Shmonov, Graham the respective boys, girls winners in two-day Junior Tour stop at Hershey

    Jake Shmonov, a recent Central Dauphin graduate, came on strong with the only sub-par round of the tournament, to capture overall honors in a two-day Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop July 21 and July 22 – two of the hottest days of that recent heat wave – at Hershey Country Club’s East Course.

   Shmonov, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior last fall, trailed Pope John Paul II senior Jack Brennan by five shots after Shmonov carded a 5-over 76 in the opening round.

   But Shmonov got as hot as the scorching temperatures in the second round, making birdies at the first, sixth, seventh, 12^th and 17^th holes, five in all, to go with nine pars as he closed with a 1-under 70 that gave him a 4-over 146 total and a three-shot victory.

   The two-day Philly Junior Tour events offer points that can earn players status on some of the more competitive junior circuits like the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA). The Philly Junior Tour still breaks out its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 divisions along with overall scoring for all the 13-to-18 boys and girls competitors.

   Shmonov’s 146 total left him atop both the 16-to-18 division and the overall leaderboards. Usually a couple of players from the 13-to-15 jumps into the top 10 in the overall scoring, but that did not happen at Hershey, so the top 10 among the older guys is the same as the overall top 10.

   Shmonov did not have a birdie on his scorecard in the opening round, but kept himself in contention by staying patient with 14 pars on his way to a 76.

   Owen Blazick of Mountain Top added a 3-over 74 in the final round to his opening-round 75 to claim runnerup honors with a 7-over 149 that left him three shots behind Shmonov.

   Blazick made birdies at the first, fourth, 10^th and 15^th holes and had nine pars on his card in his final-round 74. Blazick made birdies at the first and 17^th holes and had 11 pars in his opening-round 75.

   Brennan is part of a group of talented high school players who have been looping at Stonewall this summer. He had a hot start to his opening round, making birdies at the first, second and fifth holes. Brennan then went back-to-back with birdies at the 10^th and 11^th holes to open the back nine and finished with nine pars on his scorecard as he matched par with his opening-round 71.

   Brennan made birdies on the first and sixth holes and had 10 pars on his card as he finished up with a 79 that left him in a tie for third place with Judah Fulchiero of Holidaysburg, each landing on 8-over 150.

   Fulchiero finished strong, making birdies on the 10^th, 12^th and 18^th holes and adding 10 pars as he closed with a 2-over 73 that enabled him to join Brennan at 150. Fulchiero had opened with a 6-over 77 that included a birdie at the 14^th hole and 10 pars.

   Joey Sabol, a senior on State College’s PIAA Class AAA championship team at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County last fall, Sam Wertmiller, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Selinsgrove last fall, and Matthew Normand of Lumberton, N.J. finished in a tie for fifth place, each landing on 10-over 152.

   Sabol added a 4-over 75 in the final round to his opening-round 77. Wertmiller was Brennan’s closest pursuer following an opening round of 2-over 73 before falling back with a 79 in the final round. Normand closed with a solid 3-over 74 after opening with a 78.

   John Keba of Emmaus opened with a solid 3-over 74 before adding an 80 as he finished alone in eighth place with a 154.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring were Derek Johnson of Mountain Top and Bo Meakim of Hatboro as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each landing on 155, a shot behind Keba.

   Johnson added a 79 to his opening round of 5-over 76 while Meakim added a 78 in the final round to his opening-round 77.

   Tom Biscotti of Mountain Top finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division and was alone in 14^th place in the overall scoring with a 157 total.

   Biscotti opened with a solid 5-over 76 that included back-to-back birdies on the 13^th and 14^th holes and nine pars. He made a birdie at the 12^th hole and had eight pars on his scorecard in a final-round 81.

   Jax Puskar of Kennett Square trailed Biscotti by two shots after opening with a 78 that featured a birdie at the first hole and nine pars, including six straight from the second through the seventh holes. Puskar had 10 pars in a final-round 82 that left him three shots behind Biscotti in second place with a 160 total.

   Colton Orris of Hershey was another shot behind Puskar in third place with a 161 total. Orris made a birdie on the second hole and had 10 pars on his card in an opening-round 79. He made birdies on the sixth and 15^th holes and had seven pars as he closed with an 82.

   Collin Schreiber of Kunkletown added an 81 in the final round to his opening-round 83 as he finished a shot behind Orris in fourth place with a 164 total.

   Boyertown sophomore Chase Dillman finished a shot behind Schreiber in fifth place as he added an 84 in the final round to his opening-round 81 for a 165 total.

   Carson Hummer of Hershey and Luke Tappeiner of Northfield, N.J. finished in a tie for sixth place, each signing for a 166 total. Hummer added an 82 in the final round to his opening-round 84 while Tappeiner opened with an 82 before finishing up with an 84.

