Blok comes on strong on RiverCrest's back nine to claim title in Bert Linton Championship

 

   UPPER PROVIDENCE -- Malvern Prep’s Charlie Blok prepared rigorously over the summer for his sophomore season of scholastic golf.

   Playing most of his golf at Kings Creek Country Club in Lewes, Del., Blok tested his game against top competition in the Delaware Open at Rehoboth Beach Country Club and in the Delaware Amateur at Du Pont Country Club.

   Blok sought the advice of Anthony Sebastianelli, the talented assistant pro at Blok’s home course, Whitford Country Club, and Chris Gray, an instructor at Rehoboth Beach.

   “I just wanted to get a reliable swing and to be able to execute it under pressure,” Blok said on a gorgeous late October Thursday at the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve after his swing did just that in a 1-under-par 70 that gave him the title in the Bert Linton Championship.

   The Bert Linton crowns the Inter-Ac League’s individual champion. It is an elite field that includes the top 18 finishers during the six invitationals that comprise the Inter-Ac’s regular season with each team also getting a coach’s pick.

   When the scholastic season began in September, Blok was ready.

   “I was in the 30s in most of our matches, low to mid-30s mostly,” Blok said.

   Blok finished in 10^th place in regular-season points standings and he knew he was going up against some top competition in the Bert Linton.

   Heading the list of contenders was Blok’s teammate, senior Colby Komancheck, who was the Inter-Ac’s most outstanding player during the regular season, finishing at the top of the points list.

   Komancheck was playing on his home course. When a couple of planned sites for the Bert Linton fell through, Komancheck’s parents, Jamie and Kelly, the husband-wife team of PGA professionals who run the pro shop at RiverCrest, were able to free up RiverCrest for the tournament.

   Colby Komancheck was a frustrated runnerup to his Malvern Prep teammate as Komancheck matched par with a 71 over the 6,860-yard, par-71 RiverCrest layout. And they played from the tips.

   Malvern Prep finished in third place behind Inter-Ac League champion Episcopal Academy and The Haverford School in a tight race. But the Friars have been tough in the postseason, getting a share of the team title in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) Championship Monday at Radley Run Country Club and a 1-2 finish in the Bert Linton

   I followed the final group that included Komancheck, Episcopal Academy junior Jack Gioffre and Haverford School senior Quinn Gallagher, who had captured the individual title in the PAISAA Championship Monday at Radley Run.

   Up ahead, Blok made birdies at the second and fourth holes to offset bogeys at five and six as he made the turn at even-par.

   A double bogey at the 449-yard, par-4 10^th hole that featured a devilish false front that took its toll on several players in the field could have slowed Blok’s roll. But he didn’t let it.

   Blok rattled off birdies at the 11^th, 13^th, 14^th and 16^th holes to get it back to 2-under for his round. A bogey at the par-3 17^th hole left him at 1-under, but he would be the only player to get to the house in red figures.

   “I don’t think any of my birdie putts were longer than 10 feet,” Blok said after becoming Malvern Prep’s first Bert Linton winner since Davis Conaway’s dramatic victory at Llanerch Country Club as a freshman in 2022.

   Komancheck was a little shaky off the tee early in his round, but he made a birdie at the par-5 second hole and then drained a 40-foot bomb for a birdie at five that got him to 2-under.

   Komancheck got a little unlucky at the par-4 eighth hole when his drive settled in a sandy spot at the top of the bunker on the right side and it led to a bogey. A poor bunker shot at the short par-4 ninth hole led to a second straight bogey and dropped him back to even-par.

   Komancheck probably gained a half a shot on the field with a routine par at the tough 10^th hole, but he missed the green to the right at the 211-yard, par-3 13^th and couldn’t get it up and down and fell back to 1-over.

   Perhaps sensing that he needed to make something happen, Komancheck drilled his second shot at the 598-yard, par-5 16^th hole to 10 feet. Had to be 280 yards away, although it was downhill and down wind. He got a nice forward bounce. It was, very simply, a tremendous golf shot.

