Nicholl gets in a groove to take a Philly Junior Tour victory at Chesapeake Bay

 

   Rider Nicholl, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Avon Grove last fall, put together a solid 4-over-par 74 Sunday at Chesapeake Bay Golf Club in Rising Sun, Md. to take the top spot in the 16-to-18 division and claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory.

   The weather varied Sunday depending on your location, but I’m guessing it warmed a little quicker near the Chesapeake Bay than it did in northwest Chester County.

   Nicholl twice went back-to-back with birdies at the sixth and seventh holes and again at 16 and 17 and had eight pars on his scorecard.

   The 12^th hole at Chesapeake Bay was out of commission, so players played the first hole a second time to conclude their rounds.

   Haverford High senior Andrew Rindgen, a District One Class AAA qualifier last fall, made a birdie on the 16^th hole and had nine pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 7-over 77 that left him three shots behind Nicholl.

   In checking up on Rindgen for this post, I discovered I somehow managed to leave him out of my post from the Central League Championship last fall at Turtle Creek, where he finished in a tie for 13^th place with a 79 to earn a return trip to the Turtle for the District One Championship.

  Beauty of a blog, though, I fixed it six months later.

   Brayden Schnabel, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Souderton last fall, finished another three shots behind Rindgen in third place as Schnabel made birdies at the 11^th and 14^th holes and had six pars on his card on his way to an 80.

   Trey Barkman of West Chester took fourth place with an 82, Plymouth-Whitemarsh junior Luke Farnese was fifth with an 85 and Haverford High junior Bryce Ciochetto, like his fellow Ford Rindgen a District One Class AAA qualifier last fall, was sixth with an 86.

   Another Central League guy, Springfield sophomore Mike White, headed a trio tied for seventh place along with Haverford School senior Devin Carpenter, one of the many success stories produced by First Tee of Greater Philadelphia, and Colin Burke of Wilmington, Del., all of whom posted an 87.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was Caiden Jordan, playing not far from his Rising Sun, Md. home, as he finished alone in 10^th place with an 88.

   Evan Smith of Elkton, Md. made birdies at the fourth and sixth holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 6-over 77.

   Couldn’t figure out from the scorecards why the par for the 13-to-15 division was 71 and the par for the 16-to-18 division was 70, but regardless it was a really solid effort by Smith.

   William Quartermain of Bryn Mawr, winner of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior-Junior Championship last summer, made birdies at the sixth and ninth holes and had seven pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with an 83.

   Mason Kim of Blue Bell birdied the first hole the second time he played it and had five pars on his card as he finished five shots behind Quartermain in third place with an 88.

   Jonah Isler of West Chester took fourth place with an 89, Landon Chandler of Lancaster was fifth with a 92 and Jason Kim of Ambler was sixth with a 95.

   Garnet Valley freshman Camden Blevins, Sam Whitehouse of Pottstown and Luke Cheuvront, another local guy playing close to his Rising Sun, Md. home, finished in a tie for seventh place, each recording a 97.

   Rounding out the field in the 13-to-15 division was Max Straub of Lancaster as he finished alone in 10^th place with a 99.

   The best score of the day among the girls came out of the 13-to-15 division as Bryn Brandt of Lebanon made a birdie on the 18^th hole and had six pars on her scorecard to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory with an 82.

   Some coach in central Pennsylvania can’t wait to have Brandt join his or her program in the fall.

   Juliana Gatt of Newtown rounded out a short field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in second place with a 112.

   Brooke Burge of Middletown, Del. was the lone entry in the 16-to-18 division as he made a birdie on the fourth hole and a par at 11 on her way to a 98.

   Theodore Diamond of Lutherville-Timonium, Md. made a birdie on the eighth hole and rattled off three straight pars on three, four and five as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a 4-over 39.

   Alex Cheng of Wilmington, Del. made a par on the fifth hole as he finished five shots behind Diamond in second place with a 44.

