Mohn, Peffel each match par at Regents' Glen to share top spot in a Philly Junior Tour stop

 

   Josh Mohn, a junior on the Saint Mark’s golf team, and Cameron Peffel, a junior on the Fleetwood golf team, each matched par with a 72 at Regents’ Glen Country Club in York to finish in a tie atop the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop Saturday.

   Mohn, coming off a top-20 finish in the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championship at Baywood Greens earlier in the week, made an eagle on the par-5 ninth hole, added birdies at five and 15 and had 10 pars on his scorecard, including four straight pars to open his round.

   Peffel, who finished in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a sophomore with the Tigers in the fall of 2024, made birdies on the second and seventh holes and had 14 pars on his card, including a string of seven straight pars from eight through 14.

   The stop at Regents’ Glen was the first day of a Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) York Series that concluded Sunday at Out Door Country Club. Points earned at JGS events can help players get status on some of the higher-profile junior circuits, most notably the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).

   Holden Sparks, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at Nazareth last fall, made birdies at the fourth, ninth and 16^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, including a run of six straight pars from 10 through 15, as he finished a shot behind Mohn and Peffel in third place with a 1-over 73.

   Luke Ladrido, a junior on the State College golf team, took fourth place with a 2-over 74, Onyu Park, a sophomore standout for Germantown Academy last fall, was fifth with a 75, and Charlie Ladrido, like Luke a junior on the State College golf team, was sixth with a 76.

   I’m guessing the Ladridos are brothers and probably twins, but I do know, for sure, they were members of the State College team that finished in a tie for second with Radnor, a shot behind Unionville in a tight battle for the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall.

   Bryce Erwin, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Hershey last fall, and William Thorkelson, a Bryn Mawr resident and a freshman on the golf team at The Haverford School, finished in a tie for seventh place, each signing for a 77.

   Hayden Bartle of Coopersburg took ninth place with a 79 and Gus Stoltzfus, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Avon Grove last fall, rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as he finished 10^th with an 80.

   Ian Lu took a road trip to York County from Edison, N.J. and earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division with a solid 1-over 73.

   After making an early birdie at the third hole, Lu ripped off four consecutive birdies at seven, eight, nine and 10 and had six pars on his scorecard.

   Jason Leekley of Moorestown, N.J. made birdies on the seventh, 10^th and 14^th holes and had 12 pars on his card, including a string of four straight pars from three through six, as he finished a shot behind Lu in second place with a 2-over 74.

   Mason Kim of Blue Bell made birdies on the ninth, 11^th and 16^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, six of them on the incoming nine at Regents’ Glen, as he finished a shot behind Leekley in third place with a 4-over 75.

   Sebastian Leone, a freshman on the Radnor team that shared second place with State College in the PIAA Class AAA team competition last fall, and Sam Vinc, a PIAA Class AA qualifier as a freshman at Tamaqua last fall, shared fourth place, each registering a 4-over 76.

   Cole Miller of York took sixth place with a 77, Thomas Holt IV of Haddonfield, N.J. was seventh with a 79 and Chase Maurer of Lititz and Nathan Lobo of Collegeville finished in a tie for eighth place, each signing for an 81.

   Drew Gebhard, a freshman on the Cedar Crest golf team, and Brody Campbell of Plymouth Meeting rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each tallying an 82.

   Emma Bergey of Kennett Square made birdies on the third and 13^th holes and had nine pars on her scorecard with seven of those pars coming while touring the outgoing nine at Regents’ Glen in even-par 36 as she topped a short field in the girls 16-to-18 division with a solid 7-over 79.

   Emily Stauffer, who wrapped up her scholastic career at Warwick last fall, rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as she made a birdie on the third hole and had two pars on her card while finishing in second place with a 98.

   Raegan Young of Middletown made a birdie on the seventh hole and had seven pars on her scorecard, five of them on Regents’ Glen’s front side, as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division with an 88.

   Ella Buerhaus of Abingdon, Md. had six pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors with a 90 that left her two shots behind Young.

   Caroline Wallace of Chambersburg made birdies on the third and eighth holes and had three pars on her card as she finished in third place with a 95.

   Ella Barton of New Freedom took fourth place with a 96 and Sophia Carvalho of Downingtown rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished fifth with a 108.

   Jace Collins of Spring Brook Township ripped off birdies at the third, seventh and ninth holes and had five pars on his scorecard as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a sizzling 2-under 34.

   Connor Michaels of Lancaster and Damien Dollard, the reigning boys 12-and-under division Player of the Year from Cinnaminson, N.J., shared second place, each ending up three shots behind Collins with a 1-over 37.

   Michaels made birdies on the fourth and ninth holes and had four pars on his card. Dollard finished up his round with a birdie at the ninth hole and had six pars on his card.

