Kochis edges Gherghel by shot for a Junior Tour win in the wind at Morgan Hill

   If you’re going to play competitive golf, at some point you’re going to be challenged by windy conditions.

   In a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Morgan Hill Golf Course in Easton, some young golfers were forced to face that challenge head-on Saturday as fierce winds buffeted southeastern Pennsylvania.

   Dylan Kochis of Exton and Connor Gherghel of Orwigsburg battled the tough conditions and each other in the 13-to-15 division with Kochis carding an 8-over-par 78 over the 6,172-yard, par-70 Morgan Hill layout to edge Gherghel by a shot to claim the top spot.

   Kochis birdied the third hole and made pars on five of his last six holes to hold on to his one-shot advantage. Gherghel had one birdie in his solid 79.

   Franklin Zhu of Warren, N.J. finished third with an 83, Thaddeus Griffin of Pipersville was fourth with a 99 and Robert McNelly of Collegeville was fifth with a 102. Sean Kelly of Lewisburg took sixth with a 103 and Drew Soltys of Warrington was seventh with a 112.

   Kyle Sullivan of New Hope and Luke Snyder of Exton shared first place in the 16-to-18 division, each carding a 91. Sullivan had six pars while Snyder made three pars on the back nine to keep pace with Sullivan.

   Brendan Bauer of Hilltown finished third with a 95, Stephen Cain of Yardley was fourth with a 98 and Brady Sussman of Ambler was fifth with a 104.

   Kayla Maletto of Sinking Spring had three birdies, two of them on the front nine, to edge Gwendolyn Powell of Madison Township by a shot for the top spot in girls 13-to-15 division. Maletto finished with an 85 and Powell chased her home with an 86.

   Megan Adelman of Bryn Mawr finished third with a 90, Ayse Mumcu of Princeton, N.J. was fourth with a 92, Sophia Brubauer of Wayne was fifth with a 114 and Emily McAninch of Mechanicsburg was sixth with a 119.

   Maybe the most impressive effort of the day was turned in by Hunter Probst of Bear Creek in besting the field of nine-holers with a 1-over 36. Probst has been dominating the coed 12-and-under division in the early part of the spring schedule and he was at it again Saturday, opening his round with birdies at the first and second hole before adding a third birdie on the par-5 fifth hole.

   Davis Conaway of West Chester was the runnerup with a 45, Avery O’Neill of Phoenixville was third with a 53 and Colton Orris of Hershey was fourth with a 55.