Shaw's consistency earns him another Philly Junior Tour victory at Riverwinds

 

   Kie Shaw, a senior on the Delaware Military Academy golf team, carded a solid 1-over-par 73 at the Riverwinds Golf & Tennis Club in West Deptford, N.J. to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division Sept. 20^th.

   That Sunday started rainy, but there was a weather window and the junior golfers took advantage of it to get in their appointed rounds.

   Shaw, who finished in a tie for fifth place in last spring’s Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championship at Baywood Greens, made birdies at the second and 10^th holes and had 13 pars on his scorecard, including a stretch of six consecutive pars from three through eight.

   The victory at Riverwinds came just eight days after Shaw fired a 2-under 70 to capture a Philly Junior Tour victory at Odessa National Golf Club in Townsend, Del.

   David Dempsey of Franklinville, N.J. and Ryan Sun of Morganville, N.J. shared runnerup honors as each finished four shots behind Shaw with a 5-over 77.

   Dempsey made a birdie at the 10^th hole and had 12 pars on his card, including two streaks of five straight pars from five through nine and again from 12 through 16.

   Sun made birdies at the fourth, 16^th and 18^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, including a string of four straight pars from 12 through 15.

   Garnet Valley junior Frank Kunze finished a shot behind Dempsey and Sun in fourth place with a 78.

   Kunze’s showing at Riverwinds set the stage for a very nice scholastic postseason run as he reached the District One Class AAA Championship by finishing in a tie for sixth place in the Central League Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course Sept. 30^th and then came back this week to finish in a tie for 11^th at Raven’s Claw Golf Club and Turtle Creek to punch his ticket to the PIAA Class AAA Championship.

   Nicholas Fargnoli of Mickleton, N.J. and Willilam Thorkeson, a Bryn Mawr resident and a sophomore on the golf team at The Haverford School, shared fifth place, each signing for a 79, Parker Kriews of Manahawkin, N.J. was seventh with an 80 and Jack Kessler, another Mickleton, N.J. guy, and Tineo Anderson of Mount Royal, N.J. finished in a tie for eighth, each tallying an 81.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was Anthony Beach of Westville, N.J. as he finished in 10^th place with an 84.

   Helmut Dang of Newtown Square and Jonathan Thomas of Landenberg finished in a tie atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division, each recording a 1-over 73.

   Dang, like Shaw, had been a Philly Junior Tour winner eight days earlier at Odessa National. Dang made birdies at the third and 13^th holes and had 12 pars on his scorecard, including a run of four straight pars from 14 through 17.

   Thomas made back-to-back birdies at the 12^th and 13^th holes, added another birdie at 15 and had 11 pars on his card, including four straight pars to close out his round and another string of five straight pars from seven through 11.

   Jackson Roy of Medford, N.J. and Jack Gilbert of Bryn Mawr finished in a tie for third place, each ending up two shots behind Dang and Thomas with a 5-over 77.

   Roy made birdies at the first and fourth holes and had 10 pars on his card. Gilbert made back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes and had nine pars on his card. Gilbert got off to a fast start and was 2-under through six holes.

   James Wilson of Wilmington, Del. took fifth place with a 78 and Victor Sage, a Broomall resident and a sophomore on the Malvern Prep golf team, and Michael Perry, another Wilmington, Del. guy, finished in a tie for sixth place, each registering a 79.

   Dean Matta, a freshman on the Avon Grove golf team, and Carson McNamee, a freshman on the Souderton golf team, shared eighth place, each carding an 80, and Jack Bishay of West Chester rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished 10^th with an 81.

   The best score among the girls came out of the 13-to-15 division as Mallie Heenan of Ocean City, N.J. made a birdie at the 10^th hole and had nine pars on her scorecard, including three straight pars at 15, 16 and 17, on her way to a 79 that gave her a Philly Junior Tour victory.

   Emma Cowan of Moorestown, N.J. made birdies at the seventh and 17^th holes and had eight pars on her card, including runs of three straight pars at three, four and five and again at 13, 14 and 15, as she earned runnerup honors with an 83.

   Shree Desai of Cinnaminson, N.J. had seven pars on her card, including three straight pars at the sixth, seventh and eighth holes, as she finished in third place with an 88.

