Phoenixville's Roberts sisters sweep to Player of the Year, Scoring Average Leader awards in their Junior Tour divisions

   The Philadelphia Section PGA’s Junior Tour’s wraparound 2020-2021 season lasted from the late pandemic summer of 2020 until just a few weeks ago.

   It was a difficult time for all of us, many none more so than the young people who saw their school years thrown into disarray. There was uncertainty everywhere. Yet through it all, some pretty successful golf stories emerged.

   In the summer of 2020, it quickly became apparent that golf was something that could be accomplished safely. Golfers old, young and in between flocked to the golf course. Still, the coronavirus pandemic did force some events to be postponed or canceled altogether.

   In the fall of 2020, many school districts and leagues struggled with decisions regarding whether to let their student-athletes compete or not. Ultimately, the PIAA had a scholastic postseason, but some school districts didn’t allow their players to compete and some leagues couldn’t get it together in time to hold a qualifier for the District One Championship.

   The Philly Junior Tour filled the void of competitive opportunities by continuing to stage its summer schedule and then holding its weekend events in the fall. For some kids, it was the only opportunity to compete.

   The Philly Junior Tour had gone with a wraparound “year” in recent seasons. But it decided to abandon that model and did not start a wraparound 2021-2022 season in August right after the Junior Tour Championship as it had the last few years. The 2022 season will start when the spring schedule starts up in March.

   The season-long award winners, announced a couple of weeks ago, are special in several ways. Their season was the longest year, running from August of 2020 until November of 2021. But it was the longest year in so many other ways with their young lives buffeted by ever-changing distractions on the outside caused by a virus that became such a challenging part of their lives.

   The 2020-’21 Philly Junior Tour Player of the Year and Scoring Average Leader award winners were able to put all those outside forces aside for a little bit, remain focused on their golf and excel.

   The two best players in the two girls age groups, the older 16-to-18 division and the younger 13-to-15 division, were the sister combination of Kate and Kayley Roberts of Phoenixville.

   Older sister Kate Roberts had four wins, finishing in the top five in seven of the 12 events she teed it up in, as she earned Player of the Year and Scoring Average Leader awards in the 16-to-18 division.

   Kate Roberts compiled a scoring average of 82.17 with a low round of 3-over-par 75 in the opening round of last summer’s two-day Precision Pro Golf event at Turtle Creek Golf Course in Limerick.

   I got a chance to watch Kate Roberts play in the second round of the District One Class AAA Championship in the familiar surroundings of Turtle Creek. The Phoenixville sophomore had earned herself a spot in the final group for the second round of districts by firing a solid 1-under 70 at nearby Raven’s Claw Golf Club in the opening round.

   She was paired with the defending District One Class AAA champion Ava O’Sullivan of Downingtown East, the 2019 district champion Sydney Yermish of Lower Merion and Unionville’s Mary Grace Dunigan, who had helped the Longhorns capture the PIAA Class AAA team crown in the fall of 2020.

   If Kate Roberts was intimidated, it didn’t show. She grinded out a 2-over 74 at the Turtle, earning herself a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County by finishing in sixth place with a 1-over 144 total, six shots behind Yermish, the District One Class AAA champion for a second time.

   Kate Roberts finished in a tie for 12^th place with a 7-over 79 in her first shot at Heritage Hills in the state championship. it was a pretty nice scholastic postseason that clearly had its roots in Kate Roberts’ Philly Junior Tour appearances.

   I’m guessing younger sister Kayley Roberts will be joining Kate in the Phoenixville golf program next summer.

   Kayley Roberts had seven wins in 15 starts as she, too, swept to the Player of the Year and Scoring Average Leader awards in the 13-to-15 division.

   Kayley Roberts had a scoring average of 84.27 and her low round came in the same round as Kate Roberts’ low round came in, the opening round of a Precision Pro Golf event at Turtle Creek. Kayley Roberts registered a solid 5-over 77 that day.

   The sisters ended up in a tie for third place in the overall 13-to-18 scoring in that event, Kate Roberts finishing second among the older 16-to-18 girls to overall winner Evelyn Wong of Emmaus and Kayley Roberts finishing second among the younger 13-to-15 girls to Rachel Joyce of Quakertown. Wong was the runnerup to Yermish in this fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at Heritage Hills.

   Tyler Debusschere had been looking forward to the 2020 high school golf season ever since he had helped Strath Haven win the first Central League crown in program history as a freshman in the fall of 2019. Debusschere was not chosen to be part of the lineup as the Panthers went on to win the first District One Class AAA team crown in program history and finish fourth in the PIAA Class AAA team chase.

