Barbin makes his move in Boys Junior PGA Championship with a 63 at Keney Park

   One of the many accomplishments for Austin Barbin of Elkton, Md. this summer was his victory in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at The Springhaven Club.

   It earned Barbin, who also captured the title in the 105^th Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship at Coatesville Country Club, a ticket to the 44^th Boys Junior PGA Championship as a representative of the Philadelphia Section PGA’s Junior Tour.

   In the second round of the Boys Junior PGA Championship Wednesday, Barbin surged into contention with a sizzling 7-under-par 63 at the Keney Park Golf Course in Windsor, Conn. that left him in a group of three players tied for 11^th at 7-under 133.

   Barbin had a little bit of a disappointing trip to the U.S. Junior Amateur at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio when he failed to qualify for match play, finishing a shot out of an eight-man playoff for the final seven spots in the bracket.

   Barbin, who will join the Maryland program in a few weeks, started a little slowly with an even-par 70 on a Keney Park layout that has been vulnerable to low scores from many of the top junior players in the world.

   But Barbin got it going Wednesday. He started fast with a birdie at the second hole and an eagle at the par-4 fifth hole. Barbin stumbled momentarily with a bogey at the sixth hole, but he then rattled off birdies on four of the next five holes, the eighth, 10^th, 11^th and 12^th holes.

   Barbin gave a shot back with a bogey at the 13^th hole, but bounced right back with birdies at the 14^th and 15^th holes to get it to 7-under, seven shots behind halfway leader Canon Claycomb of Bowling Green, Ky.

   Palmer Jackson, who won the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Franklin Regional last fall, fired a second straight 4-under 66 and was a shot better than Barbin among the four players tied for seventh at 8-under 132.

   Jackson, who reached the third round of the U.S. Junior Amateur at Inverness, finished in a tie for 23^rd in the Boys Junior PGA Championship a year ago at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

   Another Pennsylvania scholastic standout, Central York senior Carson Bacha, struggled a little Wednesday with a 3-over 73 after opening with a 68 that including a sizzling front-nine 30. Bacha, who plans to join the Auburn program in the summer of 2020, made the cut on the number at 1-over 141.

    The other Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour representative, recent Westtown School graduate Jaden Weisman, just failed to survive the cut as he added an even-par 70 to his opening-round 72 for a 2-over 142 total.

    Claycomb, who plans to join the Alabama program in January of 2020, added a 6-under 64 to his opening-round 62 to maintain his hold on the top spot at 14-under 126. Claycomb finished in a tie for third a year ago at Valhalla.

   But the round of the day belonged to Jake Beber-Frankel, a 17-year-old out of Miami, Fla. who blitzed the Keney Park layout with 10 birdies in a course-record 10-under 60. Combined with his opening-round 67, it left Beber-Frankel, who plans to join the Stanford program in the summer of 2020, a shot behind Claycomb at 13-under 127.

   Peyton Snoeberger of Lafayette, Ind. and Jack Heath of Charlotte, N.C. were two shots behind Beber-Frankel in a tie for third at 11-under 129.

   Snoeberger, who will join the Purdue program later this summer, added a 5-under 65 to his opening-round 64 while Heath, who plans to join the Tennessee program in the summer of 2020, added a 6-under 64 to his opening-round 65.

   Jolo Timothy Magcalayo of the Philippines, who has launched his last two campaigns on the national junior scene on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour, was alone in fifth place at 10-under 130. Magcalayo had shared the lead with Claycomb after an opening-round 62, added a 2-under 68 in Wednesday’s second round.

   Magcalayo, like Barbin, was a shot out of the playoff for the final seven spots in match play in the U.S. Junior Amateur at Inverness.

    Andy Mao of Johns Creek, Ga. was alone in sixth place at 9-under 131 after adding a 3-under 67 to his opening-round 64. Mao plans to join the Georgia Tech program later this summer.

Tanabe rides another fast start to Pennsylvania Amateur victory at Aronimink

   Bucknell junior Chris Tanabe, playing out of Sewickley Heights Golf Club, continued his domination of the front nine at Aronimink Golf Club, the Donald Ross gem in Newtown Square, and it resulted in a comfortable victory for him in the 106^th Pennsylvania Amateur Championship Wednesday.

