Lower Merion's Yermish, Conestoga's Mauro capture individual titles in Central League Championship at Turtle Creek

    LIMERICK – Lower Merion senior Sydney Yermish took the first step in her final postseason tour of what has been a stellar scholastic career on the last full day of summer Wednesday at Turtle Creek Golf Course.

   Yermish dominated the par-5s at the Turtle, which measures 5,827 yards for the girls and plays to a par of 72, on her way a 4-under-par 68 that she accomplished with relative ease to earn medalist honors in the Central League Championship.

   On the typically contentious boys side, Conestoga senior Kyle Mauro gained a little bit of redemption from a tough round at Centrals a year ago as he claimed medalist honors with a solid 1-under 71 at a Turtle Creek layout that measured 6,375 yards for the guys.

   Yermish has the college recruiting process behind her, having given Michigan of the Big Ten a verbal commitment around this time last year. She fought through a sophomore season in which the coronavirus pandemic conspired to keep her from defending the District One Class AAA title she won as a freshman in 2019.

   Yermish emerged from that lost season of 2020 by sweeping to Central League medalist honors, a second District One Class AAA crown and, finally, a PIAA Class AAA title last fall at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County. She had narrowly missed winning a state title as a freshman in 2019, falling in a playoff.

   Yermish will be the favorite when the District One Class AAA Championship tees off Oct. 10. The first round will be played up the road a bit on Ridge Pike from Turtle Creek at Raven’s Claw Golf Club, where Yermish first announced her intention to be one of Pennsylvania top scholastic girl golfers with a stunning 6-under 65 as a freshman in 2019.

   The second round will be played at the Turtle, where Yermish demonstrated Wednesday she has a pretty good handle on how to get a number.

   “You have to play the par-5s well here,” Yermish said after her strong showing. “I either reached them in two or was right in front and chipped it close for a tap-in.”

   Starting on the 17^th hole, Yermish reached the 530-yard, par-5 18^th hole in two and two-putted for a birdie. At the 482-yard, par-5 second hole, Yermish came up just short in two and chipped close for an easy birdie.

   Yermish got a 12-footer for birdie to trickle in at the par-4 fourth hole, then got it to 4-under by reaching the 469-yard, par-5 eighth hole in two and two-putting for a birdie.

   There was a bit of a misunderstanding at the 260-yard, par-4 10^th hole that was ultimately resolved in Yermish’s favor. A spotter thought Yermish had driven it into the woods to the right of the hole when, in reality, Yermish’s ball had clipped a couple of leaves before finishing just yards off the putting surface, hole high.

   Yermish played out both a second ball and her original ball. It looked for a while like she might have to take a double bogey on the hole, but after much consultation, she got credit for the par she actually made.

   Yermish’s tee shot at the par-3 11^th hole found a greenside bunker and led to a bogey that dropped her back to 3-under for the round, but there was one more par-5 left. Yermish came up just short of the 433-yard 13^th hole in two and chipped it close for another easy birdie that got her back to 4-under.

   “I’m used to fast greens,” said Yermish, who learned the game on William Flynn’s slick surfaces at Rolling Green Golf Club. “These were pretty fast today. If you got your putt on line, it had a chance to go in. I made that tough birdie putt on four and I had a nice par-saving putt on 12.”

   Bottom line: Yermish is in a good place as she has her sights set on a third District One title and a second straight state championship.

   “I know where I’m going to college and I really love where I’m going,” said Yermish, who has done some looping at Rolling Green this summer. “I’m looking forward to these next two tournaments. I’m playing decent golf right now. I feel like my game is pretty solid.”

   One of Yermish’s playing partners, Conestoga senior Brynne Mushlin, claimed runnerup honors with an 83.

   Radnor accounted for the next three spots on the leaderboard as Elayna Fanelli took third place with an 84, Tegan Kelsall, the third member of the pairing with Yermish and Mushlin, was fourth with an 85 and Arden Jansen was fifth with an 88.

   The Raptors will be one of the contenders for the District One Class AAA team title Oct. 10^th at Raven’s Claw.

   Three of Mushlin’s teammates will join her in the field for the first round of districts at Raven’s Claw as Mimi Kambayashi finished a shot behind Jansen in sixth place with an 89, Maggie Hawkins was seventh with a 91 and Siri Ahn was eighth with a 97.

   Marple Newtown’s Sarah Koh rounded out the group of district qualifiers out of the Central League as she finished in ninth place with a 99.

