Ryan goes really low with 64 at Paxon Hollow to claim Junior Tour victory

   It would appear that Joshua Ryan is ready for the scholastic golf season.

   Coming off a freshman season in which Ryan, who is home-schooled through Commonwealth Connections Academy and represents Norristown High on the course, reached the PIAA Class AAA Championship, he has had a strong summer.

   Never stronger than last Wednesday as he had eight birdies in a scintillating 7-under-par 64 to capture the 13-to-15 age group in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Paxon Hollow Country Club in Marple Township.

   Ryan had six of his eight birdies on the front side of the 5,709-yard, par-71 Paxon Hollow layout and fired a sizzling 29. He cooled off a little on the inward nine, but still capped the round with a birdie on the little downhill par-3 17^th.

   Paxon Hollow is a relatively easy course for a good player, but nobody else broke par, so it wasn’t playing that easy for everybody else.

   One of last fall’s other top freshmen, Devon Prep’s Ryan McCabe, who captured the District One Class AAA individual title, shared second place with Luke Watson of Royersford, each carding a 2-over 73.

   Christian Matt of Springhouse and Darren Nolan of Glenside finished tied for fourth, each posting a 78, and Win Thomas of Unionville was alone in sixth with a 75.

   Strath Haven sophomore Jackson Debusschere, Luke Kelly of Wayne and Keller Mulhern of Exton shared seventh place, each signing for a 76. Rounding out the top 10 were three players tied for 10^th at 77, including Haverford School sophomore Jake Maddolini, Jack Davis of Newtown Square and Noah Sim of Ambler.

   Overall, some pretty nice playing by a talented group from the younger division.

   The second-best round of the day belonged to Ryan D’Ariano of West Chester, who carded a solid 1-over 72 to take top honors in the 16-to-18 division. D’Ariano finished up an even-par front nine of 35 with five straight pars.

   Haverford School junior Charlie Baker, a key member of the Fords’ Inter-Ac League champions of last fall, and Zak Summy of Media shared runnerup honors, each carding a 75.

   Episcopal Academy senior James, Leroux, Alec Stern of Bryn Mawr and Joseph Taggart of Broomall finished in a tie for fourth at 77. Will Hage of Phoenixville was alone in seventh place with a 79.

   Rounding out the top 10 were three players – Daniel Juliana of Media, Jordan Pick of Sugarloaf and Wesley Saunders of Chadds Ford – who finished tied for eighth as each posted an 82.

   The best score among the girls also came out of the 13-to-15 division as Lauren Jones, who led Episicopal Academy to the Inter-Ac League crown as a freshman this spring, fired a 5-over 76 to claim top honors in the division.

   Jones, runnerup as an eighth-grader and a third-place finisher as a freshman this spring in the Inter-Ac League Championship at Gulph Mills Golf Club, had four birdies in a back nine of 1-under 35 to finish strong.

   Amanda Gerish of Hummelstown and Abiigail Lynn of Furlong each carded an 84 to share runnerup honors.

   Sydney Yermish of Wynnewood, coming off an appearance in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at the Poppy Hills Golf Course on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula, finished alone in fourth with an 86.

   Riley Quartermain, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Haverford High last fall, and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy sophomore Emma Schotsch shared fifth place, each posting an 89.

   Stefania Fedun of Glenmoore finished seventh with a 93, Niosha Parvizi of Gladwyne was eighth with a 95, Kathleen Mark, like Jones a sophomore at Episcopal and an important player in the Churchwomen’s run to an Inter-Ac title, was ninth with a 96, and Emma Riley of Doylestown rounded out the top 10, taking 10^th with a 97.

   Liv Juliana of Malvern carded a 90 to claim a victory in the girls 16-to-18 division. Anna McCormick of Harrisburg was the runnerup with a 96.

   Daniel Shin of Horsham had birdies at the 12^th and 14^th holes on his way to a 1-over 37 that gave him top honors among the nine-holers. Nicholas Gross of Downingtown, who has really had a nice summer, was the runnerup with a 39 that included back-to-back birdies at the 16^th and 17^th holes.

   Tyler Debusschere of Wallingford’s Team Debusschere and Hank Kancher of Philadelphia shared third place, each posting a 48. Brendan Reilly of Doylestown’s Team Reilly finished alone in fifth with a 40.

   Another member of Downingtown’s Team Gross, Evan Gross, was one of four players who rounded out the top 10 in a tie for seventh at 52. Gross was joined in that foursome by Sachin Blake of Berwyn, Brendan Burke of Churchville and Sean Curran of Newtown Square.