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.