McDermott, Yenser share the lead as Pennsylvania Junior Boys' Championship tees off at Hershey

 

   Merion Golf Club’s Brad McDermott and Reading Country Club’s Chase Yenser, the defending champion, each blitzed Hershey Country Club’s East Course with a 6-under-par 65 Monday to grab a share of the lead following the opening round of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s 83^rd Junior Boys’ Championship.

   The tournament is scheduled for a 36-hole windup Tuesday, although last year’s final round was canceled due to extreme heat. While the forecast is for temperatures to reach near 100 Wednesday and Thursday, temperatures in the low 90s might allow for 36 holes Tuesday.

   The winner of the Pennsylvania Junior Boys will earn a spot in the field for the U.S. Junior Amateur, which tees off July 20 at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem.

   At nearby Lebanon Country Club, Wildwood Golf Club’s Alyssa Zhang, a top-three finisher in the PIAA Class AA Championship in her first two seasons at Shady Side Academy, grabbed the lead following the opening round of the PAGA’s 63^rd Junior Girls’ Championship with a 5-under 67.

   The winner of the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship will earn a trip to the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, which tees off July 13 at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C.

   McDermott, coming off a run to the quarterfinals in last week’s Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) Junior Boys’ Championship at Chester Valley Golf Club, wrapped up his scholastic career at Radnor last fall by earning a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship for a second time.

   Starting off the 10^th tee, McDermott started slowly, offsetting a bogey at the 12^th hole with a birdie at 13 and was at even-par standing on the 17^th tee. And then he went off.

   McDermott, who will join the program at Bucknell later this summer, concluded the incoming nine at Hershey East with birdies at the 17^th and 18^th holes. After an eagle at the par-5 first hole, McDermott was suddenly 4-under. McDermott added birdies at the second, third and sixth holes to get it 7-under before a bogey at eight left him at 6-under.

   Yenser has been one of the top junior players in Pennsylvania the last couple of years, capping a standout scholastic career at Daniel Boone by finishing in fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State last fall.

   Yenser, who will join the program at Big 12 power Baylor later this summer, held the lead following the opening round of the Boys Junior PGA Championship at Purdue’s Birck Boileremaker Golf Complex and finished in 19^th place last summer.

   Yenser opened defense of his Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ crown Monday by making birdies on four of his first six holes at one, four, five and six before a bogey at eight slowed his roll a little.

   It was an up-and-down tour of the incoming nine at Hershey East for Yenser as he made birdies at the 10^th and 11^th holes, bogeyed 13, went back-to-back again with birdies at 14 and 15, bogeyed 16 and made another birdie – the ninth of his round – at 17 to join McDermott at 6-under.

   Yenser is trying to become the first repeat winner of the Pennsylvania Junior Boys since Jon Rusk, the general manager at LuLu Country Club these days, did in 1995 and ’96.

   Lurking two shots behind the leaders in third place was Oakmont Country Club’s Carson Kittsley, the two-time reigning PIAA Class AAA champion at Fox Chapel who posted a sparkling 4-under 67.

   South Hills Country Club’s Michael Quallich, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at Baldwin in the fall of 2024, was another shot behind Kittsley in fourth place with a 3-under 68.

   The foursome of the Union League Golf Club at Torresdale’s Logan Cassidy, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep last fall, Dallas Inch, who wrapped up an outstanding scholastic career at Central York with a second straight trip to the Class AAA state tournament and is a USGA/GAP entry, the Country Club of Scranton’s Ben Boyanoski, who helped Scranton Prep capture back-to-back PIAA Class AA team crown in 2024 and again in 2025, and Saucon Valley’s Caleb Walsh, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Southern Lehigh in the fall of 2024, shared fifth place, each signing for a 2-under 69.

   White Manor Country Club’s Logan Turner, who capped an outstanding freshman season at Devon Prep by finishing in a tie for 15^th place in the PIAA Class AA Championship, headed a group of six players who rounded out the top 10 in the Pennsylvania Junior Boys, each landing on 1-under 70.

   A couple of players who had top-10 finishes in last fall’s Class AA state tournament, Annville Cleona’s Benjamin Allwein, playing out of Lebanon Country Club, and Neshannock’s Rocco Bautti, a USGA/Western Pennsylvania entry, were also in the group tied for ninth place at 1-under.

   Also in the group tied at 1-under were The Country Club’s Luke Ferry, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall with Meadville, host Hershey's Carson Hummer, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier with Hershey High last fall who will join the program at West Chester later this summer, and Dane Mohap, who finished in a tie for ninth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship with Nazareth last fall.

