Kuehn grabs individual title, leads Wake Forest to team crown in ACC Championship at Porters Neck

 

   It is a very different Wake Forest team than the one that won the national championship a year ago at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   But the Demon Deacons still have Rachel Kuehn, a graduate student from Asheville, N.C. and No. 8 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

   As it turned out, Kuehn’s three-shot victory in last weekend’s individual chase would lead Wake Forest to the team title in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship at Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington, N.C.

   The three rounds of stroke play at Porters Neck, which began April 18^th and concluded April 20^th, were supposed to be a qualifier for two rounds of match play, the semifinals and the final, April 21^st.

   But the same relentless rainstorm that forced the suspension of play in the final round of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage down the coast at Hilton Head Island, S.C., washed out the match-play final between the Demon Deacons and defending ACC champion Clemson.

   League rules reverted the outcome back to the 54 holes of stroke play and Wake Forest was crowned the champion.

   Wake Forest was ahead in three matches against Clemson on a messy Sunday in Wilmington after the Demon Deacons had claimed a 3-1 victory over North Carolina in the semifinals earlier in the day.

   With the sun shining a day earlier, Kuehn carded a second straight sparkling 5-under-par 67 in the final round of stroke play over the 6,116-yard, par-72 Porters Neck layout that gave her a 10-under 206 total and a three-shot victory over defending ACC individual champion Amanda Sambach, a junior at Virginia from Pinehurst, N.C. and No. 11 in the Women’s WAGR, and Clemson’s Isabella Rawl, a sophomore from Lexington, S.C.

   Kuehn had matched par in the opening round with a 72.

   Kuehn matched the feat achieved by her mother, then Brenda Corrie, who captured the ACC’s individual crown in 1986 while at Wake Forest. The victory also enabled Kuehn to break a tie with her mom on the all-time Wake Forest individual wins list, Rachel now alone in third place with seven, one more than her mother.

   By the way, I was looping in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Stonewall’s North Course last September and was in a group with Brenda Corrie Kuehn for a practice round. Guess what, she can still play, a point she drove home a couple of weeks later when she reached the final of the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Championship at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Rachel Kuehn’s amateur career has been nothing short of star-studded as she recorded the clinching point in back-to-back United States victories in a pair of Curtis Cup Matches played 10 months apart because of the coronavirus pandemic in addition to helping the Demon Deacons capture the first national championship in the history of the program last spring.

   Kuehn has committed to playing for the U.S. in a third Curtis Cup Match this summer at Sunningdale Golf Club’s Old Course in Berkshire, England and it might be tough to deny her a spot on the team the way she’s playing. Kuehn was coming off a tie for eighth place with a 1-over 217 total in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship earlier this month.

   Just as the match-play bracket, had it been completed, came down to a Wake Forest-Clemson final, the 54 holes of stroke play was a battle between the Demon Deacons and the defending champion Tigers.

   Clemson, behind an opening round of 5-under 67 by Rawl, took a two-shot lead over Wake Forest with a solid 10-under 278 and still held a three-shot lead going into the final round after a 6-under 282 in the second round.

   After opening with an 8-under 280, Wake Forest added a solid 5-under 283 in the second round. But with Kuehn leading the way, the Demon Deacons closed with a 10-under 278 for a 23-under 841 total. Clemson matched par in the final round with a 288 and settled for runnerup honors with a 16-under 848 total that was seven shots behind Wake Forest.

   Rawl added back-to-back 1-under 71s in the final two rounds following her opening-round 67 to get a share of second place in the individual chase with Sambach at 7-under 209, three shots behind Kuehn.

   It was the eighth ACC crown for Wake Forest and its third in the last five years, paralleling Kuehn’s career with the Demon Deacons.

   Wake Forest will get to begin its road toward a possible repeat as national champion close to home as the Demon Deacons will play host to the NCAA Bermuda Run Regional at the Bermuda Run Country Club in Bermuda, N.C. and will be the top seed when the regional tees off May 6.

   Clemson is headed for the Bryan Regional at the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas where the Tigers will be the three seed.

   The top five teams and the best individual from a non-advancing  team at the regionals advance to the NCAA Championship, which tees off May 17 at the Omni Resort & Spa’s Champions Course in Carlsbad,  Calif.

