LIMERICK – The Waltz family that owns and runs Turtle Creek Golf Course, home to the District One Championship since 2002, knows a thing or two about growing grass. It’s why their golf course consistently has the best conditions you’ll find at a public facility.
But in Phoenixville’s Roberts sisters, Kate and Kayley, Turtle Creek has helped to grow a couple of pretty fine golfers.
That’s why Bobbi Waltz, the matriarch of the Waltz clan, was waiting with a hug and flowers when Kayley Roberts completed a triumphant tour of the Turtle Wednesday to finish off a dominant nine-shot victory in the District One Class AAA Championship.
That’s why Sandy Waltz, who has coached the Roberts sisters at Phoenixville and helps run the family business at Turtle Creek after retiring as an English teacher at Phoenixville, was waiting aside the 18th green with a banner proclaiming Kayley Roberts the District One champion.
“I’ve been coming here to Turtle for a long time,” Kayley Roberts said after joining her older sister as a District One champion. “I can remember being here in middle school, playing the Waltz Golf Farm par-3 course.”
Two years ago, Kayley Roberts had finished a shot behind her sister Kate, who claimed the district crown. Last year, Kayley Roberts finished three shots behind Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s Rhianna Gooneratne and again had to settle for a runnerup finish.
There was no such drama this time around. Kayley Roberts had taken a three-shot lead with a sparkling 3-under-par 68 at nearby Raven’s Claw Golf Club in Tuesday’s opening round.
Playing on her home course, which she had blitzed with a 7-under 65 in the last month’s Pioneer Athletic Conference Championship, Roberts put together a solid 1-under 71 over a Turtle Creek layout that measured 5,827 yards for the girls and played to a par of 72 in Wednesday’s final round for a 4-under 139 total.
On the boys side, West Chester Rustin senior Cole Berry built on his opening-round lead with birdies on four of the first five holes on his way to a second straight 3-under 69 that gave him a five-shot victory with a 6-under 138 total. More on Berry and the boys later.
Conestoga’s talented junior, Jill Burks, was Roberts’ closest pursuer as she added a 5-over 77 in gusty winds at the Turtle to her opening-round 71 at Raven’s Claw to earn a runnerup finish with a 5-over 148 total.
Burks will be making her third straight trip to next week’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State’s Blue Course. She also led the way to a dominant District One team title Tuesday at Raven’s Claw for the Pioneers, who will be making their third straight appearance in the chase for the Class AAA state team crown.
For Roberts it will be her fourth trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship. She was the runnerup as a freshman at Penn State’s White Course, finished fourth at the Blue Course as a sophomore two years ago and ended up in a tie for third a year ago back at the White Course.
There was reason to celebrate at Turtle Creek Wednesday, but the ultimate goal, a state title, is what Roberts was thinking about.
“I’m proud of how I played the last two days, but I still have states on my mind,” Roberts said. “I’m glad it’s next week. I didn’t want a long break.”
Roberts is a better player than she was a year ago, more focused, more determined. She thinks her way around the golf course better and that was obvious in Wednesday’s second round.
She nearly reached the par-5 second hole in two and got it up and down for a quick birdie.
Roberts stumbled briefly with a bogey at the par-5 eighth hole, where she found the water, and another at the tough par-3 ninth, where she missed the green and couldn’t get it up and down. They would be her only bogeys of the tournament.
“You have to make sure you keep your ball in play on this golf course,” said Roberts, who will join her older sister and Gooneratne at Delaware at the end of next summer. “There’s out of bounds on those holes on the front, five, six, seven and eight. You have to keep it in the right position.”
Roberts reached the green in two at the par-5 13th hole and two-putted for birdie and then drained a nine-foot putt at 16 for one final birdie.
“My goal was 3-under for today, so I only missed by a couple,” Roberts said.
Radnor senior Elayna Fanelli struggled in Wednesday’s gusty winds, posting a 7-over 79, but still finished in third place, two shots behind her Central League rival Burks with a 7-over 150 total.
Fanelli, the medalist in the Central League Championship at the Turtle last month, had matched par in Tuesday’s opening round with a 71 at Raven’s Claw. Fanelli, who plays out of Overbrook Golf Club, qualified for the PIAA Class AAA Championship for a third straight year.
West Chester Rustin’s Maria Benedetto was another shot behind Fanelli in fourth place with an 8-over 151 total after adding a 5-over 77 at Turtle Creek Wednesday to her opening-round 74 at Raven’s Claw.
