White Manor's Turner tames Sandy Run with a 66 to capture title in Jock MacKenzie Memorial

 

   White Manor Country Club’s Logan Turner made an immediate impact in his rookie season of high school golf at Devon Prep last fall.

   Turner finished in a tie for 15^th place in his debut in the PIAA Class AA Championship at Penn State’s White Course and then helped Devon Prep finish in third place in the Class AA team chase.

   Turner was pretty quiet for much of this summer, but that all changed when he fired a sizzling 6-under-par 66 July 28^th at Sandy Run Country Club in Oreland to capture the title in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s final major junior event of the summer, the 42^nd Jock MacKenzie Memorial.

   Turner made a birdie at the first hole, but really heated up when he ripped off three straight birdies at seven, eight and nine.

   He added three more birdies on Sandy Run’s incoming nine at the 13^th, 15^th and 16^th holes to get it to 7-under for the round before finishing up with a bogey at Sandy Run’s closing hole, the only blemish on his scorecard.

   It left Turner three shots clear of runnerup Seiji Sako, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Lower Merion last fall with a third straight trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship, as Sako put together a solid 3-under 69.

   Sako, playing out of McCall Golf Club, has had a really strong summer, including a victory in the Christman Cup, another of GAP’s major championships for juniors, at the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve earlier in July. He is headed for Penn State and plans to try to make the golf team as a walk-on.

   A McCall guy I ran into at the U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club said that Penn State has become aware that they have a pretty good player coming to Happy Valley and plan to give Seiko a shot at joining the program.

   Not sure if there’s scholarship money involved or if he will be a preferred walk-on, but Sako has certainly proven that he’s capable of playing at a pretty high level.

   Turner was well aware that anytime you win one of GAP’s major championships for junior golfers, you’re beating a deep and talented group of players. Turner’s 66 equaled the Jock MacKenzie record established by Phoenixville Country Club’s Morgan Lofland, who starred scholastically at Conestoga and collegiately at Penn State, in 2020.

   “Tying the tournament record is really cool,” Turner told the GAP website. “GAP’s history is really strong and over a long period of time. To be part of that is really cool. I’ve been wanting to win a GAP tournament ever since I started playing. It really means a lot of me.”

   The trio of Llanerch Country Club’s Bryce Ciochetto, Waynesborough Country Club’s Gavin Reger, Quinn Gallagher, another McCall guy, and The Legacy Club’s Tyler Whitney shared third place, each ending up a shot behind Sako with a 2-under 70.

   Cicochetto wrapped up his scholastic career at Haverford High by qualifying for the District One Class AAA Championship last fall. Reger, Cicochetto’s Central League rival in his freshman season at Radnor, helped the Raptors finish in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AAA team chase, just a shot behind state champion Unionville.

   Gallagher will be a senior on the golf team at The Haverford School this season.

   Gallagher’s teammate with the Fords, Merion Golf Club’s Sean Curran, headed a group of four players that rounded out the top 10 in the Junior Boys division of the Jock MacKenzie as he posted a 1-under 71.

   Curran, who is joining the program at Penn in the Ivy League, was the Inter-Ac League’s best player as a junior in the fall of 2024, sweeping to titles in the Bert Linton Memorial for the Inter-Ac's individual crown and in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association Championship and leading the Fords to the Inter-Ac championship before dropping off only slightly as a senior last fall. He captured the title in the GAP Junior Boys’ Championship at Merion’s West Course in the summer of 2025.

   Joining Curran at 1-under were Sunnybrook Golf Club’s Adam Cifra, a senior at Catholic League power La Salle, Overbrook Golf Club’s Lannon Boyd, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Radnor last fall, and RiverCrest’s Colby Komancheck, who will be one of the Inter-Ac’s top returning players as a senior at Malvern Prep this season.

   Sako’s showing at Sandy Run enabled him to wrap up the Harry Hammond Award, a summer-long stroke-play competition that includes rounds from GAP’s major championships for junior players.

   Sako recorded a 74 in qualifying for match play in the Junior Boys’ Championship at Chester Valley and a 67 in winning the Christman Cup, shortened from 36 holes to 18 holes by stormy weather, along with his 69 in the Jock MacKenzie to finish with a 3-under 210 total.

   Boyd, who is joining the program at Saint Joseph’s in the Atlantic 10, and Komancheck shared second place, three shots behind Sako.

   Boyd lost in a playoff to his Central League rival Sako after Boyd matched Sako’s 4-under 67 in the Christman Cup at RiverCrest.