   But with the pandemic raging, Strath Haven played just a limited regular season and disagreements within the Central League ended the postseason before it ever started for Debusschere and his older brother Jackson, a senior. The Central League couldn’t schedule a district qualifier in time to get its players eligible for the District One Class AAA Championship.

   The Debusschere brothers channeled their frustration with some really strong showings in the Philly Junior Tour’s weekend fall events. Tyler Debusschere rode that strong start in those events in the fall of 2020 to a sweep of Player of the Year and Scoring Average Leader awards in the boys 13-to-15 division.

   Tyler Debusschere had nine wins and eight runnerup finishes in the long wraparound 2020-’21 season. He compiled a scoring average of 75.64 with a low round of 2-under 68 in a victory at Kimberton Golf Club as he was preparing for this fall’s scholastic postseason.

   The 2020 scholastic season hadn’t been a total loss for Team Debusschere and Strath Haven. The Central League did put together a championship tournament at Downingtown Country Club after the PIAA postseason had been completed.

   Tyler Debusschere finished in fourth place and Jackson Debusschere, who was on the roster as a freshman at Cornell this fall, ended up in a tie for fifth as they led Strath Haven to the team title. The Central League usually only recognizes the winner of the season-long dual matches as the league champion, but in the unusual year of 2020, Strath Haven did receive a trophy as the tournament team champion.

   Tyler Debusschere got his postseason journey as a junior in 2021 off to a solid start with a 6-over 78 in the Central League Championship at the Turtle that enabled him to finish alone in sixth place and, more importantly, earn a trip to the District One Class AAA Championship.

   Tyler Debusschere’s 79 at the Turtle in the opening round of the district tournament was not good enough to survive the cut in the individual competition.

   Tyler Debusschere played a big role in helping Strath Haven make another perfect run through the Central League and give the Panthers their second dual-match championship in three seasons. He was better in the Day 2 team competition at Turtle Creek, carding a solid 2-under 74, but Strath Haven couldn’t recapture its 2019 magic as it finished in a tie for ninth place in the team standings.

   Dylan Gute missed the cut at the District One Class AAA Championship to end his senior season at Downingtown East in 2020, but he had some strong showings in the Philly Junior Tour’s weekend fall events and again in the spring when the weekend schedule resumed.

   Gute had six wins and 10 top-10 finishes in 27 starts during the long wraparound 2020-’21 season and that was good enough to earn him Player of the Year honors in the 16-to-18 division.

   The Scoring Average Leader award among the older guys was probably decided on a mid-April Saturday when Liberty junior Matt Vital put together an otherworldly 8-under 62 at Reading Country Club that broke Sam Snead’s 72-year-old course record by a shot. Yes, that Sam Snead.

   The kid who had made a huge splash by chipping in to win the Boys 12-13 division title in the 2019 Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club the Sunday of Masters week, birdied half the holes at the classic Reading layout and actually had a bogey.

   His accomplishment got Vital a little face time on The Golf Channel in the following week as news of his epic round spread around the golf world.

   Vital finished with a 72.67 scoring average to earn season-long honors on the Philly Junior Tour. He was actually still eligible to compete in the younger 13-to-15 division – twin brother Michael was a frequent 13-to-15 competitor – but Matt Vital chose to go up against the older guys.

   Matt Vital was the District 11 individual champion and finished in a tie for 12^th place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship with a solid 3-over 74 at Heritage Hills this fall.

   I’ll throw a personal honorable mention among the older guys to Matthew Normand of Lumberton, N.J. Normand might not have been the Player of the Year on the Philly Junior Tour, but nobody had an eight-day stretch like the one the left-hander put together in late July.

   It began on his home course July 20^th as he claimed a victory in the 16-to-18 division with a sizzling 7-under 63 in a Philly Junior Tour stop at Laurel Creek Country Club. Other than Matt Vital’s spectacular day at Reading Country Club, it was probably the round of the year on the Philly Junior Tour.

   Later that same week, Normand added a 3-under 68 to his opening round of 1-over 72 that made him the overall winner by five shots with a 2-under 140 total in a two-day Philly Junior Tour event at Hershey Country Club’s East Course.

   It was July 27^th, exactly a week after his tour de force at Laurel Creek, when Normand got a share of the top spot in the 16-to-18 division with a 2-over 73 at Raven’s Claw.

