Stumacher finishes strong to claim title in Philly Junior Tour's Girls Summer Championship at Manufacturers

 

   Just couldn’t stay away from the U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club’s East Course, but it left me well behind in a lot of the golf news I usually post on this blog. I’m going to keep plugging away, particularly with the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stuff, to catch up as much as possible, starting with …

   Sarah Stumacher, a Gladwyne resident and a senior on the Friends’ Central School golf team, finished strong at Manufacturers’ Golf & Country Club, a classic William Flynn design in Fort Washington, to card a sparkling 3-under-par 71 and capture the title in the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour’s Girls Summer Championship July 27^th.

   The Girls Summer Championship was originally scheduled to be a two-day event July 27^th and 28^th, but looks like it was limited to just a single round.

   It was still a Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) event, offering points for players that can earn them status on some of the higher-profile junior circuits, most notably the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).

   The JGS points went to overall finishers from ages 13 to 18. The Philly Junior Tour broke out its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 divisions, so I will wrap them up while referring to the overall scoring.

   Stumacher, who plays out of Philadelphia Cricket Club, got off to a good start with back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes and an eagle at the par-5 ninth. She made birdies at the 10^th, 12^th, 14^th and 16^th holes while touring the incoming nine at Manufacturers in 2-under 36.

   Stumacher had six pars on her scorecard as she finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring.

   York Suburban senior Vivienne Powers, who has qualified for the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of the last two falls, Conestoga junior Nicolette Bottos, who helped the Pioneers capture the PIAA Class AAA team title last fall, and Shuyan Song, an invader from China, each posted a 1-under 73 to finish two shots behind Stumacher.

   Powers was awarded runnerup honors in the overall scoring in a tiebreaker, Song, who finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division, was in third place via the tiebreaker and Bottos ended up fourth in the overall standings.

   Powers made birdies at the 10^th, 14^th and 16^th holes while touring the incoming nine at Manufacturers in 3-under 35. She had 13 pars on her card, including a string of four straight pars from the sixth through the ninth holes.

   After making birdies at the third, seventh and 10^th holes, Bottos made an eagle at the par-5 12^th before adding another birdie at 16 as she matched Stumacher’s 2-under 36 on the back nine at Manufacturers. Bottos had eight pars on her card as she shared second place among the older girls with Powers.

   Bottos, who plays out of Rolling Green Golf Club, has had a strong summer, highlighted by her victory in the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Girls’ Championship earlier in July at Honeybrook Golf Club. Powers finished in a tie for second place at Honeybrook.

   Ephrata junior Makenna Heckman, who has reached the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of her first two seasons of scholastic golf, finished in fourth place in the 16-to-18 division and sixth in the overall standings with a 1-over 75.

   Exeter senior Giulia Weisser, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in each of her first three seasons of scholastic golf, Conestoga senior Corinne McReynolds, Bottos’ teammate on the Pioneers state Class AAA team champions, and Harriton junior Megan Choi, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in each of her first two seasons of scholastic golf, finished in a tie for fifth place in the 16-to-18 division as each tallied a 2-over 76.

   That trio, along with Cedar Crest sophomore Bryn Brandt, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall who finished in third place in the 13-to-15 division with a 3-over 76, rounded out the top 10 in the overall scoring as they finished in a four-player logjam tied for seventh place.

   Perkiomen Valley senior Saloni Patel, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, and Siena Cohen of Marlton, N.J. finished in a tie for eighth place in the 16-to-18 division, each signing for a 79.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Southern Lehigh senior Lexi Miller, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, and Emma Bergey of Kennett Square as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each recording an 81.

   Song made birdies at the third, seventh, 10^th, 12^th and 17^th holes and had 10 pars on her scorecard, including a run of four straight pars from 13 through 16, as she finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with her 1-under 73.

   Song toured the incoming nine at Manufacturers in 2-under 36 while earning third place in the overall standings in the tiebreaker with Powers and Bottos from the 16-to-18 division.

   Madison Cabot, a Newtown resident and a sophomore at The Pennington School, finished a shot behind Song in second place among the younger girls and fifth in the overall scoring by matching par with a 74.

   Cabot, the Philly Junior Tour’s 13-to-15 Player of the Year in 2025, made back-to-back birdies at the 15^th and 16^th holes and had 14 pars on her card, including a string of five straight pars from six through 10. Cabot toured the incoming nine at Manufacturers in 1-under 37.

   Cabot played on the Council Rock South golf team as a freshman last fall before transferring across the Delaware River to Pennington.

   Cedar Crest’s Brandt ripped off three straight birdies at the 12^th, 13^th and 14^th holes and added another birdie at 16 in her 2-over 76 that left her in third place in the 13-to-15 division and part of the four-way tie for seventh with Weisser, McReynolds and Choi from the 16-to-18 division in the overall chase.