   Komancheck had a great look at eagle, but he couldn’t get it to fall. Maybe a little too aggressive speed-wise, understandable under the circumstances.

   Komancheck got the two-putt birdie to get back to even-par, but he couldn’t get it close at the par-3 17^th hole and the par-4 finishing hole and he needed birdie at one of those holes to force a playoff.

   Komancheck’s four-year Bert Linton record goes like this: Fifth at Aronmink Golf Club in 2023, tied for third at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club in 2024, tied for third again at The 1912 Club a year ago and second Thursday at RiverCrest.

   Komancheck will take his considerable talent to Saint Joseph’s next summer.

   “I wanted to stay local and I like Llanerch (the Hawks’ home base),” Komancheck said after his disappointing runnerup finish. “I met the team and they’re a great bunch of guys and one of our guys (former Malvern Prep standout) Michael Henry is there.”

   You’ll be hearing from Komancheck in 2027. He’s still eligible for all the big junior events next summer and don’t be shocked if he shows up on leaderboards in some of the big-boy Golf Association of Philadelphia events.

   Haverford School freshman Eric Cunningham rounded out the Bert Linton podium as he finished three shots behind Komancheck in third place with a 3-over 74.

   Another Malvern Prep senior, Timmy Burns, shared fourth place with Penn Charter senior Jonah Flaisher, each posting a 4-over 75.

   The Episcopal Academy trio of Gioffre, senior Arthur Hampel, who lost in a playoff to teammate Liam Crowley in the Bert Linton a year ago, and senior Carson Jakuc shared sixth place, each posting a 5-over 76.

   Gioffre, the runnerup to Komancheck in the regular-season points race, made three birdies, but three double bogeys kept him from contending for the title.

   Another Haverford School freshman, Christos Bottos, and teammate Harry Neilly, a senior, rounded out the top 10 as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each tallying a 7-over 78.

   Haverford School senior Gallagher finished in a tie for 11^th place with Malvern Prep junior Danny DiDomenico and Episcopal Academy junior Max Leung, each landing on 8-over 79.

   Gallagher was very much in contention at 1-over through the outgoing nine at RiverCrest, but he made a double bogey at that pivotal 10^th hole and never really recovered.

   Two more Episcopal Academy seniors, Freddy Hartmann and Connor Smolenski, and Haverford School sophomore William Thorkelson each recorded an 80 and finished in a tie for 14^th place.

   Malvern Prep junior Mason Matlack took 17^th place with an 81 and EA senior Crowley, the defending Bert Linton champion, finished 18^th with an 82.

   Haverford School senior Jack Luterman and Episcopal Academy junior Tucker Dempsey shared 19^th place, each landing on 83, and Malvern Prep senior Ayden Gallen and Penn Charter senior Jack Sheward finished in a tie for 21^st, each registering an 84.

   Germantown Academy sophomore Charlie Kelly took 23^rd place with an 88 and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy’s Parker Grieve, just an eighth-grader, rounded out the elite field as he finished 24^th with a 95.

 

 

 

 

 

Dunigan, Kim lead host Delaware to team title in Lady Blue Hen Invitational at Rehoboth Beach

 

   Delaware capped a fall campaign to remember by capturing the team title as the host of the Lady Blue Hen Invitational, which wrapped up Sunday at Rehoboth Beach Country Club along the Delaware coast.

   It was the second win of the fall portion of the wraparound 2026-2027 college season for Delaware. When the first Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings were released earlier this month, the Blue Hens were at No. 73, the highest ranking in the history of the program.

   Delaware had fallen back to No. 75 leading up to the Lady Blue Hen Invitational. That ranking could go back up following its win in its home event.

   More importantly, Delaware is the only Conference USA team in the top 100 in the rankings.

   After opening with an 8-over 296 over the 6,169-yard, par-72 Rehoboth Beach layout, Delaware took control of the team chase with a 4-under 284 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round that gave the Blue Hens a nine-shot lead over Penn, one of a trio of Ivy League contenders.