   Sako and Boyd wrapped up their careers as junior golfers by representing GAP in the 62^nd Williamson Cup, a gathering of nine teams of junior golfers from nine golf associations, included two from Canada, hosted by the Metropolitan Golf Association at Knickerbocker Country Club in Tenafly, N.J. Aug. 10^th and 11^th.

   Rounding out the GAP team were Riverton Country Club’s Jackson Lane, a junior at Cinnaminson High who claimed the title in the GAP Junior Boys’ Championship at Chester Valley, and The Springhaven Club’s Luca Kleinschmidt, a Strath Haven standout who lost in the GAP Junior Boys final to Lane.

   Kleinschmidt is joining the program at PSAC power Millersville.

   Pretty good testament to Central League golf that three of the four members of the GAP team came out of the Central.

   Sako earned a share of medalist honors with David Kim from the Maryland State Golf Association in the individual scoring as each landed on 3-under 141.

   Sako added a 1-under 71 to his opening round of 2-under 70 while Kim matched par in the opening round with a 72 and caught Sako with a sparkling 3-under 69 in the second round.

   Kim led MSGA to the team crown with a 9-under total. Sako led the way for GAP as it earned runnerup honors, nine shots behind MSGA at even-par.

   In the Jock MacKenzie Junior Girls division, Valleybrook Country Club’s Cara Chojnacki was the lone entry and carded a 103.

   In the Junior-Junior Boys division, Llanerch’s Ryan Comly blitzed the incoming nine at Sandy Run with a sizzling 3-under 33, the lowest score in the history of the event, to capture the title.

   After opening his round with a bogey at the 10^th hole, Comly ripped off three straight birdies at 13, 14 and 15 before adding a fourth birdie at 17.

   Overbrook’s Bobby Stefanski and Gulph Mills Golf Club’s Jack Gilbert, the son of Gulph Mills head pro Tom Gilbert, shared second place as each signed for a 2-under 34.

   Baylor Keim of Huntingdon Valley Country Club took fourth place with a 1-over 37 and Ryan Diamond, a GAP Youth on Course representative, rounded out the top five as he finished fifth with a 40.

   In the Junior-Junior Girls division, Huntingdon Valley’s Stella Seese finished at the top of the leaderboard with a 48.

   Annie Remaker, playing on her home course at Sandy Run, finished two shots behind Seese in second place with a 50.

   Northampton Valley Country Club’s Avery Jaffe rounded out the field in the Junior-Junior Girls division as she finished a shot behind Remaker in third place with a 51.

 

 

 

 

 

Milone, Traynor share Philly Junior Tour victory as they scorch Wilmington North with 67s

 

   Nicholas Milone of Bryn Mawr and Harry Traynor, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Great Valley last fall, both blitzed the North Course at Wilmington Country Club with a 4-under-par 67 to finish in a tie atop the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop July 27^th.

   Milone ripped off three straight birdies at the fifth, sixth and seventh holes, added back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12 and had 12 pars on his scorecard, including four straight pars to open his round and another run of four straight pars from 13 through 16.

   Milone toured the outgoing nine at Wilmington North in 3-under 32.

   Traynor made birdies at the first, fifth, 10^th, 11^th, 16^th and 18^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, including two separate strings of four pars in a row from six through nine and again from 12 through 15. Traynor was a dazzling 4-under 32 on Wilmington North’s incoming nine.

   Quinn Gallagher, another Bryn Mawr resident and a senior on the golf team at The Haverford School, made birdies at the 12^th and 14^th holes and had 15 pars on his card, matching the card with nine straight pars to open his round, as he finished three shots behind Milone and Traynor in third place with a 1-under 70.

   J.D. Radio of West Chester took fourth place with a 1-over 72, Frank Kunze, a junior on the Garnet Valley golf team was fifth with a 74 and Trey Barkman, another West Chester guy, and Ben Nowland, a junior on the Avon Grove golf team, finished in a tie for sixth place, each posting a 76.

   Kunze’s Garnet Valley teammate, Jack Ferm, a senior who was a District One Class AAA qualifier a year ago, headed a six-player logjam that rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for eighth place, each signing for a 77.

   Quinn Marshall, who wrapped up his junior season at the Wilmington Friends School by finishing in third place in the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association Championship at Baywood Greens in the spring, was also in the group tied at 77.

   Rounding out the gang of six tied for eighth place at 6-over were Pierce Drake, a senior on the Downingtown East golf team, Ben Fifer of Wyoming, Del., Joseph Gangemi Jr. of Downingtown and Christian Bennett of Wilmington, Del.