   Brandt also had eight pars on her card and finished up with a sparkling 2-under 36 on the back nine at Manufacturers.

   Notre Dame Academy freshman Katelyn Bodge, who finished in sixth place in the Inter-Ac League Championship in May at Sandy Run Country Club, finished in fourth place among the younger girls with a 3-over 78.

   Council Rock North sophomore Noor Mehta and Mia DeCarlo of Glen Mills finished in a tie for fifth place in the 13-to-15 division as each registered an 81. DeCarlo, the Sam Penecale Scoring Average Award winner in the girls 12-and-under division a year ago, was coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory a week earlier at Laurel Creek Country Club.

   Radnor junior Sara Fanelli took seventh place among the younger girls with an 84, Emilie Davoli, a precocious 12-year-old from Ambler, was eighth with an 85 and Caroline Wallace of Chambersburg finished ninth with an 88.

   Hannah LeGrow, coming off her freshman season with the Ursuline Academy golf team in the spring, rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in 10^th place with a 91.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whaley fights to the finish to defeat Leng and capture the U.S. Amateur title at Merion

 

   The victory by Englishman Jack Whaley, a senior at Florida State, over Stanford junior Jay Leng Jr. in the final of a really fun 126^th U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club’s storied East Course, was a testament to the breadth of golf talent that is out there.

   Yes, they were technically amateurs, but the majority of the participants in last week’s U.S. Amateur have their sights set on a professional career.

   I saved the match-play bracket going into Saturday’s semifinals because I did the same thing 10 years ago when the U.S. Women’s Amateur was held at Roling Green Golf Club, the William Flynn gem just a few miles away from Merion.

   Four women from that match-play bracket, Hannah Green, Patty Tavatanakit, Celine Boutier and Yuka Saso, have won major championships in the decade that has ensued and Nasa Hatatoka has come close a couple of times.

   Whaley’s run to a U.S. Amateur title nearly ended before it got started.

   It took 2-over 142 for two rounds of qualifying for match play at Philadelphia Country Club and Merion just to get a chance to compete with 15 other guys for the final 11 spots in the match-play bracket. It started Wednesday morning at 7:15 a.m. Wedges at 120 yards at Merion’s little par-3 13^th hole.

   Whaley took care of that challenge by nearly holing his shot for a kick-in birdie that assured him a spot in the match-play bracket.

   Later that same day – remember, Whaley’s day probably began with a wakeup call in the 4 to 5 a.m. range – Whaley found himself in a tight match with Jackson Ormond, a hot-shot from Rochester, N.Y. who will join the program at Florida in a couple of weeks.

   All the kid did in June was earn himself a spot in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, make the cut and play the weekend.

   It took 22 holes, but Whaley finally prevailed. After a Wednesday spent living on the edge, Whaley could finally take a breath.

   Whaley was really impressive the rest of the way in match play and the Brit, after spotting Leng a 2-up advantage on the first 18 holes of the scheduled 36-hoile final, came roaring back, ultimately dropping an eight-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15^th hole, the 33^rd of the match, in the rain, to pull out a 4 and 3 decision that left him hoisting the Havemeyer Trophy.

   It was pointed out to Whaley that his name will join the likes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods on that Havemeyer Trophy, that he will join the likes of Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino and another Englishman, Justin Rose, as champions at Merion.

   “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” Whaley told the USGA in the moments following his emotional hug on the 15^th green with his father and caddy Andy. “But it’s definitely a huge honor to be able to part of the names of all the famous people and unbelievable golfers that have come through this golf course and won. Yeah, I don’t really have words for it right now.”

   Whaley took a flyer, coming to America to play NAIA golf at Dalton State College in Georgia. He caught the eye of somebody at Florida State and now he will represent Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup Match at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland next month while showing off the Havemeyer Trophy to his teammates.

   Whaley, No. 90 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) – a ranking that is going up the next time the WAGR is updated – got the jump Sunday morning when he chipped in for birdie at Merion’s short par-4 opener and won the par-3 third with a par to go 2-up.

   Leng, No. 23 in the WAGR and in the midst of a summer-long hot streak that included a victory in the Western Amateur at Beverly Golf Club in Chicago, Ill., cut his deficit in half by winning the long par-5 fourth hole.

   Whaley went back to 2-up by winning the tough par-4 fifth hole with a par, although Leng nearly got an unlikely half when he chipped with his back to hole and watched his ball slow-walk its way down the slope before, somehow, not falling.

   Leng got even by winning the ninth and 10^th holes with pars and Whaley took a 1-up lead again by taking the short par-4 11^th, the Bobby Jones hole, with a par.