   In August, Normand was one of the most solid performers among the group of standouts who represented the Philly Junior Tour in a 14.5-4.5 loss to the New Jersey Section PGA Junior Tour stars in the 15^th Annual Jon M. Pritsch Cup at Philmont Country Club’s North Course. Normand won his singles match and teamed with Conestoga junior Kyle Mauro to take a full point in their four-ball match.

   In perhaps the most competitive division on the Philly Junior Tour in the wraparound 2020-’21 season, the coed 12-and-under division, Jason Mack of Delaware Water Gap swept to Player of the Year and Scoring Average Leader awards.

   Mack, getting a big assist from whomever was driving him to all these events, teed it up 43 times, earning 14 wins and finishing in the top five a remarkable 37 times. It all added up to a 39.85 scoring average, pretty impressive for a kid who probably turned 12 at some point in 2021.

   And it was an amazingly competitive group. Guys like Lawson Leeper of York, Anthony Proud of Stroudsburg and Trevor Sieben of Medford, N.J. showed up at a lot of events, occasionally riding hot streaks, making it look like a kids version of the PGA Tour.

   I’ve spent a lot of time recently, chronicling the successes of Nick Gross of Downingtown and Yermish of Wynnewood. Gross, a sophomore at Downingtown West, and Yermish, a junior at Lower Merion, were the respective boys and girls PIAA Class AAA champion this fall and both competed in the Philly Junior Tour’s coed 12-and-under division not all that long ago.

   I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see some of youngsters who were the nine-holers of 2020-’21 competing for state championships in the not too distant future.

   At some point during the wraparound 2020-’21 season, the Philly Junior Tour, with minimal fanfare, gained a new title sponsor in the Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board. The VFTCB has been one of the main cheerleaders for golf in Montgomery County, so taking over as title sponsor of the Philly Junior Tour fits nicely with its initiatives to promote golf in the region.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yermish surges into top 20, Gross gets share of 12th as Rolex Tournament of Champions wraps up

    A strong finish by Lower Merion junior Sydney Yermish vaulted her into the top 20 and Downingtown West sophomore Nick Gross struggled, but still ended up in the top 12 as the respective Pennsylvania girls and boys Class AAA champions wrapped up play Thanksgiving Day in the premier event on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) calendar, the Rolex Tournament of Champions.

   Yermish, who announced her intention last month to join the program at Michigan of the Big Ten in the summer of 2023, saved her best for last as she carded a flawless 3-under-par 69 on the PGA National Resort & Spa’s Fazio Course that left her in a tie for 20^th place with an 8-over 296 total.

   Gross had four double bogeys, but kept battling as he closed with an 8-over 79 on PGA National’s Champions Course to finish in a group of five players tied for 12^th place at 5-over 291.

   At the top of the leaderboard, Meja Ortengren of Sweden and No. 27 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) completed a wire-to-wire victory in the Girls division as she matched par with a 72 over the 6,165-yard, par-72 Fazio Course layout for an 11-under 277 total that was six shots clear of runnerup Alexa Pano of Lake Worth, Fla. and No. 89 in the Women’s WAGR.

   On the boys side, Jackson Koivun of San Jose, Calif. couldn’t quite match Ortengren’s feat. Koivun had been the overnight leader after each of the first three rounds, but a disastrous triple bogey on the par-3 15^th hole in the midst of the Champions Course’s infamous Bear Trap enabled Eric Lee of Fullerton, Calif. to catch Koivun and ultimately claim the title in a playoff.

   Junior golf is all about developing young talent and there is nowhere you can learn how to protect a lead on a challenging layout like the 7,122-yard, par-71 Champions Course. You can only learn by going through the experience. To his credit, Koivun birdied the closing hole to complete a 2-over 73 and get into the playoff with his playing partner Lee, each landing on 8-under 278.

   It was the first career AJGA invitational victory for both Ortengren and Lee and it came in the junior circuit’s marquee event.

   Ortengren started off the first tee on the Fazio Course and made birdies at the second and fourth holes to open her round. Bogeys at the fifth and eighth holes left her at even-par heading to the incoming nine.

   Ontengren, a Class of 2024 competitor, was steady on the back nine, making a birdie at the 10^th hole and a bogey at 14.

   Pano closed with a solid 2-under 70, but couldn’t get close enough to apply any real pressure on Ontengren. Pano ended up with a 5-under 213 total, six shots behind Ontengren, but six shots ahead of third-place finisher Anna Davis of Spring Valley, Calif.