   Brody Campbell, a Plymouth Meeting resident and a sophomore on the Malvern Prep golf team, matched the 4-under 67s registered by Milone and Traynor with a sizzling effort of his own as he earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division.

   Campbell opened his round with five straight birdies as he scorched Wilmington North’s outgoing nine in 5-under 30. He added another birdie at the 11^th hole and had 10 pars on his scorecard, including a string of five straight pars from six through 10.

   Daniel Ross, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Souderton, last fall, went back-to-back twice on Wilmington North’s back nine with birdies at the 10^th and 11^th holes and then again at 16 and 17, as he earned runnerup honors with a sparkling 1-under 70.

   Ross had 12 pars on his card, including a run of seven straight pars from the third through the ninth holes.

   Charles Blok of Downingtown made birdies at the 13^th and 15^th holes and had 14 pars on his card, including a string of nine consecutive pars from four through 12, as he finished in third place by matching par with a 71.

   Preston Minio of Lansdale, coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory the previous week at Raven’s Claw Golf Club, took fourth place with a 2-over 73.

   Jack Gilbert of Bryn Mawr, coming off a victory the previous week in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior-Junior Championship at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s St. Martins Course, finished in fifth place with a 74.

   Bobby Stefanski of Newtown Square, coming off co-medalist honors in a Philly Junior Tour stop the previous week at The Bucks Club, finished in sixth place with a 75.

   Helmut Dang, another Newtown Square guy, Noah Gates of Ardmore and Tucker Detwiler, a West Chester resident and a sophomore on the Malvern Prep golf team, shared seventh place, each ending up with a 76.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was a foursome tied for 10^th place at 78 that included Jack D’Emilio of Wilmington, Del., Jack Ferry of Port Deposit, Md., Baylor Keim of Blue Bell and Carter Bove of Kennett Square.

   Brooke Burge, a senior on the Appoquinimink golf team, had seven pars on her scorecard, finishing up her round with back-to-back pars at the 17^th and 18^th holes, as she earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 16-to-18 division with an 82.

   Kallista Spence of Phoenixville earned runnerup honors in a short field as she tallied a 108.

   Looks like the 13-to-15 girls were halted by weather after 14 holes with He Hannah of Chadds Ford, Molly Wagner, a Newark, Del. resident and a junior on the St. Mark’s golf team, and Emma Cowan of Moorestown, N.J. shared medalist honors as each were at 16-over 71 when weather forced them off the golf course.

   Hannah had four pars on her scorecard, going back-to-back with pars at the 12^th and 13^th holes. Wagner had four pars on her card, three of them on Wilmington North’s outgoing nine. Cowan had four pars on her card, three of them also coming on the front nine.

   Rachel Santoso, a sophomore on the Downingtown East golf team, finished four shots behind the co-medalists in fourth place with a 75.

   Mae Racowski of Newtown Square took fifth place with an 87, Hridya Shah of Downingtown was sixth with a 94 and Finley Campbell of West Chester rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished seventh with a 96.

   James Wilson of Wilmington, Del. made birdies at the 15^th and 18^th holes and had five pars on his scorecard as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with an even-par 36.

   Jack Kolmer of Wayne, in the middle of a stretch on the Philly Junior Tour in which he could be found hanging out at or near the top of the leaderboard, had five pars on his card, including four straight pars to close out his round, as he earned runnerup honors with a 4-over 40.

   Nolan English of Villanova had three pars on his card, including back-to-back pars at the 16^th and 17^th holes, as he finished in third place with a 42.

   Ryan Stefanski, another member of Newtown Square’s Team Stefanski, took fourth place with a 43, Benny Pollard of Haverford and Julian Kelley of Wilmington, Del. shared fifth, each signing for a 45, and Luca Saienni, another Wilmington, Del. guy, and Kayaan Patel of Mullica Hill, N.J. finished in a tie for seventh, each recording 46.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division was the pair of Jackson Larrabee, another Wilmington, Del. guy, and Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each registering a 47.

   Claire Malbacho of Haverford had three pars on her scorecard, including back-to-back pars at the 13^th and 14^th holes, as she bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a 47.

   Vivian Anderson of Wilmington, Del. made a par at the 17^th hole as she earned runnerup honors with a 54.

   Addison Sabatini of West Chester made a par at the 11^th hole as she finished a shot behind Anderson in third place with a 55.

