Drexel claims team title in Temple Invitational at The 1912 Club; Lehigh's Hurly the individual champion

 

   Drexel opened its 2023-2024 season by taking the team title in the Temple Invitational, which concluded Sept. 17^th at The 1912 Club in Plymouth Meeting, with a 6-over-par 566 total.

   This will be old news by the time this is posted since the Dragons, under head coach Ben Feld, are teeing it up as I write this in the J.T. Poston Invitational at The Country Club of Sapphire Valley in Sapphire, N.C., but it was a nice start to the season for Drexel and there were so many local players involved at The 1912 Club, this is about the closest I’m going to come to previewing some of local programs now that the college season is under way.

   Drexel, playing out of the newly rebranded Coastal Athletic Association – still the CAA for short – put together back-to-back rounds of 3-over 283 over the 7,062-yard, par-70 1912 Club, what some might remember as Plymouth Country Club.

   The Dragons had four players inside the top eight while finishing six shots clear of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference entry Rider in the team chase.

   Oscar Maxfield, a graduate student from Salt Lake City, Utah, led the way as he earned runnerup honors in the individual standings with a 1-under 139 total. Maxfield had a share of the individual lead following a sparkling opening round of 3-under 67 Sept. 16^th before recording a 2-over 72 in the final round.

   Lehigh graduate student David Hurly, a member of The Haverford School’s powerhouse 2018 Inter-Ac League championship team, finished with the best round of the weekend, a sizzling 4-under 66, in the second round to surge to his first career college win with a 2-under 138 total. Hurly had opened with a 2-over 72.

   Rider had the best team round of the weekend, a 1-over 281, in the second round after opening with a 291 to take runnerup honors with a 12-over 572 total.

   Penn, out of the Ivy League, was Drexel’s closest pursuer following an opening round of 5-over 285. The Quakers added a 9-over 289 in the second round to finish two shots behind Rider in third place with a 14-over 574 total.

   Temple head coach Brian Quinn, who, I’m pretty sure, is involved in the group that owns The 1912 Club, entered two teams, Temple Cherry and Temple White, in the Owls’ home tournament and both performed well, Temple Cherry finishing a shot behind Penn in fourth place with a 15-over 575 total and Temple White ending up six shots behind its teammates in fifth place with a 21-over 581 total.

   Temple Cherry was only five shots behind Drexel following an opening round of 8-over 288 before adding a 7-over 287 in the second round. After opening with a 299, Temple White bounced back with a solid 2-over 282.

   Temple White’s final-round surge was sparked by a 3-under 67 tallied by talented freshman Matt Vital, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during a standout scholastic career at Bethlehem’s Liberty High.

   Temple, playing out of the American Athletic Conference, had opened its season with a runnerup finish in the Cornell Fall Invitational, which wrapped up Sept. 11^th at Watchung Valley Golf Club in Watchung, N.J.

   Behind the individual champion Hurly, Lehigh, playing out of the Patriot League, finished seven shots behind Temple White in sixth place with a 588 total. The Mountain Hawks shaved four shots off their opening round of 296 with a 292 in the second round.

   Saint Joseph’s, playing out of the Atlantic 10, finished in a tie for ninth place with Mount St. Mary’s in the 14-team field, each landing on 597. The Hawks opened with a 12-over 292, but struggled in the second round with a 305.

   St. Joe’s had opened its season at the Cornell Invitational, finishing in sixth place in the 11-team field at Watchung Valley.

   Backing up Maxfield for Drexel were Drue Nicholas, a senior from Egg Harbor Township, N.J., and Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa, a senior from Zimbabwe, as they were two of the four players tied for fourth place at 3-over 143.

   Nicholas, winner of the Patterson Cup, a Golf Association of Philadelphia major championship, in the summer of 2022, matched par in the second round with a 70 after opening with a 3-over 73. Nyamukondiwa was Drexel’s low man in the second round with a 1-under 69 after he had opened with a 75.

   Caleb Taylor, a sophomore from Woodbine, Md., gave the Dragons a fourth finisher in the top eight as he was one of five players tied for eighth place with a 4-over 144 total. Taylor opened with a solid 1-under 69 before adding a 75 in the second round.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup was Griffin Mitchell, a senior from New Albany, Ohio who finished among the group tied for 22^nd place with a 7-over 147 total. Mitchell recorded a solid 2-over 72 in the second round after opening with a 75.

