Hollenbaugh the leading lady as Ohio State records fall in victory in Clemson Invitational

 

   Don’t look now, but Lisa Strom might have something going with her Ohio State women’s golf team.

   Strom was the PIAA champion as a senior at Lansdale Catholic in 1994 and was a standout for the Buckeyes before playing professionally on the LPGA Tour and whatever the developmental tour – it’s the Epson Tour these days -- was called back then.

   Strom returned to Ohio State as an assistant under Therese Hession, the legendary head coach for the Buckeyes under whom Strom had played. Strom made a couple of stops as a head coach, including a time when Kent State was a national power, before returning to Columbus.

   When Hession retired, Strom was an obvious and easy choice to take over at her alma mater in 2021.

   It was a frustrating spring a year ago when the Buckeyes finished in sixth place as a six seed in the Bryan Regional, five shots shy of earning a trip to the NCAA Championship.

   It’s starting to look like things are going to be different this spring. With Kary Hollenbaugh, a junior from New Albany, Ohio and No. 22 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), blossoming into a real star and some talented freshmen gaining confidence with each passing day, Ohio State rewrote the program’s record book with a 10-shot victory over Southeastern Conference power Arkansas in the Clemson Invitational, which wrapped up Sunday at The Reserve at Lake Keowee in Sunset, S.C.

   Ohio State, a Big Ten representative, came into the Clemson Invitational at No. 28 in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, but the Buckeyes should be moving up after going a whopping 45-under par and leaving a talented field, including Arkansas, which has been one of the hottest teams in women’s college golf throughout the wraparound 2024-2025 season and is No. 2 in the Scoreboard rankings, in the dust.

   Hollenbaugh has emerged as the leading lady for Ohio State. After a couple of 4-under 68s in the first two rounds over the 6,489-yard, par-72 Jack Nicklaus design at Lake Keowee, Hollenbaugh closed with a career-best 8-under 64 for a 16-under 200 total that gave her a one-shot victory over Arkansas’ Kendall Todd, a senior from Goodyear, Ariz. and No. 30 in the Women’s WAGR.

   I always try to post on the Orange Blossom Tour events in Florida in January and Hollenbaugh was an impressive winner of the South Atlantic Women’s Amateur Championship, better known by its shorthand moniker The Sally, at Oceanside Country Club in Ormond Beach, Fla. for the second straight year. Turned out it was a preview of things to come.

   The victory in the Clemson Invitational was Hollenbaugh’s third of the spring. She won twice in February, capturing the title in the Therese Hession Regional Challenge hosted by Ohio State at the Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. and winning again at the Spartan Suncoast Invitational at the Palm Aire Country Club’s Champions Course in Sarasota, Fla.

   Ohio State opened with a 13-under 275 at Lake Keowee and then set a program record with a 16-under 272 in Saturday’s second round to take a commanding 11-shot lead over SMU, an Atlantic Coast Conference entry and No. 33 in the Scoreboard rankings, going into the final round.

   Then the Buckeyes did it again as, fueled by Hollenbaugh’s sizzling 64, they matched their new program record with another 16-under 272 in the final round for a 45-under 819 total. Those were program records for both the total and the total in relation to par.

   With a gloomy forecast for Sunday, the teams played the first nine holes of the final round Saturday, so only nine holes remained to be played Sunday.

   Arkansas, getting a remarkable 11-under 61 from Todd, set a program record for score in relation to par with its 20-under 268 final round as the Razorbacks finished with a 35-under 829 total, still somehow 10 shots behind Ohio State.

   Arkansas, which has won four team titles this season, had opened with a 9-under 279 before adding a 6-under 282 in Saturday’s second round.

   Todd trailed Hollenbaugh by four shots when the final round began Saturday afternoon. She made 11 birdies and had seven pars as she tied the NCAA women’s record in relation to par with her 11-under round and is just the sixth woman ever to record a 61.

   Todd had opened with a 1-under 71 before adding a 3-under 69 in the second round.

   Todd and her teammate, Maria Jose Marin, a sophomore from Colombia and No. 6 in the Women’s WAGR, both reached the semifinals in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

   Marin contributed a 6-under 66 to Arkansas’ final-round surge as she finished alone in fifth place with a 10-under 206 total. Marin had opened with a 3-under 69 before adding a 1-under 71 in the second round.

   Arkansas captured the team title in last spring’s Las Vegas Regional as a two seed, but came up short of a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. Marin finished in a tie for fourth place in the individual standings at La Costa.

