Gooneratne fires 74 at Indian Spring to earn Junior Tour victory

   Dylan Gooneratne of Plymouth Meeting has been playing solid golf all summer and kept it up with a 4-over-par 74 Friday that gave him the top spot in the 13-to-15 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Indian Spring Country Club in Marlton, N.J.

   A lot of the high school kids were back playing scholastic golf this week, but with high school football season taking center stage on a Friday, it was the perfect opportunity for the Junior Tour to sneak in a week-day event.

   And Gooneratne made the most of the opportunity, making two birdies while shooting even-par on the front nine at the 6,328-yard, par-70 Indian Spring layout. Eegan McDermott of East Brunswick, N.J. birdied the 18^th hole to finish just a shot behind Gooneratne in second at 5-over 75.

   Darren Nolan of Glenside finished third with a 77. Three players, Jack Fialko of Berwyn, Jack Tanzy of Medford, N.J. and Jack Davis of Newtown Square, finished tied for fourth, each carding a 79.

   Chase Stephano of Radnor finished seventh with an 80, Carl Ernst of Mickleton, N.J. was eighth with an 81 and Matthew Normand of Lumberton, N.J. and Garnet Valley sophomore Jacob Sokalsky rounded out the top 10, finishing tied for ninth at 82.

   Nicholas Campanelli of Manahawkin, N.J. highlighted a steady round with a birdie on the 13^th hole as he bested the field in the 16-to-18 division with a 6-over 76.

   Alex Mayernik of Columbus, N.J. had two birdies and Maxwell Rubin of Marlton, N.J. had three of his four birdies on the back nine as they shared second place, each posting a 78.

   Four players shared fourth place at 79, including Patrick Carney of Manchester, N.J., Willian Tone of Moorestown, N.J., Andrew Benner of Hellertown and Zak Summy of Media.

   Christopher D’Allesandro of Waretown, N.J. and Mac Costin of Bryn Mawr shared eighth place at 81 and Scott Warner of Shamong, N.J. rounded out the top 10 with an 82.

   Michelle Kim was the only girl to tee it up in the 16-to-18 division, so her 98 was good enough to enable her to record her first Junior Tour victory.

   Olivia Strigh of Hammonton, N.J. had a steady round that featured eight pars as she captured the 13-to-15 division with an 82.

   Angelina Tolentino of Mount Laurel, N.J. moved up from the nine-holers and parred the last three holes to take runnerup honors with an 85. I’m pretty sure that Tolentino, as a class of 2024 competitor, is still eligible to compete with the 12-and-under nine-holers, but she more than held her own against the older girls.

   Sarah Scarpill of Warrington finished third with a 90, Megan Adelman of Bryn Mawr was fourth with a 98, Chaela Barnet of Churchville was fifth with a  100 and Katrina Cabinian of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. was sixth with a 106.

   Sydney Yermish of Wynnewood parred the eighth and ninth holes to finish off a 6-over 41 to top the field of nine-holers. Ajeet Bagga of Blue Bell started out with two straight pars to take runnerup honors with a 45.

   Ethan Martin of North Wales and Samuel Feeney of West Chester finished tied for third, each carding a 48. Another of the Blue Bell Baggas, Serena, finished alone in sixth with a 49. Another of the Plymouth Meeting Gooneratnes, Fiona, shared seventh place with Luca Gherardi of Hammonton, N.J. at 50.

   Four more players rounded out the top 10 in a tie for ninth at 52, including Joseph Fargnoli of Laurel  Springs, N.J., Reid Walker of Riverton, N.J., Lola Barnett of the Churchville Barnetts and Tori Barson of Glenside.