Sheftic, McReynolds the respective boys, girls winners in Harry Hammond Invitational at Penn Oaks

 

   Wissahickon senior Ty Sheftic scorched the incoming nine at Penn Oaks Golf Club with a spectacular 6-under-30 on his way to a 2-under 69 that gave him a victory in the Harry Hammond Invitational, a major championship on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour, Aug. 11.

   The Harry Hammond is a tournament of champions of sorts with invitations going out to players who finished in first or second place in a Philly Junior Tour event over the last two years.

   The tournament is named for Harry Hammond, a Master PGA professional who was the co-owner of Penn Oaks until selling the course a couple of years ago. When it comes to advocating for junior golf in the Philadelphia area, there is Harry Hammond and then there is everybody else.

   There is a scholarship aspect to the Harry Hammond as players are encouraged to write an essay with results of the scholarship announced later. There are only boys 16-to-18 and girls 16-to-18 divisions, so the tournament is geared toward players who are planning for higher education.

   Conestoga senior Corinne McReynolds, who helped the Pioneers capture the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall, matched par with a 71 to run away with the victory in the girls 16-to-18 division by seven shots.

   Sheftic, the son of Mark Sheftic, the director of instruction at Sunnybrook Golf Club, was a District One Class AAA qualifier for the Trojans last fall.

   Sheftic was coming off a tie for fifth place with a solid 1-over 72 a day earlier in the Junior Tour Championship at Chester Valley Golf Club.

   It turned out to be perfect preparation for the challenging layout at Penn Oaks, located where Thornbury Township, Delaware County meets Thornbury Township, Chester County along Route 202.

   Sheftic opened the back nine at Penn Oaks with a birdie at the 10^th hole, then ripped off consecutive birdies at 12, 13 and 14 before adding birdies at 16 and 18 to finish out a masterful 2-under 69 that gave him a three-shot victory over Fleetwood senior Cameron Peffel.

   Sheftic also had nine pars on his scorecard.

   Peffel, who finished in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State’s White Course as a sophomore in the fall of 2024, made birdies at the seventh, 15^th and 18^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, including a stretch of five straight pars from 10 through 14, as he earned runnerup honors with a 1-over 72.

   A couple of Wilmington, Del. guys, Quinn Marshall, a senior at the Wilmington Friends School, and Josh Mohn, a senior at St. Mark’s, shared third place as each finished a shot behind Peffel with a 2-over 73.

   Marshall, a top-20 finisher in the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championship at Baywood Greens in May, made back-to-back birdies at the 11^th and 12^th holes and had 12 pars on his card. Marshall had a pair of streaks of five pars in a row from five through nine and again in the final five holes of his round.

   Mohn, who capped his junior season by finishing in third place in the DIAA Championship at Baywood Greens in the spring, made birdies at the 10^th and 17^th holes and had 12 pars on his card, including a string of five straight pars from 11 through 15.

   Malvern Prep senior Colby Komancheck, one of the Inter-Ac League’s top returning players, headed a group of five players who finished in a tie for fifth place, each posting a 3-over 74.

   Komancheck, a top-five finisher in the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac’s individual championship in each of his first three seasons with the Friars, capped his junior season by claiming the individual title in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) Championship at Radley Run Country Club.

   Rounding out the group at 3-over were Souderton senior Chase Andrews, a District One Class AAA qualifier a year ago, Cumberland Valley senior Carson Will, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier a year ago, Brayden Hughes of Hockessin, Del., and Lenape High senior Ravi Gohel, who had been one of the hottest players on the Philly Junior Tour heading into the Harry Hammond.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the boys 16-to-18 division was the trio of Logan Hyndman, a Newtown resident and a senior on the golf team at The Pennington School, David Dempsey of Franklinville, N.J. and Chris Cipollone, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Haverford High last fall, as each recorded a 4-over 75.

   Conestoga’s McReynolds made birdies at the seventh, 10^th, 16^th and 18^th holes and had 10 pars on her scorecard in finishing at the top of the leaderboard in the girls 16-to-18 division with her even-par 71.

   McReynolds had a solid summer and was coming off a tie for eighth place a day earlier in the Junior Tour Championship, which was shortened to nine holes for the girls by stormy weather.

   Exeter senior Giulia Weisser, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in each of her first three seasons of scholastic golf, was McReynolds’ closest pursuer as she made birdies at the sixth and 18^th holes and had nine pars on her card to earn runnerup honors with a 7-over 78.

