Chen takes road trip to grab top spot in the Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship at Northampton

 

   Pinxi Chen of Deerfield, Mass. via China swooped into Northampton Country Club to capture the Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship with a solid 6-over-par 150 total in the grueling one-day, 36-hole test June 10^th.

   Give Chen credit. She beat a field that included most of the top junior players in the Philadelphia area to grab the lone automatic spot out of the qualifier for the 48^th Girls Junior PGA Championship, one of the premier national events for junior golfers which tees off July 30 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

   The Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour conducted the Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship and broke out its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 divisions, so I’ll wrap them up while referring to the overall 13-to-18 division which the whole field was competing in for a shot to make it to Congressional.

   Also give Chen credit because she was trailing a bunch of players following an opening round of 7-over 79, but came roaring back in the afternoon to make six birdies and record the only round under par for the day, a 1-under 71.

   Her 6-over total for the day gave her the top spot in the 16-to-18 and, of course, in the all-important overall scoring.

   In the afternoon, Chen made birdies at the second, eighth, 10^th, 11^th, 13^th and 15^th holes and had seven pars on her scorecard. In the morning, Chen made birdies at the seventh and 12^th holes and had 10 pars on her card. Chen made five straight pars to start her round, but struggled a little on the incoming nine at Northampton.

   Clarissa Leung, who wrapped up her junior year at Episcopal Academy by winning the Inter-Ac League individual title last month at French Creek Golf Club, Saint Joseph’s Catholic junior Maddie Koshko, who finished in fifth place in the PIAA Class AA Championship at Penn State last fall, and Zoey Zhu of Basking Ridge, N.J. finished in a tie for second place in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring, each landing a shot behind Chen with a 7-over 151 total.

   The Philly Junior Tour normally gets a wild-card selection to the Girls Junior PGA Championship and it usually goes to the runnerup of the Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship. Not sure if that tie for second place was broken with a playoff.

   Looks like Leung, who led the Churchwomen to the Inter-Ac team crown this spring, grabbed the lead with her opening round of 3-over 75. Leung made birdies at the 12^th, 15^th and 18^th holes and had nine pars on her card, including six straight pars to close out her front nine in the morning.

   In the afternoon, Leung made birdies at the first, 11^th and 12^th holes and had eight pars on her card on her way to a 4-over 76.

   Leung followed up her Inter-Ac victory at French Creek by capturing the individual title in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) Championship and leading Episcopal to the team crown at Radley Run Country Club.

   Koshko was really steady in her second round with a birdie on the 11^th hole and 13 pars on her card on her way to a 3-over 75. Koshko had opened with a 4-over 76 as she made birdies on the seventh and 17^th holes and had 11 pars on her card.

   Zhu closed with a solid 2-over 74, making birdies at the fourth, seventh and 11^th holes while recording 11 pars to get her share of second place. In her opening round, Zhu made birdies at the fourth and seventh holes and had 11 pars on her card on her way to a 5-over 77.

   Plymouth-Whitemarsh senior Rhianna Gooneratne, the reigning PIAA Class AAA champion, added a solid 3-over 75 in the second round to her opening-round 77 as she finished in fifth place among the older girls and in the overall scoring with an 8-over 152 total.

   Recent Phoenixville graduate Kate Roberts, who captured the District One Class AAA title and finished in a tie for second place behind Gooneratne in the state tournament at Penn State, and Souderton senior Alli Engart, who was a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, finished in a tie for sixth place in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring as each ended up with a 9-over 153 total.

   Kate Roberts shaved three shots off her opening round of 6-over 78 with a 3-over 75 in the second round. Engart added a 4-over 76 in the afternoon to her opening-round 77.

   Archmere Academy junior Meredith Finger finished in eighth place among the older girls and in a tie for eighth in the overall scoring with Notre Dame sophomore Kiersten Bodge, the top finisher in the 13-to 15 division, with each landing on 10-over 154.

