Thomas Lynch of Dunmore rode a strong opening-round 68 to a dominating six-shot victory in the overall 13-to-18 division scoring as the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour staged a Precision Pro Golf event at the Penn State Golf Courses in State College.
The 36-hole Precision Pro Golf events offer Junior Golf Scoreboard points that can help a player earn eligibility on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit.
Thomas Lynch took control with a spectacular barrage of eight birdies in Saturday’s opening round at Penn State’s White Course that enabled him to finish at 4-under for the round. Thomas Lynch came back with four more birdies in Sunday’s second round at the more difficult Penn State Blue Course on his way to a 1-over 73 that gave him a 3-under 141 total.
Thomas Lynch’s closest pursuer was Eric Zhao, who traveled from Canada to tee it up at Penn State. Eric Zhao matched par in Saturday’s opening round with a 72 at the White Course that featured three birdies and 13 pars. Eric Zhao had two birdies in his final round at the Blue Course in a 3-over 75 that gave him a 3-over 147 total.
Eric Zhao captured top honors in the 13-to-15 division by five shots with his 3-over total.
Three players finished in a tie for second place behind Thomas Lynch in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for third in the overall 13-to-18 scoring, each landing on 7-over 151, 10 shots behind Thomas Lynch.
One of those players was another member of Dunmore’s Team Lynch, Michael Lynch III, who closed with a 3-over 75 at the Blue Course after opening with a 76 on the White Course. Michael Lynch III had four birdies on the tough Blue Course layout after a steady opening round at the White Course that featured 13 pars.
Timothy Peters of State College was one of three players to match par in the opening round with a 72 at the White Course as he got hot on the back nine with five birdies. Peters had two birdies at the Blue Course in a final-round 79 that enabled him to join the trio at 151.
Rounding out that group at 151 among the older guys was Brett Strong of Hawley as he had three birdies in a final-round 77 at the Blue Course after opening with a 2-over 74 at the White Course that also included three birdies.
Three more players – Downingtown East senior Dylan Gute, Michael Sewack of Scranton and Noah Keener – all landed on 8-over 152 to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for sixth in the overall scoring.
Gute added a solid 3-over 75 in the final round at the Blue Course to his opening-round 77 at the White Course. Keener’s final round of 2-over 74 was one of the better scores over the tough Blue Course after he had opened with a 78 Saturday at the White Course. Sewack posted a pair of 4-over 76s at both courses to join the trio at 152.
Nick Mahoney of Lewisburg and Trevor Talerico of West Chester finished in a tie for eighth place among the older guys, each finishing up at 12-over 156. Mahoney and Talerico each registered a pair of matching 78s on both courses.
Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were three players – Garnet Valley junior Matt Pulcinella, James Fickinger of Waverly and Garrett Wible of Royersford – all of whom ended up at 157.
Pulcinella added an 80 at the Blue Course to the opening-round 77 he carded at the White Course. Fickinger struggled in the opening round at the White Course with an 84, but bounced back in a big way, matching the low round of the day at the Blue Course with a 1-over 73. Wible opened with a 2-over 74 at the White Course before adding an 83 in the final round at the Blue Course.
Maxwell Wager of State College was the runnerup to Eric Zhao in the 13-to-15 division and joined Gute, Keener and Sewack in the tie for sixth place in the overall scoring with an 8-over 152 total. Wager had three birdies while matching par with a 72 in the opening round at the White Course and had 13 pars in an 80 in the second round at the Blue Course.
Another member of Canada’s Team Zhao, Ryan Zhao, finished a shot behind Wager in third place in the 13-to-15 division and rounded out the top 10 in the overall scoring with a 9-over 153 total. Ryan Zhao got it going on the back nine of the White Course, making four of his five birdies on the incoming nine as he matched par with a 72 in the opening round before closing with an 81 at the Blue Course.
Nick Warner of Wilkes-Barre was two shots behind Ryan Zhao in fourth place at 155 as he followed up a 77 at the White Course with a 78 in the final round at the Blue Course. It was three more shots back to Michael Lugiano of Shavertown in fifth place with a 158 total. After opening with a 78 at the White Course, Lugiano finished up with an 80 at the Blue Course.
Aidan Farkas of Ardmore was three shots behind Lugiano in sixth place with a 161 total as he struggled to an 84 at the Blue Course after opening with a 77 at the White Course. Andrew Ekstrom of York also struggled in the final round with an 87 after opening with a 3-over 75 at the White Course in the opening round to finish a shot behind Farkas in seventh place with a 162 total.
Hank Kancher of Philadelphia added an 84 in the final round at the Blue Course to an opening-round 79 to take eighth place with a 163 total, a shot behind Ekstrom. Travis Robertson of Fort Washington was just a shot behind Kancher in ninth place with a 164 total as he registered an 86 in the final round at the Blue Course after opening with a 78 at the White Course.