   Delaware closed with a 2-over 290 for a 6-over 870 total that gave the Blue Hens a five-shot victory over the other two Ivy League teams in the field, Dartmouth and Havard. It was the third straight victory in the Lady Blue Hen Invitational for homestanding Delaware.

   Delaware was led by senior Mary Grace Dunigan, who starred scholastically at Unionville, and Hunji Kim, a junior from England, as they finished in a tie for second place in the individual chase, two shots behind individual champion Vanessa Zhang, a junior at Harvard from Canada.

   Dunigan, who captured the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur Championship in July at Gulph Mills Golf Club and represented Delaware in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn. in August, sandwiched a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round with a pair of 1-under 71s for a 1-under 215 total.

   Kim posted a 3-under 69 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round after matching par in the opening round with a 72 and was tied for the lead with Vanessa Zhang going into the final round. Kim closed with a 2-over 74 to fall back into the tie for second place at 1-under.

   Vanessa Zhang, who represented Harvard as an individual in last spring’s NCAA Tallahassee Regional, opened with a sparkling 5-under 67 as the Crimson matched Delaware’s opening round of 8-over 296.

   Harvard, No. 55 in the Scoreboard rankings, struggled in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round with a 306 before closing with a sizzling 9-under 279, the low team round of the tournament, to get a share of second place with Ivy League rival Dartmouth at 11-over 875.

   Vanessa Zhang added a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to her opening-round 67 before matching par in the final round with a 72 that gave her the individual title with a 3-under 213 total.

   Harvard had another player finish in the top 10 as standout freshman Rayee Feng, a product of The Pingry School, closed with a sizzling 6-under 66, the low individual round of the tournament, to share eighth place with Youngstown State’s Ines Gonzalez Ortega, a freshman from Spain, and St. John’s Lily Huynh, a junior from Chatsworth, Calif., each landing on 1-over 217.

   Feng had opened with a 5-over 77 and added a 2-over 74 in afternoon of Saturday’s double round.

   Dartmouth also opened with an 8-over 296 and added a 295 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round before closing a solid 4-under 284 to get a share of second place with its Ivy League rival Harvard at 11-over.

   Penn, No. 70 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished two shots behind its two Ivy League rivals in fourth place with a 13-over 877 total.

   The Quakers opened with a 4-over 292 and added a 297 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round before matching par in the final round with a 288.

   Penn was led by Juliet Oh, a standout freshman from Diamond Bar, Calif. who joined Delaware’s Dunigan and Kim in the foursome tied for second place at 1-under.

   Oh, who reached the second round of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C. in July, opened with a 1-under 71 before matching par in each of the final two rounds with a pair of 72s.

   Penn was coming off a trip across the pond earlier in the month as the Quakers teed it up in the St. Andrews Links Collegiate at the home of golf, the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland.

   A victory over the Big Ten’s Washington lifted Penn to a third-place finish in what, I’m quite certain, was an exhilarating experience for the whole team.

   The photo at the top of Penn’s roster on its website is of the team and the coaches on the Swilcan Bridge on the 18^th hole at St. Andrews. Pretty cool.

   Georgetown, a Big East representative, finished in fifth place in the 11-team field with a 20-over 884 total. The Hoyas added a 4-over 292 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to their opening-round 298 before closing with a 294.

   Georgetown was led by Mahreen Bhatia, a freshman from India who shared sixth place with Youngstown State’s Neeranuch Prajunpanich, a senior from Thailand, each ending up with an even-par 216 total.

   Bhatia added a solid 3-under 69 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to her opening round of 1-over 73 before closing with a 74.

   Backing up Dunigan and Kim for Delaware was sophomore Rhianna Gooneratne, the PIAA Class AAA champion in 2023 as a junior at Plymouth-Whitemarsh who finished in the group tied for 11^th place with a 2-over 218 total.

   It’s been a pretty special fall for Gooneratne as she followed up her first collegiate victory in the Mary Fossum Invitational at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West Course last month with another win in the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational hosted by Kansas at Lawrence Country Club, where she finished with a 2-under 211 total earlier this month.