   Tanabe, the 2016 PIAA Class AA champion as a senior at Quaker Valley, had taken control of the tournament with a stunning 7-under-par 28 tour of the front nine at Aronimink on his way to a 5-under 65 in Tuesday’s second round. It gave Tanabe a three-shot lead going into Wednesday’s final round.

   And he kept the rest of a talented field in the Pennsylvania Amateur, presented by LECOM, at bay with three more birdies in a 2-under 33 on the front nine in Wednesday’s final round. His fast start enabled him to survive a double bogey-bogey finish after severe weather forced an 87-minute delay.

   Tanabe still carded a 1-over 71 in the final round for a 5-under 205 total and a misleading two-shot margin of victory over Nate Menon, a redshirt sophomore at Stanford playing out of LedgeRock Golf Club, and Kansas State junior Kyle Vance, a two-time District One Class AAA champion at Methacton.

   “I was able to set myself up in good positions on the front nine today and took advantage of it,” Tanabe told the Pennsylvania Golf Association (PAGA) website. “I just wanted to hit fairways, hit greens and give myself a good look for birdie and I was able to do so for the most part.”

   A hole-out for eagle on the first hole jump-started Tanabe’s sizzling start in Tuesday’s second round. He didn’t match that, but he did hit his approach to 15 feet and made the birdie putt to quickly get it to 7-under.

   After a bogey at the fourth hole dropped him back to 6-under, Tanabe stiffed his approach to four feet at the sixth hole and rolled in the birdie putt. He drilled his approach at the seventh hole to six feet and again converted his birdie try to make the turn at 8-under.

   He offset a bogey at the 10^th hole with a birdie at the par-5 16^th hole to again get it to 8-under before stumbling a little on the final two holes.

   Menon, who bested Tanabe to claim the 2015 PIAA Class AA champion when he was a junior at Wyomissing, closed with a solid even-par 70 to finish at 3-under 207. Menon was a member of the Stanford team that claimed the NCAA Championship in the spring, although he was not in the starting five for the Cardinal at either the regional or the nationals at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.

   Aronimink, the site of next summer’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the 2026 PGA Championship, was the perfect tuneup for Menon as he prepares for the U.S. Amateur, which tees off in a couple of weeks at the Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in Pinehurst Village, N.C.

   The No. 2 Course at Pinehurst, where the majority of the match-play portion of the National Amateur will be contested, is also the work of Ross, one of the acknowledged masters of golf course design. The recently renovated Pinehurst No. 4 will be the other course for qualifying and will also be used in the championship match, scheduled for 36 holes.

   Vance, a PAGA individual member, put his considerable talent on display as he closed with a 2-under 68 to share second with Menon at 3-under. Vance has had a tough time making the starting lineup for the Wildcats, but he served notice this week that he’s ready to become more of a contributor for the underrated Big 12 program.

   Drexel senior Connor Schmidt, playing out of Nemacolin Country Club, fired a 3-under 67, sharing honors for low round of the day with Lafayette sophomore and former Conestoga standout Ryan Tall, to finish in a tie for fourth place at 2-under 208. It was a solid defense of the title Schmidt won a year ago at Sunnehanna Country Club outside of Johnstown.

   Schmidt was joined at 2-under by talented Central Dauphin junior Garrett Engle, who finished with a 1-under 69. Engle will certainly be one of the players to watch on the high school scene this fall.

   Brett Young, another entry playing out of Nemacolin, posted his second straight even-par 70 to finish alone in sixth place at 1-under 209.

   Virginia junior Max Siegfried, crowned the club champion at Aronimink Sunday, capped a solid week with a second straight 1-over 71 to finish alone in seventh place at even-par 210. Siegfried was a scholastic standout at The Haverford School.

   Spring-Ford Country Club’s Tall, winner of the 2018 Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ Championship, got a share of eighth place at 1-over 211 with his sparkling final-round 67. 

   Former Kennett standout Evan Brown, who captured the Delaware Amateur in June at Maple Dale Country Club, joined Tall in the tie for eighth at 211. Brown, a PAGA individual member, had a strong spring to conclude his sophomore season at Loyola of Maryland.

   Huntingdon Valley Country Club’s Benjamin Cooley earned a top-10 finish as he carded a final round of 2-over 72 to end up alone in 10^th place at 2-over 212.

