Salvitti pulls away from the field to capture Pennsylvania Amateur crown by five shots at Huntsville

 

   Rocco Salvitti finished in the top 10 in each of his four trips to the PIAA Class AAA Championship during a brilliant scholastic career at Pittsburgh Central Catholic, capped by a runnerup finish as a senior in 2022.

   Salvitti, a junior at Notre Dame, might not have won a state championship as a high school player, but he grabbed a bigger prize Wednesday when he finished off a dominant five-shot victory in the 112^th Pennsylvania Amateur Championship at Huntsville Golf Club.

   Dick’s Sporting Goods is the title sponsor for all of the Pennsylvania Golf Association (PAGA) championships.

   Notre Dame had not reached the NCAA Championship since 1966 when Salvitti arrived at South Bend, Ind. in the fall of 2023. By the end of the wraparound 2023-2024 college season was over that long streak of frustration was over, partly in thanks to Salvitti, who, as a freshman, led the way for the Figthin’ Irish as they finished in third place in the NCAA Austin Regional.

   While it might have been a little cooler at Huntsville, in Dallas, north of Wilkes-Barre, than it was here in the Philadelphia area Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, there was still plenty of heat and humidity with which to deal.

   None of it seemed to bother Salvitti, playing out of Oakmont Country Club. He opened with a sizzling 8-under 63 that left him a shot behind the equally red-hot Matt Mattioli, a recent graduate of Miami of Ohio who was playing out of the Pittsburgh Field Club.

   It was a career low for Mattioli, a member of Fox Chapel’s 2019 PIAA Class AAA championship team, as he had eight birdies, an eagle and nary a bogey on his scorecard.

   But Salvitti was right on Mattioli’s heels as he made birdies at the first, third, fifth, sixth and ninth holes in a torrid 5-under 31 tour of the outgoing nine at Huntsville. He stayed hot with birdies at the 11^th and 13^th holes around an eagle at par-5 12^th before cooling off with five straight pars to close out the incoming nine.

   Salvitti then took control of the tournament with a 6-under 66 in Tuesday’s second round that gave him a two-shot lead over Mattioli going into Wednesday’s final round.

   Salvitti made birdies at the fifth, seventh, 10^th, 11^th and 12^th holes leading up to an eagle at the par-5 14^th that got him to 7-under for the round. A bogey at the last, his first blemish of the championship, left him at 15-under going into the final round.

   Mattioli had a 3-under 69 in the second round and held down second place at 13-under.

   Salvitti, however, would not be denied. He closed with a 2-under 70 for a 17-under 199 total that was five shots clear of runnerup Michael Lugiano, who finished in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a senior at Lake Lehman in 2023 and who was playing on his home course at Huntsville.

   Playing smartly with the lead, Salvitti made a birdie at the second hole, a bogey at four, birdies at seven and 12 and a bogey at 13 before settling the issue by ripping a 4-iron second shot to four feet at the par-5 14^th and making the putt for eagle. He had the luxury of making a bogey at the finishing hole.

   “The past two days I had a really good mindset of just going out there and playing the best golf I could,” Salvitti told the PAGA website. “I was obviously hitting it great and it allowed me to be free out there on a tough golf course. My motto today was to just stay in my lane and keep hitting quality shots. I knew if I hit enough of them, it was going to be hard for someone to catch up.

   “I played smart into the greens, had a lot of good birdie looks and made a lot of stress-free pars. It feels great to win. I haven’t been in the winner’s circle recently, but doing it in your state amateur is exciting. I haven’t been able to process it yet.”

   Lugiano, who worked his way into the lineup as a freshman at Liberty during the wraparound 2024-’25 season, closed with a 3-under 69, his third round of the tournament in the 60s, as he earned runnerup honors with a 12-under 204 total.

   Lugiano had opened with a 5-under 67 before adding a 4-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Mattioli struggled a little in the final round with a 2-over 74 that left him a shot behind Lugiano in third place with an 11-under 205 total.

   Tim Peters, who is transferring to Penn State after two outstanding seasons at Millersville, sandwiched a 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 4-under 68s to finish a shot behind Mattioli in fourth place with a 10-under 206 total.

   Peters, a two-time PIAA Class AA qualifier at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy in Boalsburg, was the PSAC individual champion as a freshman at Millersville in 2023.