   Pretty sure Pano will turn professional at some point in 2022, if not sooner, so her career as a junior player and as an amateur is  probably nearing a conclusion. She certainly left her mark on the Rolex Tournament of Champions as this was her fifth appearance and her fourth top-10 finish.

   Davis, the runaway winner of the Girls Junior PGA Championship last summer at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., finished up with a 1-under 71 for a 1-over 289 total that left her six shots behind Pano in third place. Davis is a Class of ’24 entry.

   Megha Ganne of Holmdel, N.J. and No. 19 in the Women’s WAGR flashed her considerable talent with the best round of the week on the Fazio Course, a scintillating 6-under 66, as she headed a group of four players tied for fourth place, a shot behind Davis with a 2-over 290 total.

   Ganne, the Rolex Junior Player of the Year, was 4-under heading for the back nine after she made a birdie at the first hole, an eagle at four and another birdie at nine. She stumbled briefly with a bogey a the 10^th hole, but ripped off birdies at 14, 15 and 17 on her way to the clubhouse.

   Ganne gained a lot of deserved acclaim when she contended in last spring’s U.S. Women’s Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco before finishing in a tie for 14^th place and claiming low-amateur honors. She will join what looks will be an already formidable cast at Stanford next summer.

   One of Ganne’s future teammates, Kelly Xu, the reigning Southern California Golf Association’s Women’s Amateur champion from Claremont, Calif., joined Ganne in the group tied for fourth place. Xu, who is also headed for Stanford next summer, made a move up the leaderboard with her final round of 4-under 68 that enabled her to finish at 2-over.

   Rounding out the foursome tied for fourth place were Kaitlyn Schroeder of Jacksonville, Fla. and another California kid, Yurang Li, a Class of ’24 entry from Fullerton, Calif.

   Schroeder, who plans to join the program at Southeastern Conference power Alabama in the summer of 2023, closed with a 4-over 76. Schroeder made a nice run to the quarterfinals of last summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md. Yurang Li closed with a 1-over 73.

   Yermish had completed a sweep of the scholastic postseason, earning medalist honors in the Central League Championship and capturing the District One Class AAA crown for the second time before claiming a state title at Heritage Hills.

   Yermish, who plays out of Rolling Green Golf Club, had her struggles at PGA National this week, but she was really solid in Thursday’s final round on the Fazio Course. She made back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes, added a birdie at 17 and had nary a bogey on her scorecard for a 3-under 69 that enabled her to sneak into the top 20.

   Another Jersey girl, Basking Ridge’s Katie Li, struggled a little in the final round with a 5-over 77 that left her among the group tied for 52^nd place at 21-over 209. Katie Li made a run to the semifinals of last summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior at Columbia.

   West Chester East senior Victoria Kim, the 2020 PIAA Class AAA champion, finished up with an 81 and ended up in a tie for 64^th place with a 319 total. Kim earned her spot at PGA National by being named a Rolex Scholastic All-American award winner.

   On the boys side, Eric Lee caught Koivun with a really solid regulation round. He opened with a birdie at the first hole, added a bogey at nine, birdied 14 and made a bogey at 16 as he matched par in the final round with a 71 that enabled him to finish with an 8-under 278 total.

   Lee plans to join the program at California of the Pac-12 in the summer of 2023.

   Koivun looked like a winner for a long time. After he made a birdie at the third hole, a bogey at six, a birdie at seven and a bogey at eight, Koivun rattled off six straight pars and arrived at the par-3 15^th hole still 10-under for the tournament. A triple bogey at 15 dropped him back to 7-under for the championship, although he did make a birdie at the last to get into the playoff with Lee.

   Koivun, who will join the program at SEC power Auburn next summer, closed with a 73 to join Lee at 8-under 278. He was so solid all week, opening with a 5-under 67 at the Fazio Course and adding a 4-under 67 in his first tour of the Champions Course in Tuesday’s second round. A 1-under 71 at the Fazio Course in Wednesday’s third round gave him a two-shot advantage over Lee heading into Thursday’s final round.

   It was another two shots back to Ben James of Milford, Conn. in third place as he matched par in the final round with a 71 to end up with a 6-under 280 total. James, winner of three AJGA invitationals in 2021, will join the program at Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference next summer.

   Caleb Surratt of Indian Trail, N.C., an impressive winner of the Boys Junior PGA Championship last summer at the Kearney Hills Golf Links in Lexington, Ky., matched par in the final round with a 71 to finish a shot behind James in fourth place with a 5-under 281 total.

   Surratt will join the program at Tennessee of the SEC next summer.