   Sonia Rosenman, another Moorestown, N.J. gal, took fourth place with a 92 and Julie Costello, another Ocean City, N.J. entry, finished fifth with a 94.

   Antonella Ferrer of Wynnewood took sixth place with a 105 and Finley Campbell of West Chester rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished seventh with a 122.

   Olivia Bond of Del Haven, N.J. was the lone entry in the 16-to-18 division and she made back-to-back pars at the fourth and fifth holes on her way to a 102.

   Brody Rollins of Milton, Del. made birdies at the fourth and seventh holes and had six pars on his scorecard, opening his round with three straight pars, as he bested the field of 12-and-under nine-holers with a sparkling 1-under 35.

   Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr opened his round with a birdie at the first hole and had six pars on his card with separate strings of three pars in a row at two, three and four and again at seven, eight and nine, as he finished two shots behind Rollins in second place with a 1-over 37.

   Samuel Karas of Bue Bell and Damien Dollard of Cinnaminson, N.J., the Philly Junior Tour’s boys 12-and-under Player of the Year in 2025, shared third place, each signing for 40.

   Karas made a birdie at the fourth hole and had five pars on his card, including three consecutive pars at six, seven and eight. Dollard had six pars on his card, opening his round with four straight pars.

   Kash Gray of Eagleville and Bennett Cho of Chesterbrook shared fifth place, each tallying a 41, and James Schneider of Penn Valley finished alone in seventh with a 42.

   Kayaan Patel of Mullica Hill, N.J. and Jamie Cahn, another Penn Valley guy, shared eighth place, each recording a 43, and Ryan Scully, another Chesterbrook entry, rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished 10^th with a 44.

   Claire Malbacho of Haverford made a birdie at the fourth hole and had three pars on her scorecard as she bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a solid 5-over 41.

   Olivia Konieczki of Sewell, N.J. made three straight pars at the second, third and fourth holes as she earned runnerup honors with a 46.

   Victoria Leonard of Merion Station rounded out the field in the girls 12-and-under division as she finished in third place with a 57.

 

 

 

 

Fallon has 16 pars on his way to a Philly Junior Tour victory with a 72 at Reading

 

   Luke Fallon, a junior on the Wilson golf team, was a par machine with 16 pars on his scorecard at Reading Country Club, the classic layout along Route 422 in Exeter Township, on his way to a 2-over-par 72 that gave him a victory in the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop Sept. 19^th.

   Fallon opened his round with seven straight pars and finished his round with eight consecutive pars.

   It proved to be a good tuneup for Fallon as he came back five days later to finish in third place in the Berks County Interscholastic Athletic Association Championship at Golden Oaks Golf Club in Fleetwood.

   Mason Matlack, a Boyertown resident and a junior on the Malvern Prep golf team, and Jaden Irvin, a senior on the Hershey High golf team, shared runnerup honors, each ending up a shot behind Fallon with a 3-over 73.

   Matlack ripped off consecutive birdies at the fourth, fifth and sixth holes, added another birdie at 14 and had eight pars on his card.

   Irvin made birdies at the 12^th and 14^th holes and had 11 pars on his card.

   Shane Cornell, a senior on the Avon Grove golf team, took fourth place with a 75, Vaughn Smartt of Bryn Mawr and Lucas Keysock of Schwenksville shared fifth, each signing for a 79, Brady Morris, a senior on the Governor Mifflin golf team, was seventh with an 80 and Clifton Beam of West Chester was eighth with an 83.

   Toby Lerner of Philadelphia and Pierce Lamichane of Lancaster shared ninth place, each tallying an 86, and Chase Schmidt of Waterford, N.J. and Jacob Allen of West Chester rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for 11^th, each recording an 88.

   Bret Wade III, a freshman on the Owen J. Roberts golf team, made a birdie at the 14^th hole and had eight pars on his scorecard as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 7-over 77.

   Toby Parker of Chester Springs and Jake Ronsvalle, a freshman on the Marple Newtown golf team, shared runnerup honors as each finished a shot behind Wade with a 78.

