Lane scorches the new Cobbs Creek Q School Short Course to earn a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   Gavin Lane of Cinnaminson, N.J. blitzed the new Cobbs Creek Q School Short Course with a sizzling 4-under-par 23 to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division July 14^th.

   The Cobbs Creek Q School Short Course was one of the first parts of the transformation of the venerable public facility in West Philadelphia to be completed.

   Since then, a state-of-the-art driving range has arisen where the old driving range along City Line Avenue once stood. Ultimately, the original Hugh Wilson design will be updated and reopened sometime, I believe, in 2027.

   The ambitious plan is to turn Cobbs into the East Lake of Philadelphia. That would be quite an addition to the thriving golf scene in the Philadelphia area.

   Lane certainly had some fun on the Q School Short Course at Cobbs, opening his round with back-to-back birdies at the first and second holes, closing it with back-to-back birdies at eight and nine and rattling off pars from two through seven in between.

   Jason Leekley of Moorestown, N.J. made a birdie on the sixth hole and had seven pars on his scorecard, opening his round with five straight pars, as he earned runnerup honors with an even-par 27.

   Jackson Jones of Bryn Mawr had seven pars on his card, opening his round with four straight pars, as he finished in third place with a 2-over 29.

   The trio of Aidan Treshaj of Ambler, Shane McCollum of Newtown Square and Demetri Orloff of Springfield shared fourth place, each posting a 30 and James Park of Doylestown and Carter Hartz of Villanova finished in a tie for seventh, each tallying a 31.

   Nathan Barker of Malvern took ninth place with a 32 and Emerson Bofinger of Ocean View, Del. rounded out the top 10 as he finished 10^th with a 33.

   Robert Stout of Trenton, N.J. finished up his round with a birdie at the ninth hole and had six pars on his scorecard, including a string of four straight pars from two through five, as he earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division with a 1-over 28.

   Caleb Wilson of Upper Darby made back-to-back pars on the fourth and fifth holes as he earned runnerup honors with an 8-over 35.

   Andrew Reardon of Villanova opened his round with four straight pars as he finished a shot behind Wilson in third place with a 36.

   Rounding out the field in the 16-to-18 division was Brayden Holland of Haddon Township, N.J. as he finished in fourth place with a 39.

   Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr, coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory a day earlier at The Berkshire Country Club in Reading, finished up his round with a birdie on the ninth hole and had six pars on his scorecard, including a run of six straight pars from three through eight, as he bested the field of 12-and-under nine-holers by matching par with a 27.

   Connor Michaels of Lancaster made a birdie on the eighth hole and had six pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 2-over 29.

   Ethan Hong of Radnor and Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. finished in a tie for third place, each signing for a 32.

   Ethan Hong made birdies on the fourth and eighth holes and had two pars on his card. Wang had five pars on his card.

   Jordan Chase of Philadelphia took fifth place with a 33 and Kash Gray of Eagleville finished sixth with a 35.

   Rounding out the field in the boys 12-and-under division was a trio of players tied for seventh place at 42 that included Elliott Hong of Wayne, Andrew Paluszkiewicz of Cinnaminson, N.J. and Ryan Scully of Chesterbrook.

   Allison Hong, another member of Wayne’s Team Hong, was the lone entry in the girls 12-and-under division and she made a birdie at the third hole and a par at eight while registering a 35.

 

Zhang, Bodge prove they can take the heat with gritty performances in Girls Junior PGA Championship

 

   Alyssa Zhang, the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship winner earlier this summer, and Overbrook Golf Club’s Kiersten Bodge, winner of the Inter-Ac League and Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association crowns in the spring, battled hard in the Texas heat in last week’s Girls Junior PGA Championship at Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco in Frisco, Texas.

   The Junior PGA Championships for the girls and boys, one of the major tournaments for junior golfers, were staged simultaneously last week by the PGA of America at Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco at the organization’s headquarters.

