Gooneratne, Gu rely on Turtle Creek experience to claim crowns in Precision Pro Golf Open event

   Plymouth-Whitemarsh senior Dylan Gooneratne and Pennsbury senior Jade Gu have tasted some success in the past at Turtle Creek Golf Club in Limerick.

   Gooneratne got a share of second place in the boys District One Class AAA Championship at the Turtle and Gu was the runnerup in the girls District One Class AAA Championship that started at nearby Raven’s Claw Golf Club and concluded at the Turtle last fall.

   Their experience playing the course was evident this week as they were the respective boys and girls overall winner in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour Precision Pro Golf Open event.

   The two-day Precision Pro Golf Open events offer Junior Golf Scoreboard points and a chance to improve a player’s status for American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) tournaments. The Philadelphia Junior Tour does its traditional division breakouts, but there are overall champions crowned for players ages 13-to-18.

   Gooneratne probably won the overall boys crown with the 1-over-par 73 he shot in unpredictable winds in Wednesday’s opening round. He had birdies at the first, seventh and 14^th holes and held a one-shot lead over Radnor senior Rishi Khanne.

   Gooneratne had three birdies in Thursday’s second round, two at the par-3 third and 15^th holes, and another at the par-5 13^th, as he posted a 3-over 75 in much calmer weather that gave him a 4-over 148 total and a two-shot victory over Wissahickon senior Jackson Tappen and Luke Corcoran of Lansdale.

   Most of the top 10 overall finishers came out of the 16-to-18 division.

   Tappen had three birdies, including one at the risk-reward par-5 finishing hole at the Turtle, as he carded a 1-over 73 in the second, which, combined with his opening-round 77, gave him a 6-over 150 total.

   Corcoran also had three birdies, one of which also came at the 18^th hole, as he had the best round of the day in Thursday’s second round, even-par 72 that enabled him to join Tappen in the tie for second place at 6-over 150. Corcoran had opened with a 78 Wednesday.

   It was another two shots back to Albert Evans of Schuylkill Haven as finished alone in fourth place in the division and overall at 152. Evans added a solid 2-over 74 to his opening-round 78.

   Khanna, who had four birdies and went 1-under on the Turtle’s incoming nine in his opening-round 74, cooled off with a 79 in Thursday’s second round to end up alone in fifth place in the division and overall with a 153 total.

   Joshua Cicco of Yardley shaved nine shots off his opening-round 82 with a solid 1-over 73 in Thursday’s second round to end up in sixth place in the division and overall at 155.

   Episcopal Academy senior Auggie Reilly, Strath Haven senior Jackson Debusschere and Jeffrey Cooper of Norristown shared seventh place in the division and in the overall scoring, each landing on 156.

   Reilly had a pair of 78s. Debusschere, who helped the Panthers capture the first Central League and District One Class AAA team titles in program history last fall, added a 79 to his opening-round 77. Cooper rebounded from an opening-round 82 with a solid 2-over 74 in Thursday’s second round.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were two players, Pope John Paul II junior Paul Brady and recent Pennsbury graduate Ethan Finkelstein, who finished in a tie for 10^th place, each ending up at 159.

   Brady also has experienced success at the Turtle as he claimed the District One Class AA individual crown last fall. He followed up an opening-round 78 with an 81 in Thursday’s second round. Finkelstein improved nine shots from his opening-round 84 with a 3-over 75 in Thursday’s final round.

   Three players, Noah Moeller of Doylestown, Ajeet Bagga of Blue Bell and Scott Hughes of Ambler, shared the top spot in the 13-to-15 division and rounded out the top 10 in the overall scoring, finishing in a tie for 10^th place at 158.

   Moeller shaved four shots off his opening-round 81 with a 77 in Thursday’s second round, Bagga added an 80 to his opening-round 78 and Hughes posted a pair of 79s.

   Jackson Debusschere’s younger brother Tyler, a key contributor to Strath Haven’s run to the Central Leauge crown as a freshman last fall, finished alone in fourth place among the younger guys with a 159 total. Tyler Debusschere improved three shots from his opening-round 81 with a 78 in Thursday’s second round in finishing three shots behind his brother in the battle for low-Debusschere honorrs.

   Joseph Halferty of Blue Bell and Nick Joyce of Quakertown had identical splits, each adding a 78 to an opening-round 83 to share fifth place in the division at 161. Halferty also went home with a Precision Pro range finder by winning closest-to-the-pin honors at the 136-yard third hole during Thursday’s second round. Halferty’s tee shot finished eight feet, 10 inches from the hole.