   Hurly’s final-round surge featured five birdies and an eagle at the par-5 sixth hole, offsetting a bogey at one and a double bogey at the par-3 14^th.

    Rider sophomore Ben Ortwein, a three-time PIAA Class AA qualifier at Notre Dame in Green Pond, closed with a 2-under 68 to finish in third place in the individual standings, a shot behind Drexel’s Maxfield, with an even-par 140 total. Ortwein had opened with a 2-over 72.

   Ortwein’s Rider teammate, Connor Bekefi, a graduate student from Toms River, N.J., and Aiden Emmerich, a sophomore from Swampscott, Mass. who led the way for Temple’s Cherry team, joined Drexel’s Nicholas and Nyamukondiwa in the quartet tied for fourth place at 3-over.

   Bekefi finished strong with a 3-under 67 after opening with a 76. Emmerich, who transferred to Temple from Michigan State, matched par in the opening round with a 70 before adding a 3-over 73.

   Leading the way for the Temple White team was senior Andrew Curran, winner of the Bert Linton Inter-Ac League individual championship as a senior at Malvern Prep in 2018 who joined Drexel’s Taylor in the fivesome tied for eighth place at 4-over. Curran opened with a solid 1-over 71 before adding a 3-over 73 in the second round.

   Curran’s Temple teammate Graham Chase, a senior from Charlotte, N.C. who was playing on the Cherry team, also landed on 4-over as he closed with a 1-over 71 after opening with a 3-over 73.

   Also in the group tied for eighth place was Saint Joseph’s sophomore Christian Matt, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Wissahickon. Matt carded a pair of 2-over 72s to end up at 4-over.

   Rounding out the quintet at 4-over was Pelle Ahlqvist, a freshman from Sweden who gave Rider a third finisher inside the top eight. Ahlqvist matched Matt’s splits, posting a pair of 2-over 72s.

   Leading the way for Penn was Hayden Adams, a freshman from Lexington, Ky. who finished in the group tied for 13^th place with a 5-over 145 total. Adams opened with a sparkling 3-under 67 before falling back with a 78 in the second round.

   Backing up Adams for the Quakers, who opened the season by finishing in sixth place in the Alex Lagowitz Memorial hosted by Colgate at Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, N.Y. over the Labor Day weekend, were Max Fonseca, a freshman from Miami, Fla., and John Richardson, a junior from England, as both finished among the group tied for 18^th place at 6-over 146 total.

   Fonseca recorded a pair of 3-over 73s while Richardson opened with a solid 1-over 71 before finishing up with a 75.

   Jimin Jung, a senior from Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., was a shot behind Fonseca and Richardson in the group tied for 22^nd place with a 7-over 147 total. Jung, who was Penn’s leading man at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial, finishing in a tie for sixth place, struggled to an opening-round 80 at The 1912 Club, but bounced right back with a 3-under 67 in the second round.

   Rounding out the Penn lineup was Ben Scott, a junior from Manhattan Beach, Calif. who finished in the group tied for 31^st place with an 8-over 148 total as he registered a pair of 4-over 74s.

   Backing up Emmerich and Chase for Temple Cherry were Ethan Whitney, a junior from Westminster, Mass., and Michael Walsh, a junior from Shelburne, Vt. who transferred to Temple from Lafayette, as they both landed in the group tied for 22^nd place at 7-over 147.

   Whitney had led the way for the Owls in the Cornell Fall Invitational as he finished in a tie for third place with a 3-under 139 total at Watchung Valley. He opened with a 1-under 69 at The 1912 Club before adding a 78 in the second round. Walsh bounced back from an opening-round 76 with a solid 1-over 71 in the second round.

   Rounding out the Temple Cherry lineup was sophomore Jake Haberstumpf, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Bethlehem’s Freedom High in 2020 who transferred to Temple from Moravian. Haberstumpf added a 2-over 72 to his opening-round 77 to finish among the group tied for 35^th place at 9-over 149.

   Backing up Curran for Temple White was sophomore Brett McGrath, a scholastic standout at Academy of the New Church who added a solid 1-over 71 in the second round to his opening-round 74 to finish among the group tied for 13^th place with a 5-over 145 total.