   Alyssa Zhang, an Allison Park resident and a junior at Shady Side Academy who has back-to-back third-place finishes in her first two appearances in the PIAA Class AA Championship, and Bodge, a West Chester resident and a senior at Notre Dame Academy, were both coming off solid showings in the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur Championship the previous week at Gulph Mills Golf Club.

   Alyssa Zhang, who ran away with the title in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship at Lebanon Country Club by 12 shots in June, struggled in Friday’s final round of the Girls Junior PGA Championship with an 82 at Fields Ranch East as she finished in a tie for 31^st place with an 11-over 299 total.

   But just teeing it up in the final round of this 72-hole test is an accomplishment in itself. Alyssa Zhang had to survive two cuts, one after Wednesday’s second round and another after Thursday’s third round.

   Alyssa Zhang was one of just 33 girls with a tee time for Friday’s final round.

   Alyssa Zhang had opened by matching par at Fields Ranch West with a 72 as her steady round included a birdie at the 15^th hole, a bogey at 18 and 16 pars.

   It was more of the same in Wednesday’s second round at Fields Ranch East as Alyssa Zhang, starting off the 10^th tee, made a birdie at 16 and a bogey at five, as she again matched par with a 72 and was tied for 27^th place with an even-par 144 total.

   Alyssa Zhang hung in there with a 1-over 73 at Fields Ranch East in Thursday’s third round as she survived the 54-hole cut with a 1-over 217 total that left her in a tie for 28^th place.

   Alyssa Zhang, playing out of Wildwood Golf Club, had finished alone in 12^th place in the Pennsylvania Women’s Am the previous week with an 8-over 230 total over a tough Gulph Mills Golf Club layout.

   Bodge, coming off a tie for 10^th place in the Pennsylvania Women’s Am at Gulph Mills, was unable to survive the 54-hole cut at Fields Ranch as a 2-over 74 at Fields Ranch East in Thursday’s third round left her just a couple of shots outside the cut line with a 5-over 221 total.

   Bodge did her best work in Tuesday’s opening round at Fields Ranch West as she rode a birdie burst on the incoming nine to a solid 2-under 70.

   After a couple of early bogeys at the first and third holes, Bodge really got it going on the back nine, rattling off four straight birdies at 12, 13, 14 and 15 to get it to 2-under for her round. A birdie at the 17^th hole got Bodge to 3-under for the day before a bogey at the finishing hole dropped her back to 2-under.

   Bodge struggled a little in her first crack at Fields Ranch East in Wednesday’s second round as she posted a 5-over 77, but her 3-over 147 total was still good enough to get her to Thursday’s third round.

   Bodge, who finished in sixth place behind Alyssa Zhang in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls at Lebanon in June, started off the 10^th tee in the second round and got an early birdie at the 15^th hole.

   But back-to-back double bogeys at the fourth and fifth holes halted her momentum and she added bogeys at the sixth and ninth holes.

   Bodge, who plans to join the program at Penn State in the Big Ten next summer, had punched her ticket to Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco with a runnerup finish in the Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship July 6^th at DuPont Country Club’s Nemours Course behind recent Phoenixville graduate Kayley Roberts.

   It was the second straight appearance in the Girls Junior PGA Championship for Roberts, who capped her scholastic career with a runaway victory in the District One Class AAA Championship and a runnerup finish in the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall.

   Roberts, coming off a seventh-place finish in the Pennsylvania Women’s Am at Gulph Mills, never got it going in the Texas heat as she opened with a 6-over 78 at Fields Ranch West and added a 4-over 76 in the second round at Fields Ranch East, failing to survive the 36-hole cut with a 10-over 154 total.

   Roberts will be joining her older sister Kate on the golf team at Delaware by the end of the month.

   Ellie Benson, who wrapped up her scholastic career by finishing in fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Peters Township last fall, also failed to survive the 36-hole cut.

   Benson, who will join the program at Gardner-Webb in the Big South Conference later this month, opened with a 3-over 75 at Fields Ranch West, but struggled to an 87 in the second round at Fields Ranch East.

