Logan Cassidy, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep last fall, and Quin Zuegner, a junior on the golf team at The Hill School, headed a group of 21 players who took the first step toward a possible berth in the Boys Junior PGA Championship in the first of a series of qualifiers for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship Sunday at Running Deer Golf Club in Pittsgrove, N.J.
Hopefully, the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour players teed off after the worst of the rain showers that made for a miserable opening day of the BMW Golf Association of Philadelphia Matches – GAP Match weather, for short -- had subsided, but it was still a windy, chilly day.
But the cold and wet weather did not stop a large group of juniors from trying to earn a spot in the field for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship, a one-day 36-hole test scheduled to be played June 15 at Bellewood Country Club, across the Schuylkill River from Pottstown.
The top finishers – and we’re talking just two or three guys – at Bellewood will earn a spot in the Boys Junior PGA Championship, one of the major national events for juniors conducted by the PGA of America, which will tee off July 28 at Fields Ranch East and West at the PGA of America’s national headquarters in Frisco, Texas.
The tough conditions at Runing Deer didn’t seem to bother Cassidy, a Bensalem resident, and Zuegner, a New Hope resident, as they each carded a solid 1-over-par 73 to share medalist honors for the day.
The qualifiers for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship came out of the overall 13-to-18 age group. 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 scoring.
Cassidy got off to a fast start with birdies at the first and third holes, went back-to-back with birdies at nine and 10 and had 10 pars on his scorecard, finishing up his round with six straight pars.
Zuegner, a co-captain at The Hill, jump-started his round with an eagle 2 at the par-4 first hole. He added birdies at the seventh and 13th holes and had 11 pars on his card, twice rattling off strings of four pars in a row from three through six and again from 14 through 17.
Cassidy and Zuegner shared the top spot in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring.
Charles Friel, a Bryn Mawr resident and a junior on the golf team at The Haverford School, made a birdie at the fourth hole and had 12 pars on his card, including a run of eight straight pars from seven through 14, as he finished in third place among the older guys and was fourth in the overall scoring with a 3-over 75.
Jimmy Warmkessel, a Malvern resident and a senior co-captain on Episcopal Academy’s Inter-Ac League championship last fall, Frank Kunze, a sophomore on the Garnet Valley golf team, Ty Sheftic, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Wissahickon last fall, and Ryan Kelly of Harleysville, finished in a tie for fourth place in the 16-to-18 division and were part of a six-man logjam tied for eighth in the overall scoring as each posted a 6-over 78.
Shane Cornell, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Avon Grove last fall, Colby Seislove, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Spring-Ford by earning a spot in the District One Class AAA field, and Jake Yerkes, a Wyncote resident and a sophomore on the roster of Catholic League power La Salle, finished in a tie for eighth place among the older guys and were part of a foursome tied for 14th in the overall scoring as each signed for a 79.
The foursome of Nolan Murray Jr., who wrapped up his scholastic career at Upper Dublin last fall, Kyan DeLong, who wrapped his scholastic career at Emmaus by earning a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall, Cole Henning, a junior on the Souderton golf team who earned a spot in the field in the state tournament in Class AAA as a sophomore in 2024, and David Dempsey of Franklinville, N.J. finished in a tie for 11th place in the 16-to-18 division and made the cut for a spot in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship on the number as each tallied an 80.
Two of the region’s most talented youngsters, Logan Turner, a Berwyn resident and a PIAA Class AA qualifier as a freshman at Devon Prep last fall, and Trebor Melendez of Vineland, N.J., finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division and earned spots in the field for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at Bellewood in June.
Turner capped a bustout freshman season at Devon Prep by finishing in a tie for 15th place in his debut in the state tournament at Penn State’s White Course and then helping the Tide finish in third place in the PIAA Class AA team chase.
Turner made birdies at the seventh, ninth and 14th holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard at Running Deer, including six straight pars to open his round, as he finished atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division and in third place in the overall scoring with a 2-over 74.