   Katelyn Cunningham of Havertown took fourth place with a 58, Aashi Chakraborty of Kennett Square and Julie Prickitt of Ambler shared fifth, each posting a 59, and Natalie McKinley of Wilmington, Del. rounded out the field in the girls 12-and-under division as she finished seventh with a 68.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shattuck a dominant six-shot winner as he repeats in Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at Whitemarsh Valley

 

   Braden Shattuck continued his domination of the Philadelphia Section PGA circuit by finishing off a six-shot victory in the 105^th Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship
Wednesday with a business-like 4-under-par 68 at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club.

   It was the second straight win in the marquee event for the Philadelphia area club pros for Shattuck, the director of instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club. Shattuck has been the winner of the Philly Section’s Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year Award the last four seasons.

   Shattuck’s win in the Philadelphia PPC, his fourth of the season, likely puts him in the driver’s seat for a fifth straight Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year Award.

   Shattuck led or shared the lead right from the start. His opening round of 8-under 64 Monday at nearby Sandy Run Country Club left him in a tie for the lead. He surged to a three-shot lead on the strength of a sizzling 6-under 66 in the second round at Whitemarsh Valley, a classic George C. Thomas Jr. design in Whitemarsh Township that once hosted a regular stop on the PGA Tour.

   Shattuck’s final-round 68 gave him an 18-under 298 total and a six-shot victory over Zach Barbin, who works out of the pro shop at Chesapeake Bay Golf Club and closed with a Whitemarsh Valley course record of 10-under 62.

   Shattuck’s name will be inscribed on the William B. Packer Trophy for a second time and he collected the top prize of $10,000.

   Shattuck was exempt into next spring’s PGA Professional Championship on the strength of his victory in that event in 2023 at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   He will head a group of 12 Philadelphia Section players who will tee it up in the PPC next April at the Streamsong Golf Resort in Bowling Green, Fla. The top 20 finishers at Streamsong will form the Corebridge Financial Team that will represent club pros all across America in the  PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco at the PGA of America headquarters in Frisco, Texas.

   It would be one thing if you could make the argument that Shattuck is dominating a group of club pros that don’t measure up competitively. Nothing could be further from the truth.

   Shattuck finished in a tie for eighth place in the PPC in the spring at the Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon to earn a starting time in the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, not all that far from where the Sun Valley product grew up.

   But he was not the only player in the field this week who has taken that route to the PGA Championship, one of professional golf’s four major championships.

   Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club, has been a member of the Corebridge Financial Team twice, joining Shattuck in the field for the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. two years ago. Oakley finished in a tie for sixth place in this week’s Philadelphia PPC and will be headed for Fields Ranch East next spring.

   Brian Bergstol, the head of instruction at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, represented the Philadelphia Section in the PGA Championship in the spring of 2025 at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. after finishing in a tie for third place in the PPC at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   Bergstol, who was exempt to next spring’s PPC as a member of the United States team that competed in the PGA Cup, finished in a tie for eighth place in this week’s Philadelphia PPC.

   Zach Barbin finished in a tie for second place in last fall’s Assistant PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club’s Dye Course, an event in which both Bergstol and Oakley have contended in recent years.

   These are players who have performed well on national stages that Shattuck is dominating, making his accomplishments even more impressive.

   Shattuck became the first repeat winner of the Philadelphia PPC since Alex Knoll of Glen Brook Golf Club did it in 1999 and 2000.

   If anybody thought Shattuck was going to falter in the final round, he dispelled that notion pretty quickly with birdies at the second, third and fifth holes.

   After making a bogey at the eighth hole, Shattuck made a birdie at 11, a bogey at 12, a birdie at 12 and a bogey at 14 before putting an exclamation point on his week with birdies at 15 and 17.

   “With three rounds, mathematically speaking, I have a better chance than in a one-round shootout,” Shattuck told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “Being able to play consistently and steadily grow the lead is a little easier for me than going out and trying for a career round.”

   Zach Barbin put together a 10-birdie, no-bogey masterpiece that broke the course record at Whitemarsh Valley that was held by Gary Player (1963), Ray Floyd (1975) and Tom Kite (1978) back in the days when the course was a regular stop on the PGA Tour. I count 14 major championships among those three guys.

   Zach Barbin started his round with birdies at the first, second and third holes. After birdies at the fifth, eighth and 11^th holes, Zach Barbin again ripped off three consecutive birdies at 13, 14 and 15 before recording his 10^th birdie of the day at 17.

   Zach Barbin’s final-round 62 left him alone in second place with a 12-under 204 total.

   The lowest round ever recorded in the Philadelphia PPC was a 61 posted by Al Besselink in 1960 at Bala Golf Club.

