Keba captures individual title, helps Drexel rally past Penn to claim team crown in Columbia Invitational at Rolling Green

 

   Coming off trips to two of the most popular golf destinations on the West Coast, West Philadelphia neighbors Drexel and Penn hooked up in Delaware County Monday at the William Flynn gem that is Rolling Green Golf Club and a late rally by the Dragons gave them a three-shot victory over the Quakers in the Columbia Spring Invitational, a one-day 36-hole shootout.

   Google maps says it’s 19 miles from Penn’s campus to Rolling Green, but that’s taking you down to I-95 and up the Blue Route. Pretty sure if you just zipped out Walnut Street, went through 69^th Street and hooked a right on Township Line Road, it would be 15 miles max.

   Hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Rolling Green was preparing to host the 2016 U.S. Women’s Amateur, a championship that produced at least four major champions on the LPGA Tour in the ensuing decade.

   Penn’s Ivy League rival Columbia has hosted this event in the late March-early April time frame in recent years and players have often been met with some dicey early spring weather. But the field caught a pretty good day to play 36 Monday, albeit with enough March wind to keep scores pretty high over the challenging 6,818-yard, par-70 layout with those always tricky Flynn greens.

   Drexel, which plays out of the Coastal Athletic Association, trailed Penn by three shots following the morning round as the Quakers opened with a 15-over-par 295 while the Dragons were at 18-over 298.

   But the Dragons, getting a 1-under 69 from individual champion John Keba, a junior who was a scholastic standout at Allentown Central Catholic, closed with a 12-over 292 in the afternoon for a 30-over 590 total.

   It was the second team title of the wraparound 2025-2026 season for Drexel under first-year coach Scott Yurgalevicz as the Dragons also won locally last fall in the Temple Invitational at The 1912 Club. At No. 175 in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, Drexel was the highest-ranked team in the field

   Penn finished up with an 18-over 298 in the afternoon to earn runnerup honors with a 33-over 593 total.

   Keba had opened with a 3-over 73, but his strong finish enabled him to overtake teammate Caleb Taylor, a senior from Woodbine, Md., for the individual title with Keba’s 1-under 69 giving him a 2-over 142 total.

   Taylor had opened with a 1-under 69, matching the low individual round of the day, before closing with a 4-over 74 that left him a shot behind Keba in second place with a 3-over 143 total.

   Drexel had a third top-10 finisher in senior Kevin Lydon, who starred scholastically at Central Bucks West and qualified for last summer’s U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif., as Lydon finished among a group of five players tied for 10^th place at 9-over 149.

   Lydon, coming off a strong showing in the UC San Diego Invitational at the Torrey Pines Golf Course’s North Course in San Diego, Calif. a week earlier, added a 3-over 73 in the afternoon Monday to his opening-round 76.

   Penn was led by Hayden Adams, a junior from Lexington, Ky. who finished two shots behind Taylor in third place in the individual standings with a 5-over 145 total.

   Adams, coming off a runnerup finish in a tough field that gathered for the Bandon Dunes Championship at the Bandon Dunes Resort’s Pacific Dunes Course on the rugged Oregon coastline in early March, was only two shots behind Taylor following an opening round of 1-over 71 before adding a 4-over 74 in the afternoon.

   Max Fonseca, a junior from Miami, Fla., gave the Quakers a second finisher inside the top five as he added a 3-over 73 in the afternoon to his opening-round 74 that left him among a group of four players tied for fifth place at 7-over 147.

   Manhattan, a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference representative, finished 10 shots behind Penn in third place with a 603 total. The Jaspers struggled in the opening round with a 309 before bouncing back with a 14-over 294 in the afternoon.

   Manhattan was led by Cabell Faulkner, a sophomore from Potomac, Md. who joined Penn’s Fonseca, Fordham’s A.J. DePaolo, a junior from Cheshire, Conn. competing as an individual, and Maryland’s Armond Papaziani, a senior from France competing as an individual, as they comprised the quartet tied for fifth place at 7-over.