   Zhang got off to a hot start at Lebanon in grabbing the lead in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls as she had six birdies on her scorecard by the time she reached the 11^th tee. Zhang shot out of the gate with consecutive birdies at the first, second and third holes and added birdies at seven, eight and 10 to get it to 6-under.

   The lone bogey on her card, at the 16^th hole, left Zhang with a 5-under round and a one-shot lead over the pair of Cobblestone Creek’s Myra Tomer and Centre Hills Country Club’s Maddie Koshko, both of whom carded a 4-under 68.

   Tomer is a 14-year-old from Newtown. Not sure where she is going to be playing scholastic golf, but somebody is getting a player.

   Penn State knows it’s getting a player in Koshko, winner of back-to-back PIAA Class AA crowns with Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy in Boalsburg.

   Overbrook Golf Club’s Kiersten Bodge, winner of the Inter-Ac League’s individual crown last month at Sandy Run Golf Club as a junior at Notre Dame, was alone in fourth place with an even-par 72 that left her a shot behind Tomer and Koshko.

   Bodge plans to join Koshko with the Nittany Lions at the end of the summer of 2027.

   White Manor Country Club’s Jill Burks, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier who led Conestoga to the PIAA Class AAA team crown as a junior last fall, was a shot behind Bodge in fifth place with a 1-over 73.

   Nemacolin Country Club’s Mya Morgan, who capped an outstanding scholastic career at Elzabeth Forward by capturing a second straight PIAA Class AAA title last fall, headed a group of four players tied for sixth place at 2-over 74.

   Rounding out the group at 2-over were Tam O’Shanter Golf Course’s Kate Sowers, the runnerup to Koshko in each of the last two Class AA state tournaments with West Middlesex, West Shore Country Club’s Cora Hirz, who capped her scholastic career at Fairview by finishing in fourth place in the Class AA state tournament last fall, and Rolling Green Golf Club’s Nicolette Bottos, one of Burks’ teammates on Conestoga’s Class AAA state championship team.

   A couple of notable names in the group tied for 14^th place at 6-over 78 were defending Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ champion Alaina Carson, also playing out of Rolling Green, and Kayley Roberts, a PAGA individual member.

   Carson has reached the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of her first two seasons at Cardinal O’Hara.

  Carson’s victory in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls a year ago earned her a trip to the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

   Roberts, the runnerup to Morgan in the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall to cap an outstanding scholastic career at Phoenixville, joined Carson in last summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior in suburban Atlanta and also represented the Philadelphia Section PGA in the Girls Junor PGA Championship at Purdue’s Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind.

   Carson and Roberts came up short in their bids to return to the U.S. Girls’ Junior in a GAP-administered qualifier a couple of weeks ago at Saucon Valley Country Club’s Weyhill Course.

   Roberts will join her older sister Kate at Delaware along with a couple other District One stalwarts of recent vintage in Mary Grace Dunigan and Rhianna Gooneratne, all of whom will make Patty Post’s Blue Hens an interesting team to watch in the wraparound 2026-2027 college golf season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gravinese, Danby the respective boys, girls winners in two-day Philly Junior Tour stop at Turtle Creek

 

   Michael Gravinese has become quite familiar with Turtle Creek Golf Course during his scholastic career at Spring-Ford.

   Turtle Creek, 6,375 yards from the blue tees and playing to a par of 72, is the home course for the Rams, who are perennial contenders in the Pioneer Athletic Conference.

   It was at the Turtle where Gravinese earned a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a sophomore in 2024 by finishing in a tie for 13^th place in the District One Class AAA Championship with a 15-over-par 159 total.

   Gravinese, who will be a senior on the Spring-Ford golf team this fall, was feeling right at home when he captured the overall title in what is an annual two-day stop on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour at Turtle Creek June 11^th and 12^th with a 36-hole total of 2-under 142.

   Frank Kunze, a junior on the Garnet Valley golf team, matched Gravinese with a pair of 1-under 71s to finish in a tie at the top at 2-under.

   Gravinese, however, prevailed on the first hole of a playoff to capture the title.

   The two-day stop at Turtle Creek was a Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) event, offering points that help players earn status for some of the higher-profile junior golf circuits, most notably the American Junior Golf Association.

   It was also a local qualifier for the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship, which will be held in November at the Coushatta Casino Resort’s Koasati Pines Course in Kinder, La.

   The Philly Junior Tour broke out its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 divisions for the boys and girls and I’ll round up those age groups while referring to the overall scoring.

