The sun sets on Ryan's amateur career with loss on 19th hole to Moto in U.S. Amateur at Merion

 

   As the sun was setting on the historic East Course at Merion Golf Club Wednesday evening, the sun was setting on the amateur career of Norristown’s Josh Ryan.

   Ryan had emerged as an early star of the 126^th U.S. Amateur at Merion, his brilliant 5-under-par 65 at the East Course Tuesday earning him medalist honors by two shots in qualifying for match play.

   But Ryan was never quite able to recapture the magic of Tuesday as he fell on the 19^th hole to Japan’s Taishi Moto, a junior at Arizona.

   This one was all about grit, as match play so often is, and Moto, the last survivor of a bulky playoff early Wednesday morning in which 16 players were vying for the final 11 spots in the match-play bracket, might have had a little more of that in the end.

   The momentum kept shifting back and forth on the incoming nine at the East Course and it looked like it had shifted finally in Moto’s favor when Ryan couldn’t get a four-footer for par to fall at the tough par-3 17^th hole, giving Moto a 1-up lead heading to the 18^th tee.

   But just like that, the momentum shifted once more as Moto, who had snap-hooked his drive on the 16^th hole to help Ryan even the match, did it again, this time so severely that he was out of bounds.

   Ryan had life again as Moto’s mistake enabled Ryan to even the match and send it to extra holes.

   The match had started late in the afternoon with Ryan pull-hooking his tee shot out of bounds. It ended with Ryan pulling his tee shot into the left rough. This time it was Moto who took advantage of his opponent’s mistake, making a par at the East Course’s short opener.

   It will be Moto, who helped Arizona reach the NCAA semifinals at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. as a sophomore in the spring and is No. 57 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), who will take on Gaven Lane, a senior at Oklahoma State who helped the Cowboys reach the semifinals at La Costa and is a notch below Moto at No. 58 in the WAGR, in a second-round match at 7:15 a.m. Thursday.

   Lane of Argyle, Texas had advanced with a 3 and 2 victory over mid-amateur Grady Brame Jr. of Hammond, La., who had teamed with former Southeastern Louisiana teammate Lawrence Allen to capture the title in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at the Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. in the spring.

   Ryan never seemed as sharp as he had been in Tuesday’s second round of match play, although when he slam-dunked his chip for eagle at the par-5 fourth hole, he grabbed a 1-up lead.

   But he was unable to build any momentum from that moment.

   Moto managed to make four from up against the collar at the impossible par-4 fifth hole to even the match again.

   It stayed that way until the par-3 ninth hole when Ryan sent his tee shot to the middle of the green with the pin in the front. His three-putt bogey gave Moto a 1-up lead heading to the 10^th tee.

   Once again, though, it seemed Ryan seized the momentum as he drained a tough seven-footer for birdie at the short par-4 10^th hole to even the match and then watched Moto dump his approach at the short 11^th, the Bobby Jones hole, into the creek in front of the green. A par there was good enough for a win for Ryan as he took a 1-up lead.

   Moto made a tough 15-footer for birdie at the par-4 12^th hole to even the match and dropped in an 18-foot birdie putt right on top of Ryan draining a 20-foot birdie try of his own. It was all even going to the East Course’s final five holes.

   Ryan couldn’t get it up and down from a back bunker to an impossible pin at the 14^th hole and now he was 1-down with four holes to play.

   Moto’s snap hook off the tee at the 16^th hole enabled Ryan to even the match heading for the 17^th tee.

   Neither player found the green at the tough par-3 17^th hole, playing all the way back at 246 yards. Moto was in the right rough just short of a greenside bunker and chipped it six feet past the hole. Ryan was in the left greenside bunker and blasted it to four feet.

   Ultimately, it was Moto’s make and Ryan’s miss there that went a long way to deciding the outcome.

   Moto made a mess of the 18^th hole, but his 1-up lead meant only that the match was going to a 19^th hole, where he ultimately prevailed.

