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.