   Clearview senior Stella Bernardi made a birdie at the 16^th hole and had 11 pars on her card, including a stretch of six consecutive pars from 10 through 15, as she finished a shot behind Weisser in third place with a 79.

   Harriton junior Megan Choi, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in each of her first two seasons of scholastic golf, finished a shot behind Stella Bernardi in fourth place with an 80.

   Choi had lost in a playoff to Valerie Danby for the overall girls title in the Junior Tour Championship a day earlier at Chester Valley.

   Megan Tyhanic of Little Egg Harbor, N.J. and Emily Maurer of Mount Laurel, N.J. shared fifth place, each recording an 83.

   Clearview senior Lydia Bernard, Stella Bernardi’s sister – twins maybe? – finished in seventh place with an 84.

   Indian River junior Ellie Walls, who capped her sophomore season by finishing in third place in the DIAA Championship at Baywood Greens, and Mariana Walker, who wrapped up her scholastic career at Council Rock North last fall, finished in a tie for eighth place, each landing on 85.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the girls 16-to-18 division was Anna Firko, who wrapped up her scholastic career at Concord in the spring, as she finished in 10^th place with an 88.

   Firko, who will attend Thomas Jefferson, a Division II school in Philadelphia, and play golf for the Rams, was the winner of the girls division in the Harry Hammond a year ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dang matches par at Paxon Hollow with a 71 to capture a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   Helmut Dang of Newtown Square matched par with a 71 at Paxon Hollow Country Club, the classic layout in Marple Township, to capture a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division Aug. 6^th.

   Dang, who has been solid all summer long, made birdies at the first, seventh and 11^th holes and had 12 pars on his scorecard, including five consecutive pars from three through seven. Dang toured the outgoing nine at Paxon Hollow in 1-under-par 34.

   Dang was coming off a runnerup finish a day earlier in a Philly Junior Tour stop at Medford Village Country Club.

   Bobby Stefanski, another Newtown Square guy, made a birdie at the ninth hole, went back-to-back with birdies at 12 and 13 and added another birdie at the par-5 finishing hole as he finished a shot behind Dang in second place with a 1-over 72.

   Stefanski had nine pars on his card, including six straight pars to begin his round. His three birdies on the back nine enabled Stefanski to tour Paxon Hollow’s incoming nine in even-par 36.

   Aidan Maguire of Blue Bell made birdies at the first, fifth,11^th and 14^th holes and had 10 pars on his card as he took third place with a 3-over 74.

   Declan Mayo of Chadds Ford took fourth place with a 75 and Jack Lobley, a Gladwyne resident and a sophomore on the golf team at The Shipley School, was fifth with a 76.

   The trio of Jake Julian of Malvern, Alex Salata of Devon and Jack Burke of Bryn Mawr finished in a tie for sixth place, each posting a 77.

   Lucas Shank of West Chester took ninth place with a 78 and another West Chester guy, Owen Ciesielka, a sophomore on the golf team at Malvern Prep, rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished 10^th with a 79.

   Only eight shots separated first place from 10^th in a very competitive 13-to-15 age group.

   Luciano Follo made it a sweep of the boys divisions for the Newtown Square contingent as he made a birdie at the 16^th hole and had 14 pars on his scorecard, including a stretch of seven straight pars from nine through 15, as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division with a 2-over 73.

   A couple of seniors on the Garnet Valley golf team, Jack Ferm, a District One Class AAA qualifier a year ago, and Jack Yantosh headed a group of four players tied for second at 4-over 75, two shots behind Follo.

   Ferm made birdies at the second and 14^th holes and had 10 pars on his card, including a run of five straight pars from three through seven. Yantosh made a birdie at the 14^th hole,  and had 13 pars on his card, including a run of five straight pars from nine through 13.

   Ferm and Yantosh were joined at 4-over by Vaughn Smartt of Bryn Mawr and Ryan Graham, a senior on the Haverford High golf team.

   Smartt made a birdie at the ninth hole and had 12 pars on his card, including a string of seven straight pars from two through eight. Graham made birdies at the first, sixth, 14^th and 17^th holes and had eight pars on his card.

   The trio of Braydon Dolan, a senior on the Springfield golf team, John Thompson, a junior on the Phoenixville golf team and Alexander Liu of Radnor finished in a tie for sixth place, each signing for a 76.