   Jonathan Thomas of Landenberg and Charlie Sears of Wilmington, Del. shared third place, each ending up a shot behind Cheng with a 45. Thomas made back-to-back pars on the fourth and fifth holes and Sears had two pars on his card.

   Connor Michaels of Lancaster took fifth place with a 47, Jackson Ehrlich of Berwyn was sixth with a 55 and Dino Luccia of North Wales was seventh with a 58.

   Jamie Wolf of Villanova took eighth place with a 59 and Jason Zheng of West Chester rounded out the field in the 12-and-under division as he finished ninth with a 60.

 

 

 

 

 

Raihill earns Philly Junior Tour victory as summer comes early to Honeybrook

 

   Zach Raihill, a junior on the West Chester Rustin golf team, put together a 2-over-par 67 at Honeybrook Golf Club Saturday to edge a couple of familiar Ches-Mont League rivals and claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory.

   The weather hasn’t always been kind for the traditional late March Philly Junior Tour stop at Honeybrook, but Saturday turned suddenly summer-like after a long, cold winter. Some gusty winds in the far northwest corner of Chester County made club selection a challenge, but with temperatures reaching the 80s, I don’t think anyone was complaining.

   The par-5 fourth hole at Honeybrook was out of commission, so the field played just 17 holes with par reduced to 65.

   Raihill made birdies on the ninth and 15^th holes and had 11 pars on his scorecard to finish at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division.

   Ian Larsen, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at Downingtown West last fall, and Charlie Isler, a sophomore at West Chester Henderson, shared second place, each ending up a shot behind Raihill with a 3-over 68.

   Larsen made birdies at the 15^th and 18^th holes and had 11 pars on his card. Isler, coming off a runnerup finish in a Philly Junior Tour stop last weekend at Running Deer Golf Club, made birdies at the sixth and 15^th holes and had 11 pars on his card.

   Lower Merion junior Seiji Sako, who has qualified for the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of the last two falls, finished a shot behind Larsen and Isler in fourth place with a 4-over 69.

   Collin Schreiber of Kunkletown took fifth place with a 71 and West Chester Rustin senior Nick Linkchorst, who helped the Knights capture the District One Class AAA team crown last fall, and Trey Barkman of West Chester finished in a tie for sixth place, each landing on 77.

   Archmere Academy junior Michael Liu, a Garnet Valley resident, took eighth place with a 78, Devon Prep junior Chris Pullano, a Wynnewood resident, was ninth with a 79 and Downingtown East junior Joey Gangemi rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as he finished alone in 10^th with an 80.

   Pierce Drake, a sophomore on the Bishop Shanahan golf team and a Glenmoore resident, made birdies on the seventh and 15^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard as he finished atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 4-over 69.

   Evan Smith of Elkton, Md. made birdies on the 12^th, 15^th and 18^th holes and had four pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 73 that left him four shots behind Drake.

   Central Bucks East sophomore Tyler Adair and Mason Kim of Blue Bell finished in a tie for third place, each ending up two shots behind Smith with a 75.

   Adair made a birdie on the 11^th hole and had seven pars on his card and Kim made a birdie on the 12^th hole and had nine pars on his card.

   Jacob Ashenfelder of Glenmoore took fifth place with a 76 and the trio of Benjamin Lear of West Chester, Steven Musacchio, another Glenmoore guy, and Beckett Kush of Yardley finished in a tie for sixth, each posting an 81.

   Aidan Carter of West Chester took ninth place with an 89 and James Kulesa of Doylestown rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished alone in 10^th with a 93.

   The best score among the girls at Honeybrook came out of the 13-to-15 division as Emma Gangemi of Downingtown’s Team Gangemi made pars on the 12^th and 17^th holes on her way to a 93 that earned her a Philly Junior Tour victory.

   Mackenzie Lim of Harleysville and Addison Murphy of Phoenixville finished in a tie for second place, each recording a 96. Murphy had three pars on her scorecard.

