Yermish leads Kim, Beek by a shot after opening round of PIAA Class AAA Championship

   The youth movement among the District One girls was very much in evidence in the opening round of the PIAA Class AAA Championship Monday at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in Springettsbury Township, York County.

   Lower Merion freshman Sydney Yermish, an impressive winner of the District One Class AAA title two weeks ago at Turtle Creek Golf Club, rallied with three birdies on the front nine, her final nine holes, to post an even-par 72 over the 6,223-yard, par-72 Heritage Hills layout and take a one-shot lead into Tuesday’s second round.

   But right on her heels are a couple of other talented youngsters from District One, including last year’s Class AAA district champion Victoria Kim, a sophomore at West Chester East, and Wissahickon freshman Elizabeth Beek, an impressive winner of last week’s Class AAA East Regional at Golden Oaks Golf Club. Kim and Beek each carded a 1-over 73 and stand a shot behind Yermish.

   A third District One freshman, Unionville’s Mary Dunigan, was tied for fourth with Emmaus junior Michelle Cox, the runnerup in last summer’s Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship at Hershey Country Club’s East Course, both landing on 3-over 75, two shots behind Kim and Beek.

   Yermish, who plays out of Rolling Green Golf Club, started on the back nine at Heritage Hills and made bogeys at the 13^th hole and the tricky par-4 16^th hole. A bogey at the first hole left her at 3-over for the round.

   But then Yermish, who finished fifth in the Girls 12-13 division in the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals last spring at Augusta National Golf Club, got down to business on the outgoing nine. She got both of the par-5s on the front, the second and seventh holes, and added another birdie at the par-3 fifth hole to get it back to even par.

   Kim got off to a better start as she birdied the par-5 11^th hole, bogeyed the 14^th hole, birdied the tough par-3 15^th hole and bogeyed the 17^th hole before making birdie at the par-5 18^th hole to make the turn at 1-under. Back-to-back bogeys at the fifth and sixth holes dropped her back to 1-over for the day.

   Beek, who authored a brilliant 6-under 66 to capture the regional crown at Golden Oaks by six shots over Yermish last week, was steady all day, offsetting a bogey at the 10^th hole and a double bogey at the par-3 fifth hole with birdies at the first and seventh holes.

   Yermish and Beek also finished in the top 10 in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls at Hershey last summer, Yermish ending up in a tie for fifth and Beek landing in seventh place.

   Dunigan struggled at times, but finished up her round with back-to-back birdies at the par-3 eighth hole and the par-4 ninth hole, two of the tougher holes at Heritage Hills, to get it to 3-over.

   Cox, who finished 13^th in last year’s PIAA Class AAA Championship, had five birdies on her card, but a double bogey at the second and a triple bogey at the 16^th hole hurt her cause Monday.

   Three players from the western part of the state, Ella McRoberts, a Peters Township senior, Elyse Godding, a Bradford senior, and Natalie Brosig, a junior at McDowell, are another shot behind Dunigan and Cox in a tie for sixth place at 4-over 76.

   Isabella Walter, a senior at North Allegheny, was alone in ninth place after posting a 79. Walter was a member of North Allegheny’s PIAA Class AAA championship team a year ago.

   Another youngster from District One, Strath Haven sophomore Grace Smith, headed a group of three players tied for 10^th place, each carding an 8-over 80. Smith was joined at that figure by Amanda Gerrish, a junior at Hershey, and Ammala Moua, a junior at Cocalico.

   Downingtown East sophomore Ava O’Sullivan was two shots behind the trio tied for 10^th as O’Sullivan was alone in 13^th place after signing for an 82.

   Chaela Barnett, a sophomore at Archbishop Wood, was in 16^th place after posting an 82. Pretty sure Barnett is the first District 12 girl to qualify for the state championship.

   The PIAA announced – I saw it on Twitter – that, in an effort to stay ahead of some anticipated wet weather, there will be an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start Tuesday for the entire field, Class AAA boys and girls and Class AA boys and girls.

   The plan is to do some live blogging from Heritage Hills Tuesday. Good thing I’ve gotten used to early wakeup calls with the caddying I’ve been doing. Have a feeling when I do get there, I’ll be following the lead group in the Class AAA girls competition.

   Not that I won’t be interested in the Class AAA boys competition, where Central York senior Carson Bacha grabbed a one-shot lead with a 4-under 67 over a Heritage Hills layout that plays 6,700 yards and to a par of 71 for the guys. The 18^th hole, a relatively easy par-5 for the girls, is a tougher long par-4 for the guys.

   Bacha’s been a force on the state level ever since he finished fifth at Heritage Hills as a freshman in 2016. He opted out of the PIAA individual competition as a sophomore to accept an invitation to play in a big American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) event.

   After capturing the Class AAA East Regional title a year ago, Bacha, who committed to Southeastern Conference power Auburn a year ago, struggled to a tie for 12^th place at Heritage Hills a year ago after a quick turnaround from a national junior event.

   It looks like Bacha has designs on adding his name to the list of PIAA champions that includes Arnold Palmer, Jay Sigel and Jim Furyk. Bacha started on the back nine at Heritage Hills and jump-started his round with an eagle at the par-5 11^th hole.