   It’s been a strong final summer of junior golf for Talamore Country Club’s Patrick Sheehan, who won the Jock MacKenzie Memorial and was the runnerup in the GAP Junior Boys’ Championship. The Penn State-bound Sheehan, the District One Class AAA champion as a senior at Central Bucks East last fall, matched par in the final round with a 70 to get a share of 11^th place at 3-over 213.

   LuLu Country Club’s Michael Brown Jr., who will defend his Patterson Cup title next week at Applebrook Golf Club, also landed on 213 with a final round of even-par 70.

   Loch Nairn Golf Club’s Zachary Barbin, whose younger brother Austin defeated Sheehan in the GAP Junior Boys’ final, rounded out the trio tied for 11^th at 3-over. The Liberty University junior had surged into contention with a 4-under 66 in Tuesday’s second round, but struggled to a 76 in Wednesday’s final round.

Magcalayo surges to top of leaderboard at Boys Junior PGA Championship with 62 at Keney Park

   Jolo Timothy Magcalayo has come to the United States from the Philippines each of the last two years in search of some top-notch junior competition against which to test his game.

   He’s launched those bids by teeing it up in Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour events. He captured a Junior Tour victory at Back Creek Golf Club in May.

   In the opening round of the 44^th Boys Junior PGA Championship at the Keney Park Golf Course in Windsor, Conn. Tuesday, Magcalayo matched the course record with a sizzling 8-under-par 62 over the 6,446-yard, par-70 Keney Park layout that gave him a share of the lead with Canon Claycomb of Bowling Green, Ky.

   Magcalayo was actually briefly over par as he made a bogey on the 11^th hole, his second of the day. But he ripped off four straight birdies at the 13^th, 14^th, 15^th and 16^th holes to get it 3-under. He had another three-hole birdie burst on the first three holes of the outgoing nine. He added a birdie at the fifth hole and nearly made an ace at the par-3 sixth hole for his ninth birdie of the day.

   “When I am playing my game, every shot should be good,” Magcalayo, coming off a victory in the AJGA Junior at Chicopee, presented by John D. Mineck Foundation in Chicopee, Mass., told the PGA of America website.

   Claycomb, who plans to join the Alabama program in January, was just as hot as Magcalayo as he had eight birdies with nary a bogey on his card.

   Magcalayo and Claycomb held a two-shot lead over the pair of Andy Mao of Johns Creek, Ga. and Peyton Snoeberger of Lafayette, Ind., both of whom carded a 6-under 64. Mao plans to join the powerhouse Georgia Tech program and Snoeberger will join the Purdue program later this summer.

   Two of Pennsylvania’s top high school players last fall, Palmer Jackson, the winner of the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Franklin Regional, and Central York senior Carson Bacha, the Class AAA East Regional champion, got off to strong starts at Keney Park.

   Jackson, who will join the Notre Dame program later this month, fired a 4-under 66 and is in the group tied for 11^th place.

   Jackson is coming off a strong showing in the U.S. Junior Amateur at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, where he reached the third round of match play with a stunning 1-up upset of defending champion Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley, Mass. in the second round.

   Bacha, who plans to join the Auburn program in the summer of 2020, blitzed the front nine at Keney Park with five birdies for a 5-under 30. He cooled off on the back nine, but joined the group tied for 24^th place with a 2-under 68.

   Bacha made birdies at the second, fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth holes in a scintillating outgoing nine. He opened the back nine with a double bogey at the 10^th hole and had three more bogeys against two birdies on the incoming nine.

   Austin Barbin of Elkton, Md., winner of the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at The Springhaven Club during a sizzling stretch of golf that included a victory in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 105^th Junior Boys’ Championship at Coatesville Country Club, matched par at Keney Park with a 70 and was among the group tied for 52^nd.

   Barbin, who will join the Maryland program later this summer, and Magcalayo were also at the Inverness Club for the U.S. Junior Amateur and both came up a shot short of an 8-for-7 playoff for the final spot in match play as they checked in at 151.

   Jaden Weisman, a recent Westtown School graduate, was the other player, along with Barbin, to emerge from the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour qualifier for Keney Park. Weisman landed among the group tied for 87^th with a 2-over 72.

   The field will be cut after Wednesday’s second round. The 72-hole tournament, one of the biggest events on the national junior calendar, will conclude Friday.