   It was a disappointing end to what has been a breathtaking conclusion to Ryan’s amateur career.

   He let it be known that he was planning to turn pro during the Philadelphia Open at Lancaster Country Club, where he lost in a playoff to the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s best player, Drue Nicholas, the former Drexel standout.

   Ryan said he would remain an amateur if got a chance to tee it up in the U.S. Amateur, a home game at Merion and Philadelphia Country Club for Ryan, who represented Norristown High on the golf course while doing his school work via the Commonwealth Connections Academy.

   He got the opportunity with a solid showing in Final Qualifying at Llanerch Country Club and then backed that up with a really impressive three-shot victory in the Pennsylvania Amateur at Oakmont Country Club, the renowned Henry Fownes design in the Pittsburgh suburbs.

   Claiming medalist honors in the U.S. Amateur and that 5-under 65 at the East Course Tuesday will have to serve as the icing on the cake.

   Ryan appeared much more comfortable in stroke play Tuesday than he did during his match with Moto Wednesday. Maybe sometimes in match play you start playing the other guy instead of just playing the golf course.

   But this last month should prove to be a springboard for the 22-year-old Ryan as he embarks on his professional career. The best amateur players in the world were gathered at Merion and Philly Country this week and for two days, Ryan was better than all of them.

   Ryan’s teammate on the Liberty team that lost in a playoff for the final berth to the NCAA Championship at La Costa in the Corvallis Regional, Michael Lugiano, who capped an outstanding scholastic career at Lake Lehman by finishing in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a senior in 2023, advanced to the second round with a 1-up victory over Oklahoma City, Okla. teen Chase Hughes.

   Lugiano captured the individual crown in the Corvallis Regional and did represent Liberty in the NCAA Championship at La Costa as an individual to cap a really strong sophomore season with the Flames.

   Hughes was coming off a tie for second place in the Texas heat in the Boys Junior PGA Championship at PGA Frisco, the PGA of America headquarters in Frisco, Texas.

   Lugiano’s second-round opponent Thursday morning is Nevill Ruiter of The Netherlands, who wrapped up his college career at the College of Charleston in the spring. Ruiter advanced with a 3 and 2 victory over William Lisle of Hong Kong.

   The second-round matches are teeing off as I wrap up this post. The winners will square off in the round of 16 Thursday afternoon. Weather permitting – and it seems to be of a mind to permit – only eight quarterfinalists will be left standing when the sun sets on the East Course in the Ardmore section of Haverford Township.

   I’ll figure out some juicy round-of-16 match to follow Thursday afternoon.

   The match of the day Wednesday pitted Florida phenom Miles Russell, No. 4 in the WAGR, against Oklahoma senior Ryder Cowan, an Edmond, Okla. home boy who shared low-amateur honors in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island in June and is No. 8 in the WAGR.

   Russell played the weekend at Shinnecock as well and his Pennsylvania tour began with a runnerup finish in the U.S. Junior Amateur last month at Saucon Valley Country Club.

   Russell’s lofty ranking has already earned him a spot on the United States Walker Cup team that will take on Great Britain & Ireland at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland next month. Cowan is hoping to be one of the USGA Team Selection Committee’s picks at the conclusion of this U.S. Amateur to join Russell on captain Nathan Smith’s U.S. squad at Lahinch.

   Cowan, who helped the Sooners capture the team title in the Corvallis Regional in the spring, had the early advantage over Russell Wednesday, but the little left-hander caught him with birdies at the 10^th and 12^th holes.

   Russell had some issues at the first of the East Course’s finishing quarry holes, the par-4 16^th, and Cowan took a 1-up lead to the par-3 17^th.

   Cowan’s tee shot at the 17^th hole wasn’t far from the pin, but stuck in the deep rough left of the wicker-basket topped stick. He left his first try in the thick stuff, but then bumped another chip just on the green and watched it roll right in the hole for an unlikely par.

