In the space of about 24 hours last week, Josh Ryan of The 1912 Club experienced the exhilaration of winning a third straight Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ Championship and the disappointment of coming up just short in a GAP-administered qualifier for the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
But to his credit, Ryan has learned that golf is about turning the page, whether it’s the next shot or the next hole or the next tournament, there is just no time to dwell on what just happened, be it good or bad or anything in between.
Monday at Hershey Country Club’s East Course, Ryan battled
through some heavy downpours early in his round to fire a 4-under-par 67 and
get a share of the lead with Hannastown Golf Club’s Nick Turowski following the
opening round of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Junior Boys’ Championship, presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods.
The two-day, 36-hole event concludes with the second round Tuesday.
So impressive on his way to becoming the first player to win three straight GAP Junior Boys’ crowns in more than 100 years at Bala Golf Club, Ryan could do no better than match par with a 72 at Huntsville Golf Club in his bid to reach the U.S. Junior Amateur, which tees off July 25 at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore.
It left Ryan a shot short as a ton of talented junior players were chasing just two qualifying berths. The competition for those two berths is so intense, there is just very little margin for error. Ryan is the second alternate out of the Huntsville qualifier.
Ryan took out his frustrations on the tough East Course layout at Hershey. After opening with four straight pars, Ryan, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier while representing Norristown High on the golf course, made birdies at the fifth and sixth holes.
After making a bogey at the ninth hole, Ryan made a birdie at 10. Ryan, who will join the program at ASUN power Liberty later this summer, gave back another shot with a bogey at the 12th hole, but finished with a flourish, making birdies at 14, 16 and 17 on his way to the clubhouse to get it in at 4-under.
Turowski had himself quite a sophomore season at Penn-Trafford on the scholastic circuit last fall, capturing the WPIAL Class AAA individual crown and finishing in a tie for fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County.
Turowski made a birdie on the first hole before giving that shot back with a bogey at three. He then rattled off birdies at the ninth, 10th, 12th and 14th holes to join Ryan at 4-under.
Logan Paczewski, the recent Dallas graduate who shared fourth place with Turowski in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship, and Aronimink Golf Club’s Hunter Stetson, a junior at Episcopal Academy, are tied for third place as each landing on 3-under 68, a shot behind the top two.
Paczewski, playing out of Huntsville, is coming off an impressive run to the BMW Philadelphia Amateur semifinals earlier this month. He will join the program at Rutgers later this summer. Stetson capped his sophomore season at Episcopal by capturing the Bert Linton Inter-Ac League individual crown at Bluestone Country Club last fall.
Aronimink’s Nick Ciocca, who led Devon Prep to the PIAA Class AA team crown to cap his sophomore season last fall, headed a group of five players tied for fifth place at 2-under 69.
Keller Mulhern, a recent Malvern Prep graduate who will join the program at Saint Joseph’s later this summer, was also in the group at 2-under. Mulhern made a run to the GAP Junior Boys’ semifinals last week at Bala before falling to Ryan.
Rounding out the group at 2-under were Commonwealth National Golf Club’s Kevin Lydon, the recent Central Bucks West graduate who reached the quarterfinals of the Philadelphia Amateur earlier this month, Brookside Country Club of Allentown’s Matt Zerfass, a recent Emmaus graduate who will be Mulhern’s teammate at St. Joe’s, and Oakmont Country Club’s Davey Fuhrer, a member of the Fox Chapel team that lost in a playoff for the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall.
Latrobe Hills Country Club’s John Olsen, a member of the State College team that defeated Furher and Fox Chapel in the playoff to claim the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall, headed a group of five more players tied for 10th place at 1-under 70.
Cedarbrook Country Club’s Christian Matt, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Wissahickon last fall, was also in the group at 1-under.
Rounding out the quartet tied for 10th place were Lancaster Country Club’s Jack Novis, Indiana Country Club’s Trevor Todd, and Olde Stonewall Golf Club’s Nelson Nicklas.
There were 11 more players tied for 15th at even-par 71, led by Cael Ropietski, the Lake Lehman standout who was the medalist in the U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier last week as he signed for a 2-under 70 on his home course at Huntsville to punch his ticket to Bandon Dunes.
Paczewski and Ropietski helped Huntsville grab the lead in the team competition with a 1-under 68. Backing up the 68 by Paczewski and the 71 from Ropietski in the four-score-three format was Ropietski’s Lake Lehman teammate, Michael Lugiano, who carded a solid 2-over 73.
Huntsville was able to toss the 76 registered by Nick Werner, a PIAA Class AA qualifier as a freshman at Wyoming Seminary last fall.
Aronimink, behind Stetson’s 68 and Ciocca’s 69, was a shot behind Huntsville with an even-par 213 total. Recent Malvern Prep graduate Jack Davis was Aronimink’s third counter with a 5-over 76. Rounding out the Aronimink contingent was Grayson Jakuc, who recorded a 79.
The PAGA Junior Girls’ Championship is being contested at nearby Lebanon Country Club and Kennett Square Golf & Country Club’s Mary Grace Dunigan, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier in her first three seasons at Unionville, grabbed the lead with a sparkling 3-under 69.
Drenching morning downpours left the crew at Lebanon scrambling to get the course in playable condition with the first group finally teeing off at 10:30 a.m.
Dunigan, coming off a nice victory in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour two-day event at Hickory Valley Golf Club earlier this month, got it to 2-under with back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh holes. She gave those two shots back with bogeys at the ninth and 11th holes before closing strong with birdies at 14, 15 and 17.
Bucknell Golf Club’s Hannah Rabb, a PIAA Class AA qualifier at Warrior Run last fall, and Connoquenessing Country Club’s Lihini Ranaweera, a junior at Seneca Valley, were two shots behind Dunigan in a tie for second place, each carding a 1-under 71.
Moselem Springs Golf Club’s Kayla Maletto, a junior at Wilson, and Lindsey Powanda of Diamond Run Golf Club were tied for fourth place, each carding a 1-over 73.
PAGA Individual Member Marissa Malosh, a South Fayette senior, was alone in sixth place with a 2-over 74.
The Springhaven Club’s Grace Smith headed a group of five players tied for seventh place at 3-over 75. Smith, who will join the program at Stetson later this summer, was a member of the 2019 Strath Haven team that won the program’s first Central League and District One Class AAA crowns and a Central League team tournament champion in the 2020 season that was shortened by the coronavirus pandemic.
Rounding out the quartet at 3-over were Makefield Highlands Golf Club’s Sirina Ganne, Paige Scott, a PAGA Individual Member, Ysabel Liu, a Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association entry, and The Club at Nevillewood’s Christine McConnell.
Allegheny Country Club’s Eva Bulger, a senior at Quaker Valley and a three-time WPIAL Class AA champion, was alone in 12th place with a 4-over 76.
Two of District One’s top players last fall, Whitford Country Club’s Ava O’Sullivan and White Manor Country Club’s Victoria Kim, were tied for 13th place, each landing on 5-over 77.
O’Sullivan capped her senior season at Downingtown East by leading the Cougars to the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall. O’Sullivan shared second place in the District One Class AAA Championship with Unionville’s Dunigan. Kim, a recent West Chester East graduate, was the PIAA Class AAA individual champion as a junior in 2020.
Kim and White Manor lead O’Sullivan and Whitford by three shots in the Junior Girls’ team championship race.
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