   Parker had 10 pars on his card and Ronsvalle had 11 pars on his card, twice rattling off four straight pars from the second through the fifth holes and again from 11 through 14.

   Five players finished in a tie for fourth place with 79s, including Connor Bates, a freshman on the Perkiomen Valley golf team, Sam Nelligan, a freshman on the Boyertown golf team, Noah Gates, a sophomore on the Haverford High golf team, Blake Coppolino of Glenmoore and Declan Mayo of Chadds Ford.

   Jonathan Thomas of Landenberg took ninth place with an 80 and Jake Julian of Malvern rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished 10^th with an 81.

   Ryan Kaye of Lansdale had eight pars on his scorecard, opening his round with six straight pars, as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a 1-over 35.

   Grayson Wright of Philadelphia and Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville shared runnerup honors as each finished two shots behind Kaye with a 37.

   Wright had six pars on his card, closing out his round with consecutive pars at the seventh, eighth and ninth holes. Charpentier made a birdie at the fifth hole and had four pars on his card.

   Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr and Connor Michaels of Lancaster shared fourth place, each registering a 41, Sid Joshi of Coopersburg was sixth with a 42 and Bennett Cho of Chesterbrook was seventh with a 45.

   Declan Brainard of Pipersville and Adam Feith of Merion Station shared eighth place, each posting a 46, and Alex Cheng of Wilmington, Del. rounded out the field in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished 10^th with a 49.

   Addison Sabatini of West Chester made pars at the sixth and eighth holes as she bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with an 8-over 42.

   Lauryn Kirby of Chester Springs made a par at the ninth hole as she earned runnerup honors with a 48.

   Kasey Bell of Wilmington, Del. rounded out a short field in the girls 12-and-under division as she made a par at the sixth hole on her way to a 50 that left her in third place.

 

 

 

 

Gross back on track as he helps Alabama claim team crown in Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational

 

   This time a year ago, Nick Gross, the 2021 PIAA Class AAA champion as a sophomore at Downingtown West, was having a hard time even cracking the lineup at Alabama.

   Gross did work his way back into the Crimson Tide lineup in the spring of the wraparound 2025-2026 season, but he had suffered a dislocated knee in a workout during college golf’s midseason pause and it was never quite right.

   Gross gutted it out, but it was a second straight spring of frustration for Alabama as the Crimson Tide finished a shot out of the final berth to the NCAA Championship out of the Marana Regional, finishing in sixth place as the four seed.

   Gross shut it down when the college season ended, resurfacing just in time to earn co-medalist honors in Final Qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course with a sparkling 5-under-par 66 at Llanerch Country Club.

   Got a chance to watch Gross’ opening round in qualifying for match play in the U.S. Amateur. He was really good at times, making six birdies at the venerable Hugh Wilson design in the Ardmore section of Haverford Township.

   But there was some rust evident, too, as he ended up with a 3-over 73. Needing to go low the next day at Philadelphia Country Club, Gross was only able to manage an even-par 70 and missed out on a bulky playoff for the final spots in the match-play bracket by a shot.

   After a couple of solid outings in Alabama’s first two tournaments of the fall, Nick Gross was officially back last week as he finished in a tie for third place in the individual standings and helped the Crimson Tide to the team crown in the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational, presented by Charles Schwab, which wrapped up Sept. 29^th at the classic Colonial Country Club, Hogan’s Alley, in Fort Worth, Texas.

   Gross carded back-to-back 1-under 69s over the 7,269-yard, par-70 Colonial layout in the opening-day double round and matched par in the final round with a 70 to help the Crimson Tide overtake Southeastern Conference and in-state rival Auburn, the reigning national champion, and capture the team crown by five shots.

   I’m sure you’ve figured out from watching a few Iron Bowls that the rivalry between these two schools runs deep and a victory over the Tigers, who have sat atop the college golf world twice in the last three years, had to be especially sweet for Alabama.

   Gross’ solid showing left him in a tie for third place with his teammate William Jennings, a junior from Greenville, S.C. and No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout, a senior from Richardson, Texas and the No. 1 player in the WAGR, each landing on 2-under 208.

   Alabama opened with a solid 6-under 274 and added a 2-over 282 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round that left the Crimson Tide in a tie for second place in the team standings, two shots behind their rival Auburn.

