La Salle sophomore Ethan Martin, a North Wales resident, capped a strong week on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour with a victory in the overall scoring in a two-day tournament last week over the two courses at Hickory Valley Golf Club in Gilbertsville.
It was strictly a two-horse race at Hickory Valley as Lucas Steinmetz, a junior at The Hill School, had taken the lead with a solid even-par 71 over Hickory Valley’s par-71 Ambassador Course on a breezy June 9 with Martin, coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory a day earlier at Skippack Golf Club, just a shot behind him with a 1-over 72.
Martin, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, made birdies on the fourth and 16th holes on his way to a 3-over 75 over the par-72 Presidential Course on Day 2 June 10 to overtake Steinmetz, who closed with a 77, by a shot with a two-day total of 4-over 147.
Martin made birdies at the first, sixth, 10th and 18th holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard in his opening-round 72 at the Ambassador Course.
More impressive was that Martin captured the overall title among the field of 13-to-18 players while playing out of the younger 13-to-15 division. Pretty sure the two-day Philly Junior Tour events like the one at Hickory Valley award Junior Golf Scoreboard points that can give players some status that allows them to enter events at higher levels like the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit.
John Curran of Malvern was the runnerup to Martin in the 13-to-15 division and finished in a tie for fifth place in the overall scoring with a 19-over 162 total. Curran had opened with a 6-over 77 at the Ambassador Course as he birdied the first hole and had 11 pars on his scorecard, seven of them on the incoming nine. In the second round at the Presidential Course, Curran had an eagle at the par-5 fourth hole, birdies at six and 15 and six pars, but struggled at other times in the round on his way to an 85.
Boyertown freshman Chase Dillman, playing not far from his Gilbertsville home, and Leo Simon, a visiting player from Scarsdale, N.Y., shared third place among the younger guys and finished in a tie for seventh place in the overall scoring, each landing on 163, a shot behind Curran.
Dillman made birdies at the sixth and 15th holes and had six pars on his scorecard on his way to an 85 in the second round at the Presidential Course. He was steadier in an opening-round 78 at the Ambassador Course, making birdies at the fourth and seventh holes and recording nine pars.
Simon made birdies at the fourth and sixth holes and had seven pars on his scorecard on his way to an 81 in the second round at the Presidential Course. Simon opened with an 82 at the Ambassador Course as he made a birdie at the 15th hole and had seven pars on his card.
Kevin Zheng of Warren, N.J. was another eight shots behind Dillman and Simon in fifth place in the 13-to-15 division as he added an 89 at the Presidential Course to his opening round of 82 at the Ambassador Course for a 171 total.
Another visiting player, Thomas Wen of Basking Ridge, N.J., was a shot behind Zheng in sixth place among the younger guys with a 172 total. Wen shaved four shots off the opening-round 88 he posted on the Ambassador Course with an 84 in the second round at the Presidential Course.
Methacton freshman Matthew Rieger added an 89 in the second round at the Presidential Course to the opening-round 88 he recorded on the Ambassador Course to finish in seventh place in the 13-to-15 division with a 177 total.
Nicholas Shanahan of Devon opened with an 89 at the Ambassador Course before adding a 94 in the second round at the Presidential Course to finish in eighth place among the younger guys with a 183 total.
Rounding out the scoring in the 13-to-15 field was Drake Brogan of Ocean View, N.J. as he added a 93 in the second round at the Presidential Course to the opening-round 97 he carded at the Ambassador Course to finish alone in ninth place with a 190 total.
Steinmetz, also playing close to his Gilbertsville home at Hickory Valley, finished atop the 16-to-18 division while earning runnerup honors in the overall scoring with his solid 5-over 148 total.
Steinmetz -- pretty sure he is the son of long-time Spring Ford Country Club head pro Rich Steinmetz – had grabbed the overall lead by matching par in the gusty winds at the Ambassador Course with a 71. His steady round included birdies at the ninth and 15th holes and 14 pars. Steinmetz was 2-under for a stretch from the second through the 15th holes.
Steinmetz made a birdie at the 16th hole and had 12 pars, including eight straight from eight through 14, in a 5-over 77 at the Presidential Course in the second round that left him a shot behind Martin for the overall title.
Evan Eichenlaub, who capped his junior season at Moravian Academy by finishing in a tie for sixth place in the PIAA Class AA Championship, and Jeffrey Seiler of Hatfield, finished in a tie for second place in the 16-to-18 division and shared third in the overall scoring with a 17-over 160 total.
