Fernandes claims a Junior Tour victory with a 71 at windswept Reading

   Ken Fernandes of Chappaqua, N.Y. has been making some road trips to tee it up in some of the early spring stops on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour schedule.

   He’s a Class of 2027 kid, which makes him, what, an eighth-grader, playing up in the 16-to-18 division. Not a bad idea. Get some competition against some older guys on some of the great golf courses you can find in our region.

   One of those courses is the classic layout at Reading Country Club in Exeter Township. Playing in some chilly temperatures with a stiff wind Sunday, Fernandes tamed the Reading layout with a solid 1-over-par 71, the best score of the day against a deep and talented field of Philly Junior Tour guys, as Fernandes won the 16-to-18 division.

   The Philly Junior Tour listed the stop at Reading along with Saturday’s event at Landis Creek Golf Club in Limerick as a Reading series, which might make players who teed it up both days eligible for some Junior Golf Scoreboard points.

   The Philly Junior Tour website didn’t combine the scores, but of the players who teed it up both days, Fernandes was the best. He was coming off a 3-over 73 Saturday at Landis Creek that left him in a tie for second place.

   Fernandes made birdies at the ninth, 13^th, 14^th and 17^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard. He toured the incoming nine at Reading in 1-under 36.

   Fernandes ended up three shots ahead of Germantown Academy junior Ajeet Bagga, who finished atop the Inter-Ac League’s individual standings during its six regular-season invitationals last fall.

   Ajeet Bagga, who was also the runnerup in the Bert Linton Inter-Ac individual championship at Llanerch Country Club, ripped off three straight birdies on the 12^th, 13^th and 14^th holes and had nine pars on his card while posting a 4-over 74. The birdie burst on the back nine was part of a 3-under stretch over the last eight holes for Ajeet Bagga.

   Twin Valley junior Shayne O’Doherty and Patrick O’Hara of Ocean City, N.J. finished in a tie for third place, each posting a 9-over 79.

   I’ve caddied for and with O’Doherty at Stonewall and I know what the conditions were like at Reading because I was out on Stonewall’s North Course Sunday afternoon not far from Reading. And one of the players in our group was getting updates on O’Doherty’s progress.

   O’Doherty made an eagle on the par-5 14^th hole and had seven pars on his card. O’Hara made a birdie on the second hole and eight pars on his card.

   Radnor junior Shaun Mazzalupi, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier who has been a regular on the Philly Junior Tour leaderboards in the early going this spring, shared fifth place with a Nicholas Smith Jr. of Rye, N.Y., each registering an 80.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were four players tied for seventh place at 81, including Fleetwood junior Ryan Hromiak, who captured the Berks County Interscholastic Athletic Association (BCIAA) individual crown last fall at Blackwood Golf Club, Malvern Prep sophomore and Royersford resident Brody Bell, Noah Richardson of Malvern and Derek Johnson of Mountain Top.

   Another New York invader, Colin McAskin of New York City, finished atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a solid 2-over 72. McAskin made birdies at the fourth, fifth and 18^th holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard, including a run of six straight pars from 10 through 15.

   Lower Merion freshman Saiji Sako, a District One Class AAA qualifier last fall, made a birdie at the eighth hole, an eagle at the par-5 17^th hole and had seven pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 77.

   Sako captured top honors among the younger guys Saturday at Landis Creek with a 5-over 75. So, if they were awarding points for both ends of the weekend series, pretty sure Sako finished first in the 13-to-15 division.

   Charlie Barrickman of West Chester made a birdie at the 14^th hole and had 10 pars, seven of them on the outgoing nine at Reading, as he finished in third place with a 79.

   Lawson Leeper of York took fourth place, a shot behind Barrickman with an 80, and Collin Schreiber of Kunkletown and Liam McFadden of Bryn Mawr finished in a tie for fifth place, each landing on 82.

   Michael Liu of Garnet Valley took seventh place with an 83 and Colby Komancheck of Royersford and Trevor Sieben of Medford, N.J. finished in a tie for eighth place, each landing on 84.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was Callahan Harrell of York as he finished alone in 10^th place with an 85.

   Germantown Academy sophomore Kiran Bagga of Blue Bell’s Team Bagga was the lone competitor in the girls 16-to-18 division and her solid 8-over 78 was the best score among the girls who teed it up at Reading.

   Kiran Bagga, who competes with the boys at GA, finished in a tie for fourth place with her older brother Ajeet in the Bert Linton Inter-Ac individual championship as a freshman at Bluestone and helped the Patriots claim the Inter-Ac crown in the fall of 2021.

   Kiran Bagga made birdies at the second and ninth holes and had eight pars on her scorecard.

   Hannah Webb of Woolwich, N.J. had seven pars as she claimed top honors in the 13-to-15 division with an 84. Webb was the runnerup among the younger girls Saturday at Landis Creek with an 85, so she had the low total among the girls who played in both Philly Junior Tour stops over the weekend.

   Giulia Weisser of Reading made birdies at the eighth and 14^th holes and had five pars on her card as she claimed runnerup honors in the 13-to-15 division, a shot behind Webb with an 85.

   Anna Firko of Wilmington, Del. had four pars on her card, including three straight on the fifth, sixth and seventh holes, as she finished in third place with a 98.

   Megan Choi of Penn Valley took fourth place with a 96, Amelia Nace of Furlong was fifth with a 98 and Emma Gangemi of Downingtown rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished sixth with a 117.

   Henry Sokol of Villanova and Taimoor Naseem of Sinking Spring finished in a tie for first place among the nine-holers as each ended up with a 3-over 37.

   Henry Sokol had six pars on his scorecard, including pars on the last four holes in a row, while Naseem made a birdie at the third hole and had five pars on his card, also finishing up his round with four straight pars from the sixth through the ninth holes.

   Henry Sokol finished in a tie for fifth place with a 46 Saturday at Landis Creek and pretty sure he was the medalist for the weekend among players in the coed 12-and-under division who played both days.

   Jack Sokol, another member of Villanova’s Team Sokol, had five pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Henry Sokol and Naseem in third place with a 4-over 38.

   Preston Minio of Lansdale took fourth place with a 39, Nathan Lobo of Collegeville was fifth with a 40, Rayan Shah of Newtown was sixth with a 41 and Drew Gebhard of Lebanon was seventh with a 42.

   John (Jack) Shea of Harleysville took eighth place with a 45, Ethan Clouser of Newtown was ninth with a 48 and Elyse Lackman of Wyndmoor rounded out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division as she finished alone in 10^th place with a 52.