   Chuck Tragresser, the PIAA Class AAA runnerup as a senior at Franklin Regional in 2020, closed with a 1-under 71 to finish a shot behind Peters in fifth place with a 9-under 207 total.

   Tragresser, a redshirt junior at Robert Morris playing out of Willowbrook Country Club, had opened with a 3-under 69 before adding a 5-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round.

   David Mecca of the Country Club of Scranton, the 2023 Golf Association of Philadelphia Middle-Amateur champion, carded his second straight 2-under 70 in the final round to finish a shot behind Tragresser in sixth place with an 8-under 208 total. Mecca had opened with a 4-under 68.

   Nice showing by former Episcopal Academy standout and North Carolina State sophomore Hunter Stetson as he finished in a tie for seventh place with Nathan Platt, another Oakmont representative, each landing on 7-under 209.

   Stetson, winner of the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac League individual championship as a sophomore with the Churchmen in 2021, added a 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening round of 4-under 68 before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Stetson, playing out of Aronimink Golf Club, worked his way into the lineup for N.C. State as a freshman, teeing it for the Wolfpack in the NCAA Urbana Regional.

   Platt moved up the leaderboard on the strength of a 4-under 68 in the final round after adding a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s second round to an opening-round 70.

   Nick Turowski, a sophomore at West Virginia who captured the title in another PAGA major championship, the R. Jay Sigel Match Play Championship in early July at Rolling Green Golf Club, finished in ninth place with a 6-under 210 total.

   Turowski, who lost in a playoff for the PIAA Class AAA Championship in 2023 as a senior at Penn Trafford, got it going in the opening round with a sizzling 8-under 64 that left him just two shots behind Mattioli.

   Turowski, playing out of Hannastown Golf Club, matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 72 before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the Pennsylvania Amateur was Drexel junior John Keba, who finished a shot behind Turowski with a 5-under 211 total.

   Keba, a scholastic standout at Allentown Central Catholic playing out of Bethlehem Golf Club, had a pair of 3-under 69s in the first two rounds at Huntsville before closing with a 1-over 73.

 

Brendlinger blitzes back nine at Laurel Creek to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   Andrew Brendlinger, a senior on the Perkiomen Valley golf team, blitzed the back nine at Laurel Creek Country Club in Mount Laurel Township, N.J. to the tune of a 5-under-par 30 as he captured the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour event July 21^st with a sparkling 2-under 69.

   Brendlinger had a pretty good round going with birdies at the fourth, eighth and 10^th holes, but then he really went off, rattling off four straight birdies at 14, 15, 16 and 17. In addition to his seven birdies, Brendlinger had eight pars on his scorecard.

   Brendlinger had to be that good to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory because Christopher Parrish, a senior at Kingsway and a Woolwich Township, N.J. resident, and Landon Finsen of Westampton, N.J. were right on his heels as they finished in a tie for second place, each signing for a 1-under 70.

   Parrish jump-started his round with an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole, added birdies at eight, 11, 15 and 16 and had nine pars on his card.

   After making a birdie at the fifth hole, Finsen went back-to-back with birdies at eight and nine, added another birdie at 15 and had 11 pars on his card, including four straight pars to open his round.

   Landon Shoczolek of North Cape May, N.J. took fourth place as he matched par with a 71, Tyler Harris of Cinnaminson, N.J. was another shot behind Shoczolek in fifth with a 1-over 72 and Harry Neilly, a junior at The Haverford School and a Villanova resident, and Jaxon Piccoli of Marlton, N.J. finished in a tie for sixth, each posting a 2-over 73.

   John Diamond, a senior on the St. Joseph’s Prep golf team and a Philadelphia resident who was a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, and Garnet Valley junior Jack Ferm finished in a tie for eighth place, each tallying a 3-over 74.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Logan Cassidy, a junior on the Holy Ghost Prep golf team and a Bensalem resident, and Haverford School sophomore Grant MacColl, a Haverford resident, as they shared 10^th place, each recording a 4-over 75.

   Pretty competitive group of older guys as only six shots separated the top 11 finishers.

   Trebor Melendez, the talented 13-year-old from Vineland, N.J., made back-to-back birdies on the fifth and sixth holes, added another birdie at 10 and had eight pars on his scorecard as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 4-over 75.

   Daniel DiDomenico, a sophomore on the Malvern Prep golf team and a Devon resident, made a birdie on the fifth hole and had 11 pars on his card, including a string of five straight pars from six to 10 as he finished a shot behind Melendez in second place with a 5-over 76.

