State champions Yermish, Gross take to the road and have strong showings

    Lower Merion junior Sydney Yermish and Downingtown West sophomore Nick Gross captured the respective girls and boys PIAA Class AAA crowns last month at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County.

   Last weekend, both were on the road, competing in big-time junior events, both of which drew top players from all over the country.

   Yermish finished in third place in the Elite Invitational, an event in its second year and held at the Longleaf Golf and Family Club in Southern Pines, N.C. Longleaf is in the Pinehurst area and Yermish has made that her home away from home, particularly in the summer.

   On the boys side of the Elite Invitational, Josh Ryan, winner of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship the last two summers, was the runnerup at Longleaf. The Elite Invitational wrapped up Sunday.

   Gross, meanwhile, returned to the scene of one of his most dominating performances, Kosati Pines at the Coushatta Hotel & Resort in Kinder, La. as he finished in a tie for sixth place in the Boys 14-18 division of the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship.

   Gross was still eligible to compete in the younger 13 & Under division a year ago in the inaugural edition of the brain child of Begay, a former PGA Tour performer and Golf Channel commentator, and cruised to a 13-shot victory.

   At Longleaf, Yermish, who plays out of Rolling Green Golf Club, got off to a great start with a 1-under-par 69, but never could quite catch Morgan Ketchum of Winston-Salem, N.C., who opened with a 3-under 67 on her way to a four-shot victory.

   Yermish often runs into Ketchum on the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour, which also stages some of its biggest events in the Pinehurst area between now and early 2022.

   Yermish birdied her first two holes in Friday’s opening round over a Longleaf layout that measured 5,784 yards and played to a par of 70 for the girls. Bogeys at the sixth and eighth holes dropped her back to even-par for the round, but birdies at 10 and 12 offset a bogey at 15 on Longleaf’s incoming nine as she got it in under par.

   Ketchum, however, rattled off four birdies on Longleaf’s back nine at the 12^th, 13^th, 17^th and 18^th holes in her sparkling opening round.

   Yermish never quite recovered from a triple bogey at the first hole in Saturday’s second round as she registered a 6-over 76 that left her four shots behind Ketchum, who struggled a little herself with a 4-over 74. Alexia Siehl of Fort Mill, S.C. matched par with a 70 in Saturday’s second round after opening with a 71 as she caught Ketchum at 1-over 141.

   The players started off the 10^th tee in the final round and Ketchum was able to keep the field at bay, finishing off her march to the victory with back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh holes for a closing 1-under 69 that gave her an even-par 210 total.

   Siehl, who will join the Wisconsin program next summer, finished up with a 3-over 73 that gave her runnerup honors with a 4-over 214 total.

   Yermish, who will be Big Ten rival of Siehl’s when she joins the Michigan program in the summer of 2023, got off to a good start in the final round with birdies at the 12^th and 15^th holes before a double bogey at 17 halted her momentum.

   A birdie at the fifth hole got Yermish into red figures, but a bogey at eight left her with an even-par 70 in the final round that left her five shots behind Ketchum and a shot behind Siehl in third place with a 5-over 215 total.

   Yermish had won the PIAA Class AAA crown with a 5-under 67 at Heritage Hills, capping a scholastic postseason sweep that saw her claim medalist honors in the Central League Championship and the District One Class AAA Championship in addition to her success at the state tournament.

   Ryan of Norristown is taking a gap year and plans to join the Liberty program next summer. He had a fantastic summer, highlighted by a tie for fourth place in the Pennsylvania Amateur at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course.

   It looks like he was one shot behind Will Jones of Alpharetta, Ga. going into Sunday’s final round of the Elite Invitational after adding a 1-over 71 to his opening round of 2-under 68 over a Longleaf layout that measured 6,531 yards and played to a par of 70 for the guys.

   But Jackson Mitchell of Athens, Ala., who had surged into contention with a 3-under 67 in Saturday’s second round, closed with a 2-under 68 to edge Ryan by a shot and claim the title with a 2-under 208 total.

   Starting the final round off the 10^th tee, Ryan had it going early with birdies at the 12^th, 14^th and 15^th holes that probably had him in the lead by the time he turned to the front nine at Longleaf. But bogeys at the first, fourth and eighth holes dropped him back to even-par for the day and left him with a 1-under 209 total.

   Ryan, who plays out of The 1912 Club, was his usual steady self in Friday’s opening round as he birdied the sixth hole and made bogey at nine, heading for the front nine at even-par before birdies at 16 and 18 got him in at 2-under.

   Ryan got on the bogey train for a little while in the middle of Saturday’s second round with bogeys at the seventh, eighth and 12^th holes. But birdies at the 14^th and 17^th holes rescued the round and his 1-over 71 had him within a shot of the lead heading into the final round.