   The Girls Junior PGA Championship title went to Aubrey Hilgers of Surprise, Ariz., who edged Yujie Liu, a 16-year-old from China who is No. 20 in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking, on the third hole of a playoff after both players got hot down the stretch at Fields Ranch East to end up tied at the top of the leaderboard with a 6-under 282 total.

   Hilgers, who plans to join the program at Southeastern Conference power Auburn in the summer of 2028, made birdies at the 14^th, 15^th and 17^th holes to finish off a final round of 3-under 69 at Fields Ranch East.

   Hilgers had opened with a 2-under 70 at Fields Ranch West and added a 1-over 73 in the second round at Fields Ranch East before getting herself in the hunt with a 2-under 70 in Thursday’s third round at Fields Ranch East.

   Liu was spectacular on the incoming nine at Fields Ranch East in the final round, ripping off birdies at the 10^th, 12^th, 14^th, 15^th and 18^th holes, her back-nine 31 completing a 3-under 69 and enabling her to force a playoff with Hilgers at 6-under for the tournament.

   Liu had opened with a sparkling 4-under 68 at Fields Ranch West and added a 1-under 71 at Fields Ranch East in the second round before backing off a little in Thursday’s third round with a 1-over 73 at Fields Ranch East.

   Hilgers got it up and down from a bunker at the par-3 17^th hole, the third hole of the playoff, to seal the deal.

   Ava Zhang of St. Mary’s, Fla. closed with a 3-over 75 at Fields Ranch East to finish four shots behind Hilgers and Liu in third place with a 2-under 286 total.

   Ava Zhang, like Hilgers, a Class of 2028 entry, had opened with a sparkling 5-under 67 at Fields Ranch West and added a 1-under 71 in Wednesday’s second round at Fields Ranch East to get it to 6-under for the tournament.

   A 1-over 73 in Thursday’s third round at Fields Ranch East left Ava Zhang in a tie for the lead with three others players at 5-under going into the final round.

   On the boys side, Logan McGinn of South Williamsport and Declan Conner, a senior on the Ridley golf team, wrapped up a couple of pretty exciting weeks on the national stage in the Boys Junior PGA Championship.

   McGinn, who will be a freshman on the Williamsport High golf team, was unable to make the cut following 54 holes and Conner failed to survive the 36-hole cut, but both players had teed it up in the U.S. Junior Amateur a week earlier at Saucon Valley Country Club before heading to Frisco, Texas for the Boys Junior PGA Championship, gaining experience at a high level of competition that will only serve to make them better players in the future.

   McGinn had captured the title in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship, beating a field of mostly older players in a one-day, 36-hole test at Bellewood Country Club across the Schuylkill River from Pottstown in June, to earn his spot in the field at Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco.

   After opening with a 3-over 75 at Fields Ranch East, McGinn delivered a clutch 3-under 69 at Fields Ranch West in Wednesday’s second round to survive the 36-hole cut with an even-par 144 total.

   McGinn made birdies at the third and ninth holes at Fields Ranch West before his only miscue of the day, a bogey at 13. He then made birdies at the 15^th and 17^th holes on his way to the clubhouse.

   A 5-over 77 back at Fields Ranch East in Thursday’s third round left McGinn outside the cut line with a 5-over 221 total.

   Conner, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior last fall, opened with a solid 2-over 74 at Fields Ranch East, but couldn’t solve the Fields Ranch West layout, tallying an 83 that left him outside the cut line with a 13-over 157 total.

   Conner, the runnerup to McGinn in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at Bellewood, and McGinn had qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur in a Golf Association of Philadelphia-administered qualifier at Saucon Valley’s Weyhill Course in June.

   Conner was the runnerup at the Weyhill Course and McGinn was an alternate and got a late call in the days before the U.S. Junior Amateur that he was in the field.

   Neither Conner nor McGinn was able to earn a spot in the match-play bracket in 36 holes of stroke play at Saucon Valley’s Old Course and Grace Course, but again there is nothing quite like the experience of playing in a national championship for a young golfer.

   In McGinn’s case, he played on the national stage twice this summer before ever hitting a shot as a scholastic golfer. For Conner, playing in two of the marquee events for junior golfers is going to make him one of the best players in the Central League in the upcoming season.