   LSU, another SEC power and No. 11 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished nine shots behind
Arkansas in third place with a 26-under 838 total. After opening with an 8-under 280, the Tigers added a sparkling 16-under 272 in the second round before closing with a 12-under 276.

   LSU, in the final year of the era of Ingrid Lindblad and Latana Stone, earned a spot in the match-play bracket in last spring’s NCAA Championship at La Costa before falling to Oregon in the quarterfinals.

   Tennessee, another SEC entry and No. 32 in the Women’s WAGR, finished seven shots behind LSU in fourth place with a 19-under 845 as the Volunteers got off to a fast start with a 10-under 278 and added a 6-under 282 in the second round before closing with a 3-under 285.

   Tennessee failed to advance to last spring’s NCAA Championship as a seven seed in the Bermuda Run Regional.

   SMU was Ohio State’s closest pursuer going into the final round as the Mustangs added a 6-over 282 in the second round to their opening round of 12-under 276. SMU closed with a 2-over 290 to finish three shots behind Tennessee in fifth place with a 16-under 848 total.

   SMU earned a trip to last spring’s NCAA Championship by finishing in a tie for second place as a five seed in the Bryan Regional.

   Louisville, one of SMU’s ACC rivals, finished a shot behind the Mustangs in sixth place with a 15-under 849 total. The Cardinals, No. 51 in the Scoreboard rankings, were solid throughout the weekend, opening with a 3-under 285 and adding a 7-under 281 in the second round before closing with a 5-under 283.

   Penn State, getting a tie for 10^th place in the individual standings from its talented freshman, Jiratchaya Jiratthitinun of Thailand, finished in 13^th place in the 15-team field with a 15-over 879 total.

   It was the first appearance in the Clemson Invitational for Penn State as second-year head coach Kristen Simpson continues to try to expose her Nittany Lions to some better competition. Never a bad thing in my book.

   Penn State struggled in the opening round with a 15-over 303 before settling down with a pair of even-par 288s in the final two rounds.

   Penn State is one of Ohio State’s Big Ten rivals and the Big Ten Championship will return to the outer edge of the Philadelphia area for the second straight spring when it tees off April 18 – play concludes Easter Sunday -- at Bulle Rock Golf Course, the Pete Dye design that was once the site of an LPGA major championship, in Havre de Grace, Md.

   Backing up Hollenbaugh for Ohio State was one of the three freshmen in Strom’s lineup at Lake Keowee, Marina Joy-Moreno of Spain, as she finished alone in fourth place, the best of her still fledgling college career, in the individual standings with an 11-under 205 total, another career best.

   Joyce-Marino carded back-to-back 3-under 69s in the first two rounds before closing with a career-best 5-under 67.

   Another freshman, Nellie Ong of England, finished among the group tied for 15^th place with a 6-under 210 total, a career best. Ong sandwiched an even-par 72 in the second round with a pair of 3-under 69s.

   The third freshman in the Ohio State lineup, Mandy Song of China, finished among a trio of players tied for 21^st place at 5-under 211, including a sizzling career-best 8-under 64 in Saturday’s second round. Song had opened with a 3-over 75 and matched par in the final round with a 72.

   Rounding out the Ohio State was its veteran leader, Faith Choi, a senior form Frederick, Md. who finished in a tie for 31^st place with a 2-under 214 total. Choi added a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round to her solid opening round of 3-under 69 before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Strom also sent out Kavya Ajjarapu, a sophomore from Lutz, Fla., to compete as an individual and Ajjarapu finished among the trio tied for 75^th place at 227. After opening with a 2-over 74, Ajjarapu added a 3-over 75 in the second round before closing with a 78.

   Mississippi’s Caitlyn Macnab, a senior from South Africa and No. 28 in the Women’s WAGR, finished alone in third place in the individual standings, three shots behind Arkansas’ Todd at 12-under 204.

   After opening with a 3-under 69, Macnab recorded a 5-under 67 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 4-under 68.

   As I’m finishing up this post, the opening round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship at the Champions Retreat Golf Club is complete and Ohio State’s Hollenbaugh and Macnab are in a large group tied for 13^th place at 2-under 70.

   Both are in with a good shot to survive the cut to the low 30 and ties who survive the cut and get to play the final round at the nearby Augusta National Golf Club.