   Jason Leekley of Moorestown, N.J. and Ryan Shah, a sophomore on the George School golf team and a Newtown resident, shared third place as they finished a shot behind DiDomenico, each registering a 6-over 77.

   Leekley got off to a great start with back-to-back birdies at the first and second holes and had eight pars on his card. Shah had 13 pars on his card, including a run of four in a row from the fourth through the seventh holes.

   Brayden Hughes of Hockessin, Del. and Henry Sokol of Villanova shared fifth place, each carding a 78 and the trio of Jack Forstein, another Moorestown, N.J. guy, and a couple of Ambler guys, Jason Kim and Justin Delfidio, finished in a tie for seventh, each tallying a 79.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was a trio of players, including Jack Sokol, Henry Sokol’s twin brother, Will Simonson of Haddonfield, N.J. and Jack Lobley of Gladwyne, as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each recording an 80.

   Much like the older guys, it was a big and competitive field in the 13-to-15 division with just five shots separating the top 12 finishers.

   Meredith Finger, an Archmere Academy senior and a Wilmington, Del. resident, was the lone entry in the girls 16-to-18 division and had 13 pars on her scorecard on her way to a solid 5-over 76.

   Finger, who finished in fourth place in the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championship’s girls standings to cap her junior season in the spring, twice rattled off four pars in a row, from the sixth through the ninth holes and again from 11 through 14.

   Emily Maurer, playing close to her Mount Laurel, N.J. home, made a birdie on the seventh hole and had 10 pars on her scorecard, including a string of four straight pars from 14 to 17, as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division with a 7-over 78.

   Mia DeCarlo, a talented 12-year-old from Glen Mills, made birdies on the fifth, seventh and 11^th holes and had four pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors with an 86.

   Emma Cowan of Moorestown, N.J. had six pars on her card as she finished in third place with a 90.

   Naaya Patel, another Moorestown, N.J. gal, took fourth place with a 98 and Sabrina Cabinian of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. was fifth with a 109.

   Sonia Rosenman, another Moorestown, N.J. entry, rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in sixth place with a 112.

   Damien Dollard, a talented 11-year-old from Cinnaminson, N.J., put on a dazzling display in besting the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a sizzling 3-under 33.

   Dollard made birdies at the first, fifth and eighth holes and parred the other six holes. The kid’s 11 and has spent most of the summer near the top of the boys 12-and-under leaderboards on the Philly Junior Tour.

   Pretty strong showing by Carter Bove of Kennett Square in claiming runnerup honors with a 1-under 35. Bove made birdies at the third and ninth holes and had six pars on his card.

   Kaycen Subbio of Blue Bell and Jack Gilbert of Bryn Mawr shared third place as each matched par with a 36.

   Subbio made birdies on the third and ninth holes and had five pars on his card. Gilbert, coming off a win in the two-day Hickory Valley Open the previous week, made a birdie on the second hole and had seven pars on his card, including a string of five straight pars from three through seven.

   Declan Mayo of Chadds Ford took fifth place with a 1-over 37, Aiden Jose of Brick, N.J. was sixth with a 39 and the trio of James Wilson of Wilmington, Del., Bobby Stefanski of Newtown Square and Samuel Karas of Blue Bell finished in a tie for seventh, each signing for a 40.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division was the duo of Jonathan Thomas of Landenberg and Matthew Bowman of Newtown as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each registering a 43.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dillman right at home during a dominant victory in the Hickory Valley Open

 

   Chase Dillman, a recent Boyertown graduate, didn’t have to travel far to tee it up in the Hickory Valley Open at Hickory Valley Golf Club in New Hanover Township, a few miles down Route 73 from his Gilbertsville home.

   And Dillman performed like he was comfortable playing close to home, rolling to a dominant five-shot victory in the overall scoring in the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour 36-hole event that played out July 17^th and 18^th.

   The Hickory Valley Open was a Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) event 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 Philly Junior tour broke out its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 divisions, so I’ll wrap them up while referring to the overall 13-to-18 scoring, which is what counts for the JGS points.

   Dillman has been a regular on the Philly Junior Tour and his hard work paid off during his senior season last fall when he capped his scholastic career by earning a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship.