Three players – Joseph Sambrot of Harrisburg, Hunter Probst of Bear Creek and Rex Zdancewz of Berwyn – rounded out the top 10 among the younger guys as each landed on 168.
Sambrot added an 86 at the Blue Course to his opening-round 82, Probst struggled to an 89 at the Blue Course after opening with a 78 and Zdancewz finished up with an 87 on the Blue Course after opening with an 81.
The overall winner among the girls was Downingtown East junior Ava O’Sullivan, who captured the District One Class AAA Championship last fall.
O’Sullivan had grabbed the lead with a solid 2-over 74 in an opening round at the White Course that featured three birdies and played a solid final round at the Blue Course with another 2-over 74 that included two birdies and nine pars, seven of them on the front nine.
O’Sullivan’s 4-over 148 total was 12 shots clear of North Penn sophomore Hayley Ekert, the runnerup in the older 16-to-18 division, and Gwendolyn Powell of Madison Township, who shared second place overall with Ekert and was the winner of the 13-to-15 division. Ekert and Powell each landed on 16-over 160.
Ekert had one birdie on her scorecard while posting an 84 in the second round at the Blue Course after making two birdies with an opening-round 76 at the White Course that left her just two shots behind O’Sullivan. Powell had two birdies while closing with an 81 on the Blue Course after opening with a 79 on the White Course that featured 12 pars, including seven straight pars to start her round.
Silvana Gonzalez of Exton finished in third place in the 16-to-18 division and fifth overall with a 176 total. Gonzalez had eight pars in a solid 87 at the Blue Course in the second round after opening with an 89 that included six pars.
Caroline Stampion of Clarks Summit added a 94 at the Blue Course to the 97 she carded in the opening round as she finished fourth among the older girls and seventh overall with a 191 total. Maria Crowe of Downingtown rounded out the 16-to-18 field as she finished in fifth place and was 10th overall with a 201 total after adding a 101 at the Blue Course to her opening-round 100.
Maddie Koshko of State College had a birdie and nine pars on her way to an 83 at the Blue Course after she had opened with a solid 81 that included 12 pars as she was the runnerup to Powell in the 13-to-15 division and finished in fourth place overall with a 164 total.
Sophia DeSantis of Glen Mills had three pars on her way to a 97 at the Blue Course in the final round after opening with a 92 at the White Course that featured six pars as she finished in third place among the younger girls and sixth overall with a 189 total.
Makayla Stone of Garnet Valley signed for a pair of 98s as she finished in fourth place in the 13-to-15 division and eighth overall with a 196 total. Kayla Benson of Beach Lake struggled to a 109 in the final round at the Blue Course after opening with a 91 to finish in fifth place in the division and ninth overall with a 200 total.
Chloe Lynch, another member of Dunmore’s Team Lynch, added a 102 at the Blue Course to her opening-round 103 as she ended up in sixth place in the division with a 205 total. Geneva Merino of York rounded out the 13-to-15 division field as she added a 112 at the Blue Course to her opening-round 106 for a 218 total that left her in seventh place.
The Precision Pro Golf events also offer college divisions for men and women ages 17 to 24.
Marin Dremock of Drums was the only woman to compete and finished with a 170 total. Dremock had a birdie and eight pars in an opening-round 86 at the White Course before finishing up with two birdies and six pars in an 84 at the Blue Course.
Luke McGraw didn’t have far to travel from his Boalsburg home to best the field of nine-holers. McGraw earned a share of the lead with an opening round of 3-over 39 that included a birdie and four pars. McGraw had six pars in a final-round 41 for an 8-over 80 that gave him a two-shot victory.
Colby Komancheck, the son of the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve pro shop team of head pro Jamie and golf shop manager Kelly, was the runnerup with a pair of 41s that left him with an 82 total. Komancheck had five pars in his opening round at the White Course and four pars in the final round at the Blue Course.
Wyatt Underwood of Telford shared the lead with McGraw after an opening-round 39 that included six pars and parred the first three holes at the Blue Course on his way to a final-round 44 that left him alone in third place, a shot behind Komancheck at 83.
Lawson Leeper of York and Anthony Proud of Stroudsburg finished in a tie for fourth place, each landing on 84. Leeper’s final-round 40 at the Blue Course was the best round of the day in the coed 12-and-under division after he had opened with a 44. Proud added a solid 41 in the final round to his opening-round 43,
Holden Sparks of Nazareth posted a pair of 43s to finish alone in sixth place with an 86.
Gus Stoltzfus of Lincoln University and Callahan Harrell of York finished in a tie for seventh place, each ending up with a total of 89. Stoltzfus added a 43 to his opening-round 46 while Harrell opened with a 42 at the White Course before closing with a 47.
Benjamin Robbins of Holland finished alone in ninth place
with a 91 as he added a 45 to his opening-round 46. Sarah Stumacher of Gladwyne
rounded out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division as she shaved five
shots off an opening-round 49 with a solid 44 at the Blue Course for a 93.
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