Walker makes it a sweep of Philadelphia AJGA events

   Radnor junior All-Delco Brynn Walker made it a clean sweep of the Philadelphia area American Junior Golf Association events this summer as she finished off a five-shot victory in the CorseMax/Philadelphia Runner Junior Tuesday at Cripple Creek Golf & Country Club in Dagsboro, Del.

   Walker, who has committed to North Carolina, had a final-round 74 over the 5,940-yard, par-72 Cripple Creek layout in Tuesday’s wrapup to go with her rounds of 71 and 70 in Monday’s 36-hole marathon for a 1-under 215 total.

   That was five shots clear of runnerup Jackie Rogowicz, the two-time PIAA Class AAA Tournament silver medalist from Pennsbury. Rogowicz had rounds of 72, 73 and 75 for a 4-over 220 total.

Another District One rival of Walker’s, Council Rock North junior Madelein Herr, finished seventh at 232.

   “I had a really good front nine and then stayed steady on the back,” Walker told the AJGA website concerning her final round. “My game is finally coming together, so I’m going to go back to school, keep practicing and come back next year ready to win some more.”

   Earlier this summer, Walker captured her first AJGA event when she won the Philadelphia Junior at Huntingdon Valley Country Club.

   John Lazor of Westwood, Mass. topped the boys field with rounds of 70, 71 and 74 for a 1-under 215 total. Fellow Massachusetts player Paul Lei (74-69-75) of Middleton finished three shots back in second at 218.

   Max Siegfried, tuning up for his junior season at The Haverford School, had rounds of 75, 85 and 79 to finish in a tie for 43^rd at 239.

Colvin, Kim, Hummer claim Junior Tour titles

   A couple of Delco’s top returning high school players announced their readiness for the scholastic season Monday with winning performances in the Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour Championship held at DuPont Country Club.

   The event was limited to players who had either won on the Junior Tour or who were high on the points standings for 2014.

   Penncrest senior Griffin Colvin fired an even-par 71 over the 6,230-yard, par-71 DuPont layout and was awarded first place in the 16-to-18 division in a match of cards with Michael Winter of Hamilton Square, N.J., who also had a 71.

   Colvin had three birdies and 12 pars on his way to the victory.

   Also in the division, Jack Henderson of Wayne finished in a tie for sixth with a 75, Merion Golf Club’s Peter Bradbeer was 14^th with a 79, Jack Hirsh of Villanova and Ryan Conway of Bryn Mawr shared 15^th place with 80s and Haverford School senior Jay Losty finished 18^th with an 83.

   Radnor sophomore Gabby Kim was just as impressive as Colvin in capturing top honors in the 13-to-15 division as she fired a 1-under 70 over the DuPont layout that measures 5,366 for the girls. Kim, who was coming off a tie for 12^th in the AJGA’s Coca-Cola Junior All-Star at Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley, Maine, had five birdies, including three on the incoming nine in besting a strong field.

   Agnes Irwin freshman Kaitlyn Lees finished second with a 77 and Chichester sophomore Caprian Kan was third with a 79.

   Cole Berger of Malvern took top honors in the boys 13-to-15 division with a 1-under 70 that was one shot better than Methacton sophomore Kyle Vance, the reigning District One Class AAA Tournament champion. John Updike of Wayne finished seventh with a 76 and Jake Calamaro of Newtown Square finished in a tie for 17^th with an 87.

   Owen J. Roberts junior Maddie Sager, who shared fifth place in Class AAA with Radnor All-Delco Brynn Walker at last year’s PIAA Tournament, won the girls 16-to-18 division with a 1-over 72. Notre Dame junior Gabby Morganti finished sixth with a 97.

   And Case Hummer of Glen Mills continued his strong play this summer by taking top honors among the nine-holers with a 1-over 36. Hummer birdied the 10^th, which was his first of the day, and added another birdie on the par-3 12^th.

   Also in the division, Joseph Morganti of Havertown finished in a tie for seventh with a 42, Kevin Civitella of Aronimink Golf Club and Ryan McCabe of Media finished tied for ninth with 44s and Davis Flannery of Radnor finished 11^th with a 45.