   Rounding out the field in the 13-to-15 division was Juliana Gatt of Newtown as she finished in fourth place with a 102.

   Shloka Vishwanath, a sophomore on the Downingtown West golf team, was the lone entry in the 16-to-18 division and she made pars on the 11^th and 14^th holes on her way to a 94.

   Kaycen Subbio of Blue Bell bested the field among the boys 12-and-under nine-holers as he made a birdie at the fifth hole and had three pars on his scorecard on his way to a 4-over 34.

   Jack Kolmar of Wayne made a birdie on the eighth hole and had three pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 5-over 35 that left him a shot behind Subbio. Ryan Foust of Exton had three pars on his card as he finished in third place with a 37 that left him two shots behind Kolmar

   The trio of Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville, Connor Masulis of Pottstown and Connor Michaels of Lancaster all finished a shot behind Foust in a tie for fourth place, each registering a 38.

   Jonathan Thomas of Landenberg and Nicholas Cheng of Berwyn shared seventh place, each posting a 39.

   Andrew DElla of Clarks Summit took ninth place with a 41 and Graeme Day of West Chester rounded out the top 10 in the 12-and-under division as he finished 10^th with a 42.

   With the old coed 12-and-under division split into boys and girls divisions this season, there was a decent turnout of girls nine-holers at Honeybrook.

   Kia DeCarlo of Glen Mills made pars on the second and fifth holes as she bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a 7-over 37.

   Evelyn Brillman of Elkins Park made a par on the seventh hole as she earned runnerup honors with a 41 that left her four shots behind DeCarlo.

   Trisha Lobo of Collegeville made pars on the fifth and seventh holes as she finished two shots behind Evelyn Brillman in third place with a 43.

   If Lobo watches the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals Sunday from Augusta National Golf Club, she’ll have fond memories of that event from a year ago when she finished in third place in the Girls 7-to-9 division, topping the field in the putting portion of the competition.

   Eleanor Brillman of Elkins Park’s Team Brillman took fourth place with a 45, Lillian Fry of Pennsburg was fifth with a 49 and Sydney Lim of Harleysville rounded out the field in the 12-and-under division as she finished sixth with a 54.

 

 

 

 

 

Stanford just rolls on by taking team title in Charles Schwab Women's Collegiate; Auburn's Davis the individual champion

 

   Haven’t really had a chance to check in on reigning national champion Stanford during the wraparound 2024-2025, but it seems like every time I visit the Cardinal’s website, they’ve won another tournament.

   That’s because they have. Stanford ran its stroke-play tournament win streak to eight in a row, dating back to its victory in the final edition of the Pac-12 Championship last spring with a two-shot victory over former Pac-12 rival Oregon in the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at Colonial Country Club, Hogan’s Alley, in Fort Worth, Texas.

   Stanford is No. 1 in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings as it has since the rankings were first unveiled last fall. Capturing the team title in the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate against the toughest field the Cardinal will face until the NCAA Championship tees off at the La Costa Resort & Spa later this spring should do nothing to change that ranking.

   Stanford actually trailed its former Pac-12 rival Oregon and its new Atlantic Coast Conference rival Wake Forest following Monday’s double round as the Cardinal added a 1-over-par 281 over the challenging 6,072-yard, par-70 Colonial layout in the afternoon to their opening round of 2-over 282.

   The Ducks, who fell to Stanford in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match in 2022 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., matched par in each half of Monday’s double round with a pair of 280s to lead the Cardinal by three going into Tuesday’s final round.

   But Stanford, getting a sparkling 3-under 67 from junior leader Megha Ganne, the Holmdel, N.J. native who is No. 12 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), closed with a 3-under 277 for an even-par 840 total.

   Oregon, No. 3 in the Scoreboard rankings, closed with a 2-over 282 to finish in second place with a 2-over 842 total.