   Trevor Dendler of Yardley shaved three shots off his opening-round 85 with an 82 in the final round as he finished alone in eighth place with a 167 total.

   Anestis Kalderemtzis of Glen Mills was three shots behind Dendler in ninth place with a 170 total as he improved by six shots from an opening-round 88 with an 82 in the final round.

   Colby Komancheck of Royersford bounced back from an opening-round 91 with an 80 in the second round as he rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division by finishing alone in 10^th place with a 171 total.

   Boiling Springs senior Brooke Graham, a three-time PIAA Class AA qualifier, was easily the best player among the girls as she added an 80 in the final round to her opening-round 82 for a 20-over 162 total that gave her the top spot in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring.

   Coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory at Overlook Golf Course earlier in the week, Graham had 11 pars, including a run of seven in a row from the second through the eighth holes, to close out the tournament with an 80. Graham’s steady opening-round 82 featured nine pars.

   Oley Valley senior Heidi Wegscheider was Graham’s closest pursuer as she had six pars on her scorecard in a final-round 86 to finish in second place among the older girls and in the overall scoring with a 178 total. Wegscheider’s opening-round 92 included a birdie at the 14^th hole and three pars.

   Geneva Merino of York rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as she had four pars on her card in the final round on her way to a 91 that left her alone in third place with a 188 total. Merino also had four pars in her opening-round 97.

   Top honors in the 13-to-15 division went to Camryn Hoff of Nazareth as she shaved 11 shots off an opening-round 103 with a 92 that featured six pars for a 195 total that left her alone in fourth place in the overall scoring. Hoff recorded three pars in the opening round.

   Hannah Kopac of State College added a 105 in the final round to her opening-round 111 for a 216 total as she rounded out the field among the younger girls with a second-place finish and in the overall scoring by taking fifth.

   Dane Mohap of Nazareth continued to dominate the nine-holers as he carded a 3-over 75 total over two days to claim his 12^th Philly Junior Tour victory of the season.

   Mohap opened with the best score of the day with a 1-over 37 that was highlighted by a birdie at the sixth hole and six pars. He finished off the win by making a birdie on the fifth hole and recording five pars in a 2-over 38 in the second round.

   Jackson Lane of Cinnaminson, N.J. kept the heat on Mohap the whole way as he made back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth holes in both rounds on his way to a pair of 2-over 38s that gave him a 76 total. Lane made four pars each in both rounds as he earned runnerup honors, just a shot behind Mohap.

   Holden Sparks, another Nazareth guy who has been playing solid golf all season, finished six shots behind Lane in third place with an 82 total. Sparks made a birdie at the third hole and had four pars on his scorecard as he opened with a solid 3-over 39. Sparks made a birdie on the fifth hole and had five pars on his card as he closed with a 43.

   Carter Hippauf of Quakertown was another five shots behind Sparks in fourth place as he added a 42 in the final round to his opening-round 45 for an 87 total.

   Ben Meixell of Wilmington, Del. was two shots behind Hippauf in fifth place with an 89 total as he added a 45 in the second round to his opening-round 44. Ethan Clouser of Newtown was a shot behind Meixell in sixth place with a 90 as he added a 44 to his opening-round 46.

   Callen Edmonston of Thurmont, Md. and Bryce Bussom of Lewisburg finished in a tie for seventh place, each landing on 92. Edmonston added a 45 in the final round to his opening-round 47 and Bussom improved by four shots off his opening-round 48 with a 44 in the second round.

   John Shea of Harleysville added a 53 in the second round to his opening-round 52 to finish alone in ninth place with a 195 total.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division was Raegan Young of Middletown who ended up in 10^th place with a 116 total. Young shaved 10 shots off an opening-round 63 with a 53 in the second round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coe caps big week by earning a spot in next year's KPMG Women's PGA Championship

    Joanna Coe, in her first year as an instructor at Merion Golf Club, and Ashley Grier, who moved on in 2022 after several years as an assistant pro at Overbrook Golf Club, have walked together in a lot of ways in the last few years.

   The presence of women in the pro shop, on the lesson tee, competing on the golf course has been on the rise in recent years. The PGA of America, getting a big push during the recent term of its first woman president, Suzy Whaley, started to recognize the importance of getting more women involved in the role of the club pro that had been historically the domain of men.

   The PGA of America stepped in and rescued one of the LPGA’s major championships, the LPGA Championship, and rebranded it as the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. In doing so, the PGA of America also opened up some spots in an LPGA major championship for its women club pros in much the same way that the PGA Championship has always done for men club pros.

   In the spring of 2019, Coe, then an instructor at Baltimore Country Club, and Grier both teed it up in the PGA Professional Championship – the event once known as the National Club Pro – at Belfair in Bluffton, S.C.