   Virginia, behind Sambach, finished in third place after three rounds of stroke play at Porters Neck with an 8-under 856 total that left it eight shots behind Clemson. The Cavaliers matched par in the second round with a 288 after opening with a 5-under 283 before closing with a 3-under 285.

   Sambach was typically solid, carding back-to-back 2-under 70s in the first two rounds before closing with a 3-under 69 to get her share of runnerup honors at 7-under.

   Virginia will be the four seed in the Cle Elum Regional at Tumble Creek Golf Club in Cle Elum, Wash.

   North Carolina earned a spot in the ACC semifinals as the Tar Heels finished nine shots behind Virginia in fourth place with a 1-over 865 total. After opening with a solid 5-under 283, North Carolina added a 4-over 292 in the second round before closing with a 2-over 290.

   The Tar Heels will be seeded fifth in the Auburn Regional at the Auburn University Club in Auburn, Ala.

   Perennial ACC power Duke finished a shot behind North Carolina in fifth place in the 12-team field at Porters Neck as the Blue Devils closed with a solid 7-under 281 to finish with a 2-over 866 total.

   Duke will join Virginia out west in the Cle Elum Regional, where the Blue Devils will be seeded second.

   One of the reasons Wake Forest has not suffered much of a dropoff this season has been the performance of its two freshman, Macy Pate, a home girl from Winston-Salem, N.C, and Brooke Rivers of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

   Both earned match-play wins in the Demon Deacons’ 3-1 victory over North Carolina in the semifinals. Pate claimed a 3 and 2 victory over Ing Iadpluem, a freshman from Thailand, and Rivers pulled out a 1-up decision over Kayla Smith, a fifth-year player from Burlington, N.C.

   Wake Forest’s other point came from Carolina Chacarra, a junior from Spain and No. 44 in the Women’s WAGR, as she captured a 3 and 2 victory over Inez Ng, a sophomore from Singapore.

   North Carolina’s full point came from Reagan Southerland, a freshman from Atlanta, Ga. who took a 4 and 3 decision over Mimi Rhodes, a senior from England.

   Kuehn’s match with Megan Streicher, a sophomore from South Africa, was abandoned after Wake Forest’s victory was assured.

   Rawl claimed a 4 and 3 victory over Jaclyn LaHa, a freshman from Pleasanton, Calif., in Clemson’s 3-2 semifinal victory over Virginia.

   The Tigers also got full points from Melena Barientos, a junior from Plano, Texas who edged Megan Propeck, a junior from Leawood, Kan., 2-up, and Sydney Roberts, a sophomore from Chesnee, S.C. who pulled out a 1-up decision over Rebecca Skoler, a senior from Needham, Mass.

   Sambach earned a point for Virginia with a 3 and 2 victory over Annabelle Pancake, a senior from Zionsville, Ind. Celeste Valinho, a graduate student from Jacksonville, Fla., picked up the other point for the Cavaliers, cruising to a 5 and 4 decision over Chloe Holder, a junior from Anderson, S.C.

   Chacarra backed up Kuehn in the 54 holes of stroke play as she added back-to-back 1-under 71s in the final two rounds to her opening round of 3-under 69 to finish in a tie for fifth place with a 5-under 211 total.

   Pate and Rivers, the two freshmen, were solid, finishing among a trio of players tied for 13^th place at 2-under 214. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Pate carded back-to-back 1-under 71s in the last two rounds. Rivers sandwiched a 4-over 76 in the second round with a pair of solid 3-under 69s.

   Rounding out the Wake Forest lineup was Rhodes, who matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish among a trio of players tied for 17^th place at even-par 216. Rhodes opened with a solid 2-under 70 before adding a 2-over 74 in the second round.

   Kuehn, Chacarra and Rhodes were all in the lineup in Wake Forest’s victory over Southern California in the Final Match last spring at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Miami’s Sue Byrne, a senior from Ireland, has been solid all season for the Hurricanes and she finished alone in fourth place in the individual standings with a 6-under 210 total that left her a shot behind Sambach and Rawl. After opening with a 1-over 73, Byrne carded a 1-under 71 in the second round before closing with a sizzling 6-under 66, the best individual round of the tournament.

