Some of the top junior golfers from all over Pennsylvania
did a pretty nice job representing the Keystone State in the Williamson Cup,
featuring four-man teams of juniors from several golf associations, including a
couple from Canada, Tuesday at St. Clair Country Club in western Pennsylvania’s
Upper St. Clair Township.
Western Pennsylvania captured the title with rounds of 219
and 224 for a 443 total. The top three scores from the four-man teams counted
and the youngsters played 36 holes Tuesday.
A solid foursome from the Golf Association of Philadelphia
shared second place with Washington Metropolitan, five shots behind Western
Pennsylvania at 448. Another overall Pennsylvania team was another shot behind
GAP and Washington Metropolitan in fourth at 449.
Metropolitan New York, which always fields a solid team in
this event, finished fifth at 450 and Quebec was another six shots behind
Metropolitan New York in sixth at 456.
A solid Delaware entry shared seventh place with Syracuse at
456. Ontario finished ninth at 466, Rochester was 10th at 477 and
Buffalo rounded out the 11-team field at 479.
It was a true team effort for Western Pa. as it got off to a
nice start Tuesday morning when Latrobe senior Brady Pevarnik, coming of a
really solid tie for third in the Pennsylvania Amateur at Sunnehanna Golf Club
in Johnstown, opened with the best round of the day, a 3-under 69.
Jimmy Meyers and Neal Shipley, who were sophomores on
Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s 2016 PIAA Class AAA championship team, added
rounds of 73 and 77 to give Western Pa. the best team round of the day, a 219
total.
Western Pa. was able to toss a 78 from Angus McHolme, an
Elizabeth Forward senior who earned a trip to the U.S. Junior Amateur at
Baltursol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. last month.
In the afternoon, McHolme and Shipley each carded a 1-over
73 to lead Western Pa. to a 224 total. Meyers, who led the PIAA Class AAA
Championship after the first round last fall before ending up tied for fourth, was the final counter in the
afternoon with a 78. Western Pa. tossed Pevarnik’s afternoon 82.
The GAP team had a pair of Spring-Ford Country Club
representatives on its squad, including GAP Junior Boys’ champion Ryan Tall, a
Conestoga graduate who is headed for Lafayette, and Ben Pochet, a two-time District
One Class AAA champion at Spring-Ford High who will join Ben Feld’s Drexel
program later this month.
Tall, who reached the BMW Philadelphia Amateur semifinals
the week before he claimed the Junior Boys’ crown, led the way in the morning,
matching par with a 72. Harriton junior Andrew Wallace, who plays out of Green
Valley Country Club, added a 74 and Pochet, who was a repeat winner of the
Christman Cup this summer, carded a solid 76 as the GAP team posted a 222 total
and trailed Western Pa. by just three.
Blue Bell Country Club’s Anthony Barr, a Souderton product who is headed for
McDaniel College, carded an 81.
But Barr, winner of the Jock MacKenzie Memorial and the
Harry Hamond Award this summer, had the best round of the afternoon session, a
1-under 71 to lead the way for Team GAP.
Tall added a 76 and Wallace posted a 79 as GAP put up a 226
in the afternoon round. Team GAP was able to throw out Pochet’s 85.
In sharing second with Team GAP, Washington Metropolitan was
led by the top individual performer for the day, Carlo Pizzano, who opened with
an even-par 72 and added a 2-over 74 in the afternoon for a 2-over 146 total.
Team Pennsylvania’s fourth-place finish was sparked by
Central Bucks East senior Patrick Sheehan, who opened with a 3-over 75 in the
morning and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon. Sheehan, who qualified for
match play in the Philly Am and the GAP Junior Boys only to see his match-play
runs halted by Tall in both tournaments, finished tied for fifth in the
individual scoring at 4-over 148.
Team Pennsylvania’s other counters in the morning were a 76
by Benjamin Smith and a 77 by Jack Irons, who plays out Trump National Golf
Club Philadelphia, as it carded a 228 total. St. Joseph’s Prep’s Joseph
Morganti, who plays out of Llanerch Country Club, had an 85, which Team
Pennsylvania was able to toss.
Irons and Smith backed up Sheehan’s 73 in the afternoon by
each carding a 2-over 74 as Team Pennsylvania’s 221 total was the best team
score of the round. Morganti improved with a 77, but still couldn’t crack the top
three for Pennsylvania.
Delaware was led by Austin Barbin, a senior at Red Lion
Christian School, who, like Tall and Sheehan, qualified for match play in the
Philly Am and the GAP Junior Boys. Barbin had a 3-over 75 as Delaware posted a
morning total of 230.
The First State’s two other counters were Danny Dougherty, a
Tower Hill product who is headed for Villanova and carded a 77, and
Wilmington’s Nikita Romanov, who has been one of the busiest junior golfers in
the region the last three summers and posted a 78. Delaware tossed an 85 from
Kyle Stassle.
Barbin had another solid round in the afternoon with a
4-over 76, a score matched by Romanov. Dougherty’s 82 was the final counter
with Stassle carding a 86.
Three players shared second place in the individual
standings, a shot behind Pizzano at 3-over 147, including Brendan Hansen of
Metropolitan New York, Laurent Desmarchais of Quebec and Barrett Ruby of
Ontario.
Tall shared fifth place with his familiar match-play rival
this summer, Sheehan, at 4-over 148.
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