   Michael Quallich, a senior on the Baldwin golf team outside Pittsburgh, appeared in the Boys Junior PGA Championship for a second straight summer.

   Quallich, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore in the fall of 2024, had played four rounds a year ago at Purdue’s Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind.

   Quallich couldn’t quite duplicate that feat this year, coming up just short of surviving the 54-hole cut with a 3-over 219 total. Quallich opened with a 3-over 75 at Fields Ranch East and added a solid 2-under 70 in Wednesday’s second round at Fields Ranch West.

   Quallich carded a 2-over 74 back at Fields Ranch East in Thursday’s third round, his 3-over total leaving him just outside the 54-hole cut line of 1-over 217.

   The Boys Junior PGA Championship title went to Jaden Soong, a Class of ’28 competitor from Burbank, Calif. who claimed a one-shot victory with a 7-under 281 total.

   A couple of late birdies at the 15^th and 17^th holes enabled Soong to match par in the final round with a 72 at Fields Ranch East and nail down the crown.

   Soong had matched par in the opening round with a 72 at Fields Ranch East and surged into contention on the strength of a 5-under 67 in Wednesday’s second round at Fields Ranch West.

   Soong registered a 3-under 69 in Thursday’s third round back at Fields Ranch East that gave him a two-shot lead going into Friday’s final round.

   Soong opened his final round with a bogey at the first hole. After making a birdie at the seventh hole, Soong stumbled briefly with a bogey at eight and a double bogey at nine. Soong made a birdie at the 10^th hole, but a bogey at 14 dropped him back to 5-under for the tournament.

   After getting it back to 6-under with his birdie at the 15^th hole, Soong delivered the clinching birdie at the par-3 17^th.

   Playing in the group ahead of Soong, Aadi Parmar, a Class of ’27 entry from Selma, Texas, and Chase Hughes, another Class of ’28 entry from Oklahoma City, Okla., shared second place, each ending up a shot behind Soong with a 6-under 282 total.

   Parmar and Hughes each closed with a 1-under 71 at Fields Ranch East to share runnerup honors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sako defeats Boyd in a playoff in a battle of Central stars in the Christman Cup at RiverCrest

 

   Lower Merion’s Seiji Sako and Radnor’s Lannon Boyd were two of the Central League’s top players the last three falls.

   With their careers as junior golfers winding down, Sako and Boyd went head-to-head in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 27^th Christman Cup at the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve July 21^st.

   The Christman Cup is always scheduled as a one-day, 36-hole stroke-play shootout, but late July weather being what it is in our part of the world, Mother Nature often prevents the top junior golfers in the area from getting in two rounds.

   Such was the case this year as an afternoon thunderstorm halted play in the second round and the event was limited to just 18 holes.

   Sako and Boyd both put together solid rounds of 4-under-par 67 over the 6,518-yard, par-71 RiverCrest layout in the morning and a playoff was needed to determine the champion.

   Sako and Boyd waited until the weather passed and headed to the tee at 5:45 p.m. at RiverCrest’s 340-yard, par-4 opener, where a par by Sako gave him the title.

   “It’s been a great summer for me,” Sako told the GAP website. “I think I’ve had a lot great finishes, but I haven’t really put all the rounds together. I know this one got cut short, but it still feels good to get one done.”

   Sako was always at his best during his scholastic career during the postseason. Each of the last three falls, he earned a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State. His tie for fourth place as a sophomore in the fall of 2023 was the best finish among the District One contingent at Penn State’s Blue Course.

   Sako is headed for Penn State and hopes to get a shot to join the golf team as a walk-on. I’d say the kid deserves a look.

   Boyd, who will join the program at Saint Joseph’s later this summer, was the co-medalist in the Central League Championship last fall in his senior season, duplicating a feat he had accomplished as a sophomore in 2023. Boyd had been unable to take the final step to the state tournament until last fall when he took care of that little missing piece on his scholastic resume by earning a trip to Penn State.