   Mitchell had opened with a 3-over 73, but an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole jump-started his second round. He rattled off birdies at the 12^th, 14^th, 15^th and 16^th holes on the back nine at Longleaf on his way to a 3-under 67, that left him two shots out of the lead and a shot behind Ryan.

   Mitchell opened his final round with a birdie at the 10^th hole, got it to 2-under with a birdie at 16, but gave a shot back with a bogey at 17. A birdie at the second hole again got him to 2-under, but he fell back to 1-under with a bogey at eight. Mitchell came through on his final hole with a birdie at the ninth that got him to 2-under and gave him a one-shot edge on Ryan.

   Morgan Fundingsland, another player out of Alpharetta, Ga., and Ethan Paschal of Fayetteville, N.C., shared third place, each finishing three shots behind Ryan at 2-over 212. Findingsland matched par in the final round with a 70 after recording back-to-back 1-over 71s in the first two rounds. Paschal added a solid 1-under 69 to his opening-round 72 before closing with a 1-over 71.

   Breckin Taylor, a junior at Erie’s Cathedral Prep from Fairview, finished among the group tied for 58^th plade at  18-over 228. Taylor got a little better in each round as he added a 76 to his opening-round 78 before finishing upwith a 74.

   Another Fairview resident, Nolen Wolfe, finished in a tie for 61^st place with a 233 total. Wolfe added an 80 to his opening-round 79 before closing with his best round of the weekend, a 4-over 74.

   Meanwhile at Kosati Pines in Louisiana, Gross could never quite recover from an opening round of 3-over 75 to get into contention in the Boys 14-18 division in the second edition of Begay’s Junior Golf National Championship.

   Gross rallied with a sparkling 6-under 66 in the second round when it appears Kosati Pines was set up a little more favorably and closed with a solid 3-under 69 to land in a tie for sixth place with a 6-under 210 total.

   The title went to Quinn Yost of Farmington, N.M. as he went a combined 13-under in the final two rounds to edge Rodrigo Barahona of Bradenton, Fla. by a shot with a 12-under 204 total.

   If you’re on golf Twitter or watching Top Plays on ESPN’s SportsCenter, you might have caught Gross last week, making a hole-in-one on the par-3 course at the Coushatta Resort. Never a bad thing for a second-year event to get that kind of exposure.

   Begay’s Golf Channel connections also help as there will be a two-hour wrapup of the Junior Golf National Championship Dec. 8 beginning at 7 p.m. on the network.

   Gross got off to a strong start with birdies at the third and fourth holes. But he got on the bogey train and couldn’t get off as bogeys at the ninth, 10^th, 11^th, 12^th and 14^th holes left him at 3-over following the opening round.

   Gross’ explosiveness was on display in Saturday’s second round as he erupted for six birdies without a bogey on the scorecard.

   Yost, who had opened with a 1-over 73, was even better, though, as he had eight birdies with nary a bogey in a scintillating 8-under 64 that landed him atop the leaderboard with a 7-under 137 total.

   Gross got off to a fast start in Sunday’s final round with four birdies in his first six holes at one, two, three and six. He cooled off with bogeys at the seventh and 16^th holes before finishing with a birdie at Kosati Pines’ finishing hole to complete a 69 that left him with a 6-under total.

   Yost, meanwhile, kept his foot on the gas pedal as he fought off challenges from Barahona and fellow Floridian Ian Lentz of Gainesville.

   After a bogey at the fifth hole, Yost ripped off four straight birdies at nine, 10, 11 and 12. He added another birdie at the 16^th hole, but still needed a birdie at the par-5 finishing hole to hold off Barahona. Yost bombed a 3-wood to reach the green in two, but still had to two-putt from 60 feet for a closing birdie.

   Barahona was solid throughout, matching Yost’s final-round 67 after carding a pair of 3-under 69s in the first two rounds.

   Lentz also closed with a 67 after adding a 70 to his opening round of 3-under 69.

   Ethan Tseng of Portland, Ore. struggled to a 74 in the opening round before going low in each of the final two rounds with a 6-under 66 in Saturday’s second round and a final-round 67 that left him a shot behind Lentz in fourth place with a 9-under 207 total.

   Eric Yun of Menlo Park, Calif. closed with a sparkling 6-under 66 to finish two shots behind Tseng in fifth place at 7-under 209.

   Joining Gross in the tie for sixth place at 6-under was Shaun Coultoff of Winter Garden, Fla. as he closed with a 5-under 67. Coultoff had matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round.

   Davey Fuhrer, a sophomore at Fox Chapel, finished in a tie for 33^rd place with a 10-over 226 total. Fuhrer led the way as the Foxes fell in a playoff with State College in the battle for the PIAA Class AAA team crown at Heritage Hills last month. He opened with a 2-over 74 at Kosati Pines, but struggled to an 83 in the second round before bouncing back in the final round with a 3-under 69.