Melendez, coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory at LBI National Golf & Resort a day earlier, opened his round with a birdie at the first hole and had 12 pars on his card, including a string of four straight pars from 12 through 15, as he shared second place among the younger guys with Mason Kim, a freshman on the Wissahickon golf team, as each carded a 4-over 76.
Kim made birdies at the first and ninth holes, had an eagle at the par-5 14th and had eight pars on his card, including a run of four straight pars from two through five.
Melendez and Kim also shared fifth place in the overall scoring.
Max Davis, a Newtown Square resident and a freshman on the Malvern Prep golf team, finished in fourth place in the 13-to-15 division and seventh in the overall scoring with a 77. Davis was coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory a day earlier at Iron Valley Golf Club.
Ian Rotto, a sophomore on the Kennett golf team, and Preston Minio of Lansdale shared fifth place among the younger guys and rounded out the bulky group of six players tied for eighth in the overall scoring as each registered a 78.
Jack Gilbert of Bryn Mawr was the last player out of the 13-to-15 division to qualify for the Boys Junior PGA Championship as he tallied a 79 to finish in seventh place in the division and join Cornell, Seislove and Yerkes from the16-to-18 division in a tie for 14th in the overall scoring.
Nathan Lobo of Collegeville took eighth place among the younger guys with an 81 and Ben Meixell, a Wilmington, Del. resident whose freshman season at Salesianum is probably under way by now, and Declan Mayo of Chadds Ford rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as each posted an 82 to finish in a tie for ninth.
The best score among the girls at Running Deer was turned in by Morgan Tyhanic of Little Egg Harbor, N.J. as she made birdies at the second and 14th holes and had eight pars on her scorecard on her way to an 81 that earned her a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division.
It was not a qualifier for the Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship, which will, like the boys, be a one-day, 36-hole test July 6 at DuPont Country Club. Pretty sure the Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship is an open tournament.
The top finishers at DuPont will advance to the Girls Junior PGA Championship, which will be played simultaneously with the boys at Fields Ranch East and West in Frisco, Texas beginning July 28.
Emily Renouf of Cinnaminson, N.J. finished up her round with a birdie at the 18th hole and had nine pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors among the older girls with an 85.
Nicole Tarquinio of Bridgeton, N.J. made a birdie on the fifth hole and had six pars on her card as she finished two shots behind Renouf in third place with an 87.
Two more Cinnaminson, N.J. gals, Madison Gibson and Taylor Hanna, rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as Gibson took fourth place with a 93 and Hanna was fifth with a 97.
Ella Buerhaus of Abingdon, Md. opened her round with a birdie on the first hole and had six pars on her scorecard as she finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with an 85.
Hailey Cousins of Port Republic, N.J. had five pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors among the younger girls with an 89.
Brianna Stwalley, a sophomore on the Central Bucks West golf team, made a birdie on the 14th hole and a par on six as she finished in third place with a 93.
Gigi Lake of Newtown took fourth place with a 98 and Annabelle Barr of Gladwyne rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished fifth with a 117.
Damien Dollard of Cinnaminson, N.J., picking up right where he left off when he was the Philly Junior Tour’s Player of the Year in the boys 12-and-under division last year, made a birdie on the fifth hole and had six pars on his scorecard, including four straight to finish up his round, as he bested the field of nine-holers with a 3-over 39.
Dollard’s Player of the Year honor for 2025 was even more impressive in light of the competitiveness among the guys who played in the boys 12-and-under division last year.
Two of those guys, Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr and Baylor Keim of Blue Bell, finished in a tie for second place at Running Deer, each recording a 5-over 41.
Muego made a birdie on the fifth hole and had four pars on his card, including three straight pars to finish up his round. Keim made a birdie on the sixth hole and had four pars on his card.
Samuel Karas, another Blue Bell guy, took fourth place with a 42, Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. was fifth with a 43, Kelly Salvesen of Cape May Court House, N.J. was sixth with a 44 and Sid Joshi of Coopersburg was seventh with a 45.
Luke George of Mullica Hill, N.J. took eighth place with a 46 and the duo of Dillon Tierney of Marlton, N.J. and Domenic Scanny of Linwood, N.J. rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division as they finished in a tie for ninth, each tallying a 49.
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