   Mauro failed to advance to districts out of the Central League Championship a year ago and he was determined to turn that outcome around. The byproduct of that determination was a Central League individual crown over a deep and talented field.

   Starting off the second tee, Mauro got out of the gate quickly with birdies at the par-5 second hole and the 136-yard, par-3 third hole. He stumbled briefly with a bogey at the fourth hole, but quickly got that shot back with a birdie at the 349-yard, par-4 seventh.

   “I really wanted to get through 10, 11 and 12 without too much damage,” said Mauro, who stayed sharp this summer by teeing it up in tournaments on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour, the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit and the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour.

   But the short par-4 12^th hole got him as he made a double bogey to fall back to even-par for the round. He rebounded with a birdie at the par-5 13^th hole and got it to the clubhouse at 1-under.

   “Making the birdie at 13 was huge coming after the double bogey at 12,” said Mauro, who plays out of Waynesborough Country Club and works with Golf Digest Top 50 instructor John Dunigan. “After that, I just grinded. I missed the green at 16, 17 and 18, but I was able to get it up and down for par each time.”

   Mauro and the Pioneers still have a shot at a Central League title. Conestoga has just one loss to Harriton and the annual battle with Radnor, which is undefeated, still remains at the Raptors’ home course at Radnor Valley Country Club.

   Mauro finished a shot ahead of Penncrest senior Eli Shah, who finished in a tie for eighth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship a year ago, and playing partner Danny Flaherty, a senior at Springfield who was defending the individual title he won a year ago at Turtle Creek, as they each matched par with a 72.

   Shah, who has really been solid at Penncrest throughout his career, made a late bid for the individual title as he made birdies at the 13^th, 15^th and 17^th holes around a bogey at 14.

   Flaherty, starting along with Mauro off the second tee, made bogeys at the sixth, eighth and ninth holes, but battled back to get it to even-par with birdies at 10 and the two back-nine par-5s, 13 and 18.

   Strath Haven senior Tyler Debusschere got it going on Turtle’s incoming nine as he rattled off three straight birdies at the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th holes on his way to a 1-over 73 that left him alone in fourth place.

   “Just missed making it four straight birdies on 16,” Debusschere said.

   Another PIAA Class AAA qualifier from a year ago, Radnor junior Shawn Mazzalupi, headed a group of four players tied for fifth place, each signing for a 4-over 76.

   Also finishing at 4-over were Mazzalupi’s teammate Michael Slinkard, Mauro’s Conestoga teammate Chris Sung and Harriton’s Cyrus Parvizi.

   The Garnet Valley pair of Braden Rogers and Tyler Ryburn headed a group of six players tied for ninth place at 5-over 77.

   Rounding out the group at 5-over were Lower Merion’s Seiji Sako, Harriton’s Jack Gallagher, Springfield’s Ben Pintof and Marple Newtown’s Aidan Hennelly.

   Another member of Radnor’s Team Slinkard, Robbie Slinkard, finished alone in 15^th place with a 78 and the Raptors’ Luke Evans was a shot behind him in 16^th with a 79.

   Radnor had a fifth district qualifier in Russ Yeakel as he landed among a group of four players tied for 17th place with an 80. Got a chance to watch Yeakel play a round at Stonewall’s Old Course along with his dad Paul, a Stonewall partner, while I was caddying for the Radnor brain trust of head coach Andy Achenbach and Radnor girls coach Drew Krupp a few weeks ago. I wasn’t surprised in the least to see Russ Yeakel earn a trip to districts.

   Russ Yeakel was joined at 80 by the Harriton trio of Sean Finnerty, Jackson Lazarus and Ben Patterson.

   That left it for six players who shot 81 to go at it at the tough 191-yard, par-3 ninth hole for one last Central League berth to districts.

   Six was quickly reduced to two after one playing of the ninth hole and junior Sachin Blake gave Conestoga a third district qualifier with an absolute all-world up and down for par after he nearly yanked his tee shot into the parking lot at Turtle Creek on the second hole of the playoff.

   The ball sat on the bank above the pond and below the cart path.  Sachin somehow gave himself a par look with a brilliant chip to 12 feet and proceeded to bury the putt. It was Seve Ballesteros stuff.

   The unlucky loser was Strath Haven sophomore Davis Fairbanks, who three-putted from more than 50 feet after finding the front of the green. After Blake made his par putt, Fairbanks couldn’t get his six-footer to fall.