   When Russell missed his par putt, it was over, Cowan claiming a 2 and 1 victory.

   Cowan will take on Canadian Justin Matthews, who wrapped up his college career at Charlotte in the spring, in a second-round match. Matthews reached the second round with a 4 and 3 victory over Caleb Bond of Williamston, Mich., who wrapped up his college career at Michigan State in the spring.

   It’s been 10 years since I got a chance to watch Stewart Hagestad, a mid-am rookie, rally from 4-down with five holes to play to defeat Scott Harvey on the 37^th hole and capture the U.S. Mid-Amateur crown at Stonewall’s Old Course.

   In the ensuing decade, Hagestad has won two more U.S. Mid-Am titles and played on five straight winning U.S. Walker Cup sides. He would like to make the U.S. team for a sixth time.

   Hagestad claimed a 5 and 3 victory over Vanderbilt’s Ryan Downes, a junior from Longmeadow, Mass. in the opening round Wednesday. Downes had helped the Commodores reach the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at La Costa.

   Hagestad will take on Drake Henry, the incoming Brigham Young freshman from Henderson, Nev. who knocked off William Love, an Atlanta, Ga. native who wrapped up his college career at Duke in the spring, 2 and 1.

   Henry had matched the competitive course record at the East Course with his 6-under 64 in the opening round of stroke play, although it was barely noticed since it wasn’t completed until he returned to the course early Tuesday morning and birdied his final two holes, the ninth and 10^th, to finish off the spectacular round.

   There was a little grumbling when Hagestad was picked for the U.S. Walker Cup team that defeated GB&I a year ago at the iconic Cypress Point Club on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula.

   But not only has Hagestad proven that, at 35, he still has the goods, he has been a tremendous mentor for several rounds of talented U.S. youngsters.

   This promises to be a very young U.S, team at Lahinch and Hagestad may prove to be more valuable than ever to captain Smith when the rabid Irish golf fans come out loud and proud for the home team.

   This post is just the tip of the iceberg from a wild and crazy opening round of match play Wednesday.

   If you’re a golf fan in the Philadelphia area, you would be wise to take the opportunity to watch some ridiculously talented players going head-to-head on the ridiculously challenging canvas that is the Hugh Wilson design (with some finishing touches from “greenkeeper” William Flynn) at Merion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minio is par for the course at Raven's Claw as he captures a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   Preston Minio, a talented 13-year-old from Lansdale, matched par with a 71 at Raven’s Claw Golf Club, where Upper Pottsgrove Township meets Limerick Township in northwestern Montgomery County, to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division July 22^nd.

   Minio made birdies at the second, fifth and 14^th holes and had 12 pars on his scorecard.

   Cole Jacobson of Phoenixville was right on Minio’s heels as he made birdies at the ninth, 14^th and 17^th and had 10 pars on his card, including five straight pars to finish out his round, as he earned runnerup honors with a 2-over 73.

   Daniel Ross, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Souderton last fall, and Bobby Stefanski of Newtown Square shared third place, each posting a 3-over 74.

   Ross had a steady round, making a birdie at the 11^th hole and registering 14 pars, including five straight pars to finish up his round. Bobby Stefanski made a birdie at the seventh hole, sent back-to-back with birdies at 13 and 14 and had 11 pars on his card.

   Kaycen Subbio of Blue Bell took fifth place with a 75, Helmut Dang of Newtown Square was sixth with a 76 and Rylan Foust of Exton and Carter Bove of Kennett Square finished in a tie for seventh place, each tallying a 78.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was the pair of Nathan Barker of Malvern and Nolan Johnson of West Chester as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each signing for an 80.

   Billy Nikolaidis, a junior on the Muhlenberg golf team, and Mason Matlack of Boyertown finished in a tie atop the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division as each registered a 1-over 72.

   Nikolaidis, on a midsummer roll at the time, made birdies at the 10^th, 14^th and 18^th holes and had 12 pars on his scorecard, opening his round with nine straight pars. Matlack had birdies at the third and sixth holes and had 14 pars on his card, including a string of eight consecutive pars from 10 through 17.

