Barbin finishes his junior career with a runnerup finish in AJGA Junior at DuPont

    Evan Barbin of the golfing Barbin family of Elkton, Md. capped his junior career with his best American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) finish when he earned runnerup honors in the AJGA Junior at DuPont, presented by Weatherman, which wrapped up Aug. 4^th at DuPont Country Club near Wilmington, Del.

   That first week in August was a very busy one on the local scene with the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur Championship at Lancaster Country Club and the Patterson Cup completing the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s major championship season for 2022 at St. Davids Golf Club.

   I’ve been playing catch-up on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour throughout the month and will have to weave in some of the recent Philly Section results with some posts when the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship tees off this week at Concord Country Club and DuPont. And Nick Gross’ performance in the U.S. Amateur at Ridgewood Country Club was just too compelling to ignore.

   But the AJGA Junior at DuPont has become the local stop on the top circuit in junior golf and always draws a large contingent of local players.

   A couple of northern California invaders, Edan Cui of Atherton, Calif. and Olivia Duan of Cupertino, Calif., were the respective boys and girls winners at DuPont, home to the LPGA Championship, later rebranded as the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, from 1994 to 2004.

   Cui, a class of 2025 entry, put away his third AJGA victory by making four birdies on the front nine of the 6,960-yard, par-71 DuPont layout on his way to a final round of 3-under 68 that gave him a 5-under 208 total. Cui had put together a pair of solid 1-under 70s in the first two rounds.

   He left no doubt that he was going to win the tournament when he rattled off birdies at the fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth holes in a sparkling front-nine 32 in the final round. After making a bogey at the 10^th hole, the only blemish on his final-round scorecard, Cui made eight straight pars to maintain his hold on the top spot.

   “It’s my third AJGA win and I played lot of other AJGAs at the start of the summer,” Cui told the AJGA website. “I gave myself a few chances, but I could never pull it off on the final day, so it means a lot to have a really strong final round.”

   Barbin trailed Cui by two shots entering the final round after adding a 1-over 72 in the second round to his opening round of 1-under 70. He made bogeys at the first, fourth and sixth holes around a birdie at three to fall off Cui’s blistering pace.

   But Barbin finished up in impressive fashion, making birdies at the ninth, 10^th, 14^th and 18^th holes on his way to a final round of 2-under 69 that left him alone in second place with a 2-under 211 total, three shots behind Cui.

   Barbin will join GAP’s Junior Player of the Year, Josh Ryan of Norristown, in the incoming class at Liberty, an ASUN power that reached the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. in the spring.

   Barbin will be joining older brother Austin Barbin, winner of the GAP Junior Boys’ Championship in a sizzling summer of junior golf in 2019, at Liberty.

   Zach Barbin, winner of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship and the Patterson Cup, both majors on the GAP circuit, in 2020, wrapped up his college career at Liberty in the spring.

   Nicholas Logis, a Class of 2026 player from Austin, Texas, matched Cui’s final round of 3-under 68 to finish alone in third place with an even-par 213 total that him two shots behind Evan Barbin.

   Matt Zerfass, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus who will join the program at Saint Joseph’s this month, closed with a 3-over 74 to finish in a tie for fourth place with Matt Robles, a Class of ’24 entry from Downey, Calif., each landing on 3-over 216.

   Zerfass had added a solid 1-under 70 in the second round to his opening round of 1-over 72. Robles sandwiched a 3-over 74 in the second round with a pair of even-par 71s.

   Lake-Lehman junior Michael Lugiano, the District One Class AA champion last fall, and Central Dauphin junior Joey Sembrot, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier a year ago, were among the group that finished in a tie for sixth place at 4-over 217.

   Lugiano finished strong, recording a 3-under 68 in the final round while Sembrot sandwiched an even-par 71 in the second round with a pair of 2-over 73s.

   Moravian Academy senior Evan Eichenlaub, who finished in a tie for sixth place in last fall’s PIAA Class AA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County, ended up alone in 11^th at DuPont as he closed with his best round of the week, a 1-under 70 that left him with a 5-over 218 total.

   Lugian’s fellow Lake-Lehman junior, Cael Ropietski, a PIAA Class AA qualifier last fall, finished among the group tied for 12^th place with a 7-over 229 total. After carding a pair of 4-over 75s in the first two rounds, Ropietski finished up with a solid 1-over 70.

   Ropietski earned a trip to the U.S. Junior Amateur at the Bandon Dunes Resort on the Oregon coastline by claiming medalist honors in a GAP-administered qualifier on his home course at Huntsville Golf Club.

   Rancocas Valley senior Matthew Normand carded a pair of 3-over 74s in the first rounds before closing with a 75 as he finished among the group tied for 23^rd place with a 10-over 223 total.

   As I mentioned in a post earlier this week on the Philly Junior Tour Championship at Chester Valley Golf Club, Strath Haven senior Tyler Debusschere, along with Michael Maslanka, a Class of ’24 entry from Taylor, finished among the group tied for 27^th place, each landing on 224.

   Debusschere, who helped the Panthers capture the Central League title a year ago, added a solid 1-over 72 in the second round to his opening-round 73 before struggling a little in the final round with a 78. Maslanka closed with his best round of the week, a 2-over 73.

