Tall, Osawa help host Lafayette finish second in ABARTA Coca-Cola Collegiate Invitational at the Steel Club

    Led by Conestoga High product Ryan Tall and Kazuki Osawa, a senior from Belgium, Lafayette came up just short of capturing the team title as the host team for the ABARTA Coca-Cola Collegiate Invitational, which wrapped up Monday at the Steel Club in Hellertown.

   Tall, the 2018 Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ Championship winner and Osawa each closed with a 2-under-par 70 over the par-72 Donald Ross design at the Steel Club as the Leopards rallied with a 5-under 283 in Monday’s final round to catch Iona atop the leaderboard in the team standings in the two-day, 36-hole event.

   Iona, a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference entry, had opened with a 4-over 292 in cold and windy conditions Sunday before matching par in Monday’s final round with a 288 for a 4-over 580 total. The Gaels, the reigning three-time MAAC champion, then pulled out the team victory in a one-hole playoff with Lafayette.

   Iona was led by individual champion Justin Burkhamer, a graduate student from Charlotte, N.C. who carded a second straight 3-under 69 for a 6-under 138 total that left him two shots clear of the field.

   Justin Burkhamer seems to have an affinity for the classic designs. A week earlier he went 1-under for two tours of the William Flynn gem at Rolling Green Golf Club to claim the individual crown in the Columbia Spring Invitational.

   Tall and Osawa had both matched par with 72s in the opening round to help Lafayette card a 9-over 297 that left the Leopards five shots behind Iona. Lafayette then rallied with the low team round of the tournament to catch Iona at 4-over 580.

   The 2-under 142 totals posted by Tall and Osawa left them in a tie for third place in the individual standings, four shots behind Justin Burkhamer.

   Bucknell, behind individual runnerup Blake Wisdom, a junior from Lake Geneva, Wis., finished a shot behind the top two in third place with a 5-over 581 total. The Bison, Lafayette’s Patriot League rival, added a solid 3-under 285 to their opening-round 296.

   Wisdom bounced back from an opening-round 73 with a sparkling 5-under 67 in Monday’s final round to finish two shots behind Justin Burkhamer with a 4-under 140 total.

   It was a nice tuneup for Lafayette and Bucknell because they’ll be right back at Steel Club when the Leopards host the Patriot League Championship, which tees off April 29.

   It was another seven shots back to Mount St. Mary’s of the Northeast Conference in fourth place with a 12-over 588 total as the Mount bounced back from a 301 in the opening round with a 1-under 287.

   Rhode Island, out of the Atlantic 10, finished a shot behind Mount St. Mary’s in fifth place with a 13-over 589 total as the Rams added a 296 to their opening round of 5-over 293.

   Three teams, Siena, one of Iona’s MAAC rivals, Towson, out of the Colonial Athletic Association, and Robert Morris of the Horizon League, finished a shot behind Rhode Island in a tie for sixth place, each landing on 14-over 590.

   Siena and Robert Morris had identical splits as each added a 2-over 290 to an opening-round 300 and Towson carded a 3-over 291 in Monday’s final round after opening with a 299.

   Monmouth, another MAAC entry, finished three shots behind the trio tied for sixth place, the Hawks ending up alone in ninth with a 17-over 593 total. Monmouth bounced back for an opening-round 300 with a 5-under 293 in Monday’s second round.

   Villanova, out of the Big East, was a shot behind Monmouth in 10^th place in the 20-team field with an 18-over 594 total as the Wildcats struggled to 305 in the opening round before posting a solid 1-over 289 in Monday’s final round.

   Villanova will close out its regular season when it plays host to the Wildcat Spring Invitational a few miles down Route 320 from its campus at Radnor Valley Country Club Monday and Tuesday.

   Backing up Justin Burkhamer for Iona were Garrett Giles, a sophomore from Stuart, Fla., and Kaitsarin Oukosavanna, a graduate student from Boca Raton, Fla., both of whom landed among the group tied for 16^th place at 3-over 147.

   Giles and Oukosavanna had identical splits, each adding a 1-over 73 in Monday’s final round to an opening-round 74.

   I’m going to go ahead and guess that Brandon Burkhamer, a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., is Justin’s younger brother. Either way, Brandon Burkhamer finished among the group tied for 31^st place with a 4-over 148 total as he added a 1-over 73 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 75.

   Gonzalo Arcelay, a graduate student from Spain, rounded out the Iona lineup as he finished among the group tied for 39^th place with a 5-over 149 total. Arcelay also closed with a 1-over 73 after opening with a 76.

