Garnet Valley's Kunze a steady force at Skippack on his way to a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   Frank Kunze, a sophomore on the Garnet Valley golf team, was really solid in putting together a 1-over-par 71 at Skippack Golf Club in a corner of Evansburg State Park in Skippack Township on a humid, cloudy Thursday to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division.

   Kunze only made one birdie, at the fourth hole, but had 15 pars on his scorecard, eight of them in a 1-under 34 tour of the outgoing nine at Skippack.

   The Philly Junior Tour stop at Skippack always seems to draw a pretty big field and that was again the case this year.

   Daniel Ross of Harleysville was nearly as good as Kunze as Ross made birdies at the second, 13^th and 18^th holes and had 10 pars on his card, seven of them while touring the incoming nine at Skippack in 2-under 33, as he earned runnerup honors among the younger guys with a 2-over 72.

   Nicholas Milone of Bryn Mawr, Jackson Lane of Cinnaminson, N.J. and Mason Kim of Blue Bell shared third place as he each landed on 3-over 73.

   Milone made birdies at the fourth, 11^th and 16^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, eight of them in a front nine of 2-under 34. Jackson Lane made birdies at the fourth, 11^th and 14^th holes and had nine pars on his card. Kim made birdies at the fifth and 17^th holes and had 12 pars on his card.

   Owen Newmark of Wilmington, Del. took sixth place with a 75, Gavin Lane, another member of Team Lane out of Cinnaminson, N.J. was seventh with a 78, James Julian of Malvern was eighth with a 79 and Connor Feller of Yardley was ninth with an 80.

   A couple of Harleysville guys, Declan Henry and Ethan Lang, rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each signing for an 81.

   Will Pendse, a junior on the Germantown Friends School golf team, made birdies on the fifth, seventh, 10^th and 16^th holes and eight pars on his scorecard, including four straight pars to begin his round, as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division with a 2-over 72.

   Brody Calle, a senior on the Owen J. Roberts golf team, made back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth holes and had 11 pars on his card, including a run of five pars in a row from 13 through 17 as he finished a shot behind Pendse in second place among the older guys with a 3-over 73.

   Rayan Shah, a sophomore on the golf team at the George School, had 14 pars on his card, eight of them on Skippack’s incoming nine and five pars in a row to close out his round, as he finished a shot behind Calle in third place with a 4-over 74.

   Kieran Gillespie, a senior on the Haverford High golf team, took fourth place with a 75 and the trio of Brady Koch, a senior on the Methacton golf team, Luke Wilmoth, a junior on the Upper Dublin golf team and Nigel Mathur, a junior on the Central Bucks East golf team, finished in a tie for fifth place, each tallying a 76.

   Vyom Shukla of Berwyn took eighth place with a 77 and Jack Ferm, a junior on the Garnet Valley golf team, finished ninth with a 78.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was the trio of Harry Traynor, a senior on the Great Valley golf team, Luke Farnese, a senior on the Plymouth-Whitemarsh golf team, and Parker Bohn, a junior on the North Penn golf team, as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each landing on 79.

   Gabrielle Kim of Ambler made a birdie on the 16^th hole and had nine pars on her scorecard as she earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 13-to-15 division with a 9-over 79.

   Annie Corrigan, a sophomore on the Mount St. Joseph golf team and a Huntingdon Valley resident, had seven pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors with an 89.

   Emma Gangemi and Ella Kikuchi, sophomore teammates on the Downingtown East golf team, finished in a tie for third place, each recording an 84.

   Gangemi made a birdie on the third hole and had six pars on her card and Kikuchi had three pars on her card.

   Gigi Gratz, a sophomore on the North Penn golf team, took fifth place with a 100, Elyssa Capaldo of Trooper was sixth with a 102 and Lila Collingwood of Collegeville finished seventh with a 105.

   Rounding out the field in the 13-to-15 division was Juliana Gatt of Newtown as she finished in eighth place with a 113.

   Helmut Dang of Newtown Square had seven pars on his scorecard, including five straight pars to open his round, as he bested a typically competitive group of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a 2-over 37.

   Preston Minio of Lansdale and Samuel Karas of Blue Bell finished in a tie for second place, each posting a 3-over 38.

   Minio had eight pars on his card and, like Dang, rattled off five straight pars to open his round. Karas had bookend birdies at the first and ninth holes and had three pars on his card.

   Damien Dollard of Cinnaminson, N.J., coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory a day earlier at Medford Village Country Club, and Jonathan Thomas of Landenberg finished in a tie for fourth place, each registering a 39.

   Baylor Keim of Blue Bell took sixth place with a 40, Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr was seventh with a 41, Connor Masulis of Pottstown was eighth with a 42 and Joe Bowers of Lewisburg was ninth with a 43

   Rounding out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division were Massimo Testaiuti of Newtown Square and Thayer Boyd of Kennett Square as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each carding a 44.

   That’s just seven shots separating 11 players. Pretty strong effort overall by those kids.

   Emilie Davoli of Ambler made a birdie on the fifth hole and a par on two as she bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a 43.

   Evelyn Brillman of Elkins Park didn’t have a par, but was consistent with nine bogeys on her scorecard as she finished a shot behind Davoli in second place with a 44.

   Eleanor Brillman, another member of Elkins Park’s Team Brillman, and Claire Malbacho of Haverford finished in a tie for third place, each signing for a 46.

   Eleanor Brillman made a birdie on the fifth hole and a par at seven and Malbacho made a birdie at two and had two pars on her card.

   Anna Testaiuti, another member of Newtown Square’s Team Testaiuti, took fifth place with as 52, Allison Choi of Penn Valley was sixth with a 55 and Skylar Crutchfield, another Elkins Park entry, rounded out the field in the girls 12-and-under division as she finished seventh with a 57.