Henry, Komancheck give Malvern Prep a boost as Friars sweep Inter-Ac invitational at Sunnybrook

 

   With three of the top five finishers in last fall’s Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac League’s individual championship at Aronimink Golf Club returning to its lineup, Malvern Prep had to be considered as a challenger to reigning Inter-Ac champion Haverford School this season.

   But it was a slow start to the 2024 season for senior Michael Henry, the runnerup in the Bert Linton a year ago, and sophomore Colby Komancheck, who was battling some elbow and wrist soreness.

   Henry and Komancheck got back on track Tuesday with Henry carding a 1-under par 35 and Komancheck matching par with a 36 in the Springside Chestnut Hill Academy Invitational at Sunnybrook Golf Club as they led the Friars to a sweep and tightened the Inter-Ac League race.

   Malvern Prep ended up with a 183 total, two shots clear of Episcopal Academy, which finished at 185. Reigning Inter-Ac champion Haverford School was another two shots behind Episcopal Academy in third place with a 187 total.

   Episcopal Academy, which had a 5-0 sweep of the season-opening Haverford School Invitational at Gulph Mills Golf Club, and the Fords, who swept last week’s Penn Charter Invitational at The 1912 Club, entered the day Tuesday tied for first place with 9-1 marks.

   EA’s runnerup finish at Sunnybrook enabled the Churchmen to take over sole possession of first place with a 13-2 mark. Haverford School fell into second place with a 12-3 record. The 5-0 day left the Friars very much in contention as they are in third place with an 11-4 record.

   Junior Davis Conaway and sophomore Michael DiDomenico each added a 1-over 37 for Malvern Prep.

   Conaway won the Bert Linton Invitational as a freshman at Llanerch Country Club two years ago and finished in a tie for third place in last year’s Bert Linton at Aronimink. Conaway and Henry represented the Philadelphia Section PGA and Malvern Prep in this summer’s Boys Junior PGA Championship, one of the marquee national junior events in the country, at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

   Henry had defeated Conaway in a playoff for the title in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at Bellewood Country Club, which was the qualifier for the Boys Junior PGA Championship at Congressional.

   Senior co-captain Mac Traynor registered a 2-over 38 for the important final counter for the Friars.

   The individual co-medalists for the day were Episcopal Academy sophomore Liam Crowley and Haverford School senior J.P. Hoban as both posted sparkling 2-under 34s.

   Backing up Crowley for the Churchmen was sophomore Freddy Hartmann, who signed for a 1-over 37.

   Rounding out the counters for a young Episcopal Academy team were junior co-captain Jimmy Warmkessel, freshman Max Leung and George Hampel, just an eighth-grader, as each tallied a solid 2-over 38.

   Backing up Hoban for The Haverford School was senior Harrison Brown with a 1-over 37. Junior Sean Curran chipped in with a 2-over 38.

   The Fords could take their pick of two of the three 39s they recorded for their final two counters as senior Gregor Weissenberger, the winner of the Bert Linton Invitational at Aronimink last fall, junior Nicky Nemo and sophomore Harry Neilly, each had a 3-over round.

   Penn Charter finished five shots behind Haverford School in fourth place, Germantown Academy was fifth with a 200 and host Springside Chestnut Hill was sixth with a 201 total.

   Penn Charter remained in fourth place in the overall standings with a 6-9 record, Germantown Academy is fifth with a 3-12 mark and Springside Chestnut Hill remained winless in sixth place at 0-15.

 

Coe, a new mom, captures title in Women's Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at Union League Torresdale

 

   Bouncing back quickly after delivering her first child earlier this summer, Joanna Coe, the head of instruction at Merion Golf Club, matched par with a 70 at the Union League’s Torresdale Course to capture the title in the Women’s Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship Sept. 11^th.

   Coe’s pregnancy prevented her from teeing it up in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash. earlier this year, but she’ll be granted a waiver and the exemption she earned with a fifth-place finish in what was then known as the LPGA Professional National Championship last summer will earn her a spot in next summer’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco at the PGA of America’s new headquarters in Frisco, Texas.

   With daughter Jenny happy and healthy, the new mom jumped out to a fast start at Torresdale, a tricky Donald Ross classic, with birdies at the first, second and sixth holes. Coe made a bogey at the eighth hole and a double bogey at 10 to fall back to even-par, but was steady down the stretch, finishing her round with eight straight pars.

