Forster falls in Philly PGA Match Play final

   Radnor Valley Country Club head pro George Forster reached the final of the Philadelphia Section PGA’s Match Play Championship this week at Little Mill Country Club in Marlton, N.J. only to be denied the title by Hidden Valley Golf Club’s Terry Hatch, who claimed a 3 and 2 victory.

   It was a seesaw final match that saw Hatch win the first two holes and Forster the next two to square the match. Hatch then birdied the next two holes to again open up a 2-up lead. Forster battled back to even with a birdie at 10 and a par at 11, but Hatch took control of the match by taking the next three holes.

   Forster won the 15^th hole to cut Hatch’s lead to 2-up, but Forster ran out of holes when Hatch birdied the par-5 16^th to finish off the victory.

   Forster had to fight off a stiff challenge from former Malvern Prep and Saint Joseph’s standout Billy Stewart in the semifinals. Stewart, who is back in the area after six years on the Florida mini-tours, fell, 1-up, to Forster. Stewart was the low pro at the Philadelphia Open last summer and took the big first prize in the Drexel Morgan & Co. Classic last month.

   Forster’s road to the final also included a 2 and 1 triumph over Trump National Golf Club (Philadelphia) pro Jake Gerney, a 19^th-hole thriller over Concord Country Club head pro Mike Moses and a 5 and 3 triumph over Cardinal O’Hara product Anthony Napoletano of GolfTEC King of Prussia.

   At 65 years young, Linwood  native and St. James product Ed Dougherty, winner of nearly $6 million on the Champions Tour, teed it up in the Match Play and won a match before running into Spring-Ford Country Club head pro Rich Steinmetz, who ousted Doc, 5 and 4.

Stewart claimed a hard-fought, 2 and 1 decision over Steinmetz in the quarterfinals.

   Stu Ingraham, the head of instruction at the M Golf Range in Newtown Square, won three matches before falling, 3 and 2, to Applebrook Golf Club pro Dave McNabb in the quarterfinals. McNabb then battled Hatch to the final hole of their semifinal match before Hatch claimed a 1-up win to advance to the final.

Illinois gets the best of Purdue

   Delco’s two female PIAA champions, Jackie Calamaro, who won the title in 2009 as a senior at Radnor, and Aurora Kan, who claimed the crown in 2010 as a senior at Chichester, crossed paths at last weekend’s Hoosier Fall Invitational, hosted by Indiana University at Hickory Stick Golf Club in Greenwood, Ind.

   Kan is a junior at Purdue, which has set a standard of excellence in the Big 10 with its 2010 NCAA championship. The Boilermakers are coming off a third-place finish at last spring’s NCAA Tournament.

   So it was no small deal for the Illini to claim second place at the Hoosier, eight shots ahead of fifth-place Purdue.

   California-Davis, led by individual winner Betty Chen (72-69-69—210), ran away with the team title with an 868 total.

   Calamaro, a redshirt junior, competed as an individual, but her 233 total on rounds of 78, 80 and 75 left her in a tie for 55^th.

   The Illini finished second at 884 with rounds of 298, 386 and 300. They were led by steady senior Ember Schuldt, who finished third at 2-over 215 with rounds of 73, 72 and 70. Freshman standout Stephanie Miller finished 11^th overall and her 218 total included a sizzling second-round 69. Samantha Postillion, like Calamaro a redshirt junior, finished in a tie for 25^th, freshman Emily Joers finished in a tie for 30^th at 226 and Erin Ahern finished in a tie for 82^nd at 240.

   Kan is taking on a leadership role on a Purdue team with some new faces. Kan and sophomore Vinh-Hoa Ngo were Purdue’s top finishers at the Hoosier as both posted 8-over 221 totals. Kan had rounds of 75,72 and 74 while Ngo, a transfer from Boston College, opened with a blistering 67 and then cooled off with rounds of 78 and 76.

   The Boilermakers got off to a good start with rounds of 293 and 294, but fell back to a 305 total in their final round for an 892 finish. Louisville was third at 887 and Ball State was fourth at 888. Another Big 10 entry, Penn State, was two shots back of Purdue in sixth place at 894.

   The Lions were led by two-time reigning Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur champion Ellen Ceresko, who had rounds of 75, 71 and 70 to finish in a tie for fourth at 3-over 216. Ceresko edged Kan in the semifinals on her way to her second straight state women’s amateur crown in August at Gulph Mills Golf Club.

   Also contributing for Purdue were junior Johanna Tillstrom, a Swede who transferred from Alabama, with a 224 total that left her in 24^th place, sophomore Brooke Beegle, who was tied for 36^th at 228, and freshman August Kim, who finished in a tie for 69^th at 235.

   A week earlier, the surging Illini captured the title at the Diane Thomason Invitational, hosted by Iowa at the Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City, Iowa.

They were led by the freshman Miller, who captured individual honors with a 3-under 213 total. It was the first individual title for an Illinois freshman since Becky Biehl captured the Big Ten Tournament title in 1992.

   She helped the Illini post rounds of 299, 301 and 299 for an 899 total that was five shots better than Kansas.

   Calamaro, again competing as an individual, had rounds of 78, 81 and 80 for a 239 total that left her in a tie for 56^th. Illinois got solid showings from Schuldt (225, tied for fourth), Postillion (228, tied for 11^th), Joers (233, tied for 26^th), Michelle Mayer (255, 73^rd) and Ahern (235, tied for 34^th), who was also competing as individual.

   Clearly, Calamaro can be a factor for the Illini as the fall part of the 2013-14 campaign turns to spring.

   Calamaro probably also ran into another old high school rival in Kansas junior Gabby DiMarco, the West Chester East product who lost in a playoff to Kan at the 2010 PIAA Tournament. DiMarco was also competing as an individual at the Thomason Invitational and had rounds of 79, 78 and 78 for a 235 total that left her in a tie for 34^th.