   Matt Vital struggled in the opening round with a 79, but got it going with his 3-under 67 in the second round as he finished in the group tied for 18^th place with a 6-over 146 total.

   Junior Joey Morganti, a Havertown resident who starred scholastically at St. Joseph’s Prep, bounced back from an opening-round 78 with a solid 1-over 71 in the second round to end up with the group tied for 35^th place with a 149 total.

   Rounding out the Temple White lineup was Jake Naese, a junior from Bradenton, Fla. who finished among the group tied for 40^th place at 151 after adding a 5-over 75 in the second round to his opening-round 76.

   Matt Vital’s twin brother Michael Vital, also a freshman who played scholastically at Bethlehem’s Liberty High, competed as an individual and finished in the group tied for 66^th place with a 158 total. Michael Vital opened with a 6-over 76 before struggling to an 82 in the second round.

   Also competing as an individual for Temple was junior Greg Hanna, who starred scholastically at Bishop Shanahan. Hanna bounced back from an opening-round 83 with a 6-over 76 as he finished in a tie for 70^th place with a 156 total.

   Backing up Matt for Saint Joseph’s was sophomore Matt Zerfass, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus who added a 77 in the second round to his opening round of 4-over 74 to finish in the group tied for 40^th place with a 151 total.

   A couple of members of the Catholic League powerhouse that is La Salle, senior Steve Lorenzo, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in 2018 as a junior, and freshman Kevin Lafond, who represented the Explorers in the state tournament last fall, both landed in the group tied for 53^rd place at 153 for the Hawks.

   Lorenzo added a 77 in the second round to his opening round of 6-over 76. Lafond, who helped La Salle finish in fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA team chase a year ago, matched par in the opening round at The 1912 Club with a 70, but struggled to an 83 in the second round.

   Rounding out the St. Joe’s lineup was Ryan Gorman, a senior from Greenville, S.C. who added a 79 in the second round to his opening-round 80 to finish in a tie for 70^th place with a 159 total.

   Lehigh also got a solid showing from junior Aiden Oehrle, a member of Fox Chapel’s 2019 PIAA Class AAA championship team who finished alone in 39^th place in the Temple Invitational with a 150 total after adding a 4-over 74 in the second round to his opening-round 76.

   Mount St. Mary’s, another MAAC entry, shared ninth place with Saint Joseph’s with a 37-over 597 total.

   Junior Devin Smith, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier for Waynesboro in 2018, led the way for the Mount as he opened with a solid 1-over 71 and added a 74 in the second round to finish among the group tied for 13^th place with a 5-over 145 total.

   Senior Ben Smith, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier for West Perry in 2018, opened with a 3-over 73 and added a 74 in the second round to finish in the group tied for 22^nd place for the Mount with a 147 total. Ben Smith began his college career at Penn State before transferring to Mount St. Mary’s.

   It was a homecoming for Strath Haven’s Debusschere brothers as junior Jackson Debusschere and freshman Tyler Debusschere were both in the lineup for Cornell, another Ivy League entry that finished in 12^th place with a 47-over 607 total.

   Jackson Debusschere, who helped Strath Haven win the first District One Class AAA team title in program history in 2019, led the way for the Big Red at The 1912 Club as he closed with a solid 2-over 72 after opening with a 77, leaving him in the group tied for 35^th place with a 149 total.

   Tyler Debusschere, who capped his senior season at Strath Haven with a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall, opened with a solid 3-over 73, but struggled to an 81 in the second round to finish alone in 60^th place with a 154 total.

The Debusscheres both had solid showings in the Cornell Fall Invitational, Tyler finishing in a tie for ninth place and Jackson ending up in a tie for 19^th at Watchung Valley, to help the Big Red finish fifth in the team standings.

   Freshman Winston Kelenc-Blank, a Rumson, N.J. native who played scholastic golf at Peddie School and at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, was in the lineup for Patriot League representative Lafayette, which finished in 13^th place in the team standings with a 608 total.

   Kelenc-Blank opened with a 5-over 75 before adding an 81 in the second round to finish in a tie for 63^rd place with a 156 total for the Leopards.