   Joey Bilotta, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Boyertown last fall, and Cole Henning, a senior on the Souderton golf team, finished in a tie for third place, each ending up a shot behind Nikolaidis and Matlack with a 2-over 73.

   Bilotta really heated up on the outgoing nine at Raven’s Claw, going back-to-back with birdies at the third and fourth holes and then adding birdies at seven and nine while touring the front nine in 2-under 34. He finished with nine pars on his card.

   Henning got out of the gate quickly with a birdie at the first hole, went back-to-back with birdies at seven and eight and added another birdie to close out his round at 18. Henning had nine pars on his card, including a run of six straight pars from the 12^th through the 17^th holes.

   Tim Croyle, a senior on the Pennridge golf team, and Declan Henry, a junior on the Souderton golf team, shared fifth place, each carding a 4-over 75. Looks like the Big Red are going to field a pretty strong team in the upcoming scholastic season.

   Jack Ferm, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Garnet Valley last fall, took seventh place with a 77, Gus Stoltzfus, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Avon Grove last fall, was eighth with a 78, and Chase Kuech, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Upper Moreland last fall, finished ninth with an 82.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was the pair of Justin Gatti, a senior on the Bishop Shanahan golf team, and Vaughn Smartt of Bryn Mawr as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each recording an 83.

   The best score among the girls came out of the 13-to-15 division as Lila Collingwood, a Collegeville resident and a sophomore on the Villa Maria Academy golf team, had six pars on her scorecard, including three straight pars at the fifth, sixth and seventh holes, as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory with an 86.

   Sara Fanelli, a junior on the Radnor golf team, had three pars on her card, opening her round with back-to-back pars at the first and second holes, as she earned runnerup honors with a 94.

   Fanelli was looking for some competitive reps at a Raven’s Claw layout that has been the site for the opening round of the District One Championship for the girls.

   Kate Benson, a sophomore on the Great Valley golf team, and Jue Autumn of Wayne finished in a tie for third place, each tallying a 102.

   Benson made back-to-back pars at the fifth and sixth holes. Autumn made a birdie at the 14^th hole and added a par at 18.

   Gian Patel of Malvern took fifth place with a 108, Brooke Platt of Blue Bell and Liana Patel, another member of Malvern’s Team Patel, finished in a tie for sixth, each recording a 112.

   Olivia Rosen, a junior on the Great Valley golf team, rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in eighth place with a 144.

   Kallista Spence of Phoenixville had five pars on her scorecard, including three straight pars at the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th holes, as she finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division with a 102.

   Faridah Ismaila, a junior on the Great Valley golf team, had three pars on her card, going back-to-back with pars at the second and third holes, as she earned runnerup honors with a 104.

   Chloe Berish, a sophomore on the Owen J. Roberts golf team, rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as she made a par on the 16^th hole on her way to a 116 that left her in third place.

   Jack Kolmer of Wayne made a birdie on the fourth hole and had eight pars on a very clean scorecard, including five straight pars to finish up his round, as he bested the field of 12-and-under nine-holets with a sparkling 1-under 35.

   Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville and Kash Gray of Eagleville shared third place, each registering a 2-over 38.

   Charpentier made a birdie on the seventh hole and had six pars on his card, including a string of four straight pars from three through six. Gray had bookend birdies at the first and ninth holes and had four pars on his card.

   Andrew DElia of Clarks Summit and Nolan English of Villanova shared fourth place, each posting a 39 and Sid Joshi of Coopersburg and Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr finished in a tie for sixth, each carding a 40.

   Ryan Stefanski, another member of Newtown Square’s Team Stefanski, and Grayson Wright of Philadelphia shared eighth place, each tallying a 41. Wright was coming off a victory in a Philly Junior Tour Nine-Hole Series event at Foxchase Golf Club a day earlier.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division was Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. as he finished in 10^th place with a 42.

