During a weekend when the weather went from a summer-like
Saturday with temperatures in the 80s to a dreadful Sunday that featured
temperatures in the 40s with a stiff breeze coming in off the ocean and some
occasional drizzle thrown in just for good measure, the IJGT Faldo Series
conducted its Pennsylvania Championship and its New Jersey Championship.
Scores were generally higher in Sunday’s difficult
conditions, but one exception was Alex Kyriacou, who traveled to White Manor
Country Club in Willistown Township from Suffern, N.Y. and emerged with the
title in the 15-to-18 division of the Pennsylvania Championship in a playoff
and against a field that included several of the Philadelphia area’s top
scholastic players.
Kyriacou opened with a 7-over-par 78 over the challenging
6,702-yard, par-71 White Manor layout, a total he somehow managed to improve on
by three shots with a final-round 75 that left him a 11-over 153 for the
36-hole event.
He was joined at that figure by Jaden Weisman of Malvern,
Patrick Sheehan, a Central Bucks East junior who was the runnerup in the
District One Class AAA Championship last fall, and David Hurly, a junior at The
Haverford School who was the Inter-Ac League’s second-best performer during the
league’s regular-season invitationals.
Weisman had opened with a 75 and added a 78 Sunday while
both Sheehan and Hurly had shared the opening-round lead, each carding a 3-over
74, before each posted a 79 in Sunday’s cold and wind and wet.
Sheehan and Hurly were knocked out on the first hole of the
playoff and then a par by Kyriacou on the second hole of the playoff eliminated
Weisman and gave the New York invader the championship.
Harriton sophomore David Fitzgerald added a 78 to his
opening-round 76 to finish a shot out of the playoff at 12-over 154. Haverford
School sophomore Charlie Baker, who, along with Hurly, helped the Fords claim
the Inter-Ac title last fall, finished alone in sixth as he posted an
opening-round 76 and then added a 79 for a 13-over 155 total.
Jack Cooley of Chadds Ford added a 79 to his opening-round
77 to take seventh at 156, Billy Pabst Jr. of Roaring Brook Township opened
with a solid 4-over 75 and added an 82 to finish eighth at 157, Jade Cummings
of Pittsford, N.Y. improved by six shots from his opening-round 82 with one of
the best rounds in Sunday’s tough conditions, a 5-over 76, to claim ninth at
158 and Brandon Wilson of Perry Hall, Md., rounded out the top 10 as he opened
with a solid 75 before falling back with an 84 that left him at 159.
Penn Charter freshman Patrick Isztwan, who captured the
Inter-Ac’s Bert Linton Memorial individual title on his home course at
Huntingdon Valley Country Club last fall, added an 83 to his opening-round 77
to finish 11th at 160. Karl Frisk, a PIAA Class AAA East Regional qualifier
as a freshman at Spring Grove last fall, fired a strong 77 in Sunday’s second
round after opening up with an 84 to finish alone in 12th place at
161.
Conestoga’s Morgan Lofland, who earned a ticket to the PIAA
Class AAA Championship as a freshman last fall, headed a group of three players
tied for 13th at 162. He was joined at that figure by William
Starnes (78-84) of Kennett Square and Connor Kelleher (82-80) of Clarks Summit.
Lorenzo Sanz, who traveled to White Manor from New Arm, Md.,
captured top honors in the 14-and-under division as he added a 95 to his
opening-round 80 for a 175 total.
Chase Stephano of Radnor struggled to a 99 in Sunday’s
difficult conditions after opening with an 82,
but was the runnerup at 181. Ryan Rearden of Yardley finished third at
185 after rounds of 89 and 96.
In the girls division, Lauren Peter, another New York
invader from Carmel, might have been the weekend’s most impressive performer as
she opened with a 2-over 73 and added a 78 in the Sunday cold for a 9-over 151
total.
Kayleigh Zeman of Silver Spring, Md., was the runnerup as
she added an 84 to her opening-round 79 for a 163 total. Megan Meng of
Pennington, N.J. was two shots behind Zeman in third at 165 after adding an 88
to her opening-round 77.
Casey Oppenheimer, a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour
Player of the Year in 2016 from Conshohocken, took fourth with a pair of 86s
for a 172 total.
The conditions for the second round of the New Jersey
Championship were probably even worse at The Architects Golf Club in Lopatcong,
N.J. with its closer proximity to the ocean.
But Brandon Valvano of Franklin Lakes, N.J., who had opened
with a sizzling 2-under 69 over the 6,690-yard, par-71 Architects layout
Saturday, carded a solid 5-over 76 Sunday to claim a four-shot victory in the
15-to-18 division with a 3-over 145.
Tyler Galantini of West Orange, N.J. was the runnerup as he
was actually one shot better Sunday with a 3-over 74 after opening with a 75
for a 7-over 149 total. Brian Li of Warren, N.J., who opened with a solid
1-over 72, carded a 78 in the second round to finish third at 150. Aiden
Denning of Bronxville, N.Y. was alone in fourth as he improved three shots from
his opening-round 77 with a 74 for a 151 total.
AJ Cavotta of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. opened with a 2-over
73, but struggled to an 82 in the second round and shared fifth place at 155
with Jacob Fain of Port Washington, N.Y., who had rounds of 78 and 77.
John Burki of Dubai – as I’ve mentioned before,
international is in the organization’s name – and Jeffrey Li of Basking Ridge,
N.J. finished tied for seventh at 156. Burki added an 80 to an opening-round 76
while Li fired a 1-over 72 in the opening round before falling back with an 84.
Blaze Tanner of Aurora, Ohio had a pair of 80s to finish
ninth at 160 and Jarrod Grioli of Westfield, N.J. rounded out the top 10 at 161
after adding a 78 to his opening-round 83.
Andrew Li of Clifton, N.J. was the only entrant in the
14-and-under division and won the title with rounds of 94 and 96 for a 190
total.
Angela Lee of Hillsdale, N.J. captured top honors in the
girls division as she opened with a 1-under 70 in the nice weather and added an
81 that might have been just as impressive in the second round for a 151 total
that gave her a three-shot edge on the field.
Katie Li of Basking Ridge, N.J. somehow managed to equal her
opening-round 77 in the second round for a 154 total that gave her runnerup
honors.
It was another 13 shots back to third-place finisher Maya
Torpey of Malvern, who opted to pass up the Pennsylvania Championship close to home
at White Manor for a road trip to Jersey. Torpey opened with a solid 78 before
adding an 89 for a 167 total.
Kaia Wu (88-86) of Princeton, N.J. finished fourth at 174,
Jenna Han (84-91) of Mahwah, N.J. was one behind Wu in fifth at 175 and
Samantha Galantini (90-103) of West Orange, N.J. was sixth at 193.
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