Ciocca a repeat winner in Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship and this time he's headed for a national stage

    It’s been almost a year since Nick Ciocca, who is finishing up his freshman year at Devon Prep, captured the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship, beating a field of mostly older guys with a gritty performance over 36 holes on a hot day at Bellewood Country Club.

   The victory should have earned Ciocca, a Berwyn resident and a product of the junior program at Aronimink Golf Club, a trip to the Boys Junior PGA Championship, one of the premier national junior events staged each year by the PGA of America.

   Alas, 2020, of course, was the year of the coronavirus pandemic and with so much uncertainty, the PGA of America canceled the Boys Junior PGA Championship. It was the same conclusion that organizers of many national events in many sports reached.

   So, what did Ciocca do? He patiently bided his time, earned a trip to the PIAA Class AA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort as a freshman last fall, finishing in a tie for 18^th place. He worked on his game, kept trying to improve.

   And Monday he won the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship – again – and this time that victory will send him to a national stage in the Boys Junior PGA Championship, which tees off July 12 at the Kearney Hill Golf Links in Lexington, Ky.

   Still only 16, Ciocca, again taking on a field of many of the top scholastic players in the region, many of whom are older than he is, fired a sparkling 3-under-par 67 at Valley Country Club in Sugarloaf near Hazleton to capture the title. The scheduled 36-hole event was shortened to 18 holes by afternoon thunderstorms.

   I mentioned when he won at Bellewood a year ago that I had had a chance to watch the kid playing a round while I was caddying for his grandparents at the Old Course at Stonewall in the summer of 2019. Ciocca was going to be an eighth-grader in the fall of 2019 and I was impressed with his game, but moreso his approach. He didn’t let little things bother him. He immediately put a bad hole behind him and kept his focus on the next shot.

   Still, I was surprised that he could defeat such a tough field in the summer before his freshman year of high school at Bellewood. Ciocca doesn’t surprise me anymore.

   After making a bogey at the first hole at Valley, Ciocca ripped off birdies at the third, fourth, eighth, 11^th and 14^th holes to get it to 4-under for his round. A bogey at the 15^th hole dropped him back to 3-under, but he was the only player in the talented field to finish under par.

   There was only one other ticket to Kearney Hill up for grabs and, much like Ciocca a year ago, it went to a player from the younger 13-to-15 division, Evan Eichenlaub of Bethlehem, who birdied the 17^th hole to finish with a 1-over 71 that was good for runnerup honors in the overall 13-to-18 scoring.

   Looks like Eichenlaub plays out of Saucon Valley Country Club and is finishing up his sophomore year at Moravian Academy.

   I’ll break out the usual Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour age groups, 13-to-15 and 16-to-18, but the overall 13-to-18 scoring was what mattered the most Monday,

   The first alternate for a ticket Kearney Hill was Evan Barbin of the golfing Barbins of Elkton, Md. Barbin carded a solid 2-over 72 to finish five shots behind Ciocca in second place in the 16-to-18 division and third overall. Barbin’s big brothers, Zach and Austin, both qualified for the match-play bracket in the BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Cedarbrook Country Club and The 1912 Club Monday.

   Evan Barbin had birdies at the seventh, 14^th and 18^th holes on his scorecard.

   Three players – Tyler Talerico of West Chester, Liberty junior Matt Vital and Kevin Lafond of Blue Bell – landed on 3-over 73 and were tied for third place among the older guys and tied for fourth overall. There was a playoff for second alternate and Talerico won it, so he officially was the fourth-place finisher overall.

   Talerico’s round featured birdies at the sixth, 12^th, 13^th and 15^th holes, the birdie at 15 getting him to 1-under for the round before he ran into some trouble on the last three holes.

   Vital, who has been making birdies in bunches at times this spring, could only find one on the eighth hole at Valley. Like Talerco, Lafond had four birdies on his scorecard at the first, fourth, 14^th and 18^th holes.

   Dylan Gute, who will graduate from Downingtown East this month, if he hasn’t already, and West Chester Rustin senior Ryan D’Ariano, finished in a tie for sixth place in the 16-to-18 division and tied for seventh overall, each carding a 5-over 75.

   Jackson Debusschere, who will graduate from Strath Haven this month, if he hasn’t already, shared eighth place with Ben Freeman of Lebanon, among the older guys, each signing for a 76.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were five players who finished in a tie for 10^th place, each posting a 77. Included among that group were Garnet Valley senior Matt Pulcinella, Noah Keener of Spring Grove, Jack Davis of Newtown Square, Evan Goldberg of Linwood, N.J. and Jake Blackmore of Pottstown.

   Eichenlaub was the top finisher in the 13-to-15 division, his 1-over 71 earning him the second available berth to Kearney Hill. Eichenlaub got it to 2-under for his round with birdies at the first and fifth holes before falling back to even-par with a double bogey at the seventh hole.

   Bogeys at the 11^th and 16^th holes dropped Eichenlaub to 2-over for the round, but he got that crucial birdie at the 17^th hole that got him to 1-over and earned him a spot in the field at Kearney Hill.

   Strath Haven junior Tyler Debusschere of Wallingford’s Team Debusschere and Lane Krosse of York finished in a tie for second place among the younger guys and joined Gute and D’Ariano from the 16-to-18 division in a tie for seventh place in the overall scoring as they finished four shots behind Eichenlaub, each posting a 5-over 75.

   Tyler Debusschere had birdies at the fourth and 18^th holes on his scorecard as his 75 did earn him low-Debusschere honors by a shot. Krosse made birdies at the second, 12^th and 15^th holes.

   Ethan Martin of North Wales finished a shot behind Tyler Debusschere and Krosse in fourth place with a 76, Ajeet Bagga of Blue Bell was fifth with a 77 and Henderson’s Josh Baker, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a freshman last fall, was sixth with a 78.

   Cael Ropietski of Harvey’s Lake and Maxwell Wager of State College shared seventh place, each posting a 79. Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Michael Vital, the twin brother of Liberty’s Matt Vital, and Mason Tucker of York, both of whom carded an 81 to finish in a tie for ninth place.

   Michael Vital was coming off a solid victory in the 13-to-15 division in the 36-hole Precision Pro Golf event held at Hickory Valley Golf Club’s Ambassador and Presidential courses last week. That event was also the last of four qualifiers held last week for Monday’s Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at Valley.