Ropietski heats up on back nine at Honeybrook to claim a Junior Tour victory

   Cael Ropietski, the Lake Lehman junior who finished in a tie for sixth place in the PIAA Class AA Championship at Penn State’s Blue Course last fall, matched par with a 65 to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division Sunday at Honeybrook Golf Club near Chester County’s western border in Honey Brook Township.

   Some miserable March weather has kept a lot of the Philly Junior Tour players on the sidelines, but sunny skies and temperatures approaching 60 brought out a big field, particularly among the guys. It was a little breezy, but compared to some of the early stops on the Philly Junior Tour, it was a fantastic day for golf.

   Honeybrook normally plays to a par 70, but it looks like the par-5 fourth hole was unplayable, so players just skipped that hole and played 17 holes to a par of 65.

   Cael Ropietski, who helped Lake Lehman capture the PIAA Class AA team championship last fall, packed four birdies into the final seven holes at Honeybrook as he had birdies at the 12^th, 14^th, 17^th and 18^th holes to go along with nine pars on his scorecard.

   Cael Ropietski teed it up in the big leagues of junior golf last summer when he earned a trip to the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the Bandon Dunes Resort on the rugged coastline of Oregon.

   Strath Haven senior Tyler Debusschere and Avon Grove junior Tyler Sikorski shared runnerup honors as they each carded a 5-over 70 to finish five shots behind Cael Ropietski.

   Debusschere, whose third-place finish in the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course earned him a trip to the PIAA Championship at Penn State last fall, made birdies at the second, eighth and 14^th holes and had six pars on his card.

   Sikorski made birdies at the seventh and 15^th holes and had nine pars on his card, six of them on the front side at Honeybrook. Sikorski made the turn in even-par 30 for the eight holes that made up the front for Sunday’s tournament.

   Cael Ropietski’s older brother Eli, a senior at Lake Lehman, headed a group of four players tied for fourth place at 7-over 72. Eli Ropietski finished in eighth place in the PIAA Class AA individual chase at Penn State’s Blue Course and also was part of Lake Lehman’s run to the state Class AA team crown.

   A couple of Debusschere’s Central League rivals, Radnor junior Shaun Mazzalupi and Conestoga junior Sachin Blake, rounded out the trio tied for fourth place at 7-over.

   Mazzalupi, who reached the PIAA Class AAA Championship for the second straight season last fall, was coming off a tie for second place in some of that miserable March weather in a Philly Junior Tour stop reduced to nine holes Saturday at the Olde Homestead Golf Club.

   West Chester Rustin sophomore Nick Linkchorst, Charlie Ferrise, a junior on Spring-Ford’s Pioneer Athletic Conference championship team last fall, and Caleb Bennett of Pitman, N.J. finished in a tie for seventh place, each landing on 9-over 74.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was Winston Thai of York as he finished alone in 10^th place with a 75.

   Quinten Joiner of Millington, Md. matched the scorecard on the incoming nine at Honeybrook with nine straight pars as he finished at the top of a big and competitive field in the 13-to-15 division with a solid 4-over 69. Joiner ended up with 14 pars overall on his scorecard in his steady round.

   Colby Komancheck of Royersford made a birdie on the 11^th hole and an eagle 2 on the par-4 14^th hole as he earned runnerup honors with a 5-under 70, a shot behind Joiner. Komancheck also had nine pars on his card.

   Michael Liu of Garnet Valley and Avery O’Neill of Romansville finished a shot behind Komancheck in a tie for third place, each landing 6-over 71. Liu had a steady round with 11 pars on his card while O’Neill made birdies at the first, 12^th and 14^th holes and had seven pars on his card.

   Trey Barkman of West Chester, Charles Carney of Levittown and Joseph Gangemi Jr. of Downingtown finished in a tie for fifth place as each registered an 8-over 73.

   Ian Larsen of Glenmoore took eighth place with a 74, Chase Gillie of Newtown was ninth with a 75 and Tyler Whitney of Cherry Hill, N.J. rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished in 10^th place with a 76.

   Ava McCaughan of West Chester was the lone competitor in the 16-to-18 division, but her 88 was the best score among a small group of girls who teed it up at Honeybrook. McCaughan’s round featured three pars.

   Emma Gangemi, another member of Downingtown’s Team Gangemi, and Megan Choi of Penn Valley were the only competitors in the 13-to-15 division and they shared the top spot as each registered a 94. Gangemi had a par on the 14^th hole and Choi opened the back nine with back-to-back pars on 10 and 11.

   Rayan Shah of Newtown and Henry Sokol of Villanova bested the field of nine-holers – they only played the eight holes that were open on Honeybrook’s front nine – as each finished with a 7-over 37. Shah had one par on his scorecard, at the fifth hole, while Henry Sokol had four pars on his card.

   It was a weekend sweep for Henry Sokol as he was coming off a hard-fought victory in the rain and the cold Saturday at Olde Homestead.

   Jack Sokol, another member of Villanova’s Team Sokol, finished two shots behind Henry Sokol and Shah in third place with a 39 as he finished his round with a par at the ninth hole. Henry and Jack Sokol are both Class of 2029 entries, so twins maybe?

   William Quartermain of Bryn Mawr took fourth place with a 40 and Ben Meixell of Wilmington, Del., Ethan Clouser of Newtown and Preston Minio of Lansdale shared fifth place, each landing on 41.

   Jacob Russell, another Wilmington, Del. guy, took eighth place with a 42, Taimoor Naseem of Sinking Spring was ninth with a 43 and Drew Gebhard of Lebanon rounded out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division as he finished 10^th with a 44.