   The Ducks were led by Kiara Romero, the talented sophomore from San Jose, Calif. who is No. 8 in the Women’s WAGR, as Romero earned runnerup honors in the individual chase, finishing a shot behind Auburn’s Anna Davis, a sophomore from Spring Valley, Calif. and No. 17 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Romero, winner of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in 2023 at the Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course in Colorado Springs, Colo., opened with a 2-under 68 and added a pair of 3-under 67s in the final two rounds for an 8-under 202 total.

   Stanford has simply reloaded since capturing its second national championship in three years last spring in the first staging of the NCAA Championship at La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif.

   Meja Ortengren, a freshman from Sweden and No. 16 in the Women’s WAGR, led the way for the Cardinal in the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate as she finished in fourth place in the individual standings with a 4-under 206 total.

   Ortengren, who might very well be the best freshman in the country, added a 3-under 67 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round to her opening-round 69 and was only one shot behind Romero and SMU’s Mackenzie Lee, a junior from North Little Rock, Ark. and No. 48 in the Women’s WAGR, in the individual standings going into Tuesday’s final round.

   Ortengren matched par in the final round with a 70 to finish at 4-under.

   Stanford had two players inside the top eight as Paula Martin Sampedro, a sophomore from Spain and No. 10 in the Women’s WAGR, finished alone in eighth place with a 1-under 209 total.

   After opening with a 2-over 72, Martin Sampedro, arguably the best freshman in the country last year, recorded a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before contributing a 2-under 68 to the Cardinal’s final-round surge. Martin Sampedro finished in third place in the individual standings in last spring’s NCAA Championship at La Costa.

   Oregon lost to UCLA in the all-Pac-12 semifinals in the NCAA Championship at La Costa last spring.

   Auburn, a Southeastern Conference power and No. 19 in the Scoreboard rankings, closed with a solid 2-under 278 to finish four shots behind Oregon in a tie for third place with reigning ACC champion Wake Forest, each landing on 6-over 846.

   The Tigers, who also earned a spot in the match-play bracket a year ago at La Costa only to fall to eventual national champion Stanford in the quarterfinals, had opened with a 3-over 283 at Colonial before adding a 5-over 285 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round.

   Auburn was led, of course, by the immensely talented Davis, who burst into the national consciousness when she captured the title in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship as a 16-year-old in 2022.

   Davis blew past the field in the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate with a flawless 6-under 64 over the classic Colonial layout that has hosted a PGA Tour stop since 19 and 46  in the final round that gave the left-hander a 9-under 201 total.

   Davis had opened with a 2-under 68 and added a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round on her way to her third collegiate victory in a little over a year.

   Augusta National. Colonial. Seems like Davis saves her best stuff for the classics, the most challenging, the most interesting golf courses. She’ll be back in Augusta, Ga. for the opening round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which tees off Wednesday at the Champions Resort Golf Club.

   I’ll get back to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur later in this post.

   Wake Forest, No. 9 in the Scoreboard rankings, was right there tied with Oregon for first place going into the final round as the Demon Deacons opened with a solid 3-under 277 before adding a 3-over 283 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round.

   Wake Forest closed with a 6-over 286 to join Auburn in the tie for third place at 6-over.

   Wake Forest, which captured its first national championship in 2023 at Grayhawk, came up just short of earning a spot in the match-play bracket in defense of its title a year ago at La Costa, ending up in ninth place, two shots behind Auburn.

   Arizona, another Pac-12 ex-pat playing in the Big 12 and No. 20 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished five shots behind Auburn and Wake Forest with an 11-over 851 total. After opening with a 1-over 281, the Wildcats struggled a little in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a 290 before closing with a 3-over 283.

   Arizona failed to advance to last spring’s NCAA Championship as a three seed in the Las Vegas Regional.

   TCU, another Big 12 representative and No. 16 in the Scoreboard rankings, and Texas, which left the Big 12 for the SEC and is No. 6 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished in a tie for sixth place in the loaded 15-team field for the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate, each ending up eight shots behind Arizona at 19-over 859.