   The best round of the tournament belonged to Mount St. Mary’s senior Michael Robinson, who starred scholastically at New Oxford in the Gettysburg area, as he carded a sizzling 6-under 66 in Monday’s final round to head a group of four players tied for fifth place with a 1-under 143 total. Robinson had opened with a 5-over 77.

   Lehigh junior David Hurly, a member of a pair of Inter-Ac League championship teams at The Haverford School in 2017 and 2018, was also in the group tied for fifth place at 1-under as he matched par in Monday’s final round with a 72 after opening with a 1-under 71.

   Rounding out the foursome tied for fifth place were Bucknell’s Jackson Bussell, a junior from Lincolnshire, Ill., and Fordham’s P.J. O’Rourke, a freshman from Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J. Bussell had a share of the lead with Justin Burkhamer after opening with a 3-under 69 before cooling off a little with a 2-over 74 in Monday’s final round. O’Rourke added a 2-under 70 in Monday’s final round to his opening-round 73.

   Rhode Island’s Brandon Gillis, a redshirt senior from Nashua, N.H., and St. Bonaventure’s Danny Gianniny, a graduate student from Pittsford, N.Y., finished in a tie for ninth place, each landing on even-par 144. Gillis finished strong with a 3-under 69 in Monday’s final round after opening with a 75. Gianniny added a 2-under 70 in Monday’s final round to his opening-round 74.

   Villanova’s top two finishers, Peter Weaver, a sophomore from Frontenac, Mol., and Matthew Copeland, a graduate student from Maryville, Tenn., headed a group of five players who finished in a tie for 11^th place at 2-over 146.

   Weaver added a solid 2-under 70 in Monday’s final round to his opening-round 76 and Copeland matched par in Monday’s final round with a 72 after opening with a 74.

   Rounding out the quintet tied for 11^th place at 2-over were Bucknell’s Jason Lohwater, a senior from Rochester, N.Y., Niagara’s Tyler Edholm, a senior from Tonawanda, N.Y., and Rhode Island’s Bryson Richards, a junior from Plainfield, Vt.

   Lohwater and Richards had identical splits, each adding a 1-under 71 in Monday’s final round to an opening-round 75. Edholm opened with a 1-under 71 before backing off a little with a 75 in Monday’s final round.

   Backing up Weaver and Copeland for Villanova was senior Matt Davis, one of the Inter-Ac’s top players during his four years at Malvern Prep. Davis, who has been solid this spring, added a 74 in Monday’s final round to his opening round of 1-over 73 to finish in the group tied for 16^th place with a 3-over 147 total.

   Vimal Alokam, a freshman from Ypsilanti, Mich., finished in a tie for 80^th place for the Wildcats with a 155 total as he bounced back from an opening-round 82 with a solid 1-over 73 in Monday’s final round.

   Rounding out the Villanova lineup was Jack O’Hara, a senior from Loudonville, N.Y. who finished in the group tied for 104^th place with a 165 total as he added an 80 in Monday’s final round to his opening-round 85.

   Matt Minerva, a junior from Elmsford, N.Y., competed as an individual for Villanova and finished among the group tied for 64^th place with a 9-over 153 total. Minerva added a 3-over 75 in Monday’s final round after opening with a 78.

   The Robert Morris lineup was dotted with several recent Pennsylvania high school standouts, led by senior Chase Miller, who claimed the PIAA Class AA crown in 2017 as a senior at Tulpehocken.

   Miller added a 1-over 73 in Monday’s final round to his opening-round 74 to join the group tied for 16^th place with a 3-over 147 total.

   Miller’s fellow Berks Countian, junior Alex Seelig, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Exeter, matched par in Monday’s final round with a 72 after opening with a 77 to finish in the group tied for 39^th place with a 5-over 149 total.

   Seelig picked up some loops out of the Stonewall caddyshack last summer while getting in as many competitive rounds as he could. Seelig earned himself a spot in the Pennsylvania Amateur played at Merion Golf Club’s iconic East Course.

   Junior Parker Johnson, who starred scholastically at Peters Township, had a pair of 80s for the Colonials, his 160 total leaving him in a tie for 94^th place.

   Junior Logan Hess, a scholastic standout at Penn Manor whose named showed up on a lot of Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour leaderboards, competed as an individual for Robert Morris. After struggling to an 81 in the opening round, Hess closed with a 3-over 75 to finish in the group tied for 86^th place with a 156 total.