   Byrne and the Hurricanes will join North Carolina in the Auburn Regional, where Miami is seeded ninth.

   Joining Wake Forest’s Chacarra in the tie for fifth place at 6-under was North Carolina State’s Isabel Amezcu, a senior from Mexico who sandwiched a 71 in the second round with a pair of 2-under 70s.

   Amezcu and her N.C. State teammate Lauren Olivares Leon, a junior from Mexico, will compete as individuals in the Bermuda Run Regional.

   Olivares Leon was part of a trio of players tied for seventh place in the individual chase at Porters Neck at 4-under 212 as she added a 70 in the second round to her solid opening round of 3-under 69 before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Joining Olivares Leon at 4-under were Florida State’s Mirabel Ting, a sophomore from Malaysia and No. 13 in the Women’s WAGR, and Virginia Tech’s Valentine Deion, a freshman from France.

   Ting bounced back from an opening round of 2-over 74 with a 2-under 70 before finishing strong with a 4-under 68.

   Florida State was playing without Lottie Woad, a sophomore from England who rose to No. 2 in the Women’s WAGR following her victory in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship. While the ACC Championship was being contested, Woad was teeing up in the Chevron Championship, the LPGA Tour’s first major championship of the year. Woad made the cut and finished in a tie for 23^rd place while making her debut in a major professional championship.

   The Seminoles will be the four seed in the Las Vegas Regional at Spanish Trail Country Club.

   Florida State gave the ACC two teams in the match-play bracket at Grayhawk a year ago, the Seminoles falling to their ACC rival Wake Forest in the quarterfinals.

   Deion added a 71 in the second round to her opening round of 3-under 69 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Deion and Virginia Tech will join ACC rivals Virginia and Duke in the Cle Elum Regional in Washington. The Hokies are seeded eighth.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual standings at Porters Neck were three players tied for 10^th place at 3-under 213, including the Clemson pair of Pancake and Roberts and North Carolina’s Streicher.

   Pancake matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a 2-under 70 before closing with a 71. Roberts matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a solid 4-under 68 in the second round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Streicher got off to a strong start, adding a 70 in the second round to her opening round of 3-under 69, before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Duke senior Phoebe Brinker, an Archmere Academy product, finished among the group tied for 20^th place with a 1-over 217 total. Brinker, winner of the ACC’s individual crown two years ago as a sophomore, followed up an opening round of 1-over 73 by matching par in each of the final two rounds with a pair of 72s.

   The Blue Devils’ standout freshman, Katie Li of Basking Ridge, N.J., finished among a trio of players tied for 35^th place in her first shot at the ACC Championship with a 5-over 221 total. Li, coming off a standout career as a junior player, struggled a little in the first two rounds, opening with a 4-over 76 and adding a 78 in the second round, but finished strong, tallying a sparkling 5-under 67.

   Three other ACC players – the Louisville pair of Carmen Griffiths, a junior from Scotland, and Hana Ryskova, a graduate student from the Czech Republic, and Notre Dame’s Lauren Beaudreau, a graduate student from Lemont, Ill., -- will compete as individuals in the East Lansing Regional, hosted by Michigan State at the Forest Akers West Course.

   Griffins finished in a tie for 38^th place in the ACC Championship with a 6-over 222 total, Ryskova landed in the group tied for 29^th with a 3-over 219 total and Beaudreau ended up among the group tied for 20^th with a 1-over 217 total.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rindgen keeps it going as he claims Philly Junior Tour victory at Golden Pheasant

 

   Andrew Rindgen of Havertown continued a strong spring of play on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour as he put together a solid 3-over-par 75 at a chilly Golden Pheasant Golf Club in Lumberton, N.J. to claim a victory in the 16-to-18 division and finish first in the overall scoring last Sunday.

   Rindgen made back-to-back birdies on the ninth and 10^th holes and had 11 pars on his scorecard, including five in a row to finish his round.

   The Philly Junior Tour stop at Golden Pheasant was a Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) event for the boys, offering JGS points that can earn players status on some of the higher-profile junior circuits, the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) chief among them.