   Dillman opened the Hickory Valley Open with a solid 2-over-par 73 over Hickory Valley’s par-71 Ambassador Course that left him a shot behind Drake Brogan of Ocean View, N.J., who was coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory earlier in the week at Bellewood Country Club, just across the Schuylkill River from Pottstown in North Coventry Township.

   Dillman came back with a solid 3-over 75 in the final round over the par-72 Presidential Course that generally played a little tougher than the Ambassador, for a 5-over 148 total that gave him a five-shot margin of victory in the overall scoring over Holden Sparks, a sophomore on the Nazareth golf team who finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 10-over 153 total.

   Dillman made birdies at the second and fifth holes and finished with a flourish by making a birdie at 18 in his final-round 75 at the Presidential Course. His steady round also included 10 pars.

   Dillman made birdies at the seventh and 12^th holes and had 12 pars on his scorecard, including four straight pars to open his round, during his opening-round 73 at the Ambassador Course.

   Charlie Isler, a junior on the West Chester Henderson golf team, matched Dillman’s second round of 3-over 75 at the Presidential Course to earn runnerup honors in the 16-to-18 division and third place in the overall scoring with a 12-over 155 total.

   Charlie Isler made birdies on the third and 10^th holes and had 13 pars on his card, including a string of six straight pars from the fourth through the ninth holes, in his 75 at the Presidential. He toured the outgoing nine at the Presidential in 1-under 35.

   Charlie Isler struggled a little in his opening round at the Ambassador Course as he had 11 pars on his card in a 9-over 80.

   Brogan was really solid in his opening round of 1-over 72 at the Ambassador Course as he made birdies on the fifth and 11^th holes and had 13 pars on his card, rattling off five straight pars from 12 through 16.

   Brogan couldn’t sustain his momentum in the second round at the Presidential Course as he made a birdie at the sixth hole and had seven pars on his card on his way to an 84 that left him in third place among the older guys and fourth in the overall scoring with a 156 total.

   Brayden Schnabel, a senior on the Souderton golf team, added a 78 in the second round at the Presidential Course to his opening-round 80 at the Ambassador Course as he finished in fourth place in the 16-to-18 division and sixth in the overall standings with a 158 total.

   Pat Manion, a senior on the Devon Prep golf team and a Villanova resident, bounced back from an opening-round 83 at the Ambassador Course with a 4-over 76 at the Presidential Course in the second round as he finished in fifth place among the older guys and seventh in the overall scoring with a 159 total.

   William Swartley, a returning senior on the Boyertown golf team, was the last player out of the older 16-to-18 division to finish among the top 10 in the overall scoring with a 164 total that left him in sixth place in the division and in a tie for ninth in the overall standings with Torrin Denton of Mullica Hill, N.J. from the 13-to-15 division.

   Swartley added an 80 at the Presidential Course in the second round to his opening-round 84 at the Ambassador Course.

   Jonathan Dilliplane, a senior on the Father Judge golf team and a Philadelphia resident, bounced back from an opening-round 89 at the Ambassador Course with an 81 in the second round at the Presidential Course for a 170 total that left him in seventh place in the 16-to-18 division.

   Joey Bilotta, another returning senior on the Boyertown golf team, headed a trio of players who rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division that included Nolan Murray Jr. of Ambler and Brady Rohn, a junior on the Nazareth golf team, as they finished in a tie for eighth place in the division, each landing on 172.

   Bilotta added an 88 in the second round at the Presidential Course to his opening-round 84 at the Ambassador Course. Murray opened with an 88 at the Ambassador Course and added an 84 in the second round at the Presidential Course. Rohn opened with an 85 at the Ambassador Course and added an 87 at the Presidential Course.

   Nazareth’s Sparks made birdies on the fourth, 12^th and 15^th holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard as he closed with a solid 2-over 74 at the Presidential Course that gave him the top spot in the 13-to-15 division and second place in the overall scoring with a 10-over 153 total that left him five shots behind Dillman.

   Sparks made birdies on the first and fifth holes and had eight pars on his card as he opened with an 8-over 79 at the Ambassador Course.

   Alex DiGiacinto, a teammate of Sparks on the Nazareth golf team and also a sophomore, had 13 pars on his card, including eight straight pars to close out his round as he tallied a 5-over 77 in the second round at the Presidential Course to finish four shots behind Sparks in the 13-to-15 division in second place and fifth in the overall scoring with a 157 total.

   DiGiacinto had 10 pars on his card as he opened with an 80 at the Ambassador Course.