   The overall girls winner came out of the 13-to-15 division as Valerie Danby, the 12-year-old phenom from Avondale, was five shots clear of the rest of the field with a 5-over 149 total.

   Danby had a strong showing in the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship last fall as she finished in a tie for 11^th place in the Girls 10-11 age group.

   The Philly Junior Tour stop at Turtle Creek has always been popular since the Turtle is the traditional home of the District One Championship every October.

   Gravinese made birdies on the 13^th, 16^th and 18^th holes on his way to a 1-under 71 in the second round that left him a 2-under 142 for two days. He also had 12 pars on his scorecard, opening his round with seven straight pars, to finish at the top of the 16-to-18 division and claim the overall total.

   In an opening-round 71, Gravinese made birdies at the second, sixth and 17^th holes and had 13 pars on card, rattling off five straight pars from seven through 11.

   Kunze got off to a good start in the final round, making birdies at the second and third holes, and had 15 pars on his card, finishing out his round with 12 straight pars, as he matched Gravinese’s 71 to join him at 2-under. Kunze finished second in the 16-to-18 division and earned runnerup honors in the overall scoring.

   Kunze was just as solid in his opening-round 71, making birdies at the eighth, 10^th and 18^th holes and ending up with 13 pars on his card, including a string of seven straight pars from 11 through 17.

   Kunze’s Garnet Valley teammate Jack Yantosh, a senior with the Jaguars, finished a shot out of the playoff for the overall title as he finished in third place among the older guys and third overall with a 1-under 143 total.

   Yantosh closed with a solid 1-under 71 as he made an early birdie at the seventh hole, ripped off three straight birdies at 12, 13 and 14, made another birdie at 16 and had 10 pars on his card.

   Yantosh matched par in the opening round with a 72, jump-starting his round by making an eagle at the par-5 second hole. He added another birdie at the par-5 eighth hole and had 13 pars on his card, including a string of seven straight pars from nine through 15.

   Jake Hollerback, who finished in fourth place on his home course at Baywood Greens Golf Course last month in defense of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championship he won a year ago to cap his junior season at Sussex Central, finished fourth at Turtle Creek in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring with an even-par 144 total.

   Hollerback struggled in the opening round with a 5-over 77, but bounced back with the best round of the tournament, a sizzling 5-under 67. He had six birdies on his card, four of them while touring Turtle Creek’s incoming nine in 4-under 32.

   Somehow, Hollerback was unable to birdie any of the Turtle’s often vulnerable par-5s or he might have gone even lower.

   Holden Sparks, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at Nazareth last fall, held the lead following an opening round of 2-under 70 and added a 3-over 75 in the second round to finish a shot behind Hollerback in fifth place among the older guys and fifth overall with a 1-over 145 total.

   Beau Bliem, a Collegeville resident who earned a trip to the Class AAA state tournament as a junior at Pope John Paul II last fall, matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a 3-over 75 as he finished in sixth place in the 16-to-18 division and seventh overall with a 3-over 147 total.

   Gavin Reger, a freshman on a Radnor team that finished in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AAA team competition last fall, was the only player in the 13-to-15 division to crack the top 10 in the overall scoring as he finished a shot ahead of Bliem in sixth in the overall scoring with a 2-over 146 total. More on Reger later.

   Justin Marcus, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Downingtown West last fall, added a 1-over 73 in the second round to his opening-round 75 to finish in seventh place among the older guys and eighth overall with a 4-over 148 total.

   Jackson Murland, a Villanova resident who led Friends’ Central to the Friends Schools League team title in the spring as a junior, and Chase Andrews, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Souderton last fall, finished in a tie for eighth place among the older guys and rounded out the top 10 in the overall scoring as they shared ninth, each landing on 5-over 149.

   Murland added a 1-over 73 in the second round to his opening-round 76 while Andrews closed with a 2-over 74 after opening with a 75.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Brady Rohn, a senior on the Nazareth golf team, and Cole Henning, a senior on the Souderton golf team, as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each signing for a 6-over 150 total.

   Rohn and Henning had the same splits, each matching par in the second round with a solid 72 after opening with a 78.

   Reger closed out an opening round of even-par 72 with back-to-back birdies at the 16^th and 17^th holes as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 2-over 146.

   Reger also went back-to-back with birdies at the third and fourth holes, added a birdie at eight and had nine pars on his scorecard while finishing in sixth place in the overall scoring at 2-over.

   Reger made birdies at the first and 14^th holes and had 12 pars on his card, including a run of five straight pars from six through 10, as he opened with a 2-over 74.