   Brody Rollins of Milton, Del. took fourth place with a 39 and the trio of Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville, Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. and Jaxon Price of York finished in a tie for fifth place, each registering a 40.

   Seon Park, another member of Blue Bell’s Team Park, took eighth place with a 41 and the trio of Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr, Grayson Wright of Philadelphia and Massino Testaiuti of Newtown Square rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each posting a 42.

   Talented 11-year-old Trisha Lobo, another member of Collegeville’s Team Lobo, made a birdie on the second hole and then ripped off seven straight pars to finish out her round as she topped a short field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a 1-over 37.

   Addison Sabatini of West Chester rounded out the field in the girls 12-and-under division as she made six straight pars from the third through the eighth holes while finishing in second place with a 40.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reilly seals the deal as Auburn claims second national championship in three years at La Costa

 

   Auburn did not win the Southeastern Conference Championship, falling in the match-play semifinals. The Tigers finished in third place in the NCAA Athens Regional.

   No, Auburn, the No. 1 team in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, saved its best stuff for when it mattered the most, the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, Calif.

   Auburn claimed the top seed in 72 holes of qualifying for match play and then capped a 3-0 run through the match-play bracket at La Costa Wednesday with a 4-1 victory over plucky UCLA, the Big Ten champion and No. 30 in the Scoreboard rankings, in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match as the Tigers claimed the national crown for the second time in three years.

   “It brings tears to my eyes,” Auburn head coach Nick Clinard told the Auburn website. “I love them so much and I love Auburn and our program. I am very gratified. Our guys just kept doing what they’re doing. We played some really good golf this week right from the start in the first round.

   “It was windier today and probably the windiest day we’ve had since we’ve been here. I knew that we were good ball-strikers.”

   It is a lot of golf. You play four rounds of stroke play and then three more rounds of match play in two days of the most pressure-packed environment that college golf offers.

   Auburn dethroned defending champion Oklahoma State in Tuesday’s semifinals. The Tigers were greeted by an unexpected opponent in the Final Match in UCLA. And while the Bruins were as feisty as they’ve been all week in their run to the Final Match, they just couldn’t quite match Auburn’s talent and experience.

   Yes, Auburn had experience with Jackson Koivun, a junior from Chapel Hill, N.C. and the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Josiah Gilbert, a junior from Millbrook, Ala. and No. 12 in the WAGR, having both been in the lineup when Auburn captured the program’s first national championship over Florida State in the Final Match two springs ago at La Costa.

   But just as Koivun and Gilbert had been the precocious freshmen two years ago, Auburn got huge contributions from a pair of freshmen this spring.

   Jake Albert of Blacksburg, Va. put the first point on the board Wednesday for Auburn as he capped a 3-0 run through the match-play bracket with a 5 and 3 victory over Taylor Loree, a freshman from Kula, Hawaii.

   Koivun put the Tigers on the brink of the title by finishing off a 4 and 3 decision over Baylor Larrabee, a sophomore from Ferndale, Wash. who had been UCLA’s best player all week.

   Then it was another freshman, Logan Reilly of Lovettsville, Va., who put Auburn over the top by earning a 1-up victory over Alex Papayoanou, a junior from The Woodlands, Texas, in the most entertaining match of the day.

   Papayoanou is the most maddening of match-play opponents as he was getting it up and down from everywhere, arriving at the tee at the par-5 finishing hole all square with Reilly.

   But a poor drive by Papayoanou opened the door for Reilly and his par at the last capped a 3-0 run for him in match play and clinched the crown for Auburn.

   Clinard had entrusted Cayden Pope, a junior from Lexington, Ky. and No. 47 in the WAGR, with the anchor position and he had a 4-up lead with four holes to play over Kyle An, a senior from Alisa Viejo, Calif., when Reilly assured the outcome in Auburn’s favor.

   But Pope showed he was there, just in case.

   UCLA’s lone point was awarded to Josh Kim, a freshman from Danville, Calif. and the Big Ten’s individual champion, as he had a 3-up lead over Gilbert through 14 holes when the overall match was decided.

   Gilbert, though, had been Auburn’s most consistent player all week, finishing in third place in 72 holes of stroke play and claiming a pair of match-play wins in Tuesday’s quarterfinal and semifinal victories.

   It has clearly been Koivun who has been in the middle of the most successful era of Auburn golf.

   He won the SEC individual crown by a whopping seven shots at the Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course on St. Simons Island, Ga. and was named the winner of the Fred Haskins Award that honors the Player of the Year in men’s college golf for a second time in three years Tuesday.

   Koivun has proven he can compete on the PGA Tour in several forays on the biggest stage in professional golf.