   Faulkner opened with a solid 2-over 72 before adding a 75 in the afternoon.

   Manhattan had another top-10 finisher as Aidan Talent, a sophomore from Canada, added a solid 1-over 71 in the afternoon to his opening-round 78 to join the quintet tied for 10^th place at 9-over.

   Fordham, an Atlantic 10 representative, Le Moyne, a Northeast Conference entry, and Siena, one of Manhattan’s MAAC rivals, finished in a tie for fourth place, each ending up a shot behind Manhattan with a 44-over 604 total.

   The Rams recorded back-to-back 302s.

   They were led by Luke Brower, a junior from Middlebury, Conn. who finished a shot behind Penn’s Adams in fourth place with a 6-over 146. Brower opened with a 1-over 71 before adding a 75 in the afternoon.

   Liam Howard, a junior from Leesburg, Va., ended up in the group tied for 10^th place for Fordham as he bounced back from an opening round of 8-over 78 with a solid 71 in the afternoon.

   DePaolo may have earned himself some consideration for a spot in Fordham’s first five by finishing in the quartet tied for fifth place at 7-over while competing as an individual. DePaolo added a 2-over 72 in the afternoon to his opening-round 75.

   The Dolphins of Le Moyne bounced back from an opening-round 309 with a 15-over 295 in Monday afternoon’s second round. The Saints of Siena opened with a 306 before adding an 18-over 298 in the afternoon.

   Saint Joseph’s had an even shorter route to Rolling Green as City Line Avenue just turns into Township Line Road in Delaware County.

   The Hawks, one of Fordham’s A-10 rivals, finished in a tie for eighth place in the 12-team field with host Columbia and Lafayette, a Patriot League entry, each landing on 49-over 609. St. Joe’s added a 305 in the afternoon to its opening-round 304.

   Backing up the trio of Keba, Taylor and Lydon for Drexel was sophomore John Stevenson, a scholastic standout at La Salle and a back-to-back winner of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship in 2023 and 2024, as he finished among the group tied for 42^nd place with a 16-over 156 total.

   Stevenson added a 6-over 76 in the afternoon to his opening-round 80.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup was sophomore Nathan Guertler, who starred scholastically at Haddon Heights, as he finished in the trio tied for 64^th place with a 163 total. Guertler added an 81 in Monday afternoon’s second round to his opening-round 82.

   Drexel was coming off a solid fourth-place finish in the UC San Diego Invitational, which wrapped up March 24^th at Torrey Pines, home of a regular PGA Tour stop, with a 7-under 857 total.

   Lydon led the way as he finished in a tie for 11^th place with a 5-under 211 total. Keba and Taylor also had top-20 finishes at Torrey Pines as they finished in the group tied for 20^th place at 2-under 214. 

   Maryland, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, didn’t field a full team at Rolling Green, but sent several individuals.

   Papaziani was one of those players and he matched par in the afternoon with a 70 after opening with a 77 to join the quartet tied for fifth place at 7-over.

   Merrimack’s Rafli Sati, a senior from Indonesia, finished alone in ninth place with an 8-over 148 total as he opened with a solid 2-over 72 and added a 76 in the afternoon.

   The Warriors, another MAAC representative, finished in 11^th place with a 66-over 626 total.

   Rounding out the quintet tied for 10^th place at 9-over was a pair of Lafayette players, junior Winston Kelenc-Blank, who played scholastically at Peddie School and Choate Rosemary Hall, and Viktor Kofod-Olsen, a freshman from the United Arab Emirates who competed as an individual.

   Kelenc-Blank, who regularly appeared on Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour leaderboards as a junior player, opened with a 3-over 73 before adding a 76 in the afternoon. Kofod-Olsen opened with a 4-over 74 and added a 75 in the afternoon.

   Lafayette shared eighth place with Saint Joseph’s and Columbia with a 49-over 609 total.