Harriton sophomore Megan Choi will be making a return trip to Penn State for the PIAA Class AAA Championship as she finished three shots behind Benedetto at 154. Choi recorded a 6-over 78 at Turtle Creek Wednesday after opening with a 76 at Raven’s Claw.
A couple of Burks’ teammates on Conestoga’s District One Class AAA championship team, junior Corinne McReynolds and sophomore Nicolette Bottos, will be joining Burks in the individual competition at Penn State as McReynolds finished in sixth place with a 156 total and Bottos shared seventh with Unionville senior Reagan Wilson at 159.
McReynolds added a 7-over 79 in Wednesday’s second round at Turtle Creek to her opening-round 77 at Raven’s Claw.
Bottos and Wilson had identical splits, adding a 7-over 79 in Wednesday’s second round to an opening-round 80 at Raven’s Claw.
Perkiomen Valley junior Solani Patel grabbed the final berth to the state tournament as she finished in ninth place with a 163 total, adding an 82 at Turtle Creek in Wednesday’s second round to her opening-round 81 at Raven’s Claw.
Berry, another Overbrook member, wasted no time in putting the rest of the field in his rear-view mirror. He is the second Rustin player in three years to claim the District One Class AAA individual title, joining former teammate Sam Feeney, a freshman on the Saint Joseph’s golf team this fall.
“I had 80 yards in at one and made a 20-footer for birdie,” Berry said. “I was just in front at two from 215 yards away at two and got it up and down for birdie. Drove it to hole high left of the green at four and got it up and down for birdie and hit it to three feet from 104 yards out at five and made that.”
By the time I caught up to Berry at the sixth hole he was already 4-under for the day.
Berry gave a couple of shots away when a blocked drive at the seventh hole led to a bogey followed by a second shot in the water at the par-5 eighth (“just a bad swing there,” Berry said) and another bogey.
But Berry settled down nicely after that. He nearly drove the green at the par-4 14th hole and got it up and down for birdie. His drive at the par-4 16th hole nearly found the pond right of the green, but, despite an iffy lie, he stuck it to four feet and made the putt for his sixth birdie of the day.
Berry had the luxury of a three-putt bogey at the 17th hole, such was the advantage he had built.
“I’ve played here a few times, in a bunch of tournaments and in the summer I’ve come up with friends two or three times and it seems to fit my game,” Berry said of Turtle Creek, which measured 6,375 yards for the guys.
Berry was a PIAA Class AAA Championship qualifier as a sophomore two years ago, but missed out on a trip to states last year, although the Golden Knights won the District One Class AAA team crown and played in the state team competition.
He always had a comfortable lead after that early birdie burst, but Berry’s focus remained on making good swings.
“I was just trying to stick with my game plan,” Berry said. “I wanted to be aggressive and take advantage of birdie opportunities when I got them.”
Berry’s closest pursuer was Unionville senior Charlie Barrickman, who had the best round of the day with a sparkling 4-under 68. Barrickman had struggled a little in Tuesday’s opening round, but his strong finish left him alone in second place, five shots behind Berry with a 1-under 143 total.
Barrickman will be making his third straight trip to the state tournament.
Barrickman’s 69 led the Longhorns, a perennial District One power, to the team title as they finished with a 4-over 292 total that was five shots better than runnerup Radnor, the Central League champion which ended up with a 9-over 297 total.
Backing up Barrickman for Unionville was senior Nicolas Gaughan, who carded a 1-over 73.
Junior Matt McGinty added a 3-over 75 for the Longhorns and senior Cole Donnelly was the final counter with a 4-over 76. Sophomore Harris Stanislawczyk rounded out the Unionville lineup with a throw-out 82.
Springfield Montco finished in third place with a 305 total, Perkiomen Valley was fourth with a 307, Wissahickon was fifth at 308, Central Bucks South was sixth at 311 and Central League runnerup Conestoga was another shot back in seventh at 312.
Radnor was led by senior Lannon Boyd, another Overbrook guy – pretty good day for the Overbrook contingent – as he signed for a solid 2-under 70 to finish in a tie for third place with Bensalem senior Zac DeVos at even-par 144, a shot behind Barrickman.
Boyd, the Central League champion, had opened with a 2-over 74. He came to Turtle Creek determined to fill in the missing spot in his scholastic resume, a PIAA Class AAA Championship berth, and he got the job done.
