Larsen, Fanelli the respective boys, girls medalists in Notah Begay III Junior qualifier at Turtle Creek

 

   Ian Larsen, a PIAA Class AAA Championship qualifier as a sophomore at Downingtown West last fall, captured the boys title and Elayna Fanelli, a senior at Radnor and a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier, won the girls crown in a two-day Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Turtle Creek Golf Course in Limerick June 12 and 13.

   On the boys side, it was a battle between two of the Ches-Mont League’s top returning players as Larsen finished in a tie at the top of the leaderboard with West Chester Rustin senior Cole Berry at even-par 144 before Larsen prevailed on the first hole of a playoff.

   The tournament was also a local qualifier for the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship. The results didn’t reveal how many players advanced, but pretty sure there is another round of regional qualifiers before the Notah Begay III national event is held in November at Koasati Pines at Choshatta in Kinder, La.

   The Philly Junior Tour stop at Turtle Creek was a Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) event, offering points that can give players some status on some of the more advanced junior circuits, most notably the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).

   With the JGS points, there was overall competition for players ages 13 to 18. The Philly Junior Tour broke down its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 age groups, so I’ll wrap them up while referring to the overall 13-to-18 standings.

   Larsen moved to the top of the leaderboard in a Friday the 13^th second round as he got it going on the back nine at the Turtle. Larsen made a birdie at 12 and backed that up with an eagle at the par-5 13^th and another birdie at 16.

   He had 13 pars on his scorecard, including six straight pars to open his second round. It all added up to a 1-under 71.

   In the opening round, Larsen made a birdie on the tough par-3 ninth hole and added another birdie at 13. He had 13 pars on his card, including a string of eight straight pars to open his round, on his way to a 1-over 73.

   That left him two shots behind opening-round leader Quin Zuegner, a New Hope resident and a junior at The Hill School who got it into red figures with a 1-under 71.

   The two-day event at Turtle Creek often draws players from District One schools since the Turtle annually hosts the District One Championship October.

   Berry was a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore two years ago. He was unable to advance out of districts as an individual last fall, but he did help the Knights capture the District One Class AAA title. They went on to finish in a tie for fifth place in the PIAA Class AAA team chase at Penn State.

   Berry made birdies on the second, seventh and 15^th holes and had 12 pars on his scorecard, eight of them on the incoming nine at Turtle Creek, as he matched par in the second round with a 72 that left him tied atop the leaderboard with Larsen at even-par 144.

   In the opening round, Berry executed the game plan at the Turtle to perfection. He birdied three of the four par-5s, the second, 13^th and 18^th holes, added a birdie at seven and had 10 pars on his card for an even-par 72 that left him a shot behind Zuegner going into the second round.

   Larsen’s playoff victory gave him a first-place finish in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall standings. Berry earned runnerup honors among the older guys and in the overall scoring.

   Zuegner got off to a great start as he made birdies on the second, fifth, seventh and eighth holes while touring the front nine at the Turtle in 2-under 34 on his way to a 1-under 71. Zuegner had 12 pars on his card, eight of them on the back nine at the Turtle.

   Zuegner cooled off a little in the second round, but still made birdies on the second, seventh and 13^th holes and had 12 pars on his card, seven of them on Turtle Creek’s incoming nine, on his way to a 2-over 74.

   That gave Zuegner a 1-over 145 total and left him just a shot behind Larsen and Berry in third place in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall standings.

   Strath Haven senior Luca Kleinschmidt matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 2-over 74 in the second round to finish in fourth place among the older guys and in a tie for fourth in the overall standings with Freddy Hartmann, a junior on the Episcopal Academy golf team, each landing on 2-over 146 and a shot behind Zuegner.

   Freddy Hartmann finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division.

   Three days later, Kleinschmidt posted a 1-under 69 at Merion Golf Club’s West Course to claim medalist honors in qualifying for match play in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship.

   Greg Kriz, an Oreland resident and a junior on the St. Joseph’s Prep’s golf team, and David Burmeister, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Southern Lehigh last fall, finished in a tie for fifth place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for sixth in the overall scoring, each tallying a 4-over 148 total.

   Kriz matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a 4-over 76. Burmeister closed with a 1-over 73 after opening with a 3-over 75.

   Coatesville senior Carson Holmes, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier, and Luke LaScala, a junior on the Salesianum golf team, finished in a tie for seventh place among the older guys and in a tie for eighth in the overall standings, each ending up with a 5-over 149 total.

   Holmes and LaScala, who finished in a tie for fourth and helped the Sallies earn runnerup honors in the team standings in last month’s Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championship at the St. Anne’s Golf Links in Middletown, Del., had identical splits, each matching par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a 5-over 77.

   Justin Marcus, a senior on the Downingtown West golf team, finished alone in ninth place in the 16-to-18 division and shared the final spot in the top 10 in the overall standings as he ended up in a tie for 10^th with Ian Rotto, a sophomore on the Kennett golf team and the runnerup in the 13-to-15 division, each landing on 6-over 150.