   Jack Gilbert, a Bryn Mawr resident and the son of Gulph Mills Golf Club head pro Tom Gilbert, made back-to-back birdies at the 13^th and 14^th holes to close with a 2-over 74 that gave him runnerup honors among the younger guys with a 7-over 151 total.

   Gilbert also had 12 pars in his second round with separate strings of four straight pars from the fourth through the seventh holes and again on the last four holes of his round.

   Gilbert got three of the Turtle’s four par-5s, making birdies at the second, eighth and 13^th holes, and had eight pars on his card in an opening round of 5-over 77.

   Owen Ciesielka, a West Chester resident and a sophomore on the Malvern Prep golf team, made a birdie at the fourth hole and another at the tough par-3 ninth and had 13 pars on his card, including a run of four straight pars from five through eight, as he closed with a solid 1-over 73 to finish in third place in the 13-to-15 division with an 8-over 152 total.

   Ciesielka toured the incoming nine at Turtle Creek in 2-under 34.

   Ciesielka made a birdie at the par-5 eighth hole and had nine pars on his card in an opening round of 7-over 79.

   The trio of Brody Campbell, a Plymouth Meeting resident and a sophomore on the Malvern Prep golf team, Nathan Lobo of Collegeville and Bobby Stefanski of Newtown Square finished in a tie for fourth place among the younger guys, each tallying a 9-over 153 total.

   Campbell added a 2-over 74 to his opening-round 79. Nathan Lobo opened with a 4-over 76 and added a 77 in the second round and Stefanski had the opposite splits, adding a 4-over 76 in the second round to his opening-round 77.

   Daniel Ross, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Souderton last fall, Helmut Dang of Newtown Square and Jack Lobley, a Gladwyne resident and a sophomore on the Shipley golf team, shared seventh place in the 13-to-15 division, each recording a 155 total.

   Ross bounced back from an opening-round 80 with a 3-over 75 in the second round. Dang and Lobley had identical splits, each adding a 5-over 77 in the second round to an opening-round 78.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Sebastian Leone, the other freshman along with Reger on the Radnor golf team that finished in a tie for second place in the Class AAA state team tournament last fall, Liam Jacobs of Philadelphia and Mason Kim of Blue Bell as they each ended up with a 157 total.

   Leone and Jacobs had identical splits, each adding a 6-over 78 to an opening-round 79 while Kim had the opposite splits, opening with a 6-over 78 before adding a 79 in the second round.

   Danby took control of the girls overall race when she made birdies on the 10^th and 12^th holes and went back-to-back with birdies at 16 and 17 while touring the incoming nine at Turtle Creek in 3-under 33 on her way to a sparkling 1-under 71 in the opening round.

   Danby also had 11 pars on her scorecard, including a string of five straight pars from the fifth through the ninth holes in her opening round.

   Danby made birdies on the fifth and seventh holes and had eight pars on her card in a 6-over 78 in the second round as she finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division and in the overall scoring with her 149 total.

   Madison Cabot, the reigning Philly Junior Tour 13-to-15 division Player of the Year, was Danby’s closest competitor, finishing five shots behind Danby in second place among the younger girls and in the overall scoring with a 10-over 154 total.

   Looks like Madison Cabot, a Newtown resident, has moved from Council Rock South across the Delaware River to The Pennington School.

   Madison Cabot made birdies at the second, sixth and 13^th holes and had 10 pars on her card as she closed with a 3-over 75. In the opening round, Madison Cabot made a birdie at the eighth hole and had 10 pars on her card, including a run of six straight pars from 10 through 15, on her way to a 7-over 79.

   Chloe Pridie, a junior on the Oley golf team, finished in third place in the 13-to-15 division and fifth overall with a 173 total.

   Pridie made a birdie on the 15^th hole and had five pars on her card as she closed with an 88. Pridie made a birdie on the second hole and had six pars on her card as she opened with an 85.

   Hannah LeGrow, who wrapped up her freshman season at Ursuline Academy in the spring, finished a shot behind Pridie in fourth place among the younger girls and sixth in the overall standings with a 174 total. LeGrow opened with an 86 and added an 88 in the second round.

   Sara Fanelli, a junior on the Radnor golf team, was another three shots behind LeGrow in fifth place in the 13-to-15 division and seventh overall with a 177 total. Fanelli added an 88 in the second round to her opening-round 89.

   Olivia Kirmayer, a sophomore on the Downingtown East golf team, finished five shots behind Fanelli in sixth place in the 13-to-15 division and eighth overall as she posted a pair of 91s for a 182 total.