   Addison Sabatini of West Chester edged Lillian Fry of Pennsburg by a shot with a 49 to finish first in the girls 12-and-under division.

   Rounding out a short field in the girls 12-and-under division, Fry made a par at the fourth hole as she finished in second place with a 50.

 

Ryan unleashes a brilliant 65 at Merion to claim medalist honors in U.S. Amateur

 

   HAVERFORD – Add the name of Josh Ryan to the considerable golf lore at Merion Golf Club’s East Course, the Grande Dame of the Main Line where golf history oozes up out of the ground.

   The kid from Norristown painted a golf masterpiece 10 miles from where he grew up with a scintillating 5-under-par 65 Tuesday that gave him medalist honors in qualifying for match play by two shots in the 126^th U.S. Amateur Championship.

   Ryan had opened with a 3-under 67 Monday at Philadelphia Country Club and his second round at Merion left him with an 8-under 132 total.

   But this second round, at the fabled Merion, this was something special.

   He had plenty of support, too, with his family out there and a gang of Norristown-Plymouth types from The 1912 Club who came out to cheer on their favorite son. And boy, did he give them something to cheer about.

   “It’s awesome,” Ryan told the USGA website about getting a chance to shine in a home game. “There’s a lot of people who’ve never seen me play who were able to (watch me) play this week. So … it was super special. (Some) guys took a bus over here this morning.

   “There’s no experience like staying in my own bed, eating my mom’s food. And just excited to be (playing) my style of golf.”

   I stopped being surprised by Josh Ryan a long time ago, right about the time when he won the title in the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s R. Jay Sigel Match Play Championship at the Country Club of York in 2020, a few weeks after capturing the first of his first three straight crowns in the Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ Championship.

   The Sigel Match Play isn’t a junior event, it is a PAGA major championship and Ryan defeated Rick Stimmel, who has been making the match-play bracket in U.S. Senior Amateurs lately. Ryan was 16.

   Couldn’t hang around for the post-round press conference, but I got all I wanted to see on the golf course. Those guys and gals who came over from The 1912 Club may never witness a better round of golf live than the one they saw Tuesday. It was really something special.

   The 22-year-old Ryan drilled his approach at the opening hole to 10 feet and dropped the birdie putt.

   Ryan’s drive at the par-5 second hole found the left rough and he had to gouge it out, advancing it maybe 100 yards. His 7-iron third shot landed past the pin and spun back into the hole for an eagle that electrified the crowd and, I’m quite certain, sent a collective “Whoa” through the compact East Course layout in the Ardmore section of Haverford Township.

   Ryan’s caddy, Liam McFadden, a member of a pretty golf team at The Haverford School last fall, informed me the shot came from 173 yards away.

   Ryan had a pretty look at birdie at the par-3 third, but his 7-foot putt slid by.

   Forced to lay up at the par-5 fourth hole after driving it in the rough, Ryan left himself three feet behind the hole with his approach. It was a downhill slider, but Ryan got it to fall. He was 4-under for four holes and suddenly very much in contention for medalist honors.

   A drive in the right rough led to a bogey at the par-4 fifth hole, which has looked like the hardest hole on the golf course in the two days of stroke play.

   A perfectly executed chunk and run from the right rough after another wayward drive enabled him to save par at the par-4 sixth hole.

   Ryan settled for pars until the Bobby Jones hole, the short, par-4 11^th, where he rolled in a 10-footer for birdie.

   His approach at the par-12 hole, settled on the fringe, but up against the collar and led to a three-putt that dropped him back to 3-under for the round.

   There was some chatter in the gallery that Ryan’s group had been put on the clock, kind of curious since it had been held up by the last couple of groups that started off of the 11^th tee in the morning wave.

   Ryan responded by ripping off three straight birdies that pretty much put away the race for medalist.

