If junior golf in this area is thriving, and this blog provides enough anecdotal evidence that it indeed is, a lot of the credit has
to go to Harry Hammond, the director of golf and part-owner of Penn Oaks Golf
Club on the border of Delaware and Chester counties.
That’s why the Harry Hammond Invitational at Penn Oaks is
always one of the special events on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour
schedule. The top finishers in the 13-to-18 age group for boys and girls become
eligible for college scholarships. Grants are awarded after the submission of
an essay by eligible boys and girls once they are about to embark on their
post-secondary educational journey.
Hammond got the latest in a long list or honors when he was
named the winner of the Labron Harris Sr. Award, which comes from the Golf
Coaches Association of America in conjunction with the PGA of America, last
year for his work as the golf coach at West Chester University. Yeah, he does
that, too.
Pope John Paul II senior J.T. Spina, the son of a PGA
professional, captured the boys title in a playoff with Richard Kline III of
Kennett Square after each carded a 1-over 72 over the 6,535-yard, par-71 Penn
Oaks layout.
Both players reached the first hole of the playoff in
regulation, but Kline needed three putts and made bogey and Spina’s two-putt
par gave him the victory.
Spina, the son of Philadelphia Cricket Club assistant pro
John Spina, was the Junior Tour’s 16-to-18 Player of the Year in 2016. He was
also the top finisher among District One competitors in the PIAA Class AAA
Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County, finishing tied
for third.
Alec Ryden of Moorestown, N.J., coming off a Junior Tour victory the day
before at Scotland Run Golf Club, and another son of a PGA professional, Drew
Steinmetz of Gilbertsville, shared third place, each carding a 2-over 73.
Drew’s father Rich Steinmetz is the head pro at Spring-Ford Country Club.
Haverford School junior David Hurly of Newtown Square and
recent Lower Merion graduate Alex Golland of Wynnewood shared fifth place at
74.
Rounding out the top 10 were four players tied for seventh
at 75, including Ryan Tall, who claimed the Central League title at Conestoga
last fall, Christopher Warren of Medford, N.J., Jack Sullivan of Petersburg,
N.J. and Connor Bennink of Kennett Square.
Agnes Irwin senior Meghan Fahey captured the girls title
with an 81 over a Penn Oaks layout that measured 5,766 yards for the girls.
Fahey won the Inter-Ac League crown at Notre Dame in the
spring of 2016, transferred to Agnes Irwin and sat out last season, but will
play one more season of scholastic golf for the Owls.
Olivia Maples of West Chester was the runnerup with an 83
and Casey Oppenheimer of Conshohocken, the Junior Tour’s 16-to-18 Player of the
Year in 2016, took third with an 86. Jessica McClellan of Freeland finished
fourth with an 89.
Liv Juliana of Malvern placed fifth with a 92, Elise Glauser
of Newark, Del. was sixth with a 97, Savanna Haas of Pottstown was seventh with
a 100, Episcopal Academy sophomore Amanda Jones was eighth with a 104 and Sarah
Fernandes of Downingtown was ninth with 112.
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