   Koivun participated in the practice session for candidates for the United States team for this year’s Walker Cup Match at Lahinch in Ireland. We’re certainly looking forward to seeing him tee it up in the U.S. Amateur this summer at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course in our backyard in the Ardmore section of Haverford Township.

   But it wouldn’t be a total shock to see him turn pro sooner rather than later. If, however, he decides to play out his senior season with the Tigers, well, back-to-back titles for Auburn would certainly be in play.

 

 

 

Auburn will take on UCLA for national crown in NCAA Championship's Final Match at La Costa

 

   There were a lot of surprising results on quarterfinal/semifinal day in the NCAA Championship Tuesday at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, Calif.

   But there was nothing surprising about Auburn, No. 1 in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings and the top seed following 72 holes of stroke play, winning two matches and reaching the Final Match for the second time in three years.

   On the other side of the bracket, though, it was an entirely different story as Big Ten champion UCLA, No. 30 in the Scoreboard rankings, stunned Texas, No. 3 in the Scoreboard rankings, 3-2, in the quarterfinals in the morning and then rolled to a 3.5-1.5 decision over Arizona, No. 12 in the Scoreboard rankings, in the semifinals in the afternoon to earn a spot in the Final Match opposite Auburn.

   UCLA is living proof that you just need to find a way, any way, to get into the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship and then see what happens.

   The Bruins survived a playoff among four teams for the final two spots in the match-play bracket Monday. A day later they were preparing to face Auburn for a national championship.

   It will be a tall task for UCLA, but the Bruins got on a roll when they won the Big Ten crown at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club’s Witch Hollow Course in North Plains, Ore. and just kept it going all the way to the Final Match at La Costa.

   Auburn, a Southeastern Conference power, earned its spot in the Final Match by ending the title defense of Big 12 champion Oklahoma State by a deceiving 5-0 margin.

   After the Tigers rolled to a 3.5-1.5 victory over Stanford, an Atlantic Coast Conference representative and No. 15 in the Scoreboard rankings, in their morning quarterfinal match, they drew the Cowboys, No. 5 in the Scoreboard rankings, in the afternoon semifinals.

   With UCLA taking most of the drama out of its victory over Arizona in the other semifinal, The Golf Channel broadcast spent most of its time with the marquee matchup between Auburn’s Jackson Koivun, a junior from Chapel Hill, N.C. and No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout, a junior from Richardson, Texas and No. 3 in the WAGR. And rightfully so.

   Earlier in the day it was announced that Koivun was the winner of Fred Haskins Award, presented by Stifel, for the second time in his brilliant three-year run at Auburn.

   A day earlier, Stout nailed down the NCAA individual crown with a 14-under-par 274 total over four rounds over the 7,548-yard, par-72 North Course layout.

   They were teammates when the United States defeated Great Britain & Ireland, 17-9, in the Walker Cup Match last summer the Cypress Point Club on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula.

   If you squinted real hard into the future, it wasn’t difficult to envision Koivun and Stout battling it out down the stretch of some major championship.

   Ultimately, the match didn’t matter as Koivun held a 1-up advantage over Stout on the finishing hole when Koivun’s teammate, Cayden Pope, a junior from Lexington, Ky. and No. 47 in the WAGR, sealed the deal for the Tigers with a 3 and 2 victory over Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson, a sophomore from Sweden.

   The reality is that this Auburn team is deep and battle-tested.

   The Tigers put a point on the board when Logan Reilly, a precocious freshman from Lovettsville, Va., cruised to a 7 and 5 victory over Eric Lee, a junior from Fullerton, Calif. and No. 27 in the WAGR.

   It had been Lee who earned the clinching point for the Cowboys in their victory over Virginia in the Final Match a year ago at La Costa.

   Josiah Gilbert, a junior from Millbrook, Ala. and No. 12 in the WAGR, rolled to a 4 and 3 decision over Ethan Fang, a junior from Plano, Texas and No. 8 in the WAGR.

   Fang, also a member of the winning U.S. Walker Cup team at Cypress Point, became the first American to capture the title in the Royal & Ancient’s Amateur Championship since 2007 last summer at the Royal St. George’s Golf Club.

   Auburn’s other talented freshman, Jake Albert of Blacksburg, Va., was credited with a 1-up victory over Gaven Lane, a senior from Argyle, Texas and No. 71 in the WAGR, for the Tigers’ final point. It had been a close match with Albert holding a 1-up lead through 17 holes when Pope clinched the victory for Auburn.

   In the other semifinal, UCLA got full points from Big Ten champion Josh Kim, a freshman from Danville, Calif., Taylor Loree, a freshman from Kula, Hawaii, and Alex Papayoanou, a junior from The Woodlands, Texas, in its victory over Big 12 runnerup Arizona, which had been on a bit of a heater of its own at La Costa.