   The rest of the morning belonged to Leng.

   You probably have seen the video of Leng’s birdie putt at the par-4 12^th hole as he lagged it out at least three feet left of the hole and circled the ball as it meandered its way right into the cup.

   Leng made a birdie at the little par-3 13^th hole to take a 1-up lead. He couldn’t possibly have imagined that it would be his last birdie of the day.

   A win for Leng at the par-4 16^th hole, the first of the three-hole finishing sequence that criss-crosses what once was a quarry, gave him a 2-up lead heading to the afternoon.

   Rain was promised for the afternoon and it arrived pretty much on schedule not long after the afternoon round began. It seemed to reinvigorate the Englishman, who, I’m certain, has played in rainy conditions in his native Great Britain many more times than Leng, a native of San Diego, Calif., has.

   A birdie by Whaley at the par-5 second hole, the 20^th of the match, began a burst of four straight wins that turned his 2-down deficit into a 2-up lead. Whaley made a birdie at the par-3 third hole, won the par-5 fourth with a par and the tough par-4 fifth with a bogey.

   Leng cut his deficit to 1-down when slippery hands for Whaley sent his tee shot at the par-4 sixth hole out of bounds. Out came the rain gloves.

   A birdie at the par-4 eighth hole, the 26^th of the match, restored Whaley’s 2-up advantage and he dropped a 10-foot birdie putt at the short par-4 10^th to take a commanding 3-up lead.

   It was about this time that the NBC coverage kicked in. There was a brief lull in the rain, but it looked pretty wet out there. After spending six days at Merion, I bagged the final, instead catching a loop at Stonewall that finished just before the rain arrived in earnest.

   Whaley gave a hole back when he dumped his approach at the 11^th hole, the Bobby Jones hole, in the creek fronting the green.

   But he quickly restored his 3-up lead by winning the 12^th hole, the 30^th of the match, with a par.

   When the pair headed for the East Course’s Back Five, the rain was back.

   Whaley maintained his 3-up advantage before finally putting Leng away with a nice approach at the par-4 15^th hole to eight feet below the hold and confidently holing the birdie try.

   Leng got a nice consolation prize later in the day Sunday when he was named to the United States Walker Cup team that will take on Whaley and GB&I at Lahinch.

   Leng joined 19-year-old Kihei Akina, the nation’s top freshman during the wraparound 2025-2026 college season at Brigham Young and No. 11 in the WAGR, 21-year-old Ryder Cowan, a senior at Oklahoma who got a share of low-amateur honors in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock and is No. 8 in the WAGR, 21-year-old Josiah Gilbert, a senior at Auburn who helped the Tigers capture a national title in the spring at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. and is No. 7 in the WAGR, 20-year-old William Jennings, a junior at Alabama who was the runnerup in the NCAA’s individual chase at La Costa and is No. 5 in the WAGR, and 35-year-old Stewart Hagestad, who will be a member of the U.S. team for a sixth straight Walker Cup and is No. 27 in the WAGR, as the final selections for the U.S. team.

   Four other players had already secured spots on the team, including Oklahoma State teammates Preston Stout, the No. 1 player in the WAGR, and Ethan Fang, No. 9 in the WAGR.

   Stout and Fang, both seniors, are veterans of the U.S. team that claimed a 17-9 victory over GB&I a year ago at the iconic Cypress Point Club on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula.

   Normally a biennial event, the Walker Cup Match is being contested for a second year in a row in order to synch it up with its female counterpart, the Curtis Cup Match, and leave odd-numbered years to the World Amateur Team Championship.

   The talented teens, Miles Russell, the runnerup in last month’s U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley Country Club, and Tyler Watts, who will join the program at Tennessee when he returns from Lahinch, round out the U.S. Walker Cup team.

   Watched Watts’ loss to Leng in a terrific round-of-16 match at Merion.

   Of course, the other star of the show last week was Merion and the Hugh Wilson design – with some finishing touches from Flynn – shined as brightly as ever.

   I grew up just blocks from the eighth tee at the East Course and looped there is a younger man, finishing off my stint at Merion by carrying Scioto Country Club assistant pro Jay Cudd’s bag in the 1981 U.S. Open.

   It’s always felt like visiting an old friend when I get a chance to get to Merion, particularly in the last few trips for qualifying for match play in the BMW Philadelphia Amateur in 2016, the 2021 Pennsylvania Amateur and the Curtis Cup in 2022.

   We are so lucky to have one of the cathedrals of the game in our backyard and that the membership at Merion is so generous in opening its doors for events like this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Higgins, Hyndman share a Philly Junior Tour victory at The Bucks Club

 

   Joey Higgins, a senior on the golf team at reigning Public League champion Philadelphia Academy Charter, and Logan Hyndman, a Newtown resident and a senior on the golf team at The Pennington School, each carded a solid 2-over-par 72 at The Bucks Club in Jamison to share the top spot in the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop July 23^rd.

