Matt Vital, who made such a big splash on The Golf Channel
with his victory in the Boys 12-13 division in last spring’s Drive, Chip &
Putt National Finals, carded a solid 1-over-par 72 at Avalon Golf Club Tuesday
to capture top honors in the 13-to-15 age group and earn a ticket to the
Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship.
The Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Avalon was
the second in a series of qualifiers for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA,
which will be held June 22 at Bellewood Country Club in Pottstown. The Boys
Junior PGA Championship, for which the event at Bellewood would normally be a
qualifier, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Vital, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Bethlehem
Liberty last fall, had a steady round on the par-71 Avalon layout on what I’m
sure was a glorious day at the Jersey Shore. Vital had just one birdie, at the
10th hole, but registered 15 pars and two bogeys.
Vital led a group of 13 players who earned themselves a spot
in the field at Bellewood, nine of them from the 16-to-18 division and four
from the younger 13-to-15 division.
Henry Stone, a sophomore at Tower Hill out of Kennett Square,
was the runnerup to Vital in the 13-to-15 division with a 77. Daniel Donnelly
of Coatesville and Nathan Guertler of Merchantville, N.J. each carded an 80 and
shared third place in the division. They were the final two of the younger guys
to qualify for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship.
Jake Micewski of Broomall finished in fifth place in the
13-to-15 division with an 82, Matthew Normand of Lumberton, N.J. was sixth with
an 83, Tyler Leyden of Glenside was seventh with an 84 and Kevin Zheng of
Warren, N.J. was eighth with an 85.
Michael Henry of Wayne took ninth place with a 91 and Brady
Manning of Downingtown rounded out the top 10 among the younger group with a 93
that left him alone in 10th place.
Devon Prep senior Ryan McCabe, who has been a contender for
a PIAA Class AA crown each of the last two falls, matched Vital’s 1-over 72 to
lead the way in the 16-to-18 division.
McCabe was not listed among the qualifiers for the
Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship, which probably means he has a
scheduling conflict with another event. But with the pandemic limiting
competitive opportunities for junior players for the last 10 weeks or so, no
one wants to pass up a chance to tee it up in an event in which the scores
count.
McCabe, who has finished 15th, tied for second
and tied for third in his first three cracks at a state championship at the
Heritage Hills Golf Resort, birdied the last two holes at Avalon, giving him
four for his round as finished at 1-over.
The rest of the top-10 finishers in the 16-to-18 division
earned tickets to Bellewood, although I’m pretty sure a couple of them had
already done so in Sunday’s qualifier at the Pine Meadows Golf Complex in
Lebanon County.
Shane Lawler, coming off a solid junior season at Episcopal
Academy, was the runnerup to McCabe in the division and overall with a 76.
Elijah Ruppert, who, like McCabe, finished in a tie for
third in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a junior at Brandywine Heights last
fall, was another shot behind Lawler in third place in the 16-to-18 division
and shared third place with Stone in the overall scoring with a 77.
Benjamin Griffaton of Pottstown, Thomas Lynch of Dunmore and
Jack Ross of Medford Lakes, N.J. each carded a 78 to finish in a tie for fourth
place in the division and tied for fifth place overall.
Three more players, Malvern Prep senior James Gradisek, Adam
MacMillan of Cranbury, N.J. and Jack Davis of Newtown Square, each posted a 79
and finished in a tie for seventh place in the division and tied for eighth
overall.
Grabbing the final berth to Bellewood was Michael Tallarida
of Philadelphia as his 81 left him in 10th place in the 16-to-18
division and 13th overall.
Ruppert and Gradisek had earned their way to the
Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship with their showings Sunday at Pine
Meadows.
Pretty sure the Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship,
which tees off July 6 at Old York Road Country Club, is an open event, so
there’s no need for qualifiers.
Katrina Cabinian of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. took a ride
down the South Jersey coastline and captured top honors in the girls 16-to-18
division at Avalon with an 85.
Molly Gregor of North Wales was the runnerup with a 91,
Sophia Brubaker, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at
Conestoga, took third place with a 93 and Skye Mada of Cherry Hill, N.J.
finished fourth with a 109.
Savannah Thompson of Seaville, N.J. led the way in the
13-to-15 division with a 96. Olivia Kury of York was the runnerup with a 101
and Emily Mayo of Boothwyn finished third with a 105.
Trevor Sieben of Medford, N.J. topped the field of
nine-holers with a solid 3-over 39. Savannah Laverty of Moorestown, N.J. was
the runnerup with a 41.
Davis Conaway of West Chester, coming off a victory Sunday
at Pine Meadows, was a shot behind Laverty in third place with a 42. Paul
Reilly of West Creek, N.J. took fourth place with a 44, Kiersten Bodge of West Chester
was fifth with a 48 and Daniel Herzchel of Linwood, N.J. was sixth with a 49.
Thomas Hayes of Mullica Hill, N.J., J.P. Klock of Oreland
and Benjamin Robbins of Holland finished in a tie for seventh place, each
carding a 51. Liam Crowley of Wayne rounded out the top 10 as he finished alone
in 10th place with a 56.
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