It was one last chance to earn a spot in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship Tuesday at Huntsville Golf Club in Dallas and Michael Lugiano made sure he was invited to the party with a sparkling 3-under-par 69 that made him the medalist for the day.
Lugiano finished in third place in the PIAA Class AA Championship and then led Lake Lehman to the Class AA team crown as a junior last fall.
He jump-started his round at Huntsville with three straight birdies at the seventh, eighth and ninth holes. He added birdies at the 12th and 14th holes on Huntsville’s incoming nine and had 11 pars on his scorecard.
Lugiano led a group of 14 players who earned a spot in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship, which will be played July 10th at the Toftrees Golf Resort outside of State College. The top finishers at Toftrees will earn a spot in the Boys Junior PGA Championship, a major national event for junior golfers which tees off Aug. 1st at Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs, Ark.
The Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour broke out its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 age groups and I’ll round them up. The overall qualifier was for players ages 13-to-18, although in this case Haverford School sophomore Liam McFadden, the division winner with an 81, was the only player in the 13-to-15 division to earn a spot in the field at Toftrees.
Lugiano’s sparkling round gave him the top spot in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring.
Michael Maslanka of Taylor made birdies at the first, 12th and 18th holes and had 10 pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors among the older guys and in the overall standings with a 2-over 74.
Twin Valley senior Shayne O’Doherty and Robert Manley of Clarks Summit were two shots behind Maslanka in a tie for third place in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring as each recorded a 4-over 76.
O’Doherty made birdies on the ninth and 12th holes and had 11 pars on his card while Manley made birdies at the 10th and 16th holes and also had 11 pars on his card.
Haverford School senior Alex Nemo, Pocono Mountain East senior Evan Murphy, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, and Drew Clark of Kennett Square each posted a 5-over 77 as they shared fifth place in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring.
Judah Fulchiero of Hollidaysburg was a shot behind that trio in eighth place in the division and in the overall standings with a 78.
Fleetwood senior Ryan Hromiak, winner of the Berks County individual crown last fall at Blackwood Golf Club, and Connor Matteo of Drums each landed on 79 as they ended up in a tie for ninth place in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring.
Michael Felty of Selinsgrove, Gavin June of Nicholson and Alex Wilson of Roaring Brook Township earned the last three tickets to Toftrees out of the 16-to-18 division as each registered an 81 to finish in a tie for 11th place in the division and in the overall standings.
McFadden made a birdie at the seventh hole and had 11 pars on his scorecard as his 81 gave him the top spot in the 13-to-15 division and enabled him to advance to the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at Toftrees on the number.
McFadden shared 11th place in the overall scoring with Felty, June and Wilson from the 16-to-18 division.
Haverford School sophomore Nicky Nemo, a member of Bryn Mawr’s Team Nemo, and Luke McGraw of Boalsburg shared second place in the 13-to-15 division as each landed on 82.
Nicky Nemo made a birdie on the ninth hole and had nine pars on his card while McGraw made birdies on the fourth and 14th holes and had six pars on his card.
Logan McGinn took fourth place among the younger guys with an 85, Ben Walsh of Clarks Summit was fifth with an 86 and Andrew Carroccio of Newtown Square was sixth with an 87.
Evan Smith of Elkton, Md. and Onyu Park of Blue Bell finished in a tie for seventh place, each landing on 88.
Luke Daniels of Devon and Cole Amann of Downingtown rounded the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each carding a 91.
North Pocono senior Gwendolyn Powell, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier, was the only girl to compete in the girls divisions and earned a victory in the 16-to-18 division with a solid 3-over 75.
Powell made a birdie on the 14th hole and had 10 pars on her scorecard.
The stop at Huntsville was not a qualifier for the girls. The Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship is an open event and will be held July 6th at Spring Ford Country Club with the top finishers earning a trip to the Girls Junior PGA Championship, which will, like the boys, tee off Aug. 1st at Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs, Ark.
William Hanrahan of State College bested a two-man field of nine-holers as he made a birdie on the fourth hole and a par on the first on his way to an 11-over 47.
Charlie Shutte of Allentown rounded out the field in the coed 12-and-under division as he was the runnerup with a 56.
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