   It was nine more shots back to He Hannah of Chadds Ford as she added a 92 in the second round to her opening-round 99 to finish in seventh place among the younger girls and ninth overall with a 191 total.

   Stella Varano of Schwenksville rounded out the top 10 in the overall scoring as she finished in eighth place in the 13-to-15 division and 10^th overall with a 196 total. Varano bounced back from an opening-round 102 with a 94 in the second round.

   Lila Collingwood of Collegeville took ninth place in the 13-to-15 division as she added a 97 in the second round to her opening-round 100 for a 197 total.

   Antonella Ferrer of Wynnewood bounced back from an opening-round 117 with a 107 in the second round to end up in 10^th place among the younger girls with a 224 total.

   Autumn Jue of Wayne rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she opened with a 115 and added a 120 in the second round to finish in 11^th place with a 235 total.

   Emma Bergey of Kennett Square carded back-to-back 8-over 80s to finish at the top of the leaderboard in a short field in the 16-to-18 division with a 160 total.

   Bergey made birdies at the fifth and seventh holes and had eight pars on her scorecard in the second round as she finished in third place in the overall scoring.

   In the opening round, Bergey made birdies on the second, 10^th and 13^th holes and had 11 pars on her card, including a run of four straight pars from five through eight.

   Lauren Springman, a senior on the Methacton golf team, rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as she finished nine shots behind Bergey with a 169 total that left her fourth in the overall scoring.

   Springman made birdies at the sixth and 10^th holes and had eight pars on her card as she matched Bergey’s opening-round 80. Springman had five pars on her card on her way to an 89 in the second round.

   Three players finished at the top of the leaderboard in a competitive group of boys 12-and-under nine-holers and James Wilson of Wilmington, Del. prevailed on the third hole of a playoff to capture the title after Grayson Wright of Philadelphia and Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville matched his 5-over 77 over two days.

   Wilson had grabbed the lead following an opening round of 1-over 37 as he made birdies at the second and eighth holes and had three pars on his scorecard.

   He again made a birdie on the par-5 eighth hole and had four pars on his card, including three consecutive pars at three, four and five on his way to a 4-over 40 in the second round.

   Wright came on strong in the second round, making birdies at the second, sixth and eighth holes and adding three pars in a 1-over 37 that enabled him to catch Wilson at 5-over 77.

   Wright made back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth holes and had two pars on his card while opening with a 4-over 40. Wright was listed as the runnerup on the final leaderboard.

   Charpentier had seven pars on his card, including a string of five straight pars from the fourth through the eighth holes, as he closed with a 2-over 38 to join Wilson and Wright at 5-over.

   Charpentier made birdies on the sixth and eighth holes and had four pars on his card, including three straight pars at five, six and seven as he opened with a 3-over 39.

   Ryan Kaye of Lansdale finished two shots out of the playoff as he added a 40 in the second round to his opening-round 39 to finish with a 79 total.

   Massimo Testaiuti of Newtown Square signed for a pair of 41s to finish in fifth place with an 82 total.

   Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. added a 41 in the second round to his opening-round 43 to finish two shots behind Testaiuti in sixth place with an 84 total.

   Aidan Herbert of New Hope closed with a 41 after recording a 44 in the opening round as he took seventh place with an 85 total.

   Nolan English of Villanova opened with a 43 and added a 46 in the second round as he finished in eighth place with an 89 total.

   Kash Gray of Eagleville and Jamie Cahn of Penn Valley rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each landing on 92.

   Gray opened with a 45 before adding a 47 in the second round. Cahn bounced back from an opening-round 49 with a 43 in the second round.

   Trisha Lobo, an 11-year-old phenom and a member of Collegeville’s Team Lobo, easily bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a total of 80.

   Trisha Lobo made a birdie on the third hole and had four pars on her scorecard as she closed with a 3-over 39. She had five pars on her card, including consecutive pars at the fourth, fifth and sixth holes, on her way to an opening-round 41.

   Arianna Testaiuti, another member of Newtown Square’s Team Testaiuti, earned runnerup honors with a 100 total. Arianna Testaiuti made a par on the par-5 eighth hole to highlight her opening-round 48 and she made a par at three on her way to a 52 in the second round.

   Addison Sabatini of West Chester was a shot behind Arianna Testaiuti in third place with a 101 total. Sabatini made a par on the third hole on her way to a 47 in the second round and made a par on the eighth hole on her way to an opening-round 54.

   Charlotte Cabot, another member of Newtown’s Team Cabot, opened with a 50 and added a 54 in the second round as she rounded out the field in the girls 12-and-under division with a 104 total that left her in fourth place.