   Backing up Adams and Fonseca for Penn was Wesley Hu, a sophomore from Suwanee, Ga. as he finished among the group tied for 22^nd place with an 11-over 151 total. Hu opened with a 2-over 73 before adding a 78 in the afternoon.

   Henry Chen, a freshman from Hillsborough, Calif., finished in the group tied for 34^th place at 154 for the Quakers as he bounced back from an opening-round 81 with a 3-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Rounding out the Penn lineup was Kayden Wang, a freshman from San Diego, Calif. who finished in the group tied for 60^th place at 162 as opened with a 7-over 77 before adding an 85 in the afternoon

   Adams has had a really strong spring for Penn, highlighted by his runnerup finish in the Bandon Dunes Championship, which wrapped up March 10^th at the Tom Doak-designed Pacific Dunes Course at Bandon.

   Adams closed with a sizzling 7-under 65 to end up with an 8-under 205 total.

   He led Penn to a final round of 7-under 281 that left the Quakers in 10^th place in a tough 15-team field with a 17-over 869 total.

   Penn opened its spring campaign by finishing in a tie for 13^th place in a 20-team field in the Loyola Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Feb. 17^th at Palm Valley Golf Club in Goodyear, Ariz., with a 4-over 868 total.

   Adams led the way for Quakers at Palm Valley as well as he finished in a tie for 22^nd place with a 4-under 212 total.

   Saint Joseph’s was led by its pair of talented freshmen, George Williamson Jr. of Sykesville, Md. and Michael Henry Jr., who was one of the top performers in the tough Inter-Ac League during his scholastic career at Malvern Prep.

   Williamson, who is having a good spring, added a 5-over 75 in the afternoon to his opening-round 76 to finish among the group tied for 22^nd place with an 11-over 151 total.

   Henry was in a trio of players tied for 29^th place at 12-over 152 as posted a pair of 6-over 76s at Rolling Green.

   Junior Noah Moelter, who finished in a tie for sixth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Central Bucks South in 2022, and senior Christian Matt, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during an outstanding scholastic career at Wissahickon, finished among the group tied for 34^th place at 154 for St. Joe’s.

   Moelter opened with a 5-over 75 before adding a 79 in Monday afternoon’s second round. Matt had the opposite splits, rebounding from an opening-round 79 with a 5-over 75 in the afternoon.

   Junior Kevin Lafond, a PIAA Class AAA Championship qualifier as a senior with Catholic League power La Salle in 2022, rounded out the Saint Joseph’s lineup as he opened with a 7-over 77 and added an 83 in the afternoon to finish in a tie for 56^th place with a 160 total.

   Freshman Ian Natale, another product of the La Salle scholastic program, competed as an individual for Saint Joseph’s and added an 82 in the afternoon to his opening-round 85 to finish in 68^th place with a 167 total.

   Natale and Drexel’s Stevenson were in the lineup for the Explorers when they were the runnerup in the PIAA Class AAA team chase in 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

O'Hara's DeMarco a Philly Junior Tour winner for a second time this spring at Chesapeake Bay

 

   Matt DeMarco, a junior on the Cardinal O’Hara golf team, put together a solid 2-over-par 74 at Chesapeake Bay Golf Club in Rising Sun, Md. to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division Sunday.

   It was chilly and breezy, but downright balmy compared to the conditions the Philly Junior Tour golfers faced Saturday at Honeybrook Golf Club in the northwest corner of Chester County.

   It was the second Philly Junior Tour victory of the young season for DeMarco as he prevailed in less-than-ideal conditions in the season opener March 7^th at Five Ponds Golf Club.

   DeMarco made birdies at the seventh, 11^th, 15^th and 17^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard in a solid effort at Chesapeake Bay.

   Luke McGraw, a junior at State College who has qualified for the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of the last two falls, made birdies at the sixth, eighth, ninth and 12^th holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard, including five straight pars to start his round, as he finished a shot behind DeMarco in second place with a 3-over 75.

