The Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour wrapped up the
2017-’18 campaign Monday with the Junior Tour Championship and Win Thomas of
Unionville and Lauren Jones of Newtown Square emerged as the overall winners,
each prevailing in a playoff at Old York Road Country Club in Spring House.
Pretty sure the Junior Tour Championship was originally
scheduled for last Monday, but was postponed by the torrential rains that hit
the entire region.
The Junior Tour had its usual division breakdowns, but also
crowned overall winners for the boys and girls in the 13-to-18 age group and
the two winners actually came out of the younger 13-to-15 divisions.
Thomas, an eighth-grader at Upland Country Day School,
carded a 6-over-par 77 over an Old York Road layout that measured 6,366 yards
for the guys. That left him tied with another 13-to-15 player, James Dalzell of
Linwood, N.J. and Finian McGarry of
Haddonfield, N.J., who topped the 16-to-18 division with his 77.
Thomas claimed the overall title on the second hole of a playoff.
That also gave him the top spot in the 13-to-15 division over Dalzell. Garnet
Valley junior Jacob Sokalsky, who has been solid all summer, finished third
with a 79, which also left him in a five-way tie for fifth with a quartet of
16-to-18 players in the overall scoring.
McGarry had two birdies, one on each side, in his 77 that
earned him a spot in the playoff for the overall title. Michael Festa of Ambler had a solid
2-over 37 on the front nine at Old York Road on his way to a 78 that earned him
runnerup honors in the 16-to-18 division and left him alone in fourth place in
the overall scoring.
Finishing tied for third in the 16-to-18 division and tied
for fifth with Sokalsky in the overall scoring was the foursome of Ryan Kennedy
of Wayne, Nicholas Schnur of Lafayette Hill, Stephen Lorenzo of Lower Gwynedd
and Ryan D’Ariano of West Chester.
It also took a playoff to decide the overall winner among
the girls as Jones, who led Episcopal Academy to the Inter-Ac League title as a
freshman this spring, and 16-to-18 division winner Isabella McCloskey of
Princeton Junction, N.J. each carded an 83 over an Old York Road layout that
measured 5,502 yards for the gals.
Jones, who finished third in the Inter-Ac’s individual
championship at Gulph Mills Golf Club, opened her round with a birdie and got
past McCloskey in the playoff to take the overall title.
Lily Yang of West Chester finished a shot behind Jones to
take runnerup honors in the 13-to-15 division and third in the overall scoring.
Amanda Gerish of Hummelstown finished third in the division and fifth overall
with an 86.
McCloskey had five straight pars in the middle of her round
to earn the top spot in the 16-to-18 division. Casey Oppenheimer of Conshohocken was the runnerup to McCloskey in the
division and fourth overall with an 85 that was highlighted by a birdie at the
third hole.
Oppenheimer, who plays out of Whitemarsh Valley Country
Club, defeated Jones, a Merion Golf Club member, in the final to repeat as the
winner of the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Girls’
Championship earlier this summer at West Chester Country Club.
Abigail Han of Hummelstown finished third in the division
with a 90.
Nicholas Gross of Downingtown capped a dominant summer among
the nine-holers with a sparkling even-par 35 that gave him the top spot in the
division once again. Gross made birdies on the 10th and 15th
holes.
Ajeet Bagga of Blue Bell was the runnerup, four shots behind
Gross with a 39. Bagga opened his round by rattling off six straight pars.
Daniel Shin of Horsham, George Deming of Philadelphia and
Rhianna Gooneratne of the golfing Gooneratnes of Plymouth Meeting shared third
place, each posting a solid 42.
The Junior Tour will start tabulating the winners of The
Graham Company Player of the Year awards and the Sam Penecale Scoring Average
Leaders for the various age groups and I should be able to put together a post
when all that information is finalized.
But even if you were not a Player of the Year, are you a
better player than you were a year ago when the wraparound 2017-’18 campaign
began? The answer in the vast majority of cases is a resounding yes.
Becoming a better player and learning how to play the game
the right way are what the Junior Tour is all about. And The Graham Company,
the Junior Tour’s title sponsor, deserves plenty of credit for getting
youngsters started on a game many of them will still be playing 50 years from
now.
The end of the season is also a good time to thank the
parents who drive you all over the tri-state region in pursuit of a better golf
game. It's a labor or love for them, but it is a lot of driving.
The high school season is already under way and the Junior
Tour will open the 2018-’19 season with its series of weekend fall events.
Hopefully, I can make it out to some of the stops on the PIAA and Inter-Ac League trails this fall.
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