   Host Clemson’s Isabella Rawl, a junior from Lexington, S.C., and SMU’s Emily Odwin, a junior from Barbados, finished in a tie for sixth place, each ending up a shot behind Arkansas’ Marin with a 9-under 207.

   After opening with a 76, Rawl came on strong, registering a 5-under 67 in the second round before closing with a sizzling 8-under 64. Odwin was steady throughout the weekend as she opened with a 4-under 68 and added a 2-under 70 in the second round before closing with a 3-under 69.

   LSU’s Taylor Riley, a junior from San Diego, Calif., and Harvard’s Vanessa Zhang, a freshman from Canada, finished in a tie for eighth place, each ending up with an 8-under 208 total.

   Riley carded back-to-back 3-under 69s in the first two rounds before finishing up with a 2-under 70. After opening with a 1-under 71, Zhang recorded a 3-under 69 in the second round before closing with a solid 4-under 68.

   Aine Donegan, a senior from Ireland and No. 57 in the Women’s WAGR, gave LSU a second finisher inside the top 10 as she headed a group of five players tied for 10^th place at 7-under 209, a group that included Penn State’s Jiratthitinun.

   After opening with a 2-under 70, Donegan, a member of the winning Great Britain & Ireland team in last summer’s Curtis Cup Match at Sunningdale Golf Club in England, matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a sparkling 5-under 67.

   After matching par with a 72 in the opening round, Jiratthitinun surged up the leaderboard with a sparkling 6-under 66 before closing with a 1-under 71. Jiratthitinun’s 7-under total was her best in relation to par in her still fledgling college career.

   Jiratthitinun’s fellow Thai, Maryland’s Chanayu Chowiwattana, also a freshman, was also in the group at 7-under as Chowiwattana matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 3-under 69 in the second round before closing with a 4-under 68.

   Rounding out the quintet at 7-under were Tennessee’s Kyra Van Kan, a freshman from South Africa, and Louisville’s Carmen Griffiths, a senior from Scotland.

   After opening with a 1-under 71, Van Kan signed for back-to-back 3-under 69s. Griffiths registered back-to-back 2-under 70s in the first two rounds before closing with a solid 3-under 69.

   Backing up Jiratthitnun for Penn State was Drew Nienhaus, a senior from St. Louis, Mo. who finished among the group tied for 48^th place with a 3-over 219 total. Nienhaus, who has been consistent throughout the spring portion of the wraparound 2024-’25 season, added a 2-under 70 in the second round to her opening round of 3-over 75 before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Senior Michelle Cox, who lost in a playoff for the PIAA Class AAA title as a senior at Emmaus in the fall of the coronavirus pandemic year of 2020, finished in the group tied for 54^th place for the Nittany Lions with a 5-over 221 total. After opening with a 5-over 77, Cox matched par in each of the final two rounds with a pair of 72s.

   Jami Morris, a senior from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, finished among a trio of players tied for 79^th place with a 231 total. Morris struggled in the first two rounds, adding an 80 in the second round to her opening-round 79 before settling down and matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Lauren Thompstone, a freshman from France who finished in 84^th place with a 243 total. Thompstone couldn’t solve the Lake Keowee layout in the first two rounds as she posted back-to-back 84s before contributing a counting 1-over 73 in the final round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicholl gets in a groove to take a Philly Junior Tour victory at Chesapeake Bay

 

   Rider Nicholl, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Avon Grove last fall, put together a solid 4-over-par 74 Sunday at Chesapeake Bay Golf Club in Rising Sun, Md. to take the top spot in the 16-to-18 division and claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory.

   The weather varied Sunday depending on your location, but I’m guessing it warmed a little quicker near the Chesapeake Bay than it did in northwest Chester County.

   Nicholl twice went back-to-back with birdies at the sixth and seventh holes and again at 16 and 17 and had eight pars on his scorecard.

   The 12^th hole at Chesapeake Bay was out of commission, so players played the first hole a second time to conclude their rounds.

   Haverford High senior Andrew Rindgen, a District One Class AAA qualifier last fall, made a birdie on the 16^th hole and had nine pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 7-over 77 that left him three shots behind Nicholl.

   In checking up on Rindgen for this post, I discovered I somehow managed to leave him out of my post from the Central League Championship last fall at Turtle Creek, where he finished in a tie for 13^th place with a 79 to earn a return trip to the Turtle for the District One Championship.

  Beauty of a blog, though, I fixed it six months later.