   He added birdies at the 13^th and 14^th holes before his lone stumble of the day, a bogey at the par-5 second hole. A birdie at the par-5 seventh hole got Bacha to 4-under for the round.

   Shady Side Academy junior Adam Lauer was a shot behind Bacha in second place after a round that included five birdies and two bogeys.

   District One Class AAA champion Josh Ryan, a junior at Norristown, was two shots behind Lauer and three shots out of the lead after carding a solid 1-under 70. Ryan’s been here before. It is his third straight trip to Heritage Hills, although he hasn’t played particularly well, finishing in a tie for 23^rd place as a freshman and tied for 19^th a year ago.

   Ryan got off to a fast start Monday with birdies at the 11^th and 13^th holes before giving those two shots back with a double bogey at the 14^th hole, with its tricky green. A bogey at the 18^th hole dropped him to 1-over, but he got it going on the front nine, making birdies at the two par-5s, the second and seventh holes, and another at the short par-4 sixth hole.

   Ryan was 2-under when he surrendered a shot with a bogey at his finishing hole, the tough par-4 ninth hole.

   Other than Ryan, it was not a great day for the District One contingent as nobody else finished among the top nine.

   Evan Rowane, an Erie Cathedral Prep junior, John Peters, a junior at Carlisle, and Ryan Ferry, a senior at Meadville, were all tied for fourth place, a shot behind Ryan at even par as each carded a 71.

Donne Professori, a senior at Pine Richland, and Rocco Salvitti, a freshman at Pittsburgh Central Catholic, were tied for seventh place, each signing for a 2-over 73. Scott Bitar, a senior at Fox Chapel, was another shot behind Professori and Salvitti, in ninth place at 3-over 74.

   Conestoga junior Morgan Lofland, who won the East Regional crown last week with a sparkling 5-under 67 at Golden Oaks, and Methacton’s Jeff Cooper were two of the five players who rounded out the top 10 as they were tied for 10^th place at 4-over 75.

   Joining Lofland and Cooper at 4-over were a pair of Upper St. Clair players, Nathan Platt, a senior, and Scott Jordan, a junior, and Devin Smith, a junior at Waynesboro.

   Roy Anderson, a junior at Unionville, was among the group tied for 16^th place at 5-over 76. Plymouth-Whitemarsh junior Dylan Gooneratne, who finished in a tie for second behind Ryan in the district tournament at Turtle Creek, was among the group tied for 18^th place at 6-over 77.

   John Engle, a junior at Boyertown, was alone in 23^rd place as he carded an 8-over 79. Three more District One representatives, Harriton senior Andrew Wallace, Unionville senior Jack Cooley and Radnor senior Jack Hamilton, were among the group tied for 24^th place at 9-over 80.

   Devon Prep junior Ryan McCabe, who finished in a tie for second place in Class AA a year ago, was in contention again as he carded a 2-over 73 and was in a tie for fourth, but only a shot behind the three co-leaders. Like Norristown’s Ryan, McCabe is making his third consecutive appearance at Heritage Hills.

   Riverside senior Skylar Fox, who finished fourth a year ago, shared the top spot after Monday’s opening round with Cam Colbert, a junior at Hickory, and Elijah Ruppert, a junior at Brandywine Heights, as each carded a 1-over 72. Ruppert was at Heritage Hills a year ago, but finished in a tie for 25^th place.

   Fox had a steady round that included two birdies and three bogeys and Colbert made three birdies to offset four bogeys. Ruppert had four birdies, but gave back some shots with three bogeys and a double bogey at the par-3 fifth hole.

   McCabe, a Media resident, shared fourth place with Isaiah Swan, a junior from North East whose round was highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 second hole. McCabe made five birdies, but needed them to overcome a pair of double bogeys at the third and 18^th holes.

   Jack Hritsko, a senior at Chartiers Houston, was two shots behind McCabe and Swan in sixth place after carding a 4-over 75.

   Austin Outman, a senior at Cowanesque Valley, Ben Ortwein, a sophomore at Notre Dame Green Pond, and Bobby Lugiano, a senior at Lake Lehman, were tied for seventh place as each landed on 6-over 77. Outman was the runnerup in last week’s Class AA East Regional at Golden Oaks.

District One champion Paul Brady, a sophomore at Pope John Paul II, struggled to an 88 and was tied for 31^st place.

The top five names atop the leaderboard after Day 1 of the Class AA girls competition were all making return trips to Heritage Hills, led by Meghan Zambruno, a sophomore at Greensburg Central Catholic who grabbed the lead with a 3-over 75. Zambruno finished in a tie for third a year ago and led Greensburg Central Catholic to the state team title in Class AA.

   Zambruno only had one birdie on her card, at the sixth hole, but was steady with 14 pars, two bogeys and a double bogey.

   Lydia Swan, a sophomore at North East, and Vileska Gelpi, a junior at Rockwood, were tied for second place, each signing for a 4-over 76. Swan was the runnerup a year ago while Gelpi finished seventh. Swan finished third in last summer’s Pennsylvania Junior Girls at Hershey.

   Sarah White, a senior at Mercyhurst Prep, was fourth with a 77 and Paige Richter, a sophomore at Camp Hill, was fifth with a 78. White finished in a tie for 10^th a year ago and Richter, the co-medalist in last week’s East Regional at Golden Oaks, was alone in 13^th place in last year’s state tournament.