   The Philly Junior Tour broke out its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 divisions, so I’ll round them up and refer to the overall 13-to-18 JGS scoring along the way.

   Enrique Altmann of Mickleton, N.J. made birdies at the fourth and 14^th holes and had nine pars on his card to finish three shots behind Rindgen in second place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for third in the overall scoring with a 6-over 78.

   The runnerup in the overall standings was Haverford School freshman Jack Luterman, an Ardmore resident, as he was two shots behind Rindgen and a shot ahead of Altmann with a 5-over 77.

   Brayden Tritsch of Medford, N.J. made birdies on the first and 10^th holes and had nine pars on his card as he finished in third place among the older guys and fifth in the overall scoring with a 79.

   Archmere Academy sophomore Michael Liu, Jax Puskar, who helped Unionville capture the District One Class AAA team crown as a junior for the Longhorns last fall, Justin Marcus of Glenmoore and Brian Cotter of Cherry Hill, N.J. shared fourth place in the 16-to-18 division and were part of a five-way logjam tied for sixth in the overall scoring as each tallied an 80.

   Brandon Carrigan of Warrington took eighth place with an 81 and Campbell Swart of Southampton, N.J. and Christopher Mark Parrish of Woolwich Township, N.J. rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division, each recording an 82.

   Luterman made birdies at the first and 10^th holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard on his way to the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division as he posted the second best score of the day overall with his 77.

   Trebor Melendez of Vineland, N.J. had a steady round that featured 12 pars, including a run of eight straight pars from the sixth through the 13^th holes, as he was the runnerup among the younger guys with a 78 that gave him a share of third with Altmann from the 16-to-18 division in the overall scoring.

   Tyler Whitney of Cherry Hill, N.J. made birdies on the 14^th and 17^th holes and had nine pars on his card, including six in a row to begin his round, as he finished two shots behind Menendez in third place in the 13-to-15 division with an 80.

   Whitney joined the four players from the 16-to-18 division who matched his 80 in the tie for sixth place in the overall standings. That quintet rounded out the top 10 in the overall scoring.

   Frederik Hartmann of Devon took fourth place in the 13-to-15 division with an 83, Justin Stickel of Churchville was fifth with an 86, Ben Meixell of Wilmington, Del. was sixth with an 88, Lucas Solano of Vineland, N.J. was seventh with an 89 and Niklas Skjeveland of Jamison was eighth with a 90.

   John Peyton of Wayne and Landon Finsen of Westampton, N.J. rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each posting a 97.

   There was a nice battle in the girls 16-to-18 division as Xinyuan Li of Pottstown edged her only other opponent in the division, Naaz Mehta of Newtown, by three shots to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory.

   Li made birdies at the sixth and 18^th holes and had seven pars on her scorecard on her way to a solid 81. Mehta also made a birdie at Golden Pheasant’s finishing hole and had five pars on her card as she registered an 84.

   Christina St. Pierre of Yardley was the only entrant in the 13-to-15 division and claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory with her 100.

   Baylor Keim of Blue Bell made a par on the sixth hole as he bested the field of nine-holers with a 49.

   David Gilman of Cape May Court House, N.J. finished a shot behind Keim in second place with a 50 and Connor Clayton of Mays Landing, N.J. was another shot behind Gilman in third with a 51.

   David Chando of Williamstown, N.J. and Jaxson Refold of Bryn Mawr ended up in a tie for fourth place, each signing for a 52, and Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. and Matthew Bowman of Newtown rounded out the field in the coed 12-and-under division as they finished in a tie for sixth, each carding a 57.

 

 

 

 

McDermott continues spring roll by claiming a Philly Junior Tour victory at Indian Spring

 

   Brad McDermott, coming off a sophomore season at Radnor last fall that saw him earn a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship, put together a solid 2-over-par 72 at Indian Spring Golf Course in Evesham Township, N.J. Saturday that gave him his second Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory of the spring.

   McDermott made birdies at the fourth, 12^th and 18^th holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard to claim top honors in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall 13-to-18 scoring.

   McDermott was a winner in a Philly Junior Tour stop at Bensalem Township Country Club earlier in the month.

   It was a Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) event for the boys in which players can earn points that give them status on some of the more competitive junior circuits, most notably for the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) events.