   Evan Eichenlaub of Bethlehem finished alone in seventh place as he added an 83 to his opening-round 79 for a 162 total. Lucas Steinmetz, a sophomore at The Hill School, had a pair of 82s to finish alone in eighth place at 164.

   Will Huntley of Lansdale was another shot behind Steinmetz in ninth place as he added an 80 to his opening-round 85 for a 165 total.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was Sachin Blake of Berwyn as he finished alone in 10^th place at 166. Blake shaved four shots off his opening-round 85 with an 81 in Thursday’s second round.

   On the girls side, Gu trailed opening-round leader Evelyn Wong of Macungie by two shots following Wednesday’s opening round, but came on strong in Thursday’s final round, bettering par with a 2-under 70 that gave her a  4-over 148 total, five shots better than Wong, who was the winner in the 13-to-16 division.

   Gu had two birdies and was 1-over on the Turtle’s incoming nine in her opening-round 78. Gu had birdies on the second, sixth, ninth and 13^th holes, turning in a back-nine of 2-under 34 in Thursday’s second round to surge to the victory.

   Haverford High senior Riley Quartermain, a product of the Llanerch Country Club junior program, was  the runnerup to Gu in the 16-to-18 division and finished third in the overall scoring with a pair of 77s and a 154 total. Quartermain had two birdies while going 1-over on the back nine of Thursday’s second round. She had two birdies, one on each nine, in her opening round.

   Olivia Strigh of Hammonton, N.J. added an 86 to her opening-round 88 to finish third in the division and in a tie for sixth overall with a 174 total. Conestoga junior Sophia Brubaker rebounded from an opening-round 96 with an 86 in Thursday’s second round for a 182 total that left her alone in fourth place in the division and ninth in the overall scoring.

   Sarah Lawrie of Eagleville had rounds of 93 and 94 for a 187 total as she finished in fifth place among the older girls and rounded out the top 10 in the overall scoring, ending up alone in 10^th place.

Paige Damon of Manchester rounded out the 16-to-18 field as she added a 102 to her opening-round 109 for a 211 total that left her in sixth place.

   Wong had two solid rounds in claiming the top spot in the 13-to-15 division and finishing as the runnerup to Gu in the overall scoring at 153. She had 12 pars and one birdie in the 4-over 76 that gave her the opening-round lead and two birdies and 10 pars in her 77 in Thursday’s final round.

   Phoenixville’s Team Roberts accounted for the next two spots in the 13-to-15 division and fourth and fifth, respectively, in the overall standings. Kate Roberts added a solid 3-over 75 to her opening-round 87 for a 162 total. Kayley Roberts shaved nine shots off her opening-round 89 with an 80 in Thursday’s final round for a 189 total.

   Audrey Reese of Richboro finished in fourth place in the division and shared sixth place in the overall scoring with Strigh as she added an 86 to her opening-round 88 for a 174 total. Hayley Ekert of Fairview Village was another five shots behind Reese in fifth place in the division and eighth overall at 179. Ekert improved by five shots from an opening-round 92 with an 87 in Thursday’s final round.

   Rounding out the 13-to-15 field was Sophia DeSantis of Glen Mills as she added a 99 to her opening-round 104 to land in sixth place in the division with a 203 total.

   Rivi Khanna of Bryn Mawr’s Team Khanna staged a big rally in Thursday’s final round to top the field of nine-holers. Khanna trailed Ian Larsen of Glenmoore by five shots after opening with a 50 that included a nice par on the ninth hole to finish his round. Khanna had six pars in a 3-over 39 in the final round for an 89 total that edged Larsen by a shot.

   Larsen finished his opening-round 45 with three straight pars and came back with another 45 in Thursday’s final round to earn runnerup honors with a 90.

   Avery O’Neill of Romansville had pars on the sixth and seventh holes in an opening-round 48 that left him in second place, three shots behind Larsen. O’Neill had three pars in second-round 51 that left him alone in third place at 99.

   Rounding out the coed 12-and-under division field was Daniel Rozinsky of Newtown as he added a 48 to his opening-round 53 for a 101 total.

   The Precision Pro Golf Open events also include college divisions, although only Trevor Keaton of Lansdale took advantage of the opportunity to compete in the men’s 17-to-24 division.

   Keaton birdied the second hole in an opening-round 83 and came back with birdies at the 11^th and 16^th holes in a 79 in Thursday’s final round for a 161 total.