Beek feels at home while cruising to first AJGA victory at Penn State

    It’s been nearly three years since Elizabeth Beek, then a freshman at Wissahickon, prevailed in a playoff with Lower Merion’s Sydney Yermish, also a freshman at Lower Merion, and West Chester East sophomore Victoria Kim to capture the PIAA Class AAA Championship.

   Turned out all three of those playoff participants would end up with state titles on their resumes as Kim came back in the pandemic year of 2020 to claim the PIAA Class AAA crown at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County and Yermish got the state crown that had eluded her as a freshman last fall at Heritage Hills.

   Beek was gone from the Pennsylvania scholastic scene after that 2019 state title, developing her game while attending school at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Pretty sure she was home in the summer, but she wasn’t really playing the junior circuit in this area.

   Last week, though, Beek, who plans to play college golf in the Big Ten at Illinois, teed it up in the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Junior at Penn State and was a runaway winner, capturing the title by a whopping seven shots with a 12-under-par 204 total over the 6,113-yard, par-72 Blue Course at Penn State.

   The AJGA Junior at Penn State wrapped up Wednesday and started on the Fourth of July with Beek providing the fireworks to the tune of an opening round of 7-under 65 that featured eight birdies against a lone bogey.

   Beek came storming out of the gate with birdies at the first, second, fourth and seventh holes and never looked back. She added a 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round and closed with a solid 3-under 69 to cruise to her first career AJGA victory.

   “It means a lot to win because I have been playing tournaments here since I was 6-years old, so to win so close to home means a lot,” Beek told the AJGA website.

   Irene Kim, a talented Class of 2026 entry from Woodstock, Md., closed with a sparkling 6-under 66 to earn runnerup honors with a 5-under 211 total. After opening with a 2-over 74, Kim carded a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Alisa Inprasit, a Class of ’24 entry from Thailand, finished another shot behind Kim in third place with a 4-under 212 total. Inprasit sandwiched a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 3-under 69s.

   Angelina Tolentino, a Mount Laurel, N.J. resident and a junior at Lenape High, had a strong showing at Penn State as she closed with a 1-under 71 to finish in a tie for sixth place with a 1-over 217 total. Tolentino got a little better each day on the Blue Course as she matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 74.

   Tolentino jump-started her 2022 campaign in April when she teamed with fellow Jersey girl Megan Meng, a Hopewell Valley junior, in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship at the Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

   I never quite got around to wrapping up one of my favorite events, but Tolentino and Meng made quite a splash in Puerto Rico, finishing in a tie for third place in qualifying for match play with a 9-under 135 total.

   They fell in the opening round of match play, 2 and 1, to another Jersey girl, Meghan Stasi, the four-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion who resides in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. area these days and her pal Dawn Woodard. Pretty sure, Stasi and Woodard have qualified for match play in each of the seven playings of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am.

   West Chester East’s Kim, the 2020 PIAA Class AAA champion, posted a solid eighth-place finish in the AJGA Junior at Penn State as she added a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 7 before closing with a 75 for a 4-over 219 total.

   Kim will join the program at Division III Williams College later this summer.

   Marissa Malosh, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior at South Fayette last fall, matched par in the final round to finish a tie for 18^th place with a 9-over 225 total. Malosh had added a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 77.

   Kayla Maletto, whose sophomore season at Wilson was cut short by injury last fall, closed with a 2-over 74 to finish in a tie for 20^th place with a 10-over 226. Maletto had opened with a solid 1-over 73, but struggled a little in Tuesday’s second round on her way to a 79.

   Kayley Roberts, who will be a freshman on the Phoenixville girls team this fall, missed the cut as she struggled to an 87 in the opening round before bouncing back with a 79 for a 166 total.

   John Hiller, a Class of ’24 entry from New York City, was nearly as dominant on the boys side as Beek was on the girls side as he cruised to a four-shot victory with a 10-under 206 total.

   Hiller grabbed the lead right from the start with a solid 5-under 67 over a Blue Course that measured 7,048 for the guys in the opening round and built on his lead with a 4-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round. Hiller closed with a solid 1-under 71.

   Bradley Chill Jr., another Class of ’24 entry from Columbia Station, Ohio, was Hiller’s closest pursuer, earning runnerup honors with three straight 2-under 70s that left him four shots behind Hiller with a 6-under 210 total.