   Brayden Schnabel, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Souderton last fall, finished another three shots behind Rindgen in third place as Schnabel made birdies at the 11^th and 14^th holes and had six pars on his card on his way to an 80.

   Trey Barkman of West Chester took fourth place with an 82, Plymouth-Whitemarsh junior Luke Farnese was fifth with an 85 and Haverford High junior Bryce Ciochetto, like his fellow Ford Rindgen a District One Class AAA qualifier last fall, was sixth with an 86.

   Another Central League guy, Springfield sophomore Mike White, headed a trio tied for seventh place along with Haverford School senior Devin Carpenter, one of the many success stories produced by First Tee of Greater Philadelphia, and Colin Burke of Wilmington, Del., all of whom posted an 87.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was Caiden Jordan, playing not far from his Rising Sun, Md. home, as he finished alone in 10^th place with an 88.

   Evan Smith of Elkton, Md. made birdies at the fourth and sixth holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 6-over 77.

   Couldn’t figure out from the scorecards why the par for the 13-to-15 division was 71 and the par for the 16-to-18 division was 70, but regardless it was a really solid effort by Smith.

   William Quartermain of Bryn Mawr, winner of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior-Junior Championship last summer, made birdies at the sixth and ninth holes and had seven pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with an 83.

   Mason Kim of Blue Bell birdied the first hole the second time he played it and had five pars on his card as he finished five shots behind Quartermain in third place with an 88.

   Jonah Isler of West Chester took fourth place with an 89, Landon Chandler of Lancaster was fifth with a 92 and Jason Kim of Ambler was sixth with a 95.

   Garnet Valley freshman Camden Blevins, Sam Whitehouse of Pottstown and Luke Cheuvront, another local guy playing close to his Rising Sun, Md. home, finished in a tie for seventh place, each recording a 97.

   Rounding out the field in the 13-to-15 division was Max Straub of Lancaster as he finished alone in 10^th place with a 99.

   The best score of the day among the girls came out of the 13-to-15 division as Bryn Brandt of Lebanon made a birdie on the 18^th hole and had six pars on her scorecard to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory with an 82.

   Some coach in central Pennsylvania can’t wait to have Brandt join his or her program in the fall.

   Juliana Gatt of Newtown rounded out a short field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in second place with a 112.

   Brooke Burge of Middletown, Del. was the lone entry in the 16-to-18 division as he made a birdie on the fourth hole and a par at 11 on her way to a 98.

   Theodore Diamond of Lutherville-Timonium, Md. made a birdie on the eighth hole and rattled off three straight pars on three, four and five as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a 4-over 39.

   Alex Cheng of Wilmington, Del. made a par on the fifth hole as he finished five shots behind Diamond in second place with a 44.

   Jonathan Thomas of Landenberg and Charlie Sears of Wilmington, Del. shared third place, each ending up a shot behind Cheng with a 45. Thomas made back-to-back pars on the fourth and fifth holes and Sears had two pars on his card.

   Connor Michaels of Lancaster took fifth place with a 47, Jackson Ehrlich of Berwyn was sixth with a 55 and Dino Luccia of North Wales was seventh with a 58.

   Jamie Wolf of Villanova took eighth place with a 59 and Jason Zheng of West Chester rounded out the field in the 12-and-under division as he finished ninth with a 60.

 

 

 

 

 

Raihill earns Philly Junior Tour victory as summer comes early to Honeybrook

 

   Zach Raihill, a junior on the West Chester Rustin golf team, put together a 2-over-par 67 at Honeybrook Golf Club Saturday to edge a couple of familiar Ches-Mont League rivals and claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory.

   The weather hasn’t always been kind for the traditional late March Philly Junior Tour stop at Honeybrook, but Saturday turned suddenly summer-like after a long, cold winter. Some gusty winds in the far northwest corner of Chester County made club selection a challenge, but with temperatures reaching the 80s, I don’t think anyone was complaining.

   The par-5 fourth hole at Honeybrook was out of commission, so the field played just 17 holes with par reduced to 65.

   Raihill made birdies on the ninth and 15^th holes and had 11 pars on his scorecard to finish at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division.

   Ian Larsen, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at Downingtown West last fall, and Charlie Isler, a sophomore at West Chester Henderson, shared second place, each ending up a shot behind Raihill with a 3-over 68.