   Both survived the 36-hole cut and then both survived the 54-hole cut. In doing so, Coe and Grier became the first two women to ever survive two cuts and play 72 holes in the PGA Professional Championship.

   Coe’s strong showing at Belfair probably had a little something to do with her being recognized with the inaugural Women’s PGA Professional of the Year award for 2019.

   In the chaotic coronavirus year of 2020, Coe did not receive her award until the postponed KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in October at Aronimink Golf Club, but it was fitting that she received it from Whaley, whose term as president of the PGA of America was coming to an end.

   The second winner of the Women’s PGA Professional of the Year award for 2020 was none other than Grier and she picked that up while earning a spot in the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with a third-place finish in the PGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. in February of 2021.

   The Philadelphia Section PGA finally got around to staging its inaugural Women’s Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship last summer and Grier, appropriately enough, was the winner at Kennett Square Golf & Country Club.

   During her years at Overbrook, Grier had been competitive in the Philadelphia Section PGA events, including a win.

   Looks like Grier has moved on to the Yinglings Golf Center in Hagerstown, Md., close to home for her. Enter Coe to the Philadelphia Section, though, as she moved from Baltimore Country Club and joined the instruction staff at storied Merion, which staged its 19^th USGA event when the Curtis Cup Match was held on the iconic East Course last month.

   When the second Women’s Philadelphia PGA Championship was held July 21^st at Whitford Country Club, it was Coe, picking right up where Grier left off, making nine birdies in a 5-under-par 67 on her way to a seven-shot victory.

   Coe made birdies at the fourth, sixth and seventh holes around bogeys at five and eight. Then she really went off, making four birdies in a five-hole stretch to get it to 5-under for her round. Coe made back-to-back birdies at the ninth and 10^th holes and then went back-to-back again at 12 and 13.

   After a temporary stumble with a double bogey at the 15^th hole, Coe finished strong with birdies at 16 and 18.

   “I struck it really well today and was able to practice between events over the past couple of weeks,” Coe told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “I’ve been putting well, too, probably for a year now, so I feel if I give myself chances, I can make them.”

   Coe, native of Mays Landing, N.J., was an NCAA Division II national champion at Rollins College and played several years on the Symetra Tour, which underwent a name change early this year to the Epson Tour. Caddied for her in a Partner-Pro event at Stonewall five years ago. She can really play.

   Britt Weddell, part of the team of assistant pros at Stonewall this summer, and Patty Post, the director of golf programs for both the men’s and women’s teams at Delaware, shared second place, each recording a solid 2-over 74.

   It was another six shots back to Abby Mann of Aronimink as she finished alone in fourth place with an 80. Wilmington Country Club’s Andrea Grier, Ashley Grier’s sister, was a shot behind Mann in fifth place with an 81.  Andrea Grier was the runnerup to her sister Ashley a year ago at Kennett Square.

   Jennifer Cully of Honeybrook Golf Club took sixth place with an 82, Victoria Petrosky of Fox Hill Country Club was seventh with an 83, Bridget McLaughlin of St. Davids Golf Club was eighth with an 86, Meg Donohue of Manufacturers’ Golf & Country Club was ninth with an 86 and Linda Neavatt of the Union League’s Liberty Hill Course rounded out the top 10 as she finished alone in 10^th place with an 87.

   The Women’s Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship proved to be the perfect tuneup for Coe for the LPGA Professional National Championship at the Kingsmill Resort’s River Course in Williamsburg, Va. Pretty sure the LPGA Professional National Championship is the descendent of an event that used to be called the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional National Championship.

   The Internet is not exactly forthcoming with a lot of details, but it looks like Coe lost in a three-hole playoff to Sandra Changkija after they finished tied for first place at 2-under 211 in the 54-hole event, which wrapped up Wednesday.

   Coe grabbed the lead heading into the final round with a sparkling 4-under 67 in the second round that featured four birdies and no bogeys. Coe closed with a 1-over 72 and Changkija was able to catch her with a 1-under 70.

   Coe’s second-place finish earned her a spot in next summer’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which will be held at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.

   Ashley Grier finished in a tie for 11^th place at Kingsmill with a 5-over 218 total. After opening with a 75, Ashley Grier matched par with a 71 round before closing with a 1-over 72.

   Ashley Grier teed it up in last month’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club’s Blue Course in Bethesda, Md., pretty heady stuff for a native Marylander to get to tee it up in an LPGA major championship at Congressional. Ashley Grier posted a pair of 85s and failed to make the cut.

   Coe had a streak of at least four straight KPMG Women’s PGA appearances snapped this year, but her runnerup finish at Kingsmill this week will have her back in the field next June at Baltusrol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shipley surges in final round at Llanerch to take Pennsylvania Amateur crown by two shots

    Ohio State knew it was getting a pretty good player when Pittsburgh Central Catholic product Neal Shipley transferred from William & Mary to Columbus, Ohio. What Ohio State did not know was that it was getting a Pennsylvania Amateur champion.