   Kim pulled out a 1-up decision over Taishi Moto, a sophomore from Japan, Loree was a 3 and 2 winner over Tianyi Xiong, a junior from China, and Papayoanou closed it out for UCLA with a 2 and 1 victory over William Wistrand, a freshman from Sweden.

   Filip Jakubcik, a senior from the Czech Republic and No. 6 in the WAGR, accounted for Arizona’s lone full point as he earned a 3 and 2 win over Kyle An, a junior from Alisa Viejo, Calif.

   Baylor Larrabee, a sophomore from Ferndale, Wash. who has been UCLA’s best player this week at La Costa, was tied with Zach Pollo, a sophomore from Rocklin, Calif. and No. 52 in the WAGR, through 17 holes when the outcome was assured in the Bruins’ favor.

   Auburn’s Reilly had clinched the Tigers’ 3.5-1.5 victory over Stanford in the morning quarterfinals with a 2 and 1 victory over Dean Greyserman, the Cardinal’s senior leader from Boca Raton, Fla. and No. 93 in the WAGR.

   Koivun suffered a 2-up setback at the hands of Nathan Wang, a senior from Fremont, Calif., but his Auburn teammates picked him up.

   Albert, Reilly’s fellow freshman, cruised to a 6 and 5 verdict over Ethan Gao, a junior from Alpharetta, Ga., and Gilbert, a native of Australia who has been really solid for the Tigers at La Costa, claimed a 3 and 2 victory over Jay Leng, a sophomore from San Diego, Calif.

   Pope was deadlocked with Edan Gui, a freshman from Atherton, Calif., through 15 holes when Reilly’s win clinched the overall victory for Auburn.

   The shot of the day for UCLA was Papayoanou’s long eagle putt that rattled into the cup and gave him a stunning victory over Texas’ Daniel Bennett, a sophomore from South Africa and No. 15 in the WAGR, on the 20^th hole of the match.

   Papayoanou’s bomb was the key to the Bruins’ 3-2 upset of the Longhorns, an SEC power. Every player in the Texas lineup was in the WAGR’s top 100, but it didn’t seem to matter to UCLA.

   UCLA got another huge win from Larrabee, who edged Christaan Maas, a senior from South Africa and No. 4 in the WAGR, 1-up.

   An got the clinching point for the Bruins with a 1-up victory over Matt Comegys, a graduate student from Van Alstyne, Texas and No. 82 in the WAGR.

   Two of Texas’ big guns delivered full points for the Longhorns as Tommy Morrison, a senior from Dallas, Texas and No. 18 in the WAGR, claimed a 3 and 2 victory over Kim, and Luke Potter, a senior from Encinitas, Calif. and No. 20 in the WAGR, earned a 4 and 3 decision over Loree.

   Oklahoma State had a surprisingly easy time in ousting SEC power Florida, No. 2 in the Scoreboard rankings, 3-2, in the morning quarterfinals.

   Lane clinched the victory for the Cowboys with a 2 and 1 victory over Jack Turner, a junior from Orlando, Fla. and No. 25 in the WAGR.

   Lee fueled a fast start for Oklahoma State as he put an early point on the board with a 6 and 4 victory over Luke Poulter, a junior from Orlando, Fla. and No. 9 in the WAGR.

   Stout delivered the other full point for the Cowboys with a 1-up victory over Matthew Kress, a senior from Saratoga, Calif. and No. 38 in the WAGR. Stout had built a big lead and held on for the win.

   Zack Swanwick, a sophomore from New Zealand and No. 50 in the WAGR, earned a full point for the Gators when he rallied to knock off Fang on the 19^th hole.

   Parker Sands, a senior from Edmond, Okla. and No. 38 in the WAGR, picked up the other full point for Florida with a 3 and 2 decision over Fahlberg-Johnsson.

   Arizona reached the semifinals with a 3-2 victory over Vanderbilt, No. 11 in the Scoreboard and the fourth of the SEC teams that made up half of the match-play bracket.

   Pollo clinched the victory as he went extra holes to defeat Vanderbilt’s veteran senior Wells Williams, a senior from West Point, Miss. and No. 29 in the WAGR, on the 20^th hole.

   Moto delivered a full point for the Wildcats with a 4 and 3 victory over Chase Nevins, a junior from Great Falls, Va.

   Xiong had the other full point for Arizona with his 3 and 2 decision over Jon Ed Steed, a freshman from Enterprise, Ala.

   Vanderbilt’s other freshman standout, Will Hartman of Marvin, N.C., capped a huge week at La Costa by taking down Arizona’s senior leader Jakubic with a decisive 6 and 5 victory.

   Ryan Downes, a sophomore from Longmeadow, Mass., accounted for the Commodores’ other full point with a 4 and 3 victory over Wistrand.