It was pretty much of a home game for Trebor Melendez, the talented 12-year-old from Vineland, N.J. as he completed a sweep of the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour’s weekend events in New Jersey with a 1-over-par 73 at Buena Vista Country Club in Buena, N.J., right next door to Vineland, Sunday.
Melendez, competing in the younger 13-to-15 division, had the best score of the day among the guys Saturday with a 2-under 70 at Golden Pheasant Golf Club in Lumberton Township, N.J.
And Melendez did it again Sunday as he made birdies on the 14th and 16th holes while touring Buena Vista’s incoming nine in even-par 36 and had 13 pars on his scorecard, eight of them on the outgoing nine.
It wasn’t exactly warm Sunday and I suspect the kids who traveled to South Jersey for the Buena Vista stop on the Philly Junior Tour caught a rain shower or two, but you can do worse weather-wise in early April in this part of the world.
A year ago, Melendez spent the Sunday before the Masters competing in the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at the Augusta National Golf Club. He finished in third place in the Boys 10-11 Division, leading the field in the putting portion of the contest.
Logan Turner of Berwyn made birdies at the third, seventh and 18th holes and had 10 pars on his card, including a string of five straight pars from the 13th through the 17th holes, to finish three shots behind Melendez in second place in the 13-to-15 division with a 4-over 76.
Henry Sokol of Villanova made birdies at the third, fifth and seventh holes and had seven pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Turner in third place with a 5-over 77.
Taimoor Naseem of Sinking Spring and Nathan Lobo of Collegeville finished in a tie for fourth place, each posting a 79 and William Quartermain of Bryn Mawr and Lucas Solano, another guy from nearby Vineland, N.J., shared sixth, each signing for an 80.
Sebastian Leone of Wayne took eighth place with an 83, Jack Sokol, Henry Sokol’s twin brother, was ninth with an 85 and Ben Meixell of Wilmington, Del. rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished 10th with an 86.
Thomas Carpenter of Bristol and Andrew Brendlinger, a junior on the Perkiomen Valley golf team, both coming off solid showings a day earlier at Golden Pheasant, shared the top spot in the 16-to-18 division as each recorded a 2-over 74.
Carpenter, coming off a runnerup finish at Golden Pheasant, made birdies at the sixth and 17th holes and had 12 pars on his scorecard, seven of them in an even-par 36 tour of the incoming nine at Buena Vista.
Brendlinger, who finished in sixth place at Golden Pheasant, started hot with birdies at the first, third and seventh holes during a 1-under 35 tour of the outgoing nine at Buena Vista. He added a fourth birdie at the closing hole and had 10 pars on his card.
A couple of Catholic League rivals, Greg Kriz, a sophomore on the St. Joseph’s Prep golf team from Oreland, and John Gavaghan, a junior on the La Salle golf team from Ambler, finished in a tie for third place, each ending up a shot behind Carpenter and Brendlinger with a 3-over 75.
Kriz, coming off a seventh-place finish a day earlier at Golden Pheasant, made birdies at the sixth, ninth and 13th holes and had 10 pars on his card. Gavaghan made birdies at the fourth, seventh, 10th and 14th holes and had seven pars on his card.
St. Joseph’s Prep junior John Diamond, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, was another shot behind Kriz and Gavaghan in fifth place with a 4-over 76. Diamond had claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division a day earlier at Golden Pheasant.
Trey Barkman of West Chester took sixth place with a 79, Michael Liu, a junior on the Archmere Academy golf team from Garnet Valley, was seventh with an 80 and Haverford High junior Bryce Ciochetto, a District One Class AAA qualifier last fall, was eighth with an 81.
Andrew Carroccio, a junior on a Devon Prep golf team that finished in third place in the PIAA Class AA team chase last fall and a Newtown Square resident, and Springfield sophomore Braydon Dolan, a District One Class AAA qualifier last fall, rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each landing on 82.
Masey Heenan of Ocean City, N.J. had six pars on her scorecard as she earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 16-to-18 division with a 91.
Nicole Tarquinio of Bridgeton, N.J. rounded out a short field in the 16-to-18 division as she made a par on the eighth hole on her way to a 95 that left her four shots behind Masey Heenan in second place.
Mallie Heenan gave Team Heenan of Ocean City, N.J. a sweep of the top girls divisions at Buena Vista as she made pars on the 15th and 17th holes and claimed a Philly Junior Tour win in the 13-to-15 division with a 100.
Gigi Gratz, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at North Penn last fall, rounded out a short field in the 13-to-15 division as she had three pars on her card to finish four shots behind Mallie Heenan in second place with a 104.
Pretty competitive group at the top of the girls 12-and-under division with Mia DeCarlo of Glen Mills taking the Philly Junior Tour victory as she made a birdie on the fifth hole and had four pars on her scorecard on her way to a 3-over 39.
Trisha Lobo, another member of Collegeville’s Team Lobo, and Emilie Davoli of Ambler finished in a tie for second place, each registering an 8-over 44.
Trisha Lobo made pars on the third and seventh holes while Davoli had pars on three and eight.
Like Melendez, Trisha Lobo spent the Sunday before the Masters a year ago at the Augusta National Golf Club competing in the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals. Trisha Lobo finished in third place in the Girls 7-9 Division, topping the field in the putting discipline.
When Davoli had the best score, guys or girls, among the nine-holers with a 39 a day earlier at Golden Pheasant, I mentioned that she was a Class of 2032 competitor, the equivalent of a fifth-grader.
Well, Trisha Lobo is a Class of ’33 kid, a fourth-grader, and DeCarlo is a Class of ’31 competitor, the veteran of the group as a sixth-grader. It’s going to be interesting to see where this talented trio is headed.
Rounding out the field in the girls 12-and-under nine-holers was Brooklyn Ksiazek of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. as she finished in fourth place with a 58.
Aiden Jose of Brick, N.J. bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers as he made a birdie on the fifth hole and had four pars on his scorecard on his way to a solid 3-over 39.
Jose had finished in a tie for third place among the boys 12-and-under nine-holers a day earlier in the Philly Junior Tour stop at Golden Pheasant.
Charlie Sears of Wilmington, Del. had three pars on his card as he finished six shots behind Jose in second place with a 9-over 45.
Grayson Wright of Philadelphia rounded out the field in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished in third place with a 55.
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