   Gooneratne’s heroics led the Blue Hens to the team title in the Mary Fossum and a runnerup finish in the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational.

   Gooneratne struggled a little in her opening round at Rehoboth Beach with a 5-over 77 before bouncing back with a 3-under 69 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round. She matched par in the final round with a 72.

   Freshman Kayley Roberts, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Phoenixville, finished in a tie for 25^th place with a 9-over 225 total for the Blue Hens. Kayley Roberts sandwiched a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round with a pair of 4-over 76s.

   Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Anushka Sawant, a junior from South Brunswick, N.J. who finished among the group tied for 48^th place with a 235 total. Sawant struggled in Saturday’s double round with a pair of 81s before contributing a solid 1-over 73 to Delaware’s strong final-round showing.

   Patty Post, the director of golf programs at Delaware, used the occasion of her home tournament to get three other players on the golf course as individuals.

   Senior Marissa Malosh, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at South Fayette, had a nice showing, finishing in the group tied for 27^th place with a 226 total. After opening with a 6-over 78, Malosh recorded back-to-back 2-over 74s in the final two rounds.

   Junior Kate Roberts, Kayley Roberts’ older sister and a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Phoenixville, finished among a trio of players tied for 37^th place with a 229 total. After opening with a 2-over 74, Kate Roberts added a 77 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round before closing with a 78.

   Victoria Rivera, a sophomore from Puerto Rico, rounded out the Delaware contingent as she finished among a trio of players tied for 56^th place with a 239 total. Rivera added a 6-over 78 in the afternoon of the Saturday double round to her opening-round 82 before finishing up with a 79.

   Rounding out the foursome tied for second place at 1-under was Seton Hall’s Marta Aguilar, a junior from Spain who opened with a solid 2-under 70 and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round before matching par in the final round.

   Aguilar led the Pirates, another Big East entry, to a seventh-place finish with a 35-over 899 total.

   Youngstown State’s Prajunpanich joined Georgetown’s Bhatia in the tie for sixth place at even-par 216. Prajunpanich matched par in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round with a 72 after opening with a 2-over 74 and closed with a solid 2-under 70.

   Prajunpanich’s Youngstown State teammate, Gonzalez Ortega, landed in the trio tied for eighth place at 1-over as she opened with a 1-under 71 and matched par in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round with a 72 before finishing up with a 2-over 74.

   Prajunpanich and Gonzalez Ortega led the Penguins, the Horizon League runnerup last spring, to an eighth-place finish in the Lady Blue Hen Invitational with a 39-over 903 total.

   Rounding out the trio tied for eighth place at 1-over was St. John’s Huynh, who had a share of the lead with Harvard’s Vanessa Zhang and Delaware’s Kim going into the final round as Huynh added a 2-under 70 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to her opening-round 71. Huynh backed off a little with a 4-over 76 in the final round.

   Huynh led the Red Storm, the runnerup in the Big East Championship last spring, to a 10^th-place finish at Rehoboth Beach with a 50-over 914 total.

   Backing up Oh for Penn was Adrienne Ahn-Upton, a sophomore from Dallas, Texas who finished among the group tied for 11^th place at 2-over 218. Ahn-Upton sandwiched a 4-over 76 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round with a pair of solid 1-under 71s.

   Sophia Lu, a freshman from Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif., finished among a trio of players tied for 17^th place at 4-over 220 as she added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to her opening-round 76 before closing with a solid 1-under 71.

   Rounding out the Penn lineup were Mi Li, a sophomore from Orlando, Fla. and Claire Lu, a junior from Edison, N.J., as they finished in the group tied for 27^th place at 226.

   After opening with a 2-over 74, Li added a 77 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round before closing with a 75. Claire Lu tallied a pair of 4-over 76s in Saturday’s double round before finishing up with a 74.

   By finishing ahead of six teams in the Lady Blue Hen Invitational, Mark Anderson, in his 18^th season at the helm at Penn, surpassed 1,000 wins with the Quakers.