   Episcopal Academy junior Hunter Stetson, winner of the Bert Linton Inter-Ac League individual crown at Bluestone Country Club last fall, finished in a tie for 30^th place with a 225 total. Stetson, a product of the junior program at Aronimink Golf Club added a solid 2-over 73 in the second round to an opening-round 74, but struggled a little with a 78 in the final round.

   Cael Ropietski’s older brother, Lake-Lehman senior Eli Ropietski and Central Bucks South senior Noah Moelter finished among the group tied for 32^nd place, each landing on 227. Eli Ropietski and Moelter had the same splits carding back-to-back 3-over 74s in the first two rounds before closing with a 79.

   Solanco senior Logan Wagner, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, finished in a tie for 35^th place at 228. Wagner, who earned a trip to the U.S. Junior Amateur last summer at The Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst Village, N.C., matched par in the second round at DuPont with a 71 after opening with an 80. Wanger closed with a 77.

   Keller Mulhern, who finished atop the Inter-Ac League’s regular-season points standings as a senior at Malvern Prep last fall, finished in a tie for 41^st place with a 231 total. Mulhern struggled to an 80 in the second round after opening with a 76.

   Mulhern, who will join Zerfass in the Saint Joseph’s program, closed with his best round of the week, a 4-over 75.

   St. Joseph’s Prep junior Aidan Farkas finished in a tie for 43^rd place with a 232 total as he bounced back from an opening-round 91 with a solid 2-over 73 in the second round before closing with a 78.

   On the girls side, Duan, a Class of ’24 entry, made a birdie on the 18^th hole to get into a playoff with Tong An, also a Class of ’24 entry from China making her AJGA debut, and Doan won on the first hole of the playoff to capture her first AJGA victory.

   Duan had opened with a solid 2-under 69 over a DuPont layout that played to 5,975 yards for the girls and added a 1-over 72 in the second round, which left her a shot behind Brooke Oberparleiter, a Class of ’23 entry from Jupiter, Fla. who won at DuPont a year ago when the event was known as the Imperial Headwear Classic.

   Oberparleiter, who also has a South Jersey base in the summer, had carded a second straight 1-under 70 in the second round and was at 2-under 140 heading into the final round.

   Duan closed with a solid 1-under 70 to finish with a 2-under 211 total. An eagle at the par-5 sixth hole got her to 3-under for the championship, but she gave a couple of shots back with back-to-back bogeys at the 15^th and 16^th holes before finishing at 2-under with her birdie at the closing hole.

   An closed with a rush, making birdies at the 11^th, 12^th and 18^th holes on her way to a back nine of 3-under 32 and the best round of the week, a 4-under 67, that enabled her to join Duan at 2-under 211. But Duan had the final answer on the first hole of the playoff.

   “It means a lot because it’s my first AJGA win,” Duan told the AJGA website. “I’ve lost in a playoff before and came close a couple other times, but now I finally have a red bag.”

   Duan was coming off a solid showing in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in July at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky., where she finished a shot behind the co-medalists in a tie for third place in qualifying and reached the second round of match play.

   Oberparleiter closed with a 4-over 75 to finish alone in third place with a 2-over 215 total.

   It was a solid showing for recent Sussex Academy graduate Hannah Lydic, who finished in a tie for 14^th place with a 10-over 223 total. Hannah Lydic, who is joining the Richmond program this month, carded back-to-back 1-over 72s in the first two rounds before struggling to a 79 in the final round.

   As I mentioned in the post wrapping up the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour Championship at Chester Valley, Phoenixville freshman Kayley Roberts had a solid showing at DuPont, finishing alone in 16^th place with a 224 total.

   Roberts, the girls overall champion in the Philly Junior Tour Championship, got through the qualifying round at DuPont to make it into the main draw of the tournament. She added a solid 1-over 72 in the second round to her opening-round 74 before closing with a 78.

   Recent West Chester East graduate Victoria Kim, who captured the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a junior in 2020, finished three shots behind Kayley Roberts in 17^th place with a 227 total.

   Kim, who is joining the program at Williams College in Massachusetts, bounced back from an opening-round 78 with a solid 1-under 70 in the second round before finishing up with a 79.

   Hannah Lydic’s younger sister, Sussex Academy junior Sarah Lydic, finished in a tie for 18^th place with a 228 total as she saved her best round for last, carding a final round of 2-over 73. Sarah Lydic had opened with a 6-over 77 before adding a 78 in the second round.

   Sarah Lydic had a lot on her mind that week at DuPont as she had earned a trip to the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. by sharing medalist honors in the qualifier at Kenwood Golf & Country Club in Bethesda, Md. with a sparkling 1-over 71.

   And the kid didn't play badly at Chambers Bay the week after the AJGA Junior at DuPont, adding a 79 to her opening-round 74 for a 7-over 153 total that was only three shots out of the playoff for the final spots in the match-play bracket.

   Spring-Ford senior Nicole Yun also had a good week at DuPont, battling her way into the main draw by earning medalist honors in qualifying with a solid 1-under 70. Yun sandwiched a 79 in the second round with a pair of 82s as she finished alone in 24^th place with a 243 total.