   Finger wrapped up her sophomore season a few weeks ago with a sixth-place finish in the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championship at Maple Dale Country Club while helping the Auks capture the state team crown. Finger added a 4-over 76 in the afternoon to her opening-round 78 at Northampton.

   Recent Downingtown East graduate Mia Pace, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior last fall, finished in ninth place the 16-to-18 division as she added an 82 in the second round to her opening round of 5-over 77 for a 159 total.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Episcopal Academy senior Addie Chang and Tunkannock High senior Hallie Brown as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each signing for a 162 total.

   Chang, who finished in third place in the Inter-Ac Championship at French Creek last month and was also a key member of the Churchwomen’s run to the Inter-Ac and PAISAA team crowns, added an 80 in the second round to her opening-round 82. Brown finished up with an 82 in the afternoon after opening with an 80.

   Bodge was coming off a runnerup finish behind Leung in the Inter-Ac individual championship at French Creek last month. It was the third straight spring Bodge has finished in second place in the Inter-Ac Championship. Bodge was also the runnerup to Leung in the PAISAA Championship at Radley Run.

   Bodge had one of the best rounds of the afternoon at Northampton as she made birdies on the seventh and 11^th holes and had 12 pars on her scorecard on her way to a 2-over 74 that enabled her to finish atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division and in a tie for eighth in the overall scoring with Finger from the 16-to-18 division. Both ended up at 10-over 154.

   Bodge made birdies on the first and 12^th holes and had eight pars on her card in an opening-round 80.

   Phoenixville junior Kayley Roberts, who finished a shot behind her big sister Kate in the District One Class AAA Championship last fall, shared second place in the 13-to-15 division with Alaina Carson of Broomall, each ending up with a 155 total that left them a shot behind Bodge. Kayley Roberts finished two shots behind sister Kate in the battle for low Roberts.

   Kayley Roberts and Carson were the only other girls from the younger division besides Bodge to finish in the top 10 in the overall scoring as they rounded out the top 10 by finishing in a tie for 10^th place.

   Kayley Roberts, who finished in fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State last fall, matched Bodge’s solid second round with a 2-over 74. Kayley Roberts made birdies on the second, fifth, sixth, 11^th and 14^th holes and had six pars on her card in the second round. Kayley Roberts made birdies at the fifth and 11^th holes and had eight pars on her card in an opening-round 81.

   Carson made birdies on the third, fifth and eight holes and seven pars on her card in an opening round of 4-over 76 that had her among the leaders. She made birdies at the 11^th and 16^th holes and had 11 pars on her card in a second-round 79.

   Carson has been playing in Philly Junior Tour events for years and steadily improving all along. She should be a high school freshman this fall. It will be interesting to see where she goes to high school. Somebody is getting a pretty nice player.

   Germantown Friends School sophomore Sarah Stumacher and Angela Liang of Bridgewater, N.J. finished in a tie for fourth place in the 13-to-15 division as each recorded a pair of 6-over 78s for a 156 total that left them a shot behind Kayley Roberts and Carson.

   Savannah Laverty of Moorestown, N.J. finished in sixth place among the younger girls as she added an 82 in the afternoon to here opening round of 6-over 78 for a 160 total.

   Hannah Webb, who wrapped up her freshman season at Archmere by helping the Auks claim that DIAA team crown at Maple Dale, finished three shots behind Laverty in seventh place in the 13-to-15 division as she added an 84 in the second round in the afternoon to her opening-round 79 for a 163 total.

   Giulia Weisser, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Exeter last fall, was another four shots behind Webb among the younger girls as she added an 83 in the second round to her opening-round 84 for a 167 total.

   Kyla Quimby, a junior at Wilson, added an 84 in the second round to her opening-round 87 to finish in ninth place in the 13-to-15 division with a 171 total.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was Katherine Liu of Moorestown, N.J. as she finished in 10^th place with a 174 total. Liu bounced back from an opening-round 93 with a solid 81 in the second round.