   Anderson sent out three of his players to compete as individuals, led by Madeline Zhang, a senior from Princeton, N.J. who finished alone in 24^th place with a 7-over 223 total. Madeline Zhang added a solid 1-under 71 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round to her opening round of 1-over 73 before closing with a 74.

   Maggie Ni, a sophomore from Cypress, Texas, posted back-to-back 4-under 76s in Saturday’s double round and closed with a 75 to finish in a tie for 32^nd place with a 227 total.

   Rounding out the Penn contingent was Chelsea Nguyen, a senior from Oviedo, Fla. who finished in a tie for 64^th place at 245. After opening with an 85, Nguyen tallied an 81 in the afternoon of Saturday’s double round before finishing up with a 7-over 79.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gallagher captures individual title, leads Haverford School to share of team crown in PAISAA Championship at Radley Run

 

   BIRMINGHAM TOWNSHIP -- Haverford School senior Quinn Gallagher learned how to play the game at McCall Golf Club, the old PECO course in Upper Darby.

   It is a relatively short course, but demands precision off the tee. It’s why Gallagher didn’t hesitate to leave the driver in the bag off several of the tees during Monday’s Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) Championship at Radley Run Country Club.

   Gallagher, who finished up strong in the Inter-Ac League’s regular season, kept that momentum going by carding a sparkling 2-under-par 70 to capture the individual title and help the Fords gain a share of the team crown with two of their Inter-Ac rivals, Malvern Prep and Germantown Academy.

   “I just wanted to play smart,” Gallagher said after taming a 6,403-yard, par-72 Radley Run that was playing pretty tough on a gorgeous late October day in Chester County. “I just wanted to play for pars and if you can make birdies, make birdies.”

   He made four of them, but, after starting off the sixth tee, Gallagher jump-started his round with an eagle at the 489-yard, par-5 seventh hole. His approach for the round was evident there.

   “I hit 5-wood off the tee, just to make sure I got it in the fairway,” Gallagher said. “I had 240 to the green and I hit the 3-wood to 15 feet and made the putt.”

   Gallagher added a birdie at the ninth hole and then another at 11 after turning to the back nine and suddenly found himself 4-under through the first five holes of his round.

   “You get some weird looks off the tee here, just like at McCall,” said Gallagher, who will join the program at Lafayette in the Patriot League next summer. “I made a birdie at three with a 5-wood off the tee and a birdie at 18 with a 5-wood off the tee.”

   There was a double bogey at the second hole and a couple of other bogeys sprinkled on his scorecard, but Gallagher was able to parlay his fast start into a two-shot victory over surprising Episcopal Academy sophomore George Hampel and Hill School senior Brooks Bernabei, each of whom matched par with a 72.

   The Haverford School ended up finishing second to Episcopal Academy in a typically tight race for the Inter-Ac title, which wrapped up with the last of the league’s six invitationals, hosted by Malvern Prep at Waynesborough Country Club.

   Gallagher had been the medalist for the day two days earlier with a 2-under 34 at Merion Golf Club’s West Course in the Springside Chestnut Hill Academy Invitationals to help the Fords move into a tie with EA heading into the season finale at Waynesborough.

   Gallagher signed for a sparkling 2-under 33 at Waynesborough, but Haverford School finished in third place in the team standings to end up as the Inter-Ac runnerup for the season.

   “I’ve been playing well coming into this,” Gallagher said.

   Gallagher credits his first instructor at McCall, Donie Steyn – “I think I started with him when I was like 4-years old,” Gallagher said – as well as Dom DiJulia, one of the area’s most respected teachers, for his success on the golf course.

   Due to a scheduling quirk, the PAISAA preceded the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac’s individual championship for the first time. The Bert Linton will be played Thursday at the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve and Gallagher will certainly be carrying some momentum into the battle for the Inter-Ac’s individual title.

   Junior Brayden Vargas led the effort for Germantown Academy as he finished alone in fourth place, a shot behind EA’s Hempel and Hill’s Bernabei with a 1-over 73.