   Michael La Sasso of Raleigh, N.C. was two shots behind Surratt in fifth place as he closed with a 2-over 73 to finish with a 3-under 283 total. La Sasso will join the program at N.C. State of the ACC next summer.

   Gross might have hit the wall in his Thanksgiving Day final round. He finished in a tie for sixth place in the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship at the Coushatta Hotel & Resort’s Kosati Pines course in Kinder, La. earlier this month.

   Gross made double bogeys at the third, fourth and sixth holes and closed out his front nine with a bogey at nine. He righted the ship a little with a birdie at the 10^th hole, but made a bogey at 12 and another double bogey at the tough 15^th before finishing up with a birdie at the last.

   Gross’ final round of 8-over 79 left him in the group tied for 12^th place with a 5-over 291. It was probably a little bit of a disappointing finish for him, but, after hanging out in the top 10 all week, he was still one of the youngest finishers in the top 20.

 

 

 

 

 

Koivun, Ortengren trying to go wire-to-wire in Rolex Tournament of Champions at PGA National

    Downingtown West sophomore Nick Gross, who claimed the PIAA Class AAA crown last month, remained in the top 10 going into Thursday’s final round of the premier event on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) calendar, the Rolex Tournament of Champions at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

   Gross is the only Class of 2024 entry in the top 10 after he carded a solid 3-under-par 69 on PGA National’s Fazio Course in Wednesday’s third round, leaving him in a tie for eighth place at 3-under 212.

   Gross had opened with a 69 at the 6,849-yard, par-72 Fazio Course Monday, but struggled a little with a 3-over 74 over the par-71 Champions Course in Tuesday’s second round.

   Not sure whether Gross went off the first or 10^th tee in Wednesday’s third round, but he recorded back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes on the Fazio Course’s outgoing nine and made a bogey at the ninth. On the incoming nine, Gross birdied the 12^th hole, made a bogey at 16, but made a splash at the par-5 17^th with an eagle.

   After losing in a playoff to the 2020 PIAA Class AAA champion Calen Sanderson, a senior at Holy Ghost Prep who is headed for Notre Dame, Gross defeated North Pocono’s Billy Pabst in a playoff to capture the state title at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County.

   Gross competed all over the place in the summer, but, for my money, his most impressive performance might have come in the Pennsylvania Amateur in July at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course, site of five U.S. Opens, most recently Justin Rose’s triumph in 2013.

   Gross hadn’t quite turned 15 when he survived the 36-hole cut against a tremendous field gathered at Merion and finished alone in 32^nd place with a 14-over 224 total.

   Jackson Koivun of San Jose, Calif. posted a solid 2-under 70 to maintain a two-shot lead going into the Thanksgiving Day windup of the Rolex Tournament of Champions. Koivun, who will join the program at Southeastern Conference power Auburn next summer, will be sleeping on the lead for the third straight night as he tries to go wire-to-wire at PGA National.

   Koivun made eight pars around a bogey at the eighth hole on the front nine at the Fazio Course Wednesday. After a birdie at the 12^th hole, Koivun made an eagle 2 at the par-4 15^th and was suddenly 2-under for the round. He bounced back from a bogey at the 16^th hole with a birdie at 17 that left him with a 10-under 205 total through 54 holes.

   Koivun’s closest pursuer was Eric Lee of Fullerton, Calif., who matched the low round of the day with a sparkling 5-under 67 that left him two shots off the lead with an 8-under 207 total. Lee plans to join the program at California in the summer of 2023.

   A couple of future Atlantic Coast Conference rivals, William Love of Atlanta, who will join the program at Duke next summer, and Ben James of Milford, Conn. who will join the program at Virginia next summer, were tied for third place, each landing on 6-under 209, two shots behind Lee.

   Love matched the 3-under 69 he carded at the Fazio Course in the opening round in Wednesday’s third round. He matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 71 at the Champions Course, which plays to a par of 71 for the guys and a par of 72 for the girls. James registered a 2-under 70 to get his share of third place.

   Caleb Surratt of Indian Trail, N.C., the winner of last summer’s Boys Junior PGA Championship at the Kearney Hills Golf Links in Lexington, Ky., and Michael La Sasso of Raleigh, N.C. were another shot behind Love and James in a tie for fifth place at 5-under 210.

   Surratt, who will join the program at Tennessee of the SEC next summer, carded a solid 2-under 70. La Sasso, who will join the program at North Carolina State of the ACC next summer, signed for a 1-under 71.

