Normand gets it going at Rock Manor to claim a Junior Tour victory

    When last weekend’s relentless rain finally let up Sunday, Matthew Normand of Lumberton, N.J. was ready as he posted a solid 1-over-par 72 to finish atop the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Rock Manor Golf Club in Wilmington, Del.

   Normand, who plays out of Laurel Creek Country Club, made birdies on the 15^th and 18^th holes and had 13 pars on his scorecard, eight of them on his way to a front nine of 1-over 36 at Rock Manor

   Moravian Academy junior Evan Eichenlaub, who finished in a tie for sixth place in last fall’s PIAA Class AA Championship, made birdies on the fourth, 10^th and 18^th holes and had eight pars on his card as he claimed runnerup honors with a 4-over 75.

   Garnet Valley senior Matt Pulcinella, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, birdied the eighth hole and recorded 11 pars as he finished two shots behind Eichenlaub in third place with a 6-over 77.

   Kennett sophomore Kasim Narinesingh-Smith and Bradyn Cantwell of Garnet Valley shared fourth place, each signing for an 80.

   Colin Smith of Garnet Valley took sixth place with an 81, Garnet Valley senior Nick Woods was seventh with an 83, and Alex Nemo of Bryn Mawr was eighth with an 85.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Liam Shearn of Ardmore and Shane Powelson of Kennett Square as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each registering a 90.

   Haverford School freshman J.P. Hoban, a Havertown resident, made birdies at the 11^th, 16^th and 18^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard, including six straight to begin his round, as he captured a victory in the 13-to-15 division with a 4-over 75.

   David Nissen of Lower Gwynedd made birdies on the fourth, 13th and 17^th holes to finish two shots behind Hoban in second place with a 5-over 76.

   Boyertown freshman Chase Dillman and Anthony Proud of Stroudsburg finished in a tie for third place, each carding a 79.

   Dillman had four birdies at the fourth, sixth, eighth and 10^th holes and had seven pars on his scorecard. Proud was a regular contender among the nine-holers last summer and, as a Class of 2028 entry, pretty sure he would still be eligible to play in the coed 12-and-under division, but is playing up in the 13-to-15 division. Proud made birdies at the first and 17^th holes and had eight pars on his card to join Dillman at 8-over.

   Radnor freshman Will Walsh, Paul Reilly of West Creek, N.J., Seiji Sako of Wynnewood and Trevor Sieben of Medford, N.J. each recorded an 83 to finish in a tie for fifth place.

   Zach Moua of Berwyn took ninth place with an 86 and Luke LaScala of Wilmington, Del. and Tyler Whitney of Cherry Hill, N.J. rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each signing for an 87.

   The best score among the girls came out of the 13-to-15 division as Jillian Burks of Paoli had seven pars on her scorecard as she finished first with an 85.

   Jillian Burks finished in fifth place in the Girls 10-11 division in the 2021 Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at the beginning of Masters week at the Augusta National Golf Club. Younger sister Katelyn followed in Jillian’s footsteps this spring as she finished sixth in the Girls 7-9 division in the 2022 Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at Augusta.

   Emily Mayo of Boothwyn had four pars, all on the incoming nine at Rock Manor, as she earned runnerup honors with an 89. Kaitlynne Simmons of Townsend, Del. had five pars as she finished in third place with a 93.

   Makayla Stone of Garnet Valley took fourth place with a 94 and Anna Firco of Wilmington, Del. rounded out the scoring in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in fifth place with a 112.

   Methacton senior Sarah Lawrie was the lone entry in the 16-to-18 division and made birdies on the fifth and 14^th holes and had five pars on her scorecard as she claimed a Junior Tour win with a solid 88. Lawrie will join the Millersville program at the end of the summer.

   Ian Rotto of Kennett Square continued his strong play this spring as he made birdies at the 17^th and 18^th holes and had three pars on his scorecard to best the field of nine-holers with a 4-over 40. Dane Mohop of Nazareth had five pars as he claimed runnerup honors with a 7-over 42.

   Alaina Carson of Broomall and Ruben Yoon of Magnolia, Del. finished in a tie for third place, each landing on 45. Carson had two pars on her card and Yoon made back-to-back pars on the 11^th and 12^th holes.

   Haden Mazurek of Middletown, Del. took fifth place with a 48 and Ethan Clouser of Newtown and two members of Berwyn’s Team Bottos, Nicolette and Christos, finished in a tie for sixth place, each landing on 49.

   Zachary Proud of Stroudsburg’s Team Proud took ninth place with a 50 and Jake Julien of Malvern rounded out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division, finishing alone in 10^th place with a 51.