   It looked like McGraw was going to run away with the victory as his birdie at the 12^th hole got him to 4-under for his round, but he cooled off a little down the stretch.

   Luke Ladrido, a classmate of McGraw’s on the State College golf team, and Frank Kunze, a sophomore on the Garnet Valley golf team, finished in a tie for third place, each landing on 5-over 77.

   Luke Ladrido had 13 pars on his card, grinding out seven straight pars to close out his round. Kunze made birdies at the sixth, eighth, ninth and 14^th holes and had six pars on his card.

   Luke Ladrido’s twin brother Charlie, also a junior on the State College golf team, and Billy Nikolaidis, a sophomore on the Muhlenberg golf team, shared fifth place, each signing for an 80.

   McGraw and the Ladrido twins were three of the five players in the State College lineup as the Little Lions finished in a tie for second place with Radnor in the PIAA Class AAA team chase, a shot behind state champion Unionville, last fall at Penn State’s Blue Course.

   Nicholas Fargnoli of Mickleton, N.J. and Ben Pifer of Wyoming, Del. shared seventh place, each posting an 81 and Josh Mohn, a junior on the St. Mark’s golf team, finished alone in ninth with an 82. Scholastic golf in Delaware is played in the spring and the season is just getting under way.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Anthony Beach of Westville, N.J. and Brayden Hughes of Hockessin, Del. as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each tallying an 83.

   Evan Smith, playing not far from his Elkton, Md. home, made birdies on the second, ninth and 14^th holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard, including four straight pars to finish up his round, as he took top honors in the 13-to-15 division with a 3-over 75.

   Smith was coming off a tie for second place a day earlier in the brutal cold and wind at Honeybrook.

   Preston Minio of Lansdale, one of the many talented 12-and-under nine-holers from a year ago who have moved into the ranks of the 18-holers, made birdies on the ninth and 11^th holes and had nine pars on his card as he finished three shots behind Smith in second place with a 6-over 78.

   Taimoor Naseem, the talented 13-year-old from Sinking Spring, made birdies on the 10^th and 12^th holes and had six pars on his card as he finished in third place with an 82.

   Naseem had the best score of the day in either of the 18-hole boys divisions in the bitter cold Saturday at Honeybrook.

   Helmut Dang of Newtown Square took fourth place with an 83, Dean Matta of West Grove was fifth with an 84 and Camden Blevins, a sophomore on the Garnet Valley golf team, finished sixth with an 85.

   Connor Masulis of Pottstown and Brooks Buerhaus of Bel Air, Md. shared seventh place, each registering an 86, and Ethan Clouser, a freshman at La Salle and a Newtown resident, and Ben Meixell, a Wilmington, Del. resident whose freshman season at Salesianum is just getting under way, rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as they finished in a tie for ninth, each carding an 87.

   The best score among the girls emerged from the 13-to-15 division as Ella Buerhaus of Abingdon, Md. had three pars on her scorecard to earn a Philly Junior Tour victory with a 94.

   Alexa Mcelwain of Schnecksville rounded out a short field in the 13-to-15 division as she made back-to-back pars on the sixth and seventh holes on her way to a 100 that earned her a runnerup finish.

   Brooke Burge of Middletown, Del. made birdies on the sixth and 10^th holes and had three pars on her scorecard as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division with a 97.

   A couple of players from Towson, Md. rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as Isabel Knott finished in second place with a 103 and Hadley Clark was third with a 108.

   Knott had two pars on her card and Clark made a birdie on the sixth hole and a par at 11.

   Connor Michaels of Lancaster made birdies on the sixth and eighth holes and a par at nine as he bested the field of 12-and-under nine-holers with a 6-over 42.

   Dillon Tierney of Marlton, N.J. had three pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 43 that left him a shot behind Michaels.

   Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. and Alex Cheng of Wilmington, Del. finished in a tie for third place, each signing for a 45. Wang had three pars on his card and Cheng had back-to-back pars on the eighth and ninth holes.

   A couple more Wilmington, Del. guys, Chris Pilcher and Julian Kelley, finished in a tie for fifth place, each recording a 51, and Landon Post of Lincoln University rounded out the field in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished seventh with a 52.

   Aashi Chakraborty of Kennett Square was the lone entry in the girls 12-and-under division and she made back-to-back pars at the fifth and sixth holes on her way to a 47.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Naseem overcomes harsh conditions at Honeybrook to cruise to a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   The cold-weather gear was required with temperatures in the northwest corner of Chester County barely reaching the 40s and a cruel March wind consistently blowing 20 mph with higher gusts.

   But give the intrepid kids who play the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour credit. They came out in force Saturday at Honeybrook Golf Club and some of them played pretty darn well on a day when just finishing was an accomplishment in itself.

   Take for instance, Taimoor Naseem, a talented 13-year-old from Sinking Spring who had the best round of the day among the guys with a 1-over-par 66 that gave him a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division.

   The 18-hole divisions only played 17 holes as the par-5 fourth hole at Honeybrook remains out of commission. This time last year I guessed that the hole was closed because some kind of offseason renovation wasn’t quite completed.

   I’ve heard since then there is some kind of property dispute with one of Honeybrook’s neighbors that might be making its way through the courts.

   Naseem, seemingly unbothered by the cold and wind, made a birdie on the 16^th hole and had 14 pars on his scorecard, making pars on 10 of the first 12 holes he played.

   Evan Smith of Elkton, Md. and Ryan Agan, a freshman on the Oxford golf team, finished four shots behind Naseem in a tie for second place, each posting a 5-over 70.

   Smith had 13 pars on his card, including eight straight pars to finish out his round. Agan made a birdie at the seventh hole and had 10 pars on his card as he toured the outgoing eight holes in even-par 30.

   Luciano Follo of Newtown Square and Carter Bove, a 12-year-old from Kennett Square, shared fourth place, each signing for a 75, Benjamin Lear of West Chester was sixth with a 76 and Declan Mayo of Chadds Ford and Mason Arnold of Ambler finished in a tie for seventh, each recording a 77.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Nolan Sweigart of Lancaster and Charlie Orio of Downingtown as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each tallying a 79.

   Alex Hoskins, a sophomore on the State College golf team, made a road trip from central Pennsylvania pay off with a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division with a 6-over 71.

   Hoskins made birdies on the second and 14^th holes and had eight pars on his scorecard.

   Ian Larsen, a junior on the Downingtown West golf team, and Joey Bilotta, who wrapped up is scholastic career at Boyertown last fall, finished a shot behind Hoskins in a tie for second place, each registering a 7-over 72.

   Larsen was a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore in the fall of 2024 when he finished in a tie for second place in the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course, but came up short of a return trip to states last fall. Larsen has always played well in the Philly Junior Tour stop at Honeybrook and had 11 pars on his card this time around.

   Bilotta made a birdie on the third hole and had nine pars on his card.

   Colby Seislove, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Spring-Ford by qualifying for the District One Class AAA Championship last fall, and Pierce Drake, a junior on the Downingtown East golf team, finished in a tie for fourth place, each carding a 73.

   Brady Morris, a junior on the Governor Mifflin golf team, took sixth place with a 74, Jack Yantosh, a junior on the Garnet Valley golf team, was seventh with a 75 and Michael Liu, a Garnet Valley resident whose senior season at Archmere Academy is just getting under way, finished eighth with a 79.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Shane Cornell, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior on the Avon Grove golf team last fall, and Joey Gangemi Jr., who wrapped his scholastic career at Downingtown East last fall, as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each posting an 82.

   The best score among the girls also came out of the younger 13-to-15 division as Noor Mehta, who came up just short of earning a trip to the state tournament as a freshman at Council Rock North last fall, carded a 1-over 66 to earn a Philly Junior Tour victory.