   Coe’s seen enough of the work of Ross, one of the original masters of golf course design in this country, to know what to expect at Torresdale.

   “I know Donald Ross as an architect and he can be difficult,” Coe told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “It’s usually, if you’re above the pin putting, it’s going to be lightning. I just kept that in mind the whole time and tried not to get too cute on anything.”

   It was the second time since she joined the staff at Merion that Coe has captured the title in the Philadelphia Women’s PGA Professional Championship. Coe has been the Philadelphia Section’s Women’s Player of the Year each of the last two years.

   Coe was the inaugural winner of the Women’s PGA Professional of the Year award in 2019, an honor that was presented to her at the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which was delayed a few months by the coronavirus pandemic, at Aronimink Golf Club.

   Tessa Teachman, an instructor at Aronimink and the defending champion in the Women’s Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship, was solid in defense of her title, finishing a shot behind Coe in second place with a 1-over 71.

   Brittany Weddell, an assistant pro at Green Valley Country Club, took third place with a 2-over 72.

   Weddell worked a couple of summers in the pro shop at Stonewall and I had to chance to catch up with her when she was in the group I was looping in in last month’s Partner-Pro at Stonewall. Coe also played in the Partner-Pro at Stonewall, which might have been one of her first competitive rounds since the birth of her daughter and, I heard, she played pretty well.

   Megan Leineweber, once an assistant pro at Stonewall who has recently returned to take over as the head pro, shared fourth place with Patty Post, the director of both the men’s and women’s golf programs at Delaware, as both recorded an 8-over 78.

   Leineweber also played in the Partner-Pro at Stonewall, so a loop around the Old Course turned out to be a good tuneup for the Union League’s Torresdale Course.

   Jennifer Cully, an instructor at Honeybrook Golf Club, took sixth place with an 80 with Beatrice Smith of Gulph Mills Golf Club another shot behind her in seventh with an 81.

   Meghan Spero of Wilmington, Del. took eighth place with an 85, Kelly Sanderson of Huntingdon Valley Country Club was ninth with an 87, Bridget McLaughlin of Waynesborough Country Club was 10^th with a 90 and Meg Donohue of Manufacturers’ Golf & Country Club rounded out the field in the Women’s Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship as she finished 11^th with a 93.

   The event known as the LPGA National Professional Championship was renamed this year as the LPGA Pros Championship and moved from the Kingsmill Resort’s River Course in Williamsburg, Va. to the Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Fla.

   Ashley Grier, the former Overbrook Golf Club assistant pro and the winner of the inaugural Women’s Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship in 2021, survived a playoff and will join Coe in the field for next summer’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco.

   After five years at Overbrook, Grier went back home to Hagerstown, Md. to work with her father at the family business, the Yinglings Golf Center.

   The Women’s Philadelphia PGA Championship was sponsored by KM Golf Sales and the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Bureau.

   I never quite got around to posting on the National Car Rental Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship, which was held July 29^th at White Manor Country Club in Willistown Township, so I’m going to take this occasion to do a quick recap.

   Zach Barbin, an assistant pro at Chesapeake Bay Golf Club, which is owned by the Barbin family, made birdies on three of the last four holes to edge Zac Oakley, the talented instructor at Bidermann Golf Club, by a shot to capture the title.

   Pretty sure it was a one-day, 36-hole test and since most of July was in the 90s around these parts, I’m guessing it was hot that day. The NCR Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship honors the memory of Dick Smith Sr., who served a term as president of the PGA of America and was also a Philadelphia Section PGA president.

   Barbin trailed Oakley by a shot when Barbin opened with a 3-under 68 at White Manor. Barbin had it going early with birdies at the fifth, seventh and eighth holes. He made bogeys at the ninth and 13^th holes around a birdie at 11 and then added his fifth birdie of the round at 17 to get it to the house at 3-under.

   Barbin opened his second round with a bogey at the first hole and made back-to-back birdies at seven and eight before making another bogey at nine. But Barbin really got it going on the incoming nine at White Manor, making birdies at the 11^th and 13^th holes to set the stage for his closing burst with birdies at 15, 17 and 18.

   That gave Barbin a sizzling second round of 5-under 66 and an 8-under 134 total as he earned the top prize of $2,089 and had his named inscribed on the George Izett Memorial Trophy. Used to loop for George Izett at Merion, but that’s another story for another day.