   Marcus closed with a 1-under 71, matching the low round of the tournament, after struggling in the opening round with a 79.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was the trio of Brayden Schnabel, a senior on the Souderton golf team, Anestis Kalderemtzis, Berry’s teammate on Rustin’s District One Class AAA championship team and also a senior, and Lannon Boyd, a senior at Radnor and one of the top returning players in the Central League, as each registered a 7-over 151 total.

   Schnabel added a 2-over 74 in the second round to his opening-round 77, Kalderemtzis added a 3-over 75 in the second round to his opening-round 76 and Boyd opened with a 2-over 74 before falling back a little with a 77 in the second round.

   Freddy Hartmann, who finished in a tie for 10^th place in the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac League’s individual championship at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club last fall, got it going in the opening round as he ripped off three straight birdies at the second, third and fourth holes, added birdies at six, 11 and 18 and had seven pars on his scorecard while matching par with a 72 that left him just a shot behind Zuegner on the overall scoreboard.

   Freddy Hartmann made birdies on the eighth, 13^th, 14^th and 16^th holes and had nine pars on his card as he closed with a 2-over 74 to finish atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division and in a tie for fourth place in the overall scoring with Strath Haven’s Kleinschmidt from the 16-to-18 division with a 2-over 146 total.

   Rotto was the only other member of the 13-to-15 division to finish in the top 10 on the overall leaderboard as his 6-over 150 total gave him runnerup honors among the younger guys and in a tie for 10^th place in the overall scoring with Downingtown West’s Marcus from the 16-to-18 division.

   Rotto was really solid in the final round as he birdied three of the Turtle’s four par-5s, the second, eighth and 13^th holes, after opening with a birdie at one and had 11 pars on his card on his way to an even-par 72.

   In the opening round, Rotto made a birdie at the 12^th hole and had 10 pars on his card on his way to a 6-over 78.

   Anderson Narzisi, a sophomore on the Souderton golf team, took third place in the 13-to-15 division as he ended up two shots behind Rotto with an 8-over 152 total.

   Narzisi made birdies at the first and 13^th holes and had 13 pars on his card, including a string of six straight pars from the fourth through the ninth holes, as he closed with a solid 2-over 74. Narzisi had 14 pars on his card as he opened with a 6-over 78.

   Holden Sparks, a sophomore on the Nazareth golf team, and Sebastian Park of Lansdale finished in a tie for fourth place in the 13-to-15 division as each landed on 9-over 153, a shot behind Narzisi.

   Sparks opened with a 3-over 75 before adding a 78 in the second round. Park added a 5-over 77 in the second round to his opening-round 76.

   Brody Campbell of Plymouth Meeting finished alone in sixth place among the younger guys as he posted a pair of 5-over 77s for a 10-over 154 total.

   Frank Kunze, a sophomore on the Garnet Valley golf team, Owen Ciesielka of West Chester and Nicholas Milone of Bryn Mawr shared seventh place in the 13-to-15 division as each landed on 156.

   Kunze, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a freshman last fall, added a 5-over 77 in the second round to his opening-round 79.

   Ciesielka had the same splits as Kunze as he added a 5-over 77 in the second round to his opening-round 79. Milone opened with a 5-over 77 before closing with a 79.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was Samuel Vinc of Brockton as he recorded a pair of 6-over 78s to finish alone in 10^th place with a 158 total.

   Radnor’s Elayna Fanelli displayed her familiarity with a Turtle Creek layout where she has competed in a couple of Central League Championships and in the second round of the Disrtrict One Championship the last couple of falls in finishing three shots clear of the field of girls.

   Elayna Fanelli made birdies at the fourth, sixth, eighth, 13^th and 15 holes and had nine pars on her scorecard in a Friday the 13^th second round of 1-over 73 that gave her an 8-over 152 total as she finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring.

   Elayna Fanelli made birdies at the 12^th and 14^th holes and had eight pars on her card in an opening round of 7-over 79 that left her two shots behind Central League rival Corinne McReynolds, a junior at Conestoga.

   Saloni Patel, a junior on the Perkiomen Valley golf team, made birdies on the sixth, 10^th, 15^th and 17^th holes and had 10 pars on her card as she matched par in the second round with a 72, the low round of the tournament among the girls.

   That enabled Patel to finish in second place in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall standings with a 155 total that left her three shots behind Elayna Fanelli.

   Patel made a birdie on the first hole and had seven pars on her card as she struggled a little in an opening-round 83.

   Exeter junior Giulia Weisser, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier, was a shot behind Patel in third place in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall standings with a 156 total.

   Weisser made birdies at the second and fifth holes and had 10 pars on her card as she closed with a 5-over 77. In the opening round, Weisser made birdies at the seventh and 18^th holes and had nine pars on her card on her way to a 79.

   Anna Firko, a senior on the Concord golf team, was another shot behind Weisser in fourth place among the older girls and in fourth in the overall scoring with a 157 total.