Sutherland's 59 brings back memories of a front-nine 27 by Sigel

   Watching The Golf Channel breathlessly break in to its regular coverage to show Kevin Sutherland’s bid to record the first sub-60 score in Champions Tour history Saturday, I couldn’t help but flash back to the 1998 Bell Atlantic Classic, which was being played for the first time at Hartefeld National after a pretty successful run at Chester Valley Golf Club.

   Jay Sigel, the great amateur champion and Aronimink Golf Club member, had turned pro at 50 to play what was then called the Senior PGA Tour. His third round at Hartefeld that year started with a par. Then he made eagle at the par-5 second hole and followed that with seven straight birdies for a front-nine 27.

   It has stood as a Champions Tour record for nine holes since then. Pretty sure it’s been matched and it was again Saturday when Sutherland birdied seven of the first eight holes, the exception being an eagle at the par-5 fifth, and then parred the ninth hole to stand at 9-under after nine.

   When Sigel made the turn at 9-under that day at Hartefeld National,  the flower of Philadelphia area golf scribes came clamoring out of the press room and climbed the hills of southern Chester County to see if Sigel could be the first senior player to record the magical 59. Alas, Sigel struggled to a back-nine of 1-under 35 – if that can be called struggling – for a brilliant 10-under 62.

   A big difference between Sutherland’s accomplishment and Sigel’s flirtation with a 59 16 years ago is the fact that Sigel won the tournament, although he was forced to a playoff by Jose Maria Canizares.

   It was a very popular victory among the many golf fans in this area who count Sigel as one of the greatest golfers this area has ever produced. He proved it again with the 27 strokes he used to negotiate the front nine at Hartefeld that magical Saturday in May.

Delco dominates at Radnor Valley, Paxon Hollow

   The Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour held its final series event of the summer at two Delaware County courses last week and some of Delco’s top junior players took advantage of playing on some familiar layouts to post some solid scores.

   Agnes Irwin freshman Kaitlyn Lees won the Inter-Ac League title as a seventh-grader on Radnor Valley Country Club’s front  nine two springs ago, so it was no surprise to see her finish atop the 13-to-15 division at the same course with an 84 Wednesday.

   Lees came right back to claim her second Junior Tour victory of the summer and third overall with an 80 the next day at Paxon Hollow Country Club. June Kim of Wayne finished fourth in the division at Paxon with an 84.

   Lees was easily the best in the division for the series, her 164 total well ahead of the 198 total (103 at Radnor, 98 at Paxon Hollow) that Chole Niu of Gladwynne posted.

   Merion Golf Club’s Peter Bradbeer and Haverford School senior Jay Losty had big weeks in the 16-to-18 division.

   Bradbeer took divisional honors with a 3-over 73 over the 6,527-yard, par-70 Radnor Valley layout. Matt Kristick of Berlin, Md., was second at 76 and Losty checked in third with an 80.

   Also at Radnor Valley, Ryan Conway of Bryn Mawr finished in a tie for 11^th with a 90, the Newtown Square trio of Matthew Deacon (91), Jack Bellwoar (93) and Harry Bellwoar (95) finished 13^th, 14^th and 15^th, respectively, and Jimmy Murray of Springfield finished 16^th with a 96.

Losty birdied four of the first 13 holes at Paxon Hollow on his way to top honors Thursday with a sparkling 1-under 70, two shots better than Bradbeer. Marple Newtown junior Joey Del Franco was third with a 74, Bryn Mawr’s Conway was fourth with a 76, Andrew Vetterlein of Villanova was 13^th with an  87 and Springfield’s Murray was 14^th with an 89.

   Bradbeer and Losty finished 1-2 for the series, Bradbeer’s 145 total giving him a five-shot edge over Losty. Conway finished tied for fifth at 166 and Murray was eighth at 185.

   Michael Sydnes went 3-under on the front nine at the 5,709-yard, par-71 Paxon Hollow layout on his way to a 2-under 69 that gave him top honors in the 13-to-15 division.