   Higgins had a steady round, finishing up with a birdie at the 18^th hole, and recording 14 pars, including a string of 10 straight pars from four through 13.

   Hyndman opened his round with back-to-back birdies at the first and second holes, added another birdie at 12 and had 10 pars on his scorecard, including a run of five straight pars from seven through 11.

   Luke Ladrido, a senior on the State College golf team that is coming off a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AAA team chase last fall, made birdies on the second, 12^th, 14^th, and 17^th holes and had six pars on his card, matching Hyndman’s run of five straight pars from 7 through 11, as he finished two shots behind Higgins and Hyndman in third place with a 4-over 74.

   Shane Cornell, a senior on the Avon Grove golf team and a District One Class AAA qualifier last fall, and Justin Wheeler of Warminster shared fourth place, each posting a 5-over 76, Justin Delfidio, an Ambler resident and a junior on the St. Joseph Prep golf team, was sixth with a 76 and Chase Kuech, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Upper Moreland last fall, and Alexander Liu of Radnor finished in a tie for seventh, each signing for a 77.

   Vaughn Smartt of Bryn Mawr took ninth place with a 78 and Charlie Ladrido, a senior on the state co-runnerup State College golf team – likely Luke Ladrido’s twin, but I’m not positive about that – and Luke Bergin of Wayne rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each tallying an 80.

   Bobby Stefanski of Newtown Square and Jackson Jones of Bryn Mawr finished in a tie atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division as each registered a 4-over 74.

   Bobby Stefanski made birdies at the 10^th and 17^th holes while touring the incoming nine at The Bucks Club in 1-under 33. He had 11 pars on his scorecard, including two separate strings of five consecutive pars from the fourth through the eighth holes and again from 12 through 16.

   Jones also made birdies at the 10^th and 17^th holes while touring The Bucks Club’s back nine in even-par 34 and had 12 pars on his card.

   Council Rock North sophomore Rithvik Nimma, a District One Class AAA qualifier a year ago, heated up on The Bucks Club’s outgoing nine, making a birdie on the third hole and then ripping off three straight birdies at seven, eight and nine to tour the front side in 1-under 35 as he finished in third place with a 5-over 75. Nimma also had six pars on his card.

   Helmut Dang of Newtown Square took fourth place with a 76, Oliver Eckert, a sophomore on the Springside Chestnut Hill Academy golf team, was fifth with a 79 and Max Charbonneau of Wayne finished sixth with an 80.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was a five-player logjam tied for seventh place at 82 that included a couple of Malvern guys in Nathan Barker and Jake Julian, Jack Ferry of Port Deposit, Md., James Park of Ambler and Connor Bates of Schwenksville.

   Conestoga senior Jill Burks, who led the Pioneers to the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall, made a birdie at the fifth hole and had nine pars on her scorecard, including a string of four straight pars from nine through 12 as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 16-to-18 division with an 85.

   Burks will be trying to become a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier in the upcoming season.

   Mariana Walker, who wrapped up her scholastic career at Council Rock North last fall, had seven pars on her card as she rounded out a short field in the 16-to-18 division by finishing in second place with an 88.

   Elyssa Capaldo of Trooper had three pars on her scorecard, including back-to-back pars to open her round at the first and second holes, as she finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division with a 93.

   Natalie Soporowski of Nazareth finished up her round with a par at the 18^th hole as she rounded out a short field in the 13-to-15 division by ending up in second place with a 103.

   Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr, who was on a roll among the boys 12-and-under nine-holers, had eight pars on his scorecard, including six straight pars to finish up his round, as he captured another Philly Junior Tour victory with a 1-over 37.

   Ryan Kaye of Lansdale made a birdie at the fifth hole and had five pars on his card, finishing up his round with pars at seven, eight and nine, as he earned runnerup honors with a 3-over 39.

   Jack Kolmer of Wayne, coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory a day earlier at Raven’s Claw Golf Club, had five pars on his card, also closing out his round with three straight pars at the seventh, eighth and ninth holes, as he finished a shot behind Kaye in third place with a 40.

   Sid Joshi of Coopersburg and Andrew Herman of Telford shared fourth place, each carding a 43 and the foursome of Ryan Stefanski, another member of Newtown Square’s Team Stefanski, Michael Antolino of Richboro, Noah English of Villanova and Smith Rawes of Elkins Park finished in a tie for sixth, each tallying a 44.

   Kash Gray of Eagleville rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished in 10^th place with a 46.