   A final round of 4-over 284 gave Alabama an even-par 840 total and their first tourney title of the season.

   Jennings was the runnerup in the individual chase in last spring’s NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. and reached the round of 16 in the U.S. Amateur at Merion. Jennings also represented the United States in a hard-fought 13.5-12.5 loss to Great Britain & Ireland in a thrilling Walker Cup Match earlier in September at Lahinch Golf & Country Club in County Clare, Ireland.

   Jennings contributed a sizzling 4-under 66 to Alabama’s fast start in the opening round before adding back-to-back 1-over 71s in the final two rounds.

   Alabama had opened the wraparound 2026-’27 season – with Jennings out of the lineup just days after the completion of the Walker Cup Match in Ireland -- by finishing in fifth place in a loaded field in the Fields of Honor Collegiate with an 8-under 844 total at the American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Mich.

   Gross ended up in the group tied for 23^rd place at even-par 213.

   A couple of weeks later, Alabama finished in fourth place in another stacked field in the Olympia Fields/Fightin’ Illini Intercollegiate at Olympia Fields Golf Club’s South Course with a 30-under 810 total.

   Gross finished in a tie for 31^st place with a 5-under 205 total.

   In addition to the strong showings by Gross and Jennings at Colonial, Alabama had another top-10 finisher in Bailey Sutter, a freshman from Cullman, Ala. who finished among a group of five players tied for ninth place with a 1-over 211 total.

   Sutter, who has been a solid addition to the Alabama lineup in the early going, added a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening round of 1-over 71 before closing with a 73.

   Auburn had matched Alabama’s opening round of 6-under 274 and matched par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 280 that gave the Tigers a two-shot lead going into the final round.

   Auburn closed with an 11-over 291 to finish five shots behind its ancient rival in second place with a 5-over 845 total.

   The Tigers were led by Billy Davis, a junior from Spring Valley, Calif. who finished in a tie for sixth place with Texas’ Matt Comegys, a graduate student from Van Alstyne, Texas and No. 55 in the WAGR, each ending up with a 1-under 209 total.

   Davis had a share of the individual lead going into the final round after adding a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to a sparkling opening-round 67 before closing with a 3-over 73.

   Auburn had another player in the top 10 as Cayden Pope, a senior from Lexington, Ky. and No. 32 in the WAGR, joined the fivesome tied for ninth place at 1-over. After matching par in the opening round with a 70, Pope added a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 2-over 72.

   Big 12 power Texas Tech, behind individual champion Adam Bresnul, a senior from Morocco and No. 24 in the WAGR, and North Carolina, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, finished in a tie for third place, each ending up seven shots behind Auburn  with a 12-over 852 total.

   The Red Raiders struggled a little in the opening round with a 288, but bounced back with a solid 1-under 279 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 5-over 285.

   It was a disappointing end to the 2025-’26 season last spring for Texas Tech as the Red Raiders failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as a two seed in the Corvallis Regional.

   Bresnu made quite a splash in the U.S. Amateur at Merion in August, marking all sorts of firsts for a Moroccan golfer playing in the biggest event in amateur golf. He reached the quarterfinals before falling to Jack Whaley, the eventual champion.

   After opening with a 1-under 69 at Colonial, Bresnu ripped off back-to-back 3-under 67s to claim his first collegiate individual title with a 7-under 203 total.

   North Carolina had the best team round of the tournament in the opening round, a sizzling 9-under 271. The Tar Heels added a 5-over 285 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before struggling to a 296 in the final round.

   It was a frustrating end to the season for North Carolina last spring as the Tar Heels were one of four teams tied for seventh place after four rounds of qualifying for match play in the NCAA Championship. That meant a playoff among four teams for the final two spots in the match-play bracket, a playoff North Carolina did not survive.

   North Carolina was led by Niall Sheils Donegan, a senior from Mill Valley, Calif. via Scotland and No. 18 in the WAGR, as Sheils Donegan finished among the fivesome tied for ninth place at 1-over.

   Sheils Donegan opened with an otherworldly 9-under 61 that matched the competitive course record at Colonial. He became the eighth player to card a 61 at Colonial and the other seven are all PGA professionals.