   Jimmy Warmkessel, who wrapped up his scholastic career last fall by helping Episcopal Academy capture the Inter-Ac League crown, and Jack Kessler of Mickleton, N.J. rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each tallying a 78.

   That made it just five shots separating the top-10 finishers in the 16-to-18 division, a testament to the competitive balance among the older junior players who teed it up at Paxon Hollow.

   The best score among the girls at Paxon Hollow came out of the 13-to-15 division as Mia DeCarlo of Glen Mills made a birdie at the sixth hole and had 12 pars on her scorecard, including a string of six straight pars from nine through 14, as she carded a solid 8-over 79.

   DeCarlo was the winner of the Sam Penecale Scoring Average Award while competing in the girls 12-and-under division in 2025.

   Olivia Kirmayer, a sophomore on the Downingtown East golf team, had four pars on her card, three of them coming on Paxon Hollow’s back nine, as she earned runnerup honors with an 87.

   Allison Choi of Penn Valley had six pars on her card as she finished in third place with a 95.

   Eliza Cahill of Wayne took fourth place 103, Gian Patel of Malvern was fifth with a 106, Olivia Cahill, another member of Wayne’s Team Cahill, was sixth with a 108 and Liana Patel, another member of Malvern’s Team Patel finished seventh with a 110.

   Rounding out the field in the 13-to-15 division was Mae Racowski of Newtown Square as she finished in eighth place with a 120.

   Reagan Miller, a junior on the Lampeter-Strasburg golf team, was the lone entry in the 16-to-18 division and she had five pars on her scorecard, four of them on the incoming nine at Paxon Hollow, on her way to an 88.

   Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville made birdies at the first and seventh holes and had five pars on his scorecard, making consecutive pars at two, three and four, as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with an even-par 35.

   Charpentier has often contended for top honors in a very competitive bunch of boys nine-holers this season.

   James Wilson of Wilmington, Del. made a birdie on the sixth hole and had six pars on his card, opening his round with three straight pars, as he earned runnerup honors with a 2-over 37.

   Ryan Kaye of Lansdale had five pars on his card, rattling off five straight pars from the third through the seventh holes, as he finished in third place with a 39.

   A quartet of players finished in a tie for fourth place with 41s, including Grayson Wright of Philadelphia, Michael Antolino of Richboro, Nolan English of Villanova and Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr.

   Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. took eighth place with a 42 and Cameron Persons of Collegeville finished ninth with a 44.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division was Bennett Choi of Chesterbrook as he finished in 10^th place with a 45.

   Julie Prickitt of Ambler finished up her round with back-to-back pars at the eighth and ninth holes as she bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a 52.

   Victoria Leonard of Merion Station earned runnerup honors with a 63 and Katelyn Cunningham of Havertown made a par on the eighth hole as she rounded out the field in the girls 12-and-under division by finishing in third place with a 66.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gohel stays hot with a second straight Philly Junior Tour victory, this time at Medford Village

 

   Ravi Gohel of Mount Laurel, N.J. got it in red figures for the second time in as many days as his 3-under-par 69 at Medford Village Country Club in Medford, N.J. earned him a second straight Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division Aug. 5^th.

   Gohel was coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory a day earlier in which he carded a sparkling 4-under 67 at Rancocas Golf Club.

   Gohel carried the momentum from that round right to Medford Village as he went back-to-back with birdies at the fourth and fifth holes, added another birdie on the outgoing nine at eight and made his fourth birdie of the day at 17.

   The birdie binge early in the round enabled Gohel to tour the front nine at Medford Village in 2-under 34.

   Gohel had 13 pars on his scorecard, including a string of eight straight pars from the ninth through the 16^th holes.

   David Dempsey of Franklinville, N.J. jump-started his round with an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole, added a birdie at 15 and had 15 pars on his card, including six consecutive pars from nine through 14, on his way to a 1-under 71 that left him two shots behind Gohel in second place.

   Dempsey toured the incoming nine at Medford Village in 1-under 35.

   Vaughn Smartt of Bryn Mawr made birdies at the fifth, seventh and 17^th holes and had 12 pars on his card, including a run of six straight pars from 11 through 16, as he matched par with a 72 to finish a shot behind Dempsey in third place.