   It has been a solid summer for Sako and not just in junior events.

   He qualified for the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship and earned a spot in the match-play bracket in qualifying rounds at Sunnybrook Golf Club and The 1912 Club. Sako also qualified for the Philadelphia Open at Lancaster Country Club a couple of weeks ago and survived the 18-hole cut.

   Those two accomplishments alone would make for a pretty good summer of golf for any amateur in the Philadelphia area.

   Sako also earned a spot in the match-play bracket in GAP’s Junior Boys’ Championship at Chester Valley Golf Club before falling in the first round.

   One thing I’ve noticed in following Boyd and Sako in the Central League Championships at Turtle Creek Golf Course: They can send it, especially off the tee, and their power was every much in evidence at RiverCrest.

   Starting off the 10^th tee at RiverCrest, Sako got off to a fast start, hitting a 52-degree wedge from 104 yards away at the 375-yard, par-4 10^th to 20 feet and draining the birdie try and then driving the green at the 335-yard, par-4 11^th and two-putting for birdie.

   After dropping a shot with a bogey at the 12^th hole, Sako got back to 2-under by reaching the green at the 550-yard, par-5 16^th in two with a 9-iron from 177 yards away and two-putting for a birdie.

   Sako dropped a shot with a bogey at the first hole, but rebounded quickly with birdies at the second and third holes to get it to 3-under for his round.

   Sako reached the green at the 520-yard, par-5 second hole in two with a 7-iron from 207 yards away and two-putted from 30 feet. He stuck a 9-iron at the 167-yard, par-3 third hole to three feet and converted the birdie try.

   Sako needed one more birdie and he got it at the 307-yard, par-4 ninth hole, sending a 5-wood to a greenside bunker and getting it up and down.

   Boyd’s length was on display when he reached the green at the par-5 16^th hole with a 5-iron from 204 yards away and dropped a 30-foot bomb for eagle to highlight his round.

   White Manor Country Club’s Logan Turner, a sophomore on the Devon Prep golf team, and Overbrook Golf Club’s Freddy Hartmann, a senior on the Episcopal Academy golf team, shared third place, each posting a 3-under 68 to end up a shot out of the playoff.

   Turner finished in a tie for 15^th place in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a freshman last fall. Hartmann played a big role in helping the Churchmen capture the Inter-Ac League crown last fall.

   A couple of RiverCrest guys, Colby Komancheck, a senior on the Malvern Prep golf team, and Timothy Burns headed a group of five players tied for fifth place at even-par 71.

   Komancheck, the son of Jamie and Kelly Komancheck, the husband-wife team of PGA professionals who man the pro shop at RiverCrest, has been one of the Inter-Ac’s top players during his first three years with the Friars.

   Komancheck captured the individual title in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association Championship at Radley Run Country Club, helping Malvern Prep get a share of the team crown, to cap his junior season last fall.

   Komancheck and Burns were joined at even-par by a couple of members of the golf team at Catholic League power La Salle, North Hills Country Club’s Kellen Toussaint and Philmont Country Club’s Benjamin Robbins, and Saucon Valley Country Club’s Colin McAskin.

   Five more players rounded out the top 10 as they finished in a tie for 10^th place at 1-over 72, led by The Springhaven Club’s Luca Kleinschmidt, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Strath Haven last fall.

   Kleinschmidt, the runnerup to Jackson Lane in the GAP Junior Boys at Chester Valley, will join the program at PSAC power Millersville later this summer.

   Kennett Square Golf & Country Club’s Grant Burkhart was also in the group at 1-over. Burkhart wrapped up his scholastic career at Salesianum in the spring with a runnerup finish in the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association Championship at Baywood Greens that helped the Sallies roll to the team crown.

   Rounding out the group at 1-over were Sunnybrook’s Liam Littleton, a senior on the La Salle golf team, Whitford Country Club’s Calvin Pace, a senior on the Downingtown East golf team, and Lebanon Country Club’s Benjamin Allwein, who finished in a tie for seventh place in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a freshman at Annville-Cleona last fall.