Eichenlaub closed with an 81 at the Presidential Course as he made birdies at the third, sixth, 14th and 16th holes and had four pars on his scorecard. Eichenlaub had opened with a 79 at Ambassador Course as he made a birdie at the 14th hole and had nine pars on his card.
Seiler was only five shots out of the individual lead in the overall standings with an opening round of 5-over 76 at the Ambassador Course that featured birdies at the 12th and 15th holes and 10 pars. Seiler closed with an 84 at the Presidential Course as he had nine pars on his card.
Joseph Fargnoli of Mickelton, N.J. added an 80 in the final round at the Presidential Course to the 82 he opened with on the Ambassador Course as he finished alone in fourth place among the older guys and shared fifth place with Curran in the overall scoring with a 162 total.
Colin Drummond of Exton and Marcus Smith, another guy playing close to his Gilbertsville home, finished in a tie for fifth place in the 16-to-18 division and rounded out the top 10 in the overall scoring as they finished in a tie for ninth, each landing on 169.
Drummond added an 85 in the final round at the Presidential Course to the 84 he opened with at the Ambassador Course. Smith opened with a solid 80 on the Ambassador Course before closing with an 89 at the Presidential Course in the second round.
Christopher DiRita of Drexel Hill took seventh place in the 16-to-18 division with a 172 total as he closed with an 88 at the Presidential Course after posting an 84 in the opening round at the Ambassador Course.
Michael Dignazio of Wilmington, Del. bounced back from an opening-round 94 at the Ambassador Course with a solid 8-over 80 at the Presidential Course as he finished in eighth place among the older guys with a 174 total.
Rounding out the scoring in the 16-to-18 division was Eamon Cochran of Newtown Square as he finished alone in ninth place with a 180 total, adding an 87 in the second round at the Presidential Course to the opening round of 93 he recorded at the Ambassador Course.
On the girls side, Unionville junior Mary Grace Dunigan cruised to a 10-shot victory, matching par in the final round with a 72 on the Presidential Course that gave her an 11-over 154 total.
Dunigan finished in fifth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a freshman in 2019. She failed to reach the state tournament in 2020 as an individual, but led the Longhorns to the PIAA Class AAA team crown.
Dunigan shared second place in the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course last fall to again earn a ticket to the PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort, so look for a strong senior season for the daughter of Golf Digest Top 50 instructor John Dunigan.
Dunigan opened at Hickory Valley’s Ambassador Course with an 82 that featured birdies at the 12th and 15th holes and six pars. Her steady final round at the Presidential Course included birdies at the fourth and sixth holes and 13 pars as she finished atop the 16-to-18 division while capturing the overall title.
Emma Li of Newtown had 11 pars, including six straight from the fourth through the ninth holes, on her way to a final round of 6-over 78 at the Presidential Course that enabled her to claim runnerup honors among the older girls and in the overall scoring with a 164 total.
Li had five pars on her scorecard as she opened with an 86 in the Ambassador Course.
Heidi Wegscheider, a junior at Oley Valley, rounded out the scoring in the 16-to-18 division as she finished in third place, ending up fourth in the overall scoring with a 190 total. Wegscheider had five pars in her final-round 91 at the Presidential Course after making a pair of pars in an opening-round 99 at the Ambassador Course.
Mirai Kambayshi of Malvern was the lone entry in the 13-to-15 division and she finished in third place in the overall scoring with a 184 total. Kambayshi had two pars in a final-round 92 at the Presidential Course after opening with a 92 on the Ambassador Course that featured three pars.
It was a 1-2 finish for Nazareth guys Dane Mohap and Alex DiGiacinto among the nine-holers.
Mohap had five pars in a final-round 44 at the Presidential Course after taking command of the coed 12-and-under division with a solid 39 on the front nine of the Ambassador Course in the opening round. Mohap made six pars in the first seven holes on the Ambassador Course. His 83 total was five shots clear of DiGiacinto in second place
DiGiancinto had four pars in a final-round 46 in the second round on the Presidential Course to give him an 88 total. He only trailed Mohap by three shots after an opening-round 42 on the Ambassador Course as he had six pars, finishing up his round with five straight pars.
Sebastian Park of Lansdale was another shot behind DiGiacinto in third place with an 89 total. Park made a birdie at the sixth hole and had three pars on his scorecard on his way to a 45 in the second round on the Presidential Course. Park had opened with a 44 on the Ambassador Course that was highlighted by three pars.
Rounding out the scoring in the coed 12-and-under division was Alaina Carson of Broomall as she finished in fourth place, a shot behind Park with a 90 total. Carson added a 47 in the final round on the Presidential Course after opening with a solid 43 on the Ambassador Course.
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