Matthew Davis of Newtown Square finished in a tie for second with Luca Jezzeny of Furlong at 2-over 73. Jake Calamaro of Newtown Square was fourth with a 74.

   Other finishers in the division included: Aronimink Golf Club’s Billy Civitella (79, ninth); D.J. Colleran (81, tied for 10^th) of Radnor; Frederick Hammer (81, tied for 10^th) of Wayne: Aj Aivazoglou (84, tied for 16^th) of Glen Mills; Lucas Zhu (99, tied for 20^th) of Wayne; Eric McLaughlin (101, 24^th) of Media and Matthew Barkann (105, 25^th) of Newtown Square.

   Zachary Barbin of Elkton, Md. led the way in the 13-to-15 division at Radnor Valley with a 72. Furlong’s Jezzeny was a shot back in second at 73. Newtown Square’s Davis tied for third with a 78, Calamaro of Newtown Square was sixth with an 81 and Wayne’s Hammer was ninth with an 83.

   Also in the division at Radnor Valley, Davis Rosato of Villanova and Newtown Square’s Barkann were among three players tied for 10^th at 84, Jack McKnight of Villanova was 17^th with an 88, Radnor’s Colleran was tied for 18^th with a 90, David Hurly of Newtown Square and Aronimink’s Civitella were tied for 21^st with 92s, Media’s McLaughlin was 23^rd with a 93, Will Keane of Newtown Square was 25^th with a 96, Glen Mills’ Aivazoglou was 27^th with a 100, Frank Rauscher of Wayne was 30^th with a 106, Wayne’s Zhu was 31^st with a 107 and Ryan Riddell of Broomall was 33nd with a 122.

   Jezzeny’s 146 total was tops in the series, four shots better than the 150 posted by Barbin. Davis was third at 151, Calamaro was in a tie for fifth at 155, Hammer was eighth at 164, Colleran and Civitella finished in a tie for 10^th at 171, Aivazoglou finished 13^th at 184 and Barkann finished 14^th at 189.

   Case Hummer of Glen Mills and Aronimink Golf Club continued his strong play this summer as he took top honors among the nine-holers at Radnor Valley with a 39 for his sixth Junior Tour victory of the season. James Quinn of Radnor was fourth with a 43, Joseph Morganti of Havertown finished in a tie for seventh with a 47, Aronimink’s Kevin Civitella finished in a tie for 10^th with a 48, Daniel Curran of Villanova and David Merz of Swarthmore finished tied for 17^th at 57, Nicholas Cardow of Wallingford was 19^th with a 58 and Charlie Hurchalla of Wallingford was 21^st with a 72.

   Ryan McCabe of Media took top honors among the nine-holers at Paxon Hollow in a match of cards after he finished tied with Stephen Lorenzo of Lower Gwynedd at 36.

Glen Mills’ Hummer was third at 38, Radnor’s Quinn finished sixth with a 41, Aronimink’s Civitella finished in a tie for ninth with a 43, Owen Harvey of Havertown finished in a tie for 13^th with a 47, Davis Flannery of Radnor finished 17^th with a 49, Swarthmore’s Merz, Ryan Harvey of Havertown and Jackson Fields of Glen Mills were among four players tied for 18^th at 50, Wallingford’s Cardow was 23^rd with a 52 and Wallingford’s Hurchalla finished 24^th with a 60.

   Hummer took top honors among the nine-holers for the series at 78, Quinn was third at 86, Morganti finished tied for fifth at 94, Civitella was eighth at 96, Merz was 10^th at 114, Cardow was 11^th at 116 and Hurchalla was 13^th at 144.

   Notre Dame junior Maddie  Keane teed it up at Radnor Valley in the 16-to-18 division and carded a 94 to finish second behind Gilbertsville’s Emily Gilbert, who took top honors with a 92.

   Notre Dame junior Gabby Morganti took top honors in the 16-to-18 division with a 99 at Paxon Hollow, a round that included a birdie at the par-4 10^th hole.