   Defending PAISAA individual champion Colby Komancheck, a senior at Malvern Prep, finished among a quartet of players tied for fifth place that included his fellow Friar Charlie Blok, a sophomore, Episcopal Academy senior Freddy Hartmann and Germantown Academy sophomore Charlie Kelly, each ending up with a 2-over 74.

   Komancheck figures to be one of the top contenders in the Bert Linton Thursday at RiverCrest, his home course.

   Komancheck, who will join the program at Saint Joseph’s next summer, was the top points-getter during the Inter-Ac’s six invitationals, evidence of his consistency. His scoring average of 35.2 for the six invitationals was an Inter-Ac record since the league adopted the format when golf switched from the spring to the fall in 2011.

   Hill School senior captain Quin Zuegner and Germantown Academy junior Sean Taylor finished in a tie for ninth place, each recording a 3-over 75.

   Zuegner was playing in a group with Komancheck and Episcopal Academy senior Liam Crowley, who will be defending his Bert Linton title Thursday at RiverCrest, and I caught their last five holes.

   Zuegner finished strong with back-to-back birdies at the 16^th and 17^th holes. He had a good look at birdie at the par-4 finishing hole, but got a little too aggressive with his birdie putt and ended up with a three-putt bogey.

   Zuegner, a New Hope native, has been a mainstay in the lineup at The Hill throughout his time in Pottstown and the Blues still have a spring schedule to play.

   A foursome of players finished in a tie for 11^th place at 4-over 76 and included a pair of Malvern Prep seniors, Timmy Burns and Ayden Gallen, Malvern Prep junior Mason Matlack and Haverford School freshman Eric Cunningham.

   Five players finished in a tie for 15^th place at 5-over 77, a group that included Haverford School’s Harry Neilly, a senior, and Christos Bottos, a freshman, Malvern Prep junior Michael DiDomenico, Episcopal Academy junior Tucker Dempsey, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy eighth-grader Parker Grieve and Penn Charter senior Jack Sheward.

   Germantown Academy sophomore Oliver Hubbert finished alone in 21^st place with a 78.

   Episcopal Academy senior Connor Smolenski, George School junior Rayan Shah and Jeremy Reed, a post-graduate student at Kiski Prep, shared 22^nd place as each registered a 79.

   In a testament to the competitive balance in the Inter-Ac League, it was Haverford School, Malvern Prep and Germantown Academy, which finished second, third and tied for fourth, respectively, behind Inter-Ac champion Episcopal Academy during the six invitationals that comprise the regular season, ended up in a tie for first place in the PAISAA team chase, each landing on 12-over 300.

   EA, which wrapped up its second straight Inter-Ac crown last week, finished two shots behind the top three in fourth place at 302.

   The PAISAA was a five-score-four format and, obviously, played over 18 holes as opposed to the Inter-Ac matches, which are nine holes and score five players.

   Haverford School was led, of course, by Gallagher and his 2-under 70 that earned him medalist honors.

   Backing Gallagher up was Cunningham, the freshman, with his 4-over 76. Gallagher’s fellow senior Neilly and Bottos, another freshman, rounded out the counters as each carded a 5-over 77.

   Malvern Prep, which had shared the team title with Episcopal Academy a year ago at Radley Run, got a piece of the team crown for a second straight fall.

   Komancheck and the sophomore Blok led the way for the Friars as each posted a 2-over 74. Komancheck’s fellow seniors Burns and Gallen and junior Mason Matlack each tallied a 76 with only two of those three scores needed to round out the four counters for Malvern Prep.

   Really nice effort by Germantown Academy as Vargas, a junior, Kelly, a sophomore, and Taylor, a junior, went 73, 74 and 75, respectively, to lead the way for the Patriots.

   Hubbert, a sophomore, was the final counter for GA with a solid 6-over 78.

   The Hill School, behind Bernabei and Zuegner, rounded out the top five in the team scoring as the Blues finished 15 shots behind Episcopal Academy in fifth place with a 317 total.