   Zach Barbin’s 62 matched the 62 carded by Knoll in the Philadelphia PPC in 2019 at the Union League’s Torresdale Course. Knoll’s 62 broke Sam Snead’s course record of 64 that had stood since 1941.

   Zach Barbin was coming off a three-shot victory over Whitford Country Club’s Anthony Sebastianelli earlier this month in the Pro-Am for Wishes with an 8-under 134 total at Penn Oaks Golf Club.

   Tony Perla of Huntingdon Valley Country Club had been Shattuck’s closest pursuer through two rounds and he matched par with a 72 in Wednesday’s final round at Whitemarsh Valley to get a share of third place with Riley Wheeldon, an instructor at Aronimink, each landing on 11-under 205, a shot behind Zach Barbin.

   Wheeldon, the runnerup to Shattuck a year ago at Concord Country Club, closed with a sparkling 6-under 66 to join Perla at 11-under.

   Chester Valley Golf Club’s Brett Walker, the winner of the Philadelphia PPC in 2021 at Aronimink and again two years ago at Rolling Green, finished up with a solid 3-under 69 to end up alone in fifth place with a 10-under 206 total.

   Oakley, the 2023 Philadelphia PPC champion at the Country Club of Scranton, closed with a solid 4-under 68 to get a share of sixth place with Sebastianelli at 8-under 208.

   Sebastianelli, winner of the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship earlier this summer at Laurel Creek Country Club, tallied a 2-under 70 in Wednesday’s final round to join Oakley at 8-under.

   It was four more shots back to Bergstol, who recorded a 1-over 73 in Wednesday’s final round, as he finished in a tie for eighth place with Parks Price of Bent Creek Country Club, each ending up with a 4-under 212 total.

   Price matched par with a 72 in the final round at Whitemarsh Valley to get his share of eighth place with Bergstol.

   Spring Ford Country Club head pro Rich Steinmetz, one of the Philly Section’s top senior players and another Philadelphia PPC past champion, Joanna Coe, the head of instruction at Merion Golf Club, Joe Kogelman of GOLFTEC Moorestown and Trevor Bensel of LuLu Country Club finished in a tie for 10^th place, each ending up with a 2-under 214 total.

   Steinmetz, who has advanced out of the PPC to the PGA Championship at least twice in his career, closed with a 1-under 71.

   Coe, the four-time reigning Philadelphia Section Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Women’s Player of the Year, finished up with a 1-over 73 to join the foursome at 2-under.

   Coe represented the Philadelphia Section in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. Coe failed to make the cut.

   Coe defeated Ashley Grier, the one-time assistant pro at Overbrook Golf Club, in a playoff for the fourth and final spot out of the PGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. in February to earn her seventh trip to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

   Kogelman had grabbed a share of the lead following a sizzling 8-under 64 at Whitemarsh Valley in the opening round. He finished up with a 1-over 73 at Whitemarsh Valley to join the group at 2-under.

   Bensel closed with a 3-over 75 to end up at 2-under.

   Steinmetz, Coe and Kogelman got the final three tickets to next spring’s PPC at Fields Ranch East. Bensel is the first alternate and stands a pretty good chance to get the call for a trip to the PPC.

   Michael Little of Clubhouse 54 and Knoll were the second and third alternates, respectively, as they finished in a tie for 14^th place at 1-under 215. Little matched par in the final round with a 72 while Knoll closed with a 1-over 73.

   Dave Quinn, another of the Philly Section’s senior stalwarts who plays out of the Laurel Creek pro shop, was the fourth alternate and Zach Barbin’s younger brother Austin Barbin, also playing out of the Chesapeake Bay pro shop, was the fifth alternate as they were two of the four players who finished in a tie for 16^th place at even-par 216.

   Quinn posted a 1-over 73 in the final round while Austin Barbin closed with a 3-over 69 over the same Whitemarsh Valley layout where he captured the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship two years ago after concluding his college career at Liberty.

   Billy Stewart, an instructor at the Union League’s Liberty Hill Course, and Andrew Turner, playing out of the Green Valley Country Club pro shop, rounded out the group tied for 16^th place at even-par.

   Stewart, who had opened with a sparkling 7-under 65 at Sandy Run, closed with a 3-over 75. Turner registered a 2-over 74 in the final round.

   The Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship was presented by Club Car, Corebridge Financial and Rolex. The tournament was supported by Gallagher, The Golf Channel, the PGA Tour, ShipSticks, Titleist/Footjoy, Callaway, Nike, TaylorMade, Sun Cruiser Vodka Iced Tea, Mid-Atlantic Golf Cars, StrackaLine and SCNS Sports Foods.