   Ryan drained a 20-foot birdie putt from the right front of the green at the short, par-3 13^th hole. His playing partners, Aidan Tran, a recent Georgia Tech graduate from Fresno, Calif., and Englishman Sam Easterbrook, a senior on the Purdue golf team, dropped their birdie putts right on top of Ryan’s, giving the crowd that gathers around the green in close proximity to the clubhouse quite a show.

   Ryan then stuffed his approach at the par-4 14^th hole to four feet and made the birdie putt. Clearly feeling it now, he hit it to five feet at the par-4 15^th hole and converted that birdie try. He was 6-under for the day, 9-under for two days. It was over.

   Ryan grinded out pars on the next two holes. By the 17^th tee, his group was waiting for the last group of the afternoon wave to tee off at 11, so they had solved any slow-play issues.

   A 64 would have been nice. It is the competitive course record at Merion (the legendary Lee Mackey did it in the opening round of the 1950 U.S. Open and proceeded to shoot 81 in round 2), a total matched in the opening round when Drake Harvey, an incoming freshman at Brigham Young from Henderson, Nev. returned to the course Tuesday morning and made birdies at the ninth and 10^th holes to complete a 6-under 64.

   But Ryan had met his most important goals. He was in the match-play bracket and he was the qualifying medalist, barring an 18^th hole meltdown.

   He played it smart, driving it in the right rough as far away from the out-of-bounds stakes on the left side as possible. He laid up to 100 yards and then hit it the back of the green.

   Ryan still had a 25-foot par putt to match Harvey’s 64, but he made sure to get the two-putt for his third bogey of an otherwise masterful performance.

   Fun fact: Ryan finished in a tie for fourth place in the Pennsylvania Amateur at Merion as a 17-year-old in 2021. The player with whom he shared fourth place that week, Jimmy Ellis, then a Pittsburgh guy who has relocated to Jacksonville Beach, Fla., was the medalist in qualifying for the U.S. Amateur two years ago with an otherworldly second-round 61 at the Chaska Town Course, the alternative qualifying course for the U.S. Am at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.

   You could see this coming.

   Ryan fell in a playoff with Merion Golf Club’s Drue Nicholas in a playoff for the Philadelphia Open crown last month at Lancaster Country Club, a William Flynn gem. It was the second straight Philly Open title for Nicholas, an Egg Harbor Township, N.J. native who starred at Drexel.

   Ryan punched his ticket to the U.S. Amateur with a solid 2-under 69 in Final Qualifying at nearby Llanerch Country Club.

   There couldn’t possibly be better preparation for a U.S. Amateur at Merion than three rounds in the Pennsylvania Amateur at Oakmont Country Club, the Henry Fownes design in suburban Pittsburgh that just might be the toughest test in America.

   Ryan passed that test with flying colors, capturing a Pennsylvania Amateur crown by three shots.

   Ryan awaits a first-round opponent in match play.

   Several players still have to finish their second round and that will be followed by what looks like a bulky playoff, something along the lines of 17 guys vying for the last 11 spots in the match-play bracket.

   Ryan capped his college career at Liberty by helping the Flames capture the Conference USA title. Liberty lost in a playoff to San Diego in the NCAA Corvallis Regional for the final ticket to the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

   Ryan will be joined in the match-play bracket by his Liberty teammate Michael Lugiano, who starred scholastically at Lake Lehman and was the runnerup in the Pennsylvania Amateur a year ago at Huntsville Golf Club, his home course.

   Lugiano did represent Liberty in the NCAA Championship at La Costa by capturing the individual title in the Corvallis Regional.

   Lugiano added a solid 1-under 69 at Philadelphia Country Club Tuesday to his opening round of 1-over 71 at Merion that left him in the group tied for 16^th place at even-par 140.

   Ryan’s closest pursuer was Tyler Watts of Huntsville, Ala. and No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Watts will join the program at Southeastern Conference power Tennessee in a few weeks.