   Mason Hedrick of Mickleton, N.J. took fourth place with a 1-over 73, Evan Hahn of Berlin, N.J. was fifth with a 74, Max Petrakis of Marlton, N.J. was sixth with a 77 and Nicholas Fargnoli, another Mickleton, N.J. guy, was seventh with a 78.

   Landen Hedrick, another member of Team Hedrick out of Mickleton, N.J., finished in eighth place with a 79. Mason and Landen Hedrick are both Class of 2028 guys, so twins maybe?

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Parker Kriews of Manahawkin, N.J. and Benjamin Perticari of West Deptford, N.J. as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each signing for an 81.

   Brody Campbell, a Plymouth Meeting resident and a sophomore on the Malvern Prep golf team, made birdies at the fourth and 15^th holes and had 11 pars on his scorecard, closing out his round with consecutive pars at 16, 17 and 18, as he captured a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division with a 3-over 75.

   Helmut Dang of Newtown Square, a frequent visitor at or near the top of the Philly Junior Tour leaderboards this summer, made birdies at the third, fifth and seventh holes and had nine pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 4-over 76.

   Dang’s three early birdies enabled him to tour the outgoing nine at Medford Village in 2-under 34.

   Carter Bove of Kennett Square and Grayson McCann of Downingtown shared third place, each tallying a 78.

   Bove made a birdie at the fifth hole and had 10 pars on his card, including six consecutive pars from 11 through 16. McCann made birdies at the fifth, seventh and 16^th holes and had eight pars on his card, opening his round with four straight pars on his way to a 1-under 35 on Medford Village’s outgoing nine.

   Chrisian Speitel of Haddonfield, N.J. and Benjamin Lear of West Chester shared fifth place, each recording a 79 and Max Charbonneau of Wayne and Ryan Piccoli of Berlin, N.J. finished in a tie for seventh, each registering an 80.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Jack Venne of Moorestown, N.J. and Fran Kerr of Mullica Hill, N.J. as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each posting an 81.

   Only six shots separated the top-10 finishers in a very competitive group in the 13-to-15 division.

   Morgan Tyhanic of Little Egg Harbor, N.J. had the best score among the girls as she made a birdie at the sixth hole and had six pars on her scorecard, closing out her round with consecutive pars at 16, 17 and 18 on her way to an 84 that gave her a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 16-to-18 division.

   Emily Renouf of Cinnaminson, N.J. had seven pars on her card, including consecutive pars at the fourth, fifth and sixth holes, as she earned runnerup honors with a 93.

   Olivia Bond of Del Haven, N.J. made a par at the sixth hole as she rounded out a short field in the 16-to-18 division by finishing in third place with a 114.

   Only two shots separated the top three finishers in the 13-to-15 division with Molly Wagner, a Newark, Del. resident and a junior on the St. Mark’s golf team, coming out on top as she had seven pars on her scorecard, including consecutive pars at the third, fourth and fifth holes, to claim the Philly Junior Tour victory with an 85.

   Mallie Heenan of Ocean City, N.J. made a birdie at the sixth hole and had four pars on her card, all on Medford Village’s incoming nine, as she finished a shot behind Wagner in second with an 86.

   Hailey Cousins of Port Republic, N.J. had 10 pars on her card, including a run of five straight pars from the third through the seventh holes, as she finished a shot behind Heenan and just two shots behind Wagner in third place with an 87.

   Emma Cowan of Moorestown, N.J. took fourth place with a 98 and Kyla Fuente of Medford, N.J. rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished fifth with a 120.

   It was a second win in as many days for Samuel Karas of Blue Bell as he made birdies at the second and seventh holes and had six pars on his scorecard, including a string of four straight pars from three through six, to best the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with an even-par 36.

   Karas was coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory a day earlier with a 1-over 36 at Rancocas Golf Club.

   Grayson Wright of Philadelphia made a birdie at the third hole and had three pars on his card as he finished five shots behind Karas in second place with a 5-over 41.

   Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr made a birdie at the third hole and had five pars on his card, including four consecutive pars from four through seven, as he finished in third place with a 43.

   Muego had been the runnerup to Karas a day earlier at Rancocas.

   Michael Antolino of Richboro took fourth place with a 47, Krishen Arora of Harrison Township, N.J. was fifth with a 48 and Kamran Patel of Moorestown, N.J. rounded out the field in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished sixth with a 54.