opening-round 291 and closed with a 1-over 289 for a 6-over 870 total.

   Two more SEC powers, No. 17 Auburn and No. 3 South Carolina, finished in a tie for seventh place in the 15-team field, each landing on 7-over 871, a shot behind Florida.

   Auburn, which fell in the quarterfinals in the NCAA Championship to Oklahoma State last spring, bounced back from an opening-round 295 with a 1-under 287 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-over 289. South Carolina also started slowly with a 7-over 295, added a 291 in Monday’s second round and closed with a 3-under 285.

   Heath was a member of the Great Britain & Ireland team that dropped a 12.5-7.5 decision to the United States last summer in the Curtis Cup Match at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales. She was the picture of consistency for Florida State at Suntree, registering three straight 2-under 70s to finish four shots behind Lindblad in fourth place and lead the way for the Seminoles with a 6-under 210 total.

   Wallin matched Heath’s opening-round 70 and added a 73 in Monday’s second round before closing with a solid 4-under 68 to finish in a tie for fifth place with a 5-under 211 total. Wallin was Florida State’s leading lady at Grayhawk last spring, finishing in a tie for ninth place in the individual chase in the NCAA Championship.

   Backing up the top two for Florida State was Amelia Williamson, a senior from England and No. 77 in the Women’s WAGR who finished alone in ninth place with a 3-under 213 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Williamson added a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 71.

   Elle Johnson, a junior from Inman, S.C., finished in a large group tied for 26^th place at 4-over 220. After posting back-to-back 74s in the first two rounds, Johnson matched par with a critical 72 in the final round.

   Rounding out the Florida State lineup was Alice Hodge, a sophomore from Larchmont, N.Y. who finished in the group tied for 60^th place at 10-over 226. After opening with a 74, Hodge carded back-to-back 76s in the final two rounds.

   Heath, Wallin, Williamson and Hodge were all in the lineup for Florida State in its team victory in the Louisville Regional. The fifth player, Taylor Roberts, a sophomore from Parkland, Fla., is still on the roster. Heath, Hodge and Roberts showed uncommon poise for a trio of freshmen in the cauldron of an NCAA postseason last spring.

   A couple of graduate students, Virginia’s Beth Lillie of Fullerton, Calif. and Louisville’s Kendall Griffin of Sebring, Fla., finished in a tie for second place, three shots behind Lindblad at 7-under 209.

   Lillie, taking up the NCAA’s offer of an extra year of eligibility to make up for the spring of 2020 lost to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic by returning to Virginia for a fifth year, bounced back from an opening-round 75 with a sparkling 6-under 66 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 68.

   Griffin was a teammate of Lindblad’s at LSU last spring, but chose to take her fifth year of eligibility at Louisville. Griffin opened with a solid 4-under 68 and added a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 71.

   Joining Florida State’s Wallin in the trio tied for fifth place at 5-under 211 were Lillie’s Virginia teammate Amanda Sambach, a freshman from Davidson, N.C., and UCF’s Tunrada Piddon, a junior from Thailand.

   Sambach matched par in Monday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 70 before closing with a 3-under 69. After matching par with a 72 in the opening round, Piddon carded the best individual round of the week, a sizzling 7-under 65, in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 74.

   Alabama’s Polly Mack, a fifth-year player from Germany, finished alone in eighth place, a shot behind the trio tied for fifth with a 4-under 212 total. After opening with a 73, Mack posted a 70 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a solid 3-under 69.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual standings were three players – Mack’s Alabama teammate, Angelica Moresco, a graduate student from Italy, Florida’s Maisie Filer, a sophomore from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Baylor’s Gurleen Kaur, a fifth-year player from Houston and No. 79 in the Women’s WAGR -- tied for 10^th place, a shot behind Florida State’s Williamson at 2-under 214.

   Moresco was in the Alabama starting lineup as a freshman in the Crimson Tide’s loss to Arizona in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match in 2018 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Sillwater, Okla. Moresco matched par in the opening round with a 72, added a 74 in Monday’s second round and closed with a solid 4-under 68.

   Filer started slowly with a 75, but bounced back with a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 70. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Kaur posted back-to-back 1-under 71s.

   The Wilmington pair of Jennifer Cleary, a sophomore at Virginia, and Phoebe Brinker, a sophomore at Duke, were just getting their college careers started at this time a year ago after the ACC wouldn’t let its golfers compete in the fall of 2020 with the pandemic continuing to rage.

   Cleary, who starred scholastically at the Tower Hill School, and Brinker, an Archmere Academy product, were both listed as the No. 1 players in their respective lineups and both landed in the large group tied for 26^th place at 4-over 220.

   Cleary, the reigning Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur champion, opened with a solid 3-under 69, struggled a little with a 76 in Monday’s second round, and closed with a 73.

   Brinker was right in the middle of the Blue Devils’ run to the semifinals in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk as a freshman. Duke is ranked 19^th as it opens its spring campaign, but there is no senior on the roster now that U.S. Curtis Cup team member Gina Kim has moved on to the LPGA Tour after finishing in a tie for 35^th place in the eight-round grind that is the LPGA Q-Series last fall.

   After opening with a 76, Brinker added a 73 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-under 71.

   Cleary’s former Tower Hill teammate, Rylie Heflin, a freshman teammate of Brinker’s at Duke, was in the lineup for the Blue Devils and finished among the group tied for 50^th place with a 7-over 223 total. After posting back-to-back 76s in the first two rounds, Heflin closed with a solid 1-under 71.

   Heflin went to high school in Delaware, but she hails from Avondale, just over the Delaware border in Chester County, and played out of Hartefeld National Golf Club in the summer. She won the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship in 2017 and contended every year she teed it up in that event.