   Looks like the top Pennsylvania finisher was recent Cumberland Valley graduate Brady Davidson, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior last fall who finished in the group tied for 11^th place with a 1-over 217 total. Davidson sandwiched a 3-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 2-over 74s.

   Penn-Trafford junior Nick Turowski, who finished in a tie for fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall, finished among the group tied for 14^th place with a 3-over 219 total.

   Turowski, coming off a tie for second place in the Pennsylvania Golf Association (PAGA) Junior Boys’ Championship last month at Hershey Country Club’s East Course, opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 76 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Moravian Academy senior Evan Eichenlaub, who finished in a tie for sixth place in the PIAA Class AA Championship last fall, was also in the group with Turowski at 3-over. Eichenlaub added a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 73 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Recent Bradford graduate Spencer Cornelius, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, and Erie Cathedral Prep senior Breckin Taylor were among the group tied for 18^th place, each landing on 4-over 220.

   Cornelius bounced back from an opening-round 77 by matching par with a 72 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a solid 1-under 71. Taylor added a 74 in the final round to the pair of 1-over 73 he registered in the first two rounds.

   Michael Lynch, who graduated from Scranton Prep in the spring and was a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, and Lebanon sophomore Dylan Ramsey were among the group tied for 25^th place, each landing 7-over 223.

   Michael Lynch matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 75. Ramsey got a little better in each round, adding a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 76 before closing with a solid 1-over 73.

   Wyoming Seminary sophomore Nick Werner, who finished in a tie for sixth place in the PIAA Class AA Championship last fall, ended up in the group tied for 28^th place with an 8-over 224 total. Werner, who made a run to the quarterfinals of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship last month at Bala Golf Club, struggled to a 78 in the final round after posting back-to-back 1-over 73s in the first two rounds.

   Peters Township senior Austin Malley finished in a tie for 36^th place with a 228 total as he struggled to an 80 in the final round after carding back-to-back 2-over 74s in the first two rounds.

   Moravian Academy junior Thomas Young and Wilson senior Evan Jozwiak, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, finished in a tie for 38^th place, each ending up at 229.

   After opening with a solid 2-over 74, Young added a 79 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 4-over 76. Jozwiak struggled in the final round with an 81 after posting back-to-back 2-over 74s in the first two rounds.

   Strath Haven senior Tyler Debusschere, who has been in the middle of one of the most successful runs in the history of the Panthers’ program, finished in a tie for 40^th place with Will Huntley of Lansdale at 230.

   After opening with a 3-over 75, Debusschere added a 78 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 77. Huntley finished up with a 78 after recording back-to-back 4-over 76s in the first two rounds.

   Altoona senior Trent Meyers, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, finished alone in 43^rd place at 232 as he sandwiched a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 79s.

   Among some of the Pennsylvania guys who missed the 36-hole cut were: Lake Lehman junior Michael Lugiano (80-74­­—154); Scranton Prep senior Thomas Lynch, (76-79—155), Michael’s twin brother; Franklin Regional senior Nolan Shilling (79-77—156); La Salle senior Tyler Leyden (78-78—156); Radnor junior Shaun Mazzalupi (82-76—158); State College junior Maxwell Wager, who helped the Little Lions claim the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall (82-77—159); and Indiana junior Harrison Martineau (77-86—163).

   It makes sense that some current Pennsylvania high school players would want to play some competitive rounds at Penn State because I’m hearing rumblings that the PIAA Championships will return to Happy Valley for the first time since 2001 this fall.

  That would mark the end of the 20-plus years of Heritage Hills being the home of the state tournament. I made the final round of all but one of those playings of the PIAA Championships, the exception being 2005 when the second round was washed out by rain.

   I’ve heard plenty of criticism of the golf course over the years, basically that it wasn’t of high enough quality to be hosting a state championship.

   Holy Ghost Prep’s Liam Hart, as a junior in 2017, heard all the criticism and took the Jack Nicklaus approach: No need to worry about anybody complaining about the golf course because they’ve already beaten themselves. Hart was crowned the state champion that fall.

   Certainly saw more than my share of drama on those last six holes at Heritage Hills over the years. I don’t think I’ll make the trek to my alma mater for the state golf championship this fall. I will miss the trek through Amish country down Route 30 in October, but I’ll still be able to get my hands on the results.