DeVos matched par for the second day in a row with a 72 to join Boyd at even-par.
Radnor had another state qualifier in senior Brad McDermott, who contributed a 1-over 73 to the Raptors’ team effort. Combined with his opening-round 75, McDermott, the son of three time BMW Philadelphia Amateur champion Mike McDermott, landed among the group tied for ninth place with a 4-over 148 total.
McDermott had earned a trip to states as a sophomore two years ago, but came up short a year ago before earning a return trip to Penn State Wednesday.
A couple of freshmen, Gavin Reger and Sebastian Leone, rounded out the team scoring for Radnor as each tallied a 5-over 77. Rounding out the Radnor lineup was Elayna Fanelli’s throw-out 79.
Nice effort by Strath Haven senior Eddie Gebhart, a Rolling Green Golf Club member who added a 2-over 74 Wednesday to his opening round of 1-under 71 as he shared fifth place with Avon Grove junior Gus Stoltzfus, each landing on 1-over 145.
Gebhart was in the group with Berry and the kid was going for it out there as he became the first Strath Haven player to reach the state tournament since Tyler Debusschere made it in 2022.
Stoltzfus registered a solid 1-over 71 in Wednesday’s second round to his opening round of 2-over 74.
Conestoga sophomore Will Johnson booked a return trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship as he shared seventh place with Central Bucks West junior Andy Brexler, each ending up with a 2-over 146 total.
After matching par with a 72 in Tuesday’s opening round, Johnson posted a 2-over 74 in Wednesday’s second round. Brexler, who was also in the final group with Berry, struggled a little with a 4-over 76 in Wednesday’s second round after opening with a 2-under 70.
Joining Radnor’s McDermott in the foursome tied for ninth place at 4-over were Perkiomen Valley senior Andrew Brendlinger, Spring-Ford senior Lucas Kozak and Central Bucks South senior Colin Chelak.
Brendlinger carded his second straight 2-over 74, Kozak added a 1-over 73 in Wednesday’s second round to his opening-round 75 and Chelak had the opposite splits, adding a 3-over 75 in Wednesday’s second round to his opening-round 73.
Coatesville left-hander Carson Holmes will wrap up one of the finest careers in the history of the program with a third straight trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship after he finished in a tie for 13th place with Springfield Montco’s Ryan Brnich at 5-over 149.
Holmes struggled while playing in the final group with Berry, ending up with a 6-over 78 after opening with a solid 1-under 71, but he will once again represent the Red Raiders in the state tournament.
Brnich added a 2-over 74 in Wednesday’s second round to his opening-round 75.
Lower Merion senior Seiji Sako reportedly chipped in for birdie on Turtle Creek’s risk-reward par-5 18th hole to nail down his third straight trip to the state tournament as he finished among a trio of players who made the cut on the number at 6-over 150. Hey, some kids just know what it takes to reach the state championship.
The birdie for Sako closed out a 4-over 76 after he had carded a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s opening round.
Harriton’s Henry Sokol made it to the PIAA Class AAA Championship in his first try as the freshman added a 2-over 74 in Wednesday’s second round to his opening-round 76 as he joined Sako at 6-over.
Pretty good day for the Central League as Sako and Sokol made it six players from the league making the trip to Penn State next week.
Rounding out the trio at 6-over was Pope John Paul II senior Beau Bliem, who struggled a little with a 5-over 77 in Wednesday’s second round after opening with a 73.
In the boys Class AA competition, Delco Christian senior Santo Gentil captured the District One individual crown with a 163 total as he added an 85 in Wednesday’s second round to his opening-round 78.
New Hope Solebury senior Charlie Plebani grabbed the other berth to states in Class AA as he finished two shots behind Gentil with a 165 total. Plebani added an 85 in Wednesday’s second round to his opening-round 80.
Gentil helped Delco Christian claim the Class AA team crown as the Knights finished with a 49-over 337 total.
Sophomore Andrew Dell’Arciprete had the best score of the day for Delco Christian with an 80 and junior Everett Luft added an 82. In addition to Gentil’s 85, the final counter for the Lions came from senior Cyrus Mulder, who posted a 90.
Senior Billy Sterious rounded out the Delco Christian lineup with a throw-out 101.
New Hope Solebury was the runnerup in the two-team field with a 362 total.
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