Chad Kemmerer of Malvern matched par with a 71 at Hershey
Country Club’s East Course Friday to cruise to a three-shot victory in a
Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour Precision Pro Golf Open event.
Kemmerer went wire-to-wire in the 36-hole Precision Pro Golf
Open event that was also Junior Golf Scoreboard tournament that offered points
toward American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) eligibility.
Kemmerer was the leader, both in the 16-to-18 division and
in the overall 13-to-18 scoring, after opening with a 1-over 72, that was
highlighted by two birdies, in somewhat more difficult conditions Thursday,
although severe weather steered clear of Chocolate Town.
Kemmerer had four birdies in Friday’s even-par round that
left him with a 1-over 143 total that gave him a victory in the 16-to-18
division and in the overall scoring.
Kemmerer was chased by some of the top scholastic golfers in
Pennsylvania over the par-71 East Course at Hershey, but nobody could catch
him.
Devon Prep senior Ryan McCabe, a top-three finisher in the
last two PIAA Class AA Championships at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort, and
Berks Catholic senior Michael Fioravante, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall,
shared second place, each ending up three shots behind Kemmerer at 4-over 146.
McCabe added a 1-over 72 to his opening-round 74. Fioravante
struggled a little in an opening-round 78 before unleashing the best round of
the tournament, a sparkling 3-under 68 in Friday’s second round. After making
back-to-back bogeys at the second and third holes, Fioravante ripped off five
birdies in the next 11 holes.
Tyler Kipp, who wrapped up a solid scholastic career at
Muhlenberg last fall, and Episcopal Academy senior Shane Lawler finished in a
tie for fourth place at 5-over 147.
Kipp’s second round of 1-under 70 was the only other sub-par
round of the tournament along with Fioravante’s 68. Kipp had opened with a
6-over 77. Lawler, who helped the Churchmen capture the PAISSA team crown last
fall, added a 73 to his opening-round 74.
La Salle junior Darren Nolan, who helped the Explorers make
a perfect run through the Catholic League and finish third in the PIAA Class
AAA team chase last fall, and Jake Shmonov of Harrisburg shared sixth place,
each landing on 6-over 148. Nolan and Shmonov each carded a pair of 74s.
Elijah Ruppert, who was one of the players tied with McCabe
for third place in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a junior at Brandywine
Heights last fall, finished alone in eighth place at 149 as he shaved five
shots off an opening-round 77 with a solid 1-over 72 in Friday’s final round.
Matt Zerfass, the PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus as a
sophomore last fall, and Carl Ernst of Mickelton, N.J. rounded out the top 10
among the older guys and overall as they each landed on 150 to finish in a tie
for ninth place.
Zerfass was in the hunt after making three birdies on his
way to an opening round of 2-over 73 that left him a shot behind Kemmerer, but
cooled off with a 77 in Friday’s second round. Ernst added a 76 to his opening
round of 3-over 74.
None of the guys from the 13-to-15 division managed to crack
the overall top 10 and only the winner among the younger group, Connor Gherghel
of Orwigsburg, even broke the top 20 as his 155 total left him tied for 18th
place in the overall scoring.
Gherghel birdied the third hole on his way to an
opening-round 79. He started strong in the second round with a birdie at the
first hole that helped him post a 5-over 76.
Strath Haven sophomore Tyler Debusschere, who helped the
Panthers claim the first Central League crown in program history last fall, and
Nathan Guertler of Merchantville finished in a tie for second place in the
13-to-15 division, each ending up two shots behind Gherghel at 157.
Debusschere added a 78 to his opening round of 79. Guertler,
who teamed with Matthew Normand to finish second in the 13-to-15 division in
the Junior Fourball Championship at Saucon Valley Country Club earlier this
week, improved by seven shots from an opening-round 82 with a solid 4-over 75
in Friday’s second round.
Will Huntley of Lansdale finished alone in fourth place at
158 as he shaved six shots off an opening-round 82 with a solid 5-over 76 in
the final round. Huntley teamed with Scott Hughes to finish in a tie for
seventh place among the younger guys in the Junior Fourball at Saucon Valley.
Maxwell Wager of State College and Sean Surowiec of West
Chester shared fifth place in the division, both ending up at 159.
Wager, who teamed with John Olsen to share first place in
the 16-to-18 division in the Junior Fourball at Saucon Valley, added a 77 to
his opening-round 82 and Surowiec improved by 11 shots from his opening-round
85 with a solid 3-over 74 in Friday’s final round.
Joseph Sembrot of Harrisburg finished alone in seventh place
at 161 as he added a 79 to his opening-round 82.
Josh Baker of West Chester and Grant Novinger of Hummelstown
shared eighth place as they finished 10 shots behind Sembrot at 171. Baker
added an 84 to his opening-round 87 while Novinger opened with an 85 before
finishing up with an 86.
Rounding out the top 10 among the younger group was Colin
Drummond of Exton, who finished alone in 10th place at 183 after
shaving seven shots off an opening-round 95 with an 88 in Friday’s second
round.