   Shipley surged to the lead with a sizzling front-nine 30 in Wednesday’s final round of the 109^th Pennsylvania Amateur, presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, at Llanerch Country Club on West Chester Pike in Havertown, then held on for a two-shot victory.

   Shipley, playing out of St. Clair Country Club, was coming off a victory in the West Penn Open at The Club at Nevillewood and I’m guessing that a West Penn Open/Pennsylvania Amateur double isn’t one that is accomplished often.

   “It’s awesome to win this,” Shipley told the Pennsylvania Golf Association (PAGA) website. “I’ve worked so hard this summer and the state Am is always circled on the calendar. I played pretty well all week and grinded my way through.”

   Shipley, a member of Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s 2018 PIAA Class AAA championship team, was one shot out of the lead following an opening round of 2-under 68, but fell back into a tie for sixth place following a 3-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round.

   But Shipley came out of the gate firing in Wednesday’s final round with birdies at the first, third, fourth, sixth and eighth holes, his 5-under front nine getting him to 4-under for the championship.

   He cooled off a little with bogeys at the 12^th and 17^th holes, but it still added up to a 3-under 67 that gave Shipley a 2-under 208 total.

   While the 18^th at Llanerch, an enticingly driveable par-4 of just 298 yards, didn’t quite bring the drama that the finishing hole at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course did a year ago in the final round of the Pennsylvania Amateur, the finisher at the Alexander Findlay design certainly figured in the outcome.

   Rij Patel of the Country Club of York, one of the co-leaders heading into the final round, made a birdie at the 15^th hole while Shipley was making a bogey at 17 and the two-shot swing left them tied for the lead at 2-under.

   After trying to drive the green in the first two rounds, Shipley opted for a 2-iron off the tee at the 18^th hole. He blocked it right and the ball barely stayed inside the out-of-bounds stakes. Shipley was able to get his approach on the putting surface and two-putted for a par that got him in the house at 2-under.

   When Patel arrived at the 18^th tee, he pulled out the driver and promptly sailed it to the right, his ball finishing just outside the out-of-bounds stakes. It led to a double bogey and a final round of 3-under 73 that left Patel in a tie for second place with Oakmont Country Club’s Nathan Platt at even-par 210.

   Platt, who was the other co-leader along with Patel heading into the final round, also recorded a 3-over 73 to get a share of runnerup honors.

   Despite the disappointing finish, it was two pretty good weeks for Patel, a former Harvard standout. Patel finished in a tie for second place in last week’s Philadelphia Open at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course and again ended up in a tie for second in the Pennsylvania Amateur at Llanerch.

   Carlisle Country Club’s John Peters couldn’t quite conjure up the magic he did a year ago when he holed out from 193 yards for an eagle on Merion’s classic finishing hole to win the Pennsylvania Amateur in dramatic fashion.

   But the Duke sophomore moved up the leaderboard with a 2-under 68 in the final round to share fourth place with Amani D’Ambrosio of Wildwood Golf Club at 1-over 211. Dambrosio, a junior at Division II power Barry University and a member of Fox Chapel’s 2019 PIAA Class AAA championship team, matched par in the final round with a 70.

   Austin Barbin, a Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association entry, closed with a 3-over 73 to finish alone in sixth place with a 2-over 212 total. Barbin capped his junior season at Liberty by playing in two rounds for the Flames in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Talamore Country Club’s Pat Sheehan, a senior at Penn State, was victimized by Peters’ hole-out for eagle at Merion a year ago as he finished in a tie for second place. Sheehan closed with a solid 1-under 69 at Llanerch to head a group of four players tied for seventh place at 3-over 213.

   Sheehan, the District One Class AAA champion as a senior at Central Bucks East in 2018, earned a second straight trip to the U.S. Amateur by sharing medalist honors in a Golf Association of Philadelphia-administered qualifier last week at Chambersburg Country Club.

   Oakmont Country Club’s Aiden Oehrle, a sophomore on the Lehigh golf team and a teammate of D’Ambrosio’s on Fox Chapel’s state championship team in 2019, closed with a solid 2-under 68 to join the foursome at 3-over.

   It was a nice showing at Llanerch for Aronimink Golf Club’s Max Siegfried, a former Haverford School standout who played college golf at Virginia, as he finished up with a 1-under 69 to end up in the tie for seventh place.

   Rounding out the quartet at 3-over was Nemacolin Golf Club’s Brett Young, who signed for a 3-over 73 in the final round.

   White Manor Country Club’s Tyler Stahle and PAGA individual member Jake Griffin landed in a tie for 11^th place, each ending up with a 4-over 214 total.

   Stahle carded his second straight 2-over 72 in the final round while Griffin, a sophomore at Penn State, closed with a 4-over 74.