   Mason Kim of Blue Bell had 12 pars on his card, including a string of five straight pars from the seventh through the 11^th holes, as he led Sparks by a shot in the 13-to-15 division following an opening round of 7-over 78 at the Ambassador Course.

   Kim made a birdie on the fifth hole and eight pars on his card as he closed with an 85 at the Presidential Course to finish in third place among the younger guys and eighth in the overall standings with a 163 total.

   Mullica Hill’s Denton added an 81 in the second round at the Presidential Course to his opening-round 83 at the Ambassador Course as he finished in fourth place in the 13-to-15 and shared ninth in the overall scoring with Swartley of the 16-to-18 division with a 164 total.

   Tucker Dempsey of Malvern added an 82 in the second round at the Presidential Course to his opening-round 83 at the Ambassador Course as he took fifth place among the younger guys with a 165 total.

   After opening with an 84 at the Ambassador Course, Jack Shea of Harleysville added an 82 in the second round at the Presidential Course as he finished in sixth place in the 13-to-15 division with a 166 total.

   Max Berish, a junior on the Owen J. Roberts golf team, opened with an 82 at the Ambassador Course before adding an 85 in the second round at the Presidential Course to finish in seventh place among the younger guys with a 167 total.

   Alex Salata of Devon was 10 shots behind Berish in eighth place in the 13-to-15 division as he added an 87 in the second round at the Presidential Course to his opening-round 90 at the Ambassador Course.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Chase Yakaitis of Allentown and Jonah Isler, another member of West Chester’s Team Isler, as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each ending up with a 181 total.

   Yakaitis bounced back from an opening-round 94 at the Ambassador Course with an 87 in the second round at the Presidential Course. Jonah Isler also struggled in the opening round at the Ambassador Course with a 95, but rebounded with an 86 in the second round at the Presidential Course.

   Jack Gilbert of Bryn Mawr and Bobby Stefanski of Newtown Square shared top honors among the boys 12-and-under nine-holers, each carding a 7-over 79.

   Gilbert made a birdie on the fifth hole and had six pars on his scorecard, including four straight pars to open his round, on his way to a 3-over 39 in the second round at the Presidential Course.

   Gilbert had five pars on his card in a 4-over 40 in the opening round at the Ambassador Course that left him in a tie for the lead with Damien Dollard of Cinnaminson, N.J.

   Stefanski made a birdie on the sixth hole and had six pars on his card in the second round at the Presidential Course as he posted a 2-over 38 that enabled him to catch Gilbert for a share of first place at 7-over.

   Stefanski had seven pars on his card, including four straight pars to open his round, as he opened with a 5-over 41 at the Ambassador Course that left him a shot behind Gilbert and Dollard going into the second round.

   Dollard made a birdie on the fourth hole and had six pars on his card, including a run of four straight pars from five through eight, as he closed with a 40 on the Presidential Course that left him a shot behind Gilbert and Stefanski in third place with an 8-over 80 total.

   Dollard made a birdie on the fourth hole and had four pars on his card in his opening-round 40 at the Ambassador Course that left him in a tie for the lead with Gilbert.

   Joe Bowers of Lewisburg added a 41 in the second round at the Presidential Course to his opening-round 43 at the Ambassador Course as he finished four shots behind Dollard in fourth place with an 84.

   It was another four shots back to Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. in fifth place as he ended up with an 88 total. Wang signed for a 42 in the second round at the Presidential Course after opening with a 46 at the Ambassador Course.

   Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville added a 48 in the second round at the Presidential Course to his opening-round 44 at the Ambassador Course as he finished in sixth place with a 92 total.

   Nolan English of Villanova opened with a 46 at the Ambassador Course before struggling a little in the second round with a 52 at the Presidential Course as he finished in seventh place with a 98 total.

   Tyler Smith of Blue Bell added a 56 in the second round at the Presidential Course to his opening-round 60 at the Ambassador Course as he took eighth place with a 116.

   Ryan Wilkin of Malvern rounded out the field in the boys 12-and-under division as he opened with a 55 at the Ambassador Course and added a 62 in the second round at the Presidential Course to finish in ninth place with a 117 total.

   Alexa Mcelwain of Schnecksville was the lone entry in the girls 12-and-under division and she added a 56 in the second round at the Presidential Course to her opening-round 62 at the Ambassador Course, a round which included a par at the seventh hole, as she finished with a 118 total.