   Larsen made birdies at the 15^th and 18^th holes and had 11 pars on his card. Isler, coming off a runnerup finish in a Philly Junior Tour stop last weekend at Running Deer Golf Club, made birdies at the sixth and 15^th holes and had 11 pars on his card.

   Lower Merion junior Seiji Sako, who has qualified for the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of the last two falls, finished a shot behind Larsen and Isler in fourth place with a 4-over 69.

   Collin Schreiber of Kunkletown took fifth place with a 71 and West Chester Rustin senior Nick Linkchorst, who helped the Knights capture the District One Class AAA team crown last fall, and Trey Barkman of West Chester finished in a tie for sixth place, each landing on 77.

   Archmere Academy junior Michael Liu, a Garnet Valley resident, took eighth place with a 78, Devon Prep junior Chris Pullano, a Wynnewood resident, was ninth with a 79 and Downingtown East junior Joey Gangemi rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as he finished alone in 10^th with an 80.

   Pierce Drake, a sophomore on the Bishop Shanahan golf team and a Glenmoore resident, made birdies on the seventh and 15^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard as he finished atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 4-over 69.

   Evan Smith of Elkton, Md. made birdies on the 12^th, 15^th and 18^th holes and had four pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 73 that left him four shots behind Drake.

   Central Bucks East sophomore Tyler Adair and Mason Kim of Blue Bell finished in a tie for third place, each ending up two shots behind Smith with a 75.

   Adair made a birdie on the 11^th hole and had seven pars on his card and Kim made a birdie on the 12^th hole and had nine pars on his card.

   Jacob Ashenfelder of Glenmoore took fifth place with a 76 and the trio of Benjamin Lear of West Chester, Steven Musacchio, another Glenmoore guy, and Beckett Kush of Yardley finished in a tie for sixth, each posting an 81.

   Aidan Carter of West Chester took ninth place with an 89 and James Kulesa of Doylestown rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished alone in 10^th with a 93.

   The best score among the girls at Honeybrook came out of the 13-to-15 division as Emma Gangemi of Downingtown’s Team Gangemi made pars on the 12^th and 17^th holes on her way to a 93 that earned her a Philly Junior Tour victory.

   Mackenzie Lim of Harleysville and Addison Murphy of Phoenixville finished in a tie for second place, each recording a 96. Murphy had three pars on her scorecard.

   Rounding out the field in the 13-to-15 division was Juliana Gatt of Newtown as she finished in fourth place with a 102.

   Shloka Vishwanath, a sophomore on the Downingtown West golf team, was the lone entry in the 16-to-18 division and she made pars on the 11^th and 14^th holes on her way to a 94.

   Kaycen Subbio of Blue Bell bested the field among the boys 12-and-under nine-holers as he made a birdie at the fifth hole and had three pars on his scorecard on his way to a 4-over 34.

   Jack Kolmar of Wayne made a birdie on the eighth hole and had three pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 5-over 35 that left him a shot behind Subbio. Ryan Foust of Exton had three pars on his card as he finished in third place with a 37 that left him two shots behind Kolmar

   The trio of Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville, Connor Masulis of Pottstown and Connor Michaels of Lancaster all finished a shot behind Foust in a tie for fourth place, each registering a 38.

   Jonathan Thomas of Landenberg and Nicholas Cheng of Berwyn shared seventh place, each posting a 39.

   Andrew DElla of Clarks Summit took ninth place with a 41 and Graeme Day of West Chester rounded out the top 10 in the 12-and-under division as he finished 10^th with a 42.

   With the old coed 12-and-under division split into boys and girls divisions this season, there was a decent turnout of girls nine-holers at Honeybrook.

   Kia DeCarlo of Glen Mills made pars on the second and fifth holes as she bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a 7-over 37.

   Evelyn Brillman of Elkins Park made a par on the seventh hole as she earned runnerup honors with a 41 that left her four shots behind DeCarlo.

   Trisha Lobo of Collegeville made pars on the fifth and seventh holes as she finished two shots behind Evelyn Brillman in third place with a 43.

   If Lobo watches the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals Sunday from Augusta National Golf Club, she’ll have fond memories of that event from a year ago when she finished in third place in the Girls 7-to-9 division, topping the field in the putting portion of the competition.

   Eleanor Brillman of Elkins Park’s Team Brillman took fourth place with a 45, Lillian Fry of Pennsburg was fifth with a 49 and Sydney Lim of Harleysville rounded out the field in the 12-and-under division as she finished sixth with a 54.