Siegfried helps GAP take seventh

   Aronimink Golf Club’s Max Siegfried, a junior at The Haverford School, represented the Golf Association of Philadelphia in the 51^st Williamson Cup, which was held last week at Club Laval-sur-le-Lac in Quebec, Ontario.

   Siegfried had rounds of 77 and 82 to finish tied for 21^st with three others players, including fellow GAP entrant Connor Goodrich (80-79) of Merchantville Country Club.

   GAP, which was led by Whitford Country Club’s Kevin Conners Jr., finished seventh in the team standings. Conners had rounds of 77 and 79 to finish in a tie for 15^th at 156. GAP’s fourth representative, Cole McCook of Applecross Country Club finished in a tie for 27^th with rounds of 79 and 83 for a 162 total.

   Golf Quebec, led by Felix Normand, won the team title. Norman had rounds of 77 and 74 to finish in a tie for fifth at 151. Individual honors went to Luke Schaap of the Washington Metropolitan team who had a pair of 73s for a 146 total.

Teesdale falls, Logue, Smith play on at U.S. Amateur

     A few thoughts on some goings-on at the U.S. Amateur, which basically got bumped from Thursday’s Daily Times when Tiger Woods announced he was taking himself out of consideration for the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

   Temple senior Matthew Teesdale saw his U.S. Amateur bid halted in the first round of match play with a 6 and 5 loss to Ollie Schniederjans, a Georgia Tech senior who is the top-ranked amateur player in the world, Wednesday.

   Still, it’s been a very good summer for Teesdale, the former Hatboro-Horsham standout, who won the Philadelphia Open last month and reached the semifinals of the Philadelphia Amateur earlier this summer.

   And he did a good job making match play at the Atlanta Athletic Club, outshining his more decorated Temple teammate, Brandon Matthews, who was the 2010 PIAA champion at Pittston. Teesdale has a very good chance of succeeding Matthews as the winner of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s William Hyndman III Player of the Year award.

   In fairness to Matthews, though, he was playing on the national amateur circuit this summer, as a player of his caliber should.

   Another guy who made match play in Atlanta was Will Betts, the Hartford junior who was a co-medalist in the local U.S. Amateur qualifier at Stonewall. A resident of the Pittsburgh area, Betts had a conflict with the western Pa. qualifier and drove to Stonewall and got in and then got into match play. Betts fell, 3 and 2, Wednesday to Eli Cole, a former TCU standout from Los Angeles.

   A survivor of that Stonewall qualifier who is still very much alive, though, is Isaiah Logue, the two-time PIAA Class AA champion from Fairfield in District Three. Two-time as in the last two times for the recently graduated senior who is headed for Liberty University.

   Not only did Logue earn a spot in match play, Wednesday he knocked off Sam Horsfield, 2 and 1. The 17-year-old Horsfield is a Florida recruit who moved to the Sunshine State from England at age 4 and has become one of the top junior players in the country.

   Which brings us to Nathan Smith, the western Pennsylvanian who has become the Jay Sigel of his time. Smith has won four U.S. Mid-Amateur titles and has played on the U.S. Walker Cup team three times, helping captain Buddy Marucci retain the Cup on his home course, Merion Golf Club’s East Course, in 2009.

   Smith won the 1994 PIAA title as a sophomore at Brookeville High School in a four-man playoff which included Haverford High’s Kevin McDermott.

   Smith has never had much luck in the U.S. Amateur. But maybe that’s about to change. He survived a 17-for-4 playoff to get into match play then rallied from 1-down on the 18^th tee to oust co-medalist Lee McCoy on the 19^th hole.

   “It was a long day,” the 36-year-old financial adviser told The Associated Press. “That was a lot of fun. You know I think it was one of those, I was so excited to be there. Kind of nothing to lose and I just got lucky.”

   I can remember wondering why Marucci chose Smith to be the veteran to round out that 2009 U.S. Walker Cup team. But Smith keeps proving over and over again what a wise choice it was.