   After opening with a 291, the Horned Frogs added a 5-over 285 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 3-over 283. The Longhorns also struggled in the opening round with a 290 and added a 2-over 282 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 7-over 287.

   Texas advanced to last spring’s NCAA Championship with a runnerup finish as a two seed in the Bermuda Run Regional, but the Longhorns never really got it going at La Costa.

   Backing up Ortengren and Martin Sampedro for Stanford was Ganne, her closing 67 leaving her in a tie for 11^th place with a 1-over 281 total. Ganne was a member of the winning U.S. team in the Curtis Cup Match at the iconic East Course at Merion Golf Club in the summer of 2022 before she had ever even struck a shot for Stanford.

   Kelly Xu, a junior from Claremont, Calif. and No. 24 in the Women’s WAGR, finished among the group tied for 32^nd place for Stanford with an 8-over 218 total. Xu matched par in the opening round with a 70 and added a 2-over 72 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 6-over 76.

   Martin Sampedro, Ganne and Xu were all in the lineup for Stanford in its victory over UCLA in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match last spring at La Costa.

   Rounding out the Stanford lineup was Ortengren’s fellow Swede and fellow freshman, Nora Sundberg, who is No. 50 in the Women’s WAGR, as she finished in the group tied for 37^th place with a 9-over 219 total. After opening with a 4-over 74, Sundberg improved by a shot in each successive round, adding a 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a solid 72.

   SMU’s Lee was tied for the lead with Oregon’s Romero going into the final round as Lee added a 3-under 67 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round to her opening-round 69. Lee matched par in the final round to finish alone in third place, three shots behind Romero with a 4-under 206 total.

   Wake Forest’s Carolina Chacarra, a senior from Spain and No. 27 in the Women’s WAGR, finished a shot behind Lee in fifth place with a 3-under 207 total. Chacarra opened with a 2-under 68 and added a 69 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round that left her just two shots out of the lead going into the final round before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   Karen Tsuru, a sophomore from Carlsbad, Calif. and No. 55 in the Women’s WAGR, gave Oregon a second finisher among the top six as she ended up in a tie for sixth place with Texas’ Lauren Kim, a sophomore from Canada and No. 20 in the Women’s WAGR, each landing a shot behind Chacarra with a 2-under 208 total.

   Tsuru opened with a 2-under 68 and added a 69 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 1-over 71. After matching par in the opening round with a 70, Kim registered back-to-back 1-under 69s in the final two rounds to join Tsuru at 2-under.

   The Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate was something of a preview for next week’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which has quickly established itself as one of the premier events in women’s amateur golf.

   The top eight finishers in the individual standings at Colonial as well as the other three players in the Stanford lineup outside the top eight will all be in the field when the Augusta National Women’s Amateur tees off Wednesday at the Champions Retreat Golf Club Wednesday. Have a feeling Colonial is going to prove to be perfect preparation for Champions Retreat and Augusta National Golf Club, the Alister Mackenzie masterpiece that will host the Masters Tournament, the first men’s major professional championship of 2025, a week later.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual standings were TCU’s Camille Min-Gaultier, a freshman from France, and Oklahoma State’s Marta Silchenko, a sophomore from Latvia, as both ended up a shot behind Martin Sampedro in a tie for ninth place at even-par 210.

   After matching par with a 70 in the opening round, Min-Gaultier posted a solid 1-under 69 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 1-over 71. After opening with a 2-over 72, Silchenko recorded a solid 2-under 68 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   Freshman Angelina Tolentino, who starred at Lenape High in South Jersey and is the reigning Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur champion, once again appeared in the starting lineup for SEC power Vanderbilt, which is No. 15 in the Scoreboard rankings.

   Tolentino finished among the group tied for 46^th place in the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate with an 11-over 221 total. Tolentino opened with a solid 1-over 71 and added a 6-over 76 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 74.

   The Commodores finished in 11^th place in the team standings with a 30-over 870 total.