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.