   Firko, coming off an eighth-place finish in last month’s DIAA Championship at St. Anne’s, bounced back from an opening-round 81 with a solid 4-over 76 in the second round.

   McReynolds, who has helped Conestoga earn a spot in the PIAA Class AAA team competition each of the last two falls, grabbed the lead following the opening round with a solid 5-over 77. She made birdies on the fourth and 17^th holes and had 10 pars on her card.

   McReynolds closed with an 82 to finish in fifth place in the 16-to-18 division and fifth in the overall standings with a 159 total.

   Emma Liu of Moorestown, N.J. bounced back from an opening-round 90 with an 82 in the second round for a 172 total that left her in sixth place among the older girls and in a tie for ninth in the overall standings with Chloe Pridie, a sophomore on the Oley golf team, and Lauren Springman, a junior on the Methacton golf team, both out of the 13-to-15 division.

   Rounding out the field in the 16-to-18 division was Cora Cantwell, a junior on the Pennridge golf team, as she shaved 11 shots off an opening-round 104 with a 93 in the second round for a 197 total.

   Madison Cabot of Newtown got off to a solid start as she made a birdie on the 13^th hole and had nine pars on her scorecard in an opening-round 80 to finish at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division and sixth in the overall scoring with a 168 total.

   Cabot made a birdie on the third hole and had four pars on her card as she closed with an 88.

   Sara Fanelli, a sophomore on the Radnor golf team and another member of Villanova’s Team Fanelli, was just a shot behind Cabot in second place in among the younger girls and seventh in the overall standings with a 169 total.

   Sara Fanelli had nine pars on her card in an opening-round 83 and made a birdie on the 12^th hole and had seven pars on her card as she closed with an 86.

   Gabrielle Kim of Ambler made a birdie on the 10^th hole and had six pars on her card in an opening-round 84 and had six pars on her card while closing with an 87 as she finished in third place in the 13-to-15 division and eighth in the overall standings with a 171 total.

   Oley’s Pridie and Methacton’s Springman were the last two players in the 13-to-15 division to finish in the top 10 in the overall standings as they ended up in a tie for fourth place among the younger girls and shared ninth place in the overall scoring with Liu from the 16-to-18 division, each landing on 172.

   Pridie added an 85 in the second round to her opening-round 87 and Springman added an 84 in the second round to her opening-round 88.

   Marietta Hartmann, a junior on Episcopal Academy’s Inter-Ac League championship team and another member of Devon’s Team Hartmann, finished in sixth place in the 13-to-15 division as she added an 84 in the second round to her opening-round 90 for a 174 total.

   Mackenzie Lim of Harleysville bounced back from an opening-round 114 with a 97 in the second round as she finished in seventh place in the 13-to-15 division with a 211 total.

   Lila Collingwood of Collegeville added a 108 in the second round to her opening-round 106 as she finished in eighth place among the younger girls with a 214 total.

   Kallista Spence of Phoenixville rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in ninth place with a 223 total after adding a 111 in the second round to her opening-round 112.

   Xunnan Dang of Newtown Square easily bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a 3-over 75 in two tours of the front nine at Turtle Creek.

   Dang made back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth holes and had two pars on his scorecard while closing with a 1-over 37. He opened the tournament with six straight pars and had seven overall in his round while posting a solid opening round of 2-over 38.

   Connor Masulis of Pottstown was Dang’s closest pursuer as he made a birdie at the fifth hole and had three pars on his card in an opening round of 4-over 40 that left him two shots behind Dang.

   Masulis made a birdie on the sixth hole and had five pars on his card as he closed with a 41 for an 81 total that let him six shots behind Dang in second place.

   Charlie Sears of Wilmington, Del. made a birdie at the third hole and had five pars on his card as he closed with a solid 2-over 38 that left him a shot behind Masulis in third place with an 82 total.

   Sears had three pars on his card as he opened with a 44.

   Jack Gilbert of Bryn Mawr was another shot behind Sears in fourth place as he opened with a 4-over 40 before adding a 43 in the second round.

   Ryan Kaye of Lansdale and Declan Mayo of Chadds Ford finished in a tie for fifth place, each landing on 88.

   Kaye opened with a solid 5-over 41 before adding a 47 in the second round while Mayo added a 42 in the second round to his opening-round 41.

   Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville added a 46 in the final round to his opening-round 48 to finish in seventh place with a 94 total.

   Rounding out the field in the boys 12-and-under division was Jamie Cahn of Penn Valley as he added a 48 in the second round to his opening-round 47 that left him in eighth place with a 95 total.

   Trisha Lobo, the talented 10-year-old from Collegeville, bested a short field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers as she made a birdie at the fifth hole and had four pars on her scorecard, including three straight pars to close out her round, as she carded a 6-over 42 in the final round for an 85 total.

   Lobo made a birdie on the eighth hole and had two pars on her card as she opened with a 43.

   Aashi Chakraborty of Kennett Square rounded out the field in the girls 12-and-under division as she earned runnerup honors with a 110. Chakraborty made a par on the eighth hole in an opening-round 52 before adding a 58 in the second round.