   Barbin won a pair of Golf Association of Philadelphia major championships in the pandemic summer of 2020, capturing the BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Lancaster Country Club and the Patterson Cup at The 1912 Club when he was still an amateur.

   Barbin’s younger brother Austin, who followed his big brother to Liberty to play college golf, matched Zach Barbin’s accomplishment by winning the BNW Philadelphia Amateur in June at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club.

   Oakley had grabbed a one-shot lead on Zach Barbin with an opening round of 4-under 67 in the NCR Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship. Oakley added a solid 3-under 68 in the second round to finish a shot behind Barbin with a 7-under 135 total.

   It was a three-horse race as Brian Bergstol, the talented instructor at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, finished a shot behind Oakley in third place with a 6-under 136 total. After opening with a 1-under 70, Bergstol matched Barbin’s sparkling 5-under 66 in the second round.

   Anthony Sebastianelli, an assistant at Rolling Green Golf Club, continued his strong play this summer as he added a 3-under 68 to his opening round of 2-over 73 to finish five shots behind Bergstol in fourth place with a 1-under 141 total.

   I’ll get to Sebastianelli’s big win in the Silvercrest Cup Monday at the Union League’s Liberty Hill Course soon, a lot sooner than it took me to get to this NCR Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

   Michael Chanaud, playing out of the pro shop at The Peninsula Golf & Country Club, was another shot behind Sebastianelli in sixth place at even-par 142. Chanaud added a 2-under 69 in the second round to his opening round of 2-over 73.

   Ryan Rucinski of Wilmington Country Club matched par in the second round with a 71 after opening with a 1-over 72 as he finished a shot behind Chanaud in sixth place with a 1-over 143 total.

   A group of five players that included a pair of entries out of the Sunnybrook Golf Club pro shop in Robert Fenton and Zach Miller, Rocco Sgrillo of the John F. Byrne Golf Course, Rusty Harbold, who works out of the Philadelphia Cricket Club pro shop, and Trevor Bensel of Sandy Run Country Club finished in a tie for seventh place, each landing on 3-over 145.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 71, Fenton signed for a 3-over 74 in the second round. His Sunnybrook colleague Miller added a 1-over 72 in the second round to his opening-round 73.

   Sgrillo was just a shot out of the lead after opening with a 3-under 68 before struggling a little in the second round with a 6-over 77.

   Harbold had the same splits as Fenton, matching par in the opening round with a 71 before adding a 3-over 74 in the second round.

   Bensel, a fixture on Philadelphia Section leaderboards, bounced backed from a 4-over 75 in the opening round with a solid 1-under 70 in the second round.

   Andrew Turner of Whitford Country Club was part of a four-way logjam in a tie for 12^th place at 4-over 146, but Turner snagged the final guaranteed spot in the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship, which tees off Nov. 14 at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Turner matched par in the opening round with a 71 before adding a 4-over 75 in the second round.

   Oakley, who has played well in PGA of America championships and the PGA of America’s winter PGA Tournament Series events at the PGA Golf Club, will head the six-man Philadelphia Section contingent in the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

   Also joining Oakley in the field for the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship will be Bergstol, who was the runnerup in the event in 2021 and again in 2022, both times at the PGA Golf Club.

   Rounding out the group with guaranteed spots in the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship are Fenton, Harbold, Bensel and Turner.

   Barbin, Sebastianelli, Chanaud, Rucinski, Sgrillo and Miller are all still classified as PGA Associates and are ineligible to play in PGA of America championships. The good news is that there is a ton of talented young players in the pipeline in the Philadelphia Section right now.

   Jeff Fick of Moselem Springs Golf Club and Kyle Early of Waynesborough Country Club joined Miller at 4-over 146 and are the first and second alternate, respectively, to the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

   Fick matched par with a 71 in the second round after opening with a 4-over 75. Early added a 1-over 72 in the second round to his opening-round 74.

   There will be a lot less going on on the local golf scene when the assistants gather in Port St. Lucie and I’m usually all over the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

   In addition to NCR’s sponsorship, the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship was supported by Srixon, Cleveland Golf, ASICS, Ohana Farm LLC, Payntr Golf and the PGA Tour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parrish, Melendez, Van Dalen complete weekend Philly Junior Tour sweeps with wins at Garrisons Lake

 

   Christopher Parrish of Woolwich Township, N.J., Trebor Melendez of Vineland, N.J. and Peter Van Dalen of Rehoboth Beach, Del. each completed a sweep of a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour weekend in Delaware with victories at Garrisons Lake Golf Club Sept. 8^th in Smyrna, Del.

