Kopecky, Gute get a share of first place in Junior Tour stop at Odessa National

    Kristof Kopecky of Garnet Valley and Dylan Gute of Chester Springs opened the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour’s weekend fall schedule of events as they shared the top spot in the 16-to-18 division, each carding a 3-over-par 75 at Odessa National Golf Club in Townsend, Del.

   Kopecky had two birdies, including one on the closing hole at the 6,290-yard, par-72 Odessa National layout, while Gute had three birdies in getting a piece of medalist honors among the older guys.

   Kyle Mauro of Paoli, making his debut in the older group, had three birdies on his way to a 7-over 79 that left him alone in third place. Jack Sehon of West Chester took fourth place with an 81.

   Team Boyce of Elkton, Md. accounted for the tie for fifth place as Jacob Boyce and Mike Boyce each landed on 82. Tanner Cole of Lumberton, N.J. finished alone in seventh place with an 83.

   Aiden DeMuro of Harrisburg and Jackson Ward of Middletown, Del. finished in a tie for eighth place, each posting an 85 and Oxford senior Rocco Giannangeli rounded out the top 10 as he finished alone in 10^th place with an 86.

   A third member of Team Boyce of Elkton, Md., William Boyce, older brother to Jacob and Mike, finished in a tie for 11^th place with Central Bucks South’s Will Locovare, each signing for an 87.

   Another entry from Elkton, Md., Noah Wallace made a birdie at the 12^th hole as he carded a 7-over 79 to finish atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division. Darius Laws of Wilmington, Del. made a birdie at the fifth hole and finished his round with three straight pars to end up a shot behind Wallace in second place with an 80.

   Jamie Ciesielka of Woolwich Township, N.J. twice rattled off strings of five straight pars as he took third place with an 83. Aidan Farkas of Ardmore finished alone in fourth place with an 84.

   Jake Bryson, another Wilmington, Del. entry, took fifth place with an 88, Shane Powelson was sixth with an 89 and J.D. Mahoney of Ellicott City, Md., was seventh with a 93.

   Jack Mascolo of Doylestown and Michael Dignazio, another player from the Wilmington, Del. contingent, finished in a tie for eighth place, each posting a 94. Matthew Dietl of Glenmoore rounded out the top 10 as he finished alone in 10^th place with a 99.

   The best score among the girls at Odessa National came out of the younger group as Curstan Bunch, also playing out of Wilmington, Del., got off to a quick start with birdies at the second and fourth holes on her way to a solid 82 that gave her the top spot in the 13-to-15 division.

   Audrey Reese of Richboro birdied the fifth hole to claim runnerup honors with a 90. Regan Garnsey of Dover, Del. did Reese one better at the par-5 fifth hole with an eagle as she carded a 94 to take third place.

   Danielle Higbee of Mickelton, N.J. took fourth place with a 95 and Emily Mayo of Boothwyn rounded out the 13-to-15 field as she finished fifth with a 98.

   Only two players teed it up in the 16-to-18 division, but only a shot separated the winner, Meredith Beyer of Avondale, who had a 97, and runnerup Nina Harris of Furlong, who posted a 98.

   Beyer made a birdie on the seventh hole in a solid front-nine 44, while Furlong, making her debut in the older age group, made a birdie at the sixth hole.

   Declan Conner of Swarthmore and Quinton Joiner of Millington, Md. each carded a 9-over 45 to share first place among the nine-holers. Conner had three straight pars in the middle of his round while Joiner made back-to-back pars on the fifth and sixth holes.

   Jake Hollerback of Millsboro, Del. had three pars, including one to close his round at the ninth hole, as he was three shots behind the top two in third place with a 48.

   Dylan Michels of Newark, Del. took fourth place with a 49, Quin Zuegner of New Hope was fifth with a 52, Nicholas Fargnoli of Mickelton, N.J. was fifth with a 56 and Benjamin Mayer of Garnet Valley was seventh with a 57.

   Braydon Dolan of Springfield ended up in eighth place with a 62, Preston Minio of Lansdale was ninth with a 63 and Parker Allvernini of Wilmington, Del. rounded out the coed 12-and-under field, finishing alone in 10^th place with a 64.