On the girls side, the top three finishers in the overall
13-to-18 scoring all came out of the younger 13-to-15 division, led by overall
winner Kayla Maletto of Sinking Spring.
Maletto trailed Unionville sophomore Mary Grace Dunigan, who
finished in fifth place in her debut at the PIAA Class AAA Championship last
fall, by two shots following Thursday’s opening round.
Dunigan had 39s on both nines at Hershey’s East Course for a
solid 7-over 78 while a consistent Maletto had 10 pars on her way to an 80.
Maletto really got it going in Friday’s final round, making
two birdies on her way to a 1-over 72 that left her with a 10-over 152 total.
Dunigan carded a solid 6-over 77 that left her three shots behind Maletto at
155.
Evelyn Wong of Macungie finished a shot behind Dunigan in
the division and overall with a 156 total. After opening with an 81, Wong had
two birdies on the East Course’s front nine, the back nine of her round, on her
way to a solid 4-over 75 in Friday’s final round that left her at 156.
Avery McCrery, the Wilmington, Del. resident who captured
the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Girls’ Championship earlier
this month, finished fourth in the 13-to-15 division and fifth overall as she
added an 81 to her opening-round 84 for a 165 total.
Mia Pace of Exton finished fifth among the younger girls and
seventh overall as she opened with an 88 before adding a 94 in Friday’s final
round for a 182 total.
Rounding out the 13-to-15 field was Olivia Kury of York, who
took sixth place with a 205 total and was ninth overall after adding a 102 to
her opening-round 103.
Downingtown East junior Ava O’Sullivan took top honors in
the 16-to-18 division and was fourth overall with a 162 total. O’Sullivan had a
birdie at the 15th hole on her way to an opening-round 85 and made a
birdie at the sixth hole as she improved eight shots in the second round with a
solid 77.
Amanda Wolf of Millersville was the runnerup among the older
girls and sixth overall with a 177 total. Wolf birdied the 16th hole
to highlight an opening-round 87 before adding a 90 in Friday’s second round.
Emma Schotsch, who lost her junior season at Springside
Chestnut Hill Academy to the coronavirus pandemic this spring, took third place
in the 16-to-18 division and was eighth overall with a 187 total. Schotsch
birdied the fifth hole on her way to an opening-round 91 and came back with a
96 in Friday’s second round.
Lawson Leeper of York won a coed 12-and-under division that
has been really competitive this summer.
Leeper had six pars in a 38 that was one of five sub-40
rounds recorded by the nine-holers in Friday’s second round. Leeper had seven
pars and two bogeys in an opening-round 38 as he finished with a 5-over 76
total.
Ian Larsen of Glenmoore matched Leeper’s final-round 38 as
he was the runnerup with a 78. Larsen had six pars in an opening-round 40.
Davis Conaway of East Bradford has been trading first-place finishes with
Leeper this summer and he, too, matched the 38s posted by Leeper and Larsen in
Friday’s final round and finished third with a 79. Conaway had two birdies in
an opening-round 41.
Carson Holmes of Thorndale and Cameron Peffel of Fleetwood also
broke 40 in Friday’s final round as they finished in a tie for fourth place,
each landing on 81. Holmes had the division’s fourth final-round 38 after
opening with a 43. Peffel carded a final-round 39 after opening up with a 42.
Alan Evans of Schuylkill Haven finished in sixth place after
adding a 44 to his opening-round 43 for an 87 total. Callahan Harrell of York
rounded out the field of nine-holers as he finished seventh at 99 after shaving
three shots off an opening-round 51 with a 48 in Friday’s final round.
The Precision Pro Golf Open events also offer men’s and
women’s college divisions and a Junior Tour standout in his scholastic days,
Mount Pleasant product Nikita Romanov, won the men’s 17-to-24 division with a
sparkling 4-under 138 total.
Coming off a freshman season at La Salle that came to a
premature end due to the pandemic, Romanov had six birdies in a seven-hole
stretch in an opening round of 3-under 68. Romanov had five more birdies in a
1-under 70 in Friday’s final round.
Shea Murphy of Wilmington, Del. closed with a 2-under 69
that featured four birdies and an eagle as he claimed runnerup honors with a
3-over 145 total. Murphy had 13 pars in an opening-round 76.
Adam Lauver of Strasburg trailed Romanov by just five shots
after an opening-round 73 that was highlighted by a birdie at the first hole. A
final-round 74 left him in third place, two shots behind Murphy at 147.
Anna McCormick of Harrisburg was the lone entrant in the
women’s 17-to-24 division and finished with a 176 total. McCormick had eight
pars in an opening-round 85 before adding a 91 in the final round.
Sean Kelly of Lewisburg went home with a Precision Pro range
finder as he was closest to the pin at the 163-yard 13th hole, his
tee shot at the par-3 hole finishing three feet, six inches from the hole.
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