Yenser goes low at Elmhurst to top field in a Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship qualifier

 

   Daniel Boone junior Chase Yenser, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore last fall, put together a sparkling 3-under-par 69 at Elmhurst Country Club in Moscow, Lackawanna County, June 5^th to take medalist honors in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour qualifier for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship.

   Yenser headed a group of 14 players who punched their ticket to the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship, which will be played July 1 at Bellewood Country Club in North Coventry Township, just across the Schuylkill River from Pottstown.

   The top finishers at Bellewood will earn a trip to the Boys Junior PGA Championship, one of the marquee national tournaments for junior players, which will tee off July 30 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

   The Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship qualifiers come out of the overall 13-to-18 age group. The Philly Junior Tour still breaks out its usual 13-to-15 and 16-to-18 divisions, so I’ll wrap them up while referring to the overall qualifiers.

   Yenser made birdies at the first, second, fourth, eighth, ninth and 16^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard, seven of them on the back nine. The four birdies on Elmhurst’s outgoing nine enabled Yenser to tally a 3-under 33 on the front side.

   Yenser finished atop the 16-to-18 division in addition to finishing first in the overall standings.

   Abington Heights senior Cade Kelleher, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior last fall, made birdies on the second, fifth, sixth, 11^th and 18^th holes and had six pars on his card as he was the runnerup to Yenser among the older guys and finished in second place in the overall scoring with a 2-over 74.

   West Chester Rustin senior Sam Feeney, the reigning District One Class AAA champion and a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier, and Lansdale Catholic senior Sean Mariano finished in a tie for third place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for third in the overall standings, each landing on 3-over 75, a shot behind Kelleher.

   Feeney’s steady round included a birdie at the 10^th hole and 15 pars, including seven straight pars to open his round. Mariano made birdies on the 13^th and 16^th holes and had 11 pars on his card.

   Boyertown senior Chase Dillman took fifth place in the 16-to-18 division and shared fifth place in the overall scoring with Gregory Kirz of Oreland, who finished atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division, as each posted a 4-over 76.

   Keller Tannehill of Margate, N.J. finished in sixth place among the older guys and was seventh overall with a 5-over 77.

   Alec Hamilton, a teammate of Kelleher’s at Abington Heights in his senior season last fall, finished in seventh place in the 16-to-18 division and shared eighth overall with Roger Rice of Chatham, N.J., the runnerup in the 13-to-15 division, as each signed for a 6-over 78.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were four players who finished in a tie for eighth place in the division and in a tie for 10^th overall, including Sam Shaner of State College, Luke Canino of Sewell, N.J., Jason Walsh of Spring Brook Township, and Caleb Walsh of Center Valley, as each registered a 79.

   Malvern Prep sophomore Colby Komancheck was the final qualifier for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship out of the younger 13-to-15 division as he joined the foursome from the 16-to-18 division in the tie for 10^th place with a 79.

   Oreland’s Kirz made birdies at the sixth and 14^th holes and had 12 pars on his card in claiming a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division while punching his ticket to the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at Bellewood.

   Rice made birdies on the 10^th and 17^th holes and had nine pars on his card, including six straight from the 11^th through the 16^th holes, to earn runnerup honors among the younger guys and in a tie for eighth overall with his 6-over 78.

   Komancheck capped an impressive freshman season with the Friars last fall by finishing in fifth place in the Bert Linton Invitational, the Inter-Ac League’s individual championship, at Aronimink Golf Club. Komancheck made a birdie at the 10^th hole and had 10 pars on his card as his 79 left him in third place in the 13-to-15 division and in the tie for 10^th in the overall scoring, making the cut to earn a spot at Bellewood on the number.

   Scranton Prep junior Jack Davuk, coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory two days earlier at Olde Homestead Golf Club, and Gavin Pychinka of Northampton finished in a tie for fourth place among the younger guys, each carding an 80.

   Springfield sophomore Michael White and Ryan Kelly of Harleysville finished in a tie for sixth place in the 13-to-15 division, each recording an 84.

   Braydon Dolan of Springfield took eighth place with an 88, Cole Powell of Fell Township was ninth with an 89 and Charlie Jones of Villanova rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as he finished in 10^th place with a 112.

   Bryce Bussom of Lewisburg topped the field of nine-holers as he made pars on the second and fourth holes on his way to a 48.

   Carter Tracy of Smyrna, Del. rounded out a short field in the coed 12-and-under division by earning runnerup honors with a 56.