   The guys will conclude the Rolex Tournament of Champions with a Thanksgiving Day round at the Champions Course.

   In the Girls division, Meja Ortengren of Sweden continues to make a pretty strong statement as she fired a sizzling 5-under 67 at the Champions Course to widen her advantage to eight shots going into Thursday’s final round.

   Ortengren, like Koivun on the boys side, will sleep on the lead for the third straight day as she also tries to go wire-to-wire at PGA National.

   Ortengren made birdies at the second, third and sixth holes before her only stumble of the day, a bogey at seven. She rattled off consecutive birdies at the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th holes on the incoming nine. Her 5-under 67 over a Champions Course that measured 6,399 yards and played to a par of 72 for the girls, gave Ortengren an 11-under 205 total.

   Alexa Pano of Lake Worth, Fla. registered a solid 2-under 70 and was alone in second place with a 3-under 213 total. Pano’s first AJGA victory came as a 12-year-old in the PDQ / Philadelphia Runner Junior at Saucon Valley Country Club’s Weyhill Course in the summer of 2016.

   Pano has been on the golf radar since she was a featured player in “The Short Game,” a documentary produced by the Hollywood power couple of Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel filmed at the 2012 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.

   Yurang Li of Fullerton, Calif. was another four shots behind Pano in third place with a 1-over 217 after she posted a 1-over 73 on the Champions Course in Wednesday’s third round. Yurang Li is a Class of ’24 entry.

   Another Class of ’24 entry from California, Anna Davis, a Spring Valley resident who was the runaway winner of the Girls Junior PGA Championship last summer at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., headed a group of three players tied for fourth place, a shot behind Yurang Li at 2-over 218. Davis had her best round of the week, a 1-under 71, in Wednesday’s third round.

   Joining Davis at 2-over were Kaitlyn Schroeder of Jacksonville, Fla. and Kary Hollenbaugh of New Albany, Ohio.

   Schroeder, who will join the program at SEC power Alabama next summer, started the day in second place, four shots behind Ortengren, but struggled to a 4-over 76 in Wednesday’s third round. Schroeder made a run to the quarterfinals in last summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md.

   Hollenbaugh, who will join Lisa Strom’s Ohio State program in the Big Ten next summer, carded a 2-over 74 in Wednesday’s third round.

   Lower Merion junior Sydney Yermish, crowned the PIAA Class AAA girls champion at Heritage Hills, had her best round of the week, a 2-over 74, a four-shot improvement over the opening-round 78 she registered on the Champions Course, as she landed among the group tied for 26^th place at 11-over 227.

   Yermish, who announced her intention to join the program at Michigan of the Big Ten in the summer of 2023 last month, had eight pars and a bogey at the third hole on the Champions Course’s outgoing nine. She made an adventurous tour of the incoming nine with birdies at the 10^th and 11^th holes, a double bogey at 12, a bogey at 13, a birdie at 15 and a bogey at 16.

   Joining Yermish at 227 was Warren, Ohio phenom Gianna Clemente, who struggled a little with a 6-over 78 in Wednesday’s third round. Clemente is a Class of ’26 entry, still nearly a year away from starting high school.

   Megha Ganne of Holmdel, N.J. and No. 22 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, couldn’t quite get into contention as she carded a 6-over 78 that left her in a tie for 17^th place at 8-over 224.

   The spotlight found Ganne in last spring’s U.S. Women’s Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco when she contended throughout, ultimately finishing in a tie for 14^th place and earning low-amateur honors.

   Ganne, who will join the powerful Stanford program next summer, was a surprising semifinalist at age 15 in the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss.

   Another Jersey girl, Katie Li of Basking Ridge, shaved six shots off the opening-round 82 she posted at the Champions Course with a 4-over 76 in Wednesday’s third round that left her among the group tied for 39^th place at 232.

   Like Schroeder, Katie Li made a deep run in the U.S. Girls’ Junior at Columbia last summer, although she did Schroeder one better, reaching the semifinals.

   West Chester East senior Victoria Kim, the 2020 PIAA Class AAA champion, also improved off her first shot at the Champions Course, an opening-round 83, as she carded a 4-over 76 in Wednesday’s third round that left her in a tie for 56^th place at 238.

    Kim, who capped her scholastic career with a third-place finish in last month’s PIAA Class AAA Championship, was invited to the Rolex Tournament of Champions because she is a Rolex Scholastic All-American award winner.

   The girls will conclude the Rolex Tournament of Champions Thanksgiving Day with their second tour of the Fazio Course.