   Sheils Donegan cooled off in the second round with a 5-over 75, but was still tied for the individual lead going into the final round. He finished up with another 75.

   It was a pretty good end of the summer for Sheils Donegan as he reached the second round of match play in the U.S. Amateur at Merion and then helped GB&I gain possession of the Walker Cup for the first time since it surrendered it in a loss to the U.S. at Los Angeles Country Club in 2017 with a victory over the Americans at Lahinch early in September.

   A couple more SEC powers, Texas and Vanderbilt, finished in a tie for fifth place, each ending up two shots behind Texas Tech and North Carolina with a 14-over 854 total.

   The Longhorns matched par in the opening round with a 280 and added a 3-over 283 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 291.

   Texas earned a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at La Costa last spring before falling to eventual runnerup UCLA in the quarterfinals.

   Texas was led by Comegys, who got a share of sixth place with Auburn’s Davis at 1-under, as Comegys sandwiched a 1-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a pair of even-par 70s.

   Vanderbilt only trailed Auburn by four shots going into the final round as the Commodores posted a pair of solid 1-under 279s in the opening-day double round. Vandy struggled a little in the final round with a 296.

   Vanderbilt also earned a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa last spring before falling to Arizona in the quarterfinals.

   Vanderbilt was led by Jon Ed Steed, a sophomore from Enterprise, Ala. who finished alone in eighth place with an even-par 210 that left him a shot behind Davis and Comegys.

   Steed was one of four players, including Bresnu, Davis and Sheils Donegan, tied for the individual lead going into the final round as he signed for a pair of 2-under 68s in the opening-day double round. Steed closed with a 4-over 74.

   Reigning Big 12 champion Oklahoma State finished four shots behind Texas and Vanderbilt in seventh place in the 16-team field with an 18-over 858 total.

   The Cowboys opened with a solid 4-under 276, but struggled to a 298 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 4-over 284.

   Oklahoma State reached the semifinals in defense of the national championship it won in 2025 at La Costa last spring before falling to eventual national champion Auburn.

   The Cowboys were led by Stout, who shared third place with the Alabama duo of Gross and Jennings at 2-under.

   Stout, the reigning NCAA individual champion, contributed a sizzling 7-under 63 to Oklahoma State’s strong start, but struggled to a 5-over 75 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   Backing up the trio of Gross, Jennings and Sutter for Alabama was Miles Eubanks, a junior from Warrenville, Ga. who finished among the group tied for 16^th place with a 3-over 213 total. Eubanks sandwiched a 3-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a pair of even-par 70s.

   Rounding out the lineup for Alabama was Luke Powell, a graduate student from Laguna Niguel, Calif. who finished in the group tied for 57^th place with a 222 total. Powell added a 3-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening-round 74 before closing with a 75.

   Really nice showing by Georgia’s J.D. Culbreth, a sophomore from Thomasville, Ga. who was Bresnu’s closest pursuer in the battle for the individual title.

   Culbreth opened with a 2-under 68 and added a 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a sparkling 67 that left him a shot behind Bresnu in second place with a 6-under 204 total.

   Culbreth led the Bulldogs, another SEC power, to a tie for eighth place in the team standings with a 22-over 862 total.

   Rounding out the fivesome tied for ninth place in the individual standings at 1-over were Oklahoma’s Ryder Cowan, a senior homeboy from Edmond, Okla. and No. 5 in the WAGR, and host TCU’s Nathan Miller, a senior from Dallas, Texas.

   Cowan shared low-amateur honors in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on the tip of Long Island, reached the round of 16 in the U.S. Amateur at Merion and was a member of the U.S. Walker Cup team at Lahinch. Pretty good summer, I’d say.

   Cowan matched par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round at Colonial with a 70 after opening with a 72 and finished up with a 1-under 69.

   Cowan led the Sooners, another SEC entry, to a 10^th-place finish in the team standings with a 24-over 864 total.

   Miller opened with a 2-under 68 and added a 3-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   The Horned Frogs, a Big 12 representative, finished a shot behind Oklahoma in 11^th place with a 25-over 865 total.