   I’ll break out the usual Philly Junior Tour divisions, the 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 divisions, while referring to the overall 13-to-18 scoring.

   McDermott finished a shot ahead of Kasim Narinesingh-Smith, who capped an outstanding scholastic career at Kennett by reaching the PIAA Class AAA Championship for the second year in a row last fall.

   Narinesingh-Smith made a birdie on the fifth hole and had 13 pars on his card, including 10 pars over the last 11 holes, to earn runnerup honors among the older guys and in the overall scoring.

   Sam Rosenberg of Cherry Hill, N.J. made a birdie on the third hole and had 13 pars on his card, including a run of seven in a row from the sixth through the 12^th holes, as he finished in third place in the 16-to-18 division with a 4-over 74.

   Rosenberg shared third place in the overall scoring with Robert Hiltner of Northfield, N.J. as Hiltner finished atop the 13-to-15 division with a 74.

   Connor Breen of Medford, N.J. took fourth place in the 16-to-18 division and finished in a tie for fifth overall with a 5-over 75.

   Jesse Serata of Cherry Hill, N.J. finished in fifth place among the older guys and in a tie for seventh in the overall standings with a 76.

   Michael Liu, a sophomore at Archmere Academy and a Garnet Valley resident, shared sixth place in the 16-to-18 division with Conestoga sophomore Chris Sung and Brandon Carrigan of Warrington and they were part of a seven-way logjam tied for 10^th in the overall scoring as each landed on 7-over 77.

   Campbell Swart of Southampton, N.J. took ninth place with a 78 and Tre Lesperance of Chadds Ford rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division, finishing alone in 10^th with an 80.

   Hiltner made back-to-back birdies at the second and third holes and added another at 13 and had eight pars on his scorecard, finishing his round with four straight pars, as he earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division and shared third place in the overall scoring with Rosenberg in the 16-to-18 division with a 4-over 74.

   Liam Crowley, coming off a solid freshman season with Episcopal Academy in the Inter-Ac League last fall, made a birdie on the fourth hole and had 12 pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Hiltner in second place in the 13-to-15 division and shared fifth in the overall scoring with Breen from the 16-to-18 division with a solid 5-over 75.

   The duo of Sebastian Park of Lansdale and Thomas Carpenter of Bristol shared third place among the younger guys and ended up in a tie for seventh overall with Serata of the 16-to-18 division as each carded a 6-over 76.

   Park made birdies on the fourth and 12^th holes and had 10 pars on his card while Carpenter made a birdie at 15 and also had 10 pars on his card.

   Trevor Sieben of Medford, N.J., Trebor Melendez of Vineland, N.J., Zachary Daniels of Bryn Mawr and Ian Rotto of Kennett Square each signed for a 7-over 77 as they shared fifth place in the 13-to-15 division and finished in a tie for 10^th overall with Liu, Sung and Carrigan of the 16-to-18 division in the overall scoring.

   It’s a testament to the depth of talent on the Philly Junior Tour when you have 16 players separated by five shots in the overall standings.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Ben Duffy of Moorestown, N.J. and Tyler Whitney of Cherry Hill, N.J. as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each registering a 79.

   On the girls side, Amy Sun of Princeton, N.J. had four pars on her scorecard as she captured a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division with a 91.

   Molly Wagner of Newark, Del. earned runnerup honors with a 104 and Juliana Gatt of Newtown rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in third place with a 108.

   Xunnan Dang of Newtown Square made a birdie on the third hole and had three pars while besting the field of nine-holers with a 4-over 39.

   Patrick Thomas of Hockessin, Del. made a par on the third hole as he earned runnerup honors with a 46.

   Matthew Bowman of Newtown and Reed Starzecki of Bryn Mawr finished in a tie for third place, each posting a 47. Bowman had three pars on his card and Starzecki recorded a pair of pars.

   David Gilman of Cape May Court House, N.J. took fifth place with a 48 and Samuel Karas of Blue Bell finished sixth with a 51.

   Rounding out the field in the coed 12-and-under division were David Chando of Williamstown, N.J. and Antonella Ferrer of Wynnewood as they finished in a tie for seventh place, each landing on 52.