Jones warms to the task as he claims a Philly Junior Tour victory at a chilly Running Deer

 

   Christopher Jones of Mullica Hill, N.J. carded a solid 2-over-par 74 on a chilly March Sunday to finish at the top of the leaderboard in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Running Deer Golf Club in Pittsgrove, N.J.

   It was a Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) event for the boys with top finishers earning points that can earn them status on some of the higher-profile junior circuits, including the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).

   The JGS scoring is for players ages 13 to 18. The Philly Junior Tour broke out its usual 13-to-15 and 16-to-18 age groups, so I’ll round up those divisions while referring to the overall scoring.

   Jones made birdies on the ninth, 14^th, 16^th and 18^th holes and had eight pars on his scorecard, including seven straight pars to open his round.

   The passage of a cold front Saturday night made for a sunny, but cold day that made the cold-weather gear a requirement.

   Charlie Isler, a sophomore on the West Chester Henderson golf team, made birdies on the ninth and 13^th holes and had 11 pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Jones in second place in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring with a 3-over 75.

   Christopher Parrish of Woolwich Township, N.J., coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory a day earlier at The Shore Club, headed a group of three players tied for third place among the older guys and in the overall scoring that included Haverford School senior J.P. Hoban and Chase Mitchell of Medford, N.J., all of whom landed on 4-over 76.

   Parrish made birdies on the sixth, ninth, 17^th and 18^th holes and had seven pars on his card.

   Hoban, a Havertown resident who helped the Fords capture the Inter-Ac League championship last fall, made birdies on the ninth, 15^th and 17^th holes and had nine pars on his card. Hoban was coming off a fifth-place finish overall a day earlier at The Shore Club.

   Mitchell made birdies on the fourth, 10^th, 12^th and 14^th holes and had six pars on his card.

   David Burmeister, who wrapped up his senior season with the Southern Lehigh golf team last fall, finished in sixth place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for seventh with Evan Smith of Elkton, Md. from the 13-to-15 division in the overall scoring with a 6-over 78.

   Michael Liu, a Garnet Valley resident who is a junior at Archmere Academy, finished in seventh place in the 16-to-18 division and ninth in the overall chase with a 79. Liu is gearing up for the spring scholastic season in Delaware.

   Chase Adomaitis of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. was another shot behind Liu in eighth place among the older guys and rounded out the top 10 in the overall standings by ending up in 10^th with an 80.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Keller Tannehill of Margate, N.J. and Braydon Dolan, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore on the Springfield golf team last fall, as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each landing on 82.

   Both were coming off solid showings a day earlier in the Philly Junior Tour stop at The Shore Club with Tannehill finishing in a tie for second place in the overall scoring and Dolan taking eighth overall.

   Trebor Melendez, the talented youngster from Vineland, N.J., claimed top honors in the 13-to-15 division and finished in sixth place in the overall scoring with a 5-over 77.

   Melendez made birdies on the third, 14^th and 17^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard. Melendez, a Class of 2030 competitor, the equivalent of a seventh-grader, was coming off a really strong performance in the Philly Junior Tour two-day season opener at Seaview Golf Club up the coast in Galloway Township, N.J. a week earlier as he finished atop the 13-to-15 division and was the runnerup in the overall standings.

   Smith from Elkton, Md. made birdies on the 15^th and 17^th holes and had nine pars on his card, including a string of six straight pars from the ninth through the 14^th holes, as he was the runnerup in the 13-to-15 division and finished in a tie for seventh place with Burmeister from the 16-to-18 division with a 78.

   Smith was the last player from the 13-to-15 division to land inside the top 10 in the overall standings.

   Taimoor Naseem of Sinking Spring and Lucas Solano, another Vineland, N.J. guy, finished in a tie for third place among the younger guys, each landing on 81, three shots behind Smith.

   Naseem, moving up from the 12-and-under nine-holers where he could frequently be found near or at the top of the leaderboard, had nine pars on his card. Solano had eight pars on his card.

   Logan Stoney of Hillsborough, N.J. took fifth place in the 13-to-15 division with an 83 and Henry Sokol of Villanova finished sixth with an 84.

   Henry Sokol’s twin brother, Jack Sokol, and Ben Meixell of Wilmington, Del. finished in a tie for seventh place in the 13-to-15 division as each posted an 85.

   Jack Sokol had earned runnerup honors in the 13-to-15 division and was ninth overall a day earlier at The Shore Club. He earned low-Sokol honors at The Shore Club as Henry Sokol finished in a tie for fourth place in the division. This time, Henry Sokol got low-Sokol honors at Running Deer.

   Jacob Ashenfelter of Glenmoore took ninth place with an 86 and Neil Ray of West Chester rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished 10^th with an 88.

   The best score among the girls came out of the 13-to-15 division as Bryn Brandt of Lebanon made birdies on the third and ninth holes and had 10 pars on her scorecard on her way to a solid 5-over 77.

   Alaina Carson, who capped an outstanding freshman season at Cardinal O’Hara by earning a trip to the PIAA Clas AAA Championship last fall, rounded out a short field in the 13-to-15 division as she had seven pars on her card on her way to an 84 that left her in second place.

   Nicole Tarquinio of Bridgeton, N.J. had five pars on her scorecard as she finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division with a 95.

   Samantha Matey of Manahawkin, N.J. had two pars on Running Deer’s incoming nine as she rounded out a short field in the 16-to-18 division by finishing in second place with a 108.

   Aiden Jose of Brick, N.J. made a birdie on the fifth hole and had three pars on his scorecard as he bested the boys 12-and-under field of nine-holers with a 6-over 42. Jose was coming off a runnerup finish in the boys 12-and-under division a day earlier at The Shore Club.

   James Wilson of Wilmington, Del. had three pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 45.

   Charlie Sears, another Wilmington, Del. guy, finished up his round with a birdie at the ninth hole as he finished in third place with a 47.

   Bradan Boal of Woodbine, N.J. took fourth place with a 55 and Jackson Ehrich of Berwyn rounded out the boys 12-and-under field as he finished fifth with a 56.

   Trisha Lobo of Collegeville made pars on the seventh and ninth holes as she bested a short field in the girls 12-and-under division with a 47.

   Lobo finished in third place in the Girls 7-9 division in last spring’s Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at the Augusta National Golf Club on the Sunday of Masters week. Lobo topped the field that day in the putting portion of the competition.

   Brooklyn Ksiazek of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. rounded out the field in the girls 12-and-under division as she was the runnerup with a 62.