   Mehta made birdies on the 12^th and 17^th holes and had 12 pars on her scorecard. Seven of those pars came on the outgoing eight holes, which Mehta toured in 1-over 31.

   Raegan Young of Middletown and Molly Wagner of Newark, Del. shared second place, each ending up with a 79.

   Young made birdies on the 12^th and 17^th holes and had three pars on her card. Wagner had six pars on her card.

   Alexa Mcelwain of Schnecksville took fourth place with an 80, Olivia Kirmayer, a freshman on the Downingtown East golf team, was fifth with an 81, Allison Choi of Penn Valley was sixth with an 86 and Giuliana Orlando of Cheser Springs was seventh with a 92.

   Sophia Carvalho of Downingtown took eighth place with a 97, Emily Milito of Coatesville was ninth with a 99 and the Malvern pair of Olivia Rosen and Kate Benson, a freshman on the Great Valley golf team, rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as Rosen was 10^th with a 109 and Benson was 11^th with a 112.

   Two of the Central League’s top players, Megan Choi, a sophomore at Harriton and another member of Penn Valley’s Team Choi, and Jill Burks, a junior at Conestoga, went 1-2, respectively, in the 16-to-18 division.

   Megan Choi, who has qualified for the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of her first two seasons at Harriton, made a birdie at the fifth hole and had 12 pars on her scorecard, grinding out eight straight pars in the difficult conditions to complete her round, as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory among the older girls with a 4-over 69.

   Jill Burks earned her third straight trip to states in Class AAA last fall and led the Pioneers to the PIAA Class AAA team crown. She made birdies at the first, 15^th and 17^th holes and had five pars on her card as she finished five shots behind Megan Choi in second place with a 74.

   Emma Gangemi, a sophomore on the Downtown East golf team and a member of Downingtown’s Team Gangemi, had four pars on her card, including three straight pars at the fifth, sixth and seventh holes, as she finished in third place with an 87.

   Rounding out the field in the 16-to-18 division was Faridah Ismaila, a sophomore on the Great Valley golf team who finished in fourth place with a 100.

   Brody Rollins of Milton, Del. made a birdie on the 12^th hole and had six pars on his scorecard as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a solid 1-over 36.

   Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr had seven pars on his card, including four straight pars to close out his round, as he earned runnerup honors with a 2-over 37.

   James Wilson of Wilmington, Del., coming off co-medalist honors in the boys 12-and-under division in a Philly Junior Tour stop at Shore Gate Golf Club at the Jersey Shore, made a birdie on the 12^th hole and had five pars on his card as he took third place with a 3-over 38.

   Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville took fourth place with a 39, Connor Michaels of Lancaster and Andrew DElia of Clarks Summit shared fifth, each signing for a 40, and Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. was seventh with a 44.

   Dino Luccia of North Wales took eighth place with a 45, Nolan Dunkelberger of Nazareth was ninth with a 46 and the pair of Caden Bartra of Yardley and Sid Joshi of Coopersburg rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division as they finished in a tie for 10^th, each recording a 47.

   Tight battle between two talented youngsters as 12-year-old Katelyn Burks, another member of Paoli’s Team Burks, claimed a two-shot victory over 11-year-old Trisha Lobo of Collegeville, with Katelyn Burks besting the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a 4-over 39.

   Katelyn Burks had six pars on her scorecard, including a run of fourth straight pars from the 14^th to the 17^th holes.

   Lobo, the reigning Philly Junior Tour Player of the Year in the girls 12-and-under division, had four pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors with a 41.

   Aashi Chakraborty of Kennett Square had two pars on her card as she finished in third place with a 46.

   Addison Sabatini of West Chester took fourth place with a 52 and the Chester Springs duo of Lauryn Kirby and Sophia Kim rounded out the field in the girls 12-and-under division as they finished in a tie for fifth, each tallying a 55.