   Watts announced his presence as a force to be reckoned with in amateur golf last summer when he defeated a field of top collegians in the Sunnehanna Amateur, an Elite Amateur Series event played at Sunnehanna Country Club, an A.W. Tillinghast gem in Johnstown.

   Watts ripped off a 5-under 65 of his own Tuesday at Philly Country after opening with a solid 1-under 69 at Merion Monday for a 6-under 134 total that left him two shots behind Ryan.

   Henry added a 2-over 72 at Philly Country to his sizzling 6-under 64 in the opening round at Merion to finish in a tie for third place with Germany’s Finn Koelle, a senior at Washington, each landing on 4-under 136.

   Koelle had opened with a sparkling 5-under 65 Monday at Merion and added a 1-over 71 in his second round Tuesday at Philly Country.

   It was a frustrating day for Nicholas and Nick Gross, the former Downingtown West standout who is a junior at Alabama, as both landed on 3-over 143, one shot out of the playoff for the final spots in the match-play bracket.

   Nicholas added a 2-over 72 at Philly Country to his opening round of 1-over 71 in his opening round at his new home course at Merion.

   Watched Gross’ entire round Monday, a frustrating 3-over 73 that included six birdies.

   A bogey at the 10^th hole at Philly Country dropped Gross, who will turn 20 a little later this month, to 4-over for the two days of stroke play. He made a birdie at the 17^th hole to creep into contention for a spot in the match-play bracket, but came up just short with an even-par 70 that left him at 3-over.

   Easterbrook, Ryan’s playing partner, made a couple of costly late bogeys that left him in that group tied for 71^st place at 2-over 143.

   Aidan Emmerich of Swampscott, Mass. who wrapped up his college career at Temple in the spring, and Logan Paczewski, a scholastic standout at Dallas who will take his last year of college eligibility with La Salle as a graduate student, finished in the group tied for 143^rd place at 6-over 146.

   Emmerich opened with a 3-over 73 at Merion and added a 3-over 73 at Philly Country in Tuesday’s second round. Paczewski opened with a 3-over 73 at Philly Country and added another 3-over 73 at Merion in Tuesday’s second round.

   Eli Spaulding, the Loyola of Maryland junior who captured the BMW Philadelphia Amateur crown at Sunnybrook Golf Club in June, added a 4-over 74 at Merion to his opening round of 1-over 71 at Philly Country for a 5-over 145 total.

   A couple of Inter-Ac League standouts of recent vintage, Patrick Isztwan, who starred at Penn Charter, and Hunter Stetson, who starred at Episcopal Academy, failed to make the match-play bracket.

   Isztwan, the 2017 winner of the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac individual championship as a freshman on his home course at Huntingdon Valley Country Club, bounced back from an opening-round 78 at Philly Country by matching par with a 70 at Merion with a 70 Tuesday for an 8-over 148 total.

   Stetson, the 2021 Bert Linton winner as a sophomore at Bluestone Country Club who is a junior at North Carolina State, added a 7-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round at Merion to his opening round of 6-over 76 at Philly Country for a 13-over 153 total. Stetson plays out of Aronimink Golf Club.

   Charlie Barrickman, who led Unionville to the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall, had opened with a solid 1-over 71 at Merion Monday, but struggled to a 79 Tuesday at Philly Country for a 150 total.

   Barrickman will join the program at Bucknell later this month. Something tells me we haven’t heard the last from GAP’s Junior Player of the Year a year ago.

   Chuck Tragresser, the PIAA Class AAA runnerup as a senior at Franklin Township in 2020, struggled to an 81 at Merion in Tuesday’s second round after opening with a 5-over 75 at Philly Country for a 156 total.

   Philadelphian Hank Krain-Kancher never got it going this week, adding an 83 at Merion Tuesday to his opening-round 85 Monday at Philly Country for a 168 total.

   Krain-Kancher used to show up on Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour leaderboards once upon a time, but I had lost track of him. He got a chance to tee it up at a home U.S. Amateur this week, so the guy can obviously play a little.