   Episcopal Academy sophomore Hunter Stetson, who captured the Bert Linton Inter-Ac League individual crown last month at Bluestone Country Club, finished among the group tied for 46^th place with a 234 total. Stetson bounced back from an opening-round 83 with a 3-over 75 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 76.

   Strath Haven junior Tyler Debusschere, who led the Panthers to the Central League crown this fall, finished in 51^st place with a 242 total. Debusschere struggled in the opening round with an 87 and bounced back in Saturday’s second round with an 81 before closing with his best round of the weekend, a 2-over 74, in Sunday’s final round.

   Brandon Sipe of Yorktown, Va. dominated the Boys 13 & Under division in much the same way that Gross did a year ago, sandwiching a 68 in Saturday’s second round with a pair of 6-under 66s for a 16-under 200 total that was five shots clear of the rest of the field.

   Sipe birdied five of his first 11 holes in Friday’s opening round. He made bogeys at the 12^th and 17^th holes around a birdie at 13, but finished with a flourish, making an eagle at the par-5 18^th.

   Sipe was a little more efficient in the final round with six birdies and no bogeys as he ran away with the title.

   Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island, Fla. and Evan Liu of San Diego shared second place, each landing on 11-under 205, five shots behind Sipe.

   Mawhinney added a 70 to his opening round of 3-under 69 before closing strong with a 6-under 66. Liu got it going in Saturday’s second round with a 7-under 65 between bookend 70s in the first and final rounds.

   Elle Lundquist, who capped a strong freshman season at Central Bucks East by finishing in a tie for fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Heritage Hills, finished in a tie for fourth in the Girls 14-18 division at Kosati Pines.

   Lundquist matched par in each of the first two rounds with a pair of 72s before closing with a 1-under 71 for a 1-under 215 total.

   Two players battled it out for the top spot in the 14-18 division with Suzie Tran of Paulsboro, Wash. edging Isabella McCauley of Inver Grove Heights, Minn. by a shot for the title.

   Tran added a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 71 in Saturday’s second round and trailed McCauley, who earned a spot in last spring’s U.S. Women’s Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, by a shot. McCauley carded back-to-back 2-under 70s in the first two rounds.

   Tran, however, closed with a sizzling 7-under 65 for a 10-under 206 total. McCauley hardly backed down, posting a pretty strong 5-under 67 as she settled for runnerup honors for the second straight year with a 9-under 207 total.

   Kaila Elsayegh of Pacific Palisades, Calif. rattled off three straight 1-under 71s to finish alone in third place with a 3-under 213 total, six shots behind McCauley.

   Sharing fourth place with Lundquist was Ali Mulhall of Henderson, Nev., the winner of the Girls 14-15 division in the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals at Augusta National Golf Club the Sunday of Masters week in April. After matching par with a 72 in the opening round, Mulhall added a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 73.

   North East’s Swan sisters, Anna, a sophomore, and Lydia, a senior, had strong showings at Kosati Pines.

   Anna Swan, who finished in fifth place in the PIAA Class AA Championship at Heritage Hills, finished in a tie for seventh at Kosati Pines with a 1-over 217 total. Anna Swan added a 74 to her opening-round 73 before finishing up with a solid 2-under 70.

   Lydia Swan, who capped a brilliant scholastic career by finishing in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AA Championship at Heritage Hills, had it going through two rounds at Kosati Pines, adding a 71 to her opening round of 3-under 69 that left her tied atop the leaderboard at 4-under 140 with McCauley.

   Lydia Swan, the 2019 PIAA Class AA champion, struggled in the final round with a 79 that left her among the group tied for 12^th place with a 3-over 219 total. Lydia Swan plans to join the Oral Roberts program next summer.

   Sussex Academy freshman Sawyer Brockstedt finished in a tie for 28^th place with a 231 total. After opening with a 75, the Rehoboth Beach, Del. native struggled to an 84 in Saturday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Brockstedt and Lundquist teamed up to capture medalist honors in a GAP-administered qualifier at Berkshire Country Club earlier this fall for next spring’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship, which will tee off in April at the Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

   Paige Scott of Butler added an 81 to her opening-round 84 before closing with a solid 1-under 71 to finish among the trio tied for 37^th place at 236.

   The Girls 13 & Under division also came down to two players as Amelia Zalesman of Redlands, Calif. edged Angela Zhang of Bellevue, Wash. by a shot to claim the title.

   The pair entered Sunday’s final round tied for the lead as Zalsman added a 4-under 68 to her opening-round 69 while Zhang opened with a 68 before adding a 69 in Saturday’s second round. Zalsman finished up with a 5-under 67 and a 12-under 204 total, one shot better than Zhang’s final-round 68 and 11-under 205 total.