   Parrish had been the winner in the 16-to-18 division a day earlier at Odessa National Golf Club in Townsend, Del. as had Melendez in the 13-to-15 division and Van Dalen in the coed 12-and-under division.

   The most impressive performance of the weekend belonged to Melendez at Garrisons Lake as he earned a second straight Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division with a sparkling 2-under-par 70 on a golf course that was playing pretty tough.

   Showing remarkable patience and discipline for a 12-year-old, Melendez made birdies at the sixth and 11^th holes and parred the rest, 16 of them, including seven straight pars from the 12^th through the 18^th holes to complete his round.

   Quinten Joiner of Millington, Md. earned runnerup honors among the younger guys as he made a birdie at the 12^th hole and had 14 pars on his scorecard, including a run of six straight pars from the 13^th to the 18^th holes to conclude his round, on his way to a solid 2-over 74.

   Trevor Sieben of Medford, N.J., winner of the Philly Junior Tour’s Player of the Year honor in the 13-to-15 division in 2023, finished in third place as he made birdies on the first, sixth, eighth, 12^th and 17^th holes and had five pars on his card while posting a 5-over 77.

   Brendan Schott of Wilmington, Del. took fourth place with an 80, his second straight fourth-place finish, and Henry Sokol of Villanova, who finished in third a day earlier at Odessa National, was fifth at Garrisons Lake with an 81.

   William Quartermain of Bryn Mawr, winner of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior-Junior Championship this summer at the Moorestown Field Club, finished in sixth place with an 82.

   Jack Sokol, Henry Sokol’s twin brother, and Jack Ferm of Garnet Valley finished in a tie for seventh place, each signing for an 84.

   Haden Mazurek of Middletown, Del. took ninth place with an 89 and Christopher Jones of Mullica Hill, N.J. rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished alone in 10^th with a 91.

   Parrish made birdies at the second and 17^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard, including a string of five pars in a row from the 12^th through the 16^th holes, as he claimed a second straight Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division with a 5-over 77.

   A couple of West Chester guys, Zach Raihill and Trey Barkman, accounted for the next two spots on the leaderboard, Raihill taking second place with an 80 and Barkman finishing third with an 83.

   Raihill made birdies at the 12^th and 14^th holes and had eight pars on his card and Barkman made a birdie on the 17^th hole and had nine pars on his card.

   Michael Doyle of Haddonfield, N.J. and Michael Liu, a Garnet Valley resident and a junior at Archmere Academy, finished in a tie for fourth place, each recording an 84.

   Caiden Jordan of Rising Sun, Md. took sixth place with an 85 and Thomas Vari of Newark, Del. rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as he finished seventh with a 90.

   Van Dalen had six pars on his scorecard as he bested the field of nine-holers for the second day in a row with a 3-over 39.

   Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del., coming off a third-place finish a day earlier at Odessa National, had four pars at Garrisons Lake to earn runnerup honors with a 41.

   Benjamin Adkins of Lewes, Del. made a birdie on the sixth hole and had three pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Wang in third place with a 42.

   Declan Mayo of Chadds Ford took fourth place with a 44, Charlie Sears of Wilmington, Del. was fifth with a 46, Landon Post of Lincoln University was sixth with a 47 and Carter Tracy, playing not far from his Smyrna, Del. home, was seventh with a 49.

   Alex Cheng of Wilmington, Del. took eighth place with a 51 and Ethan Lerner of Blue Bell rounded out the field in the coed 12-and-under division as he finished ninth with a 56.

   Speaking of sweeps, it was a sweep of the two girls divisions for two more members of Team Post out of Lincoln University.

   The best score of the day among the girls came out of the 13-to-15 division as Kiera Post made a birdie on the 13^th hole and had six pars on her scorecard, including three straight pars to open her round, as she claimed a Philly Junior tour victory with an 89.

   Chandler Mason of Newtown Square had four pars on her card as she rounded out a short field in the 13-to-15 division with a 94 that gave her a second-place finish.

   Miranda Post had six pars on her scorecard as her 95 gave her a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division.

   Brooke Burge of Middletown, Del. rounded out a short field in the 16-to-18 division as she made a birdie on the 14^th hole on her way to a 106 that gave her a runnerup finish.