Pamer has an impressive debut for Villanova with runnerup finish in Alex Lagowitz Memorial

    Ryan Pamer, a freshman from Hudson, Ohio, got his Villanova career off to an impressive start with a second-place finish as the 2022-2023 season teed off at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial, hosted by Colgate at Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, N.Y. the Friday and Saturday of Labor Day weekend.

   Pamer had the best score of the day in Saturday’s final round, a sparkling 5-under-par 67 over the 7,125-yard, par-72 Seven Oaks layout, as he earned runnerup honors, five shots behind the runaway winner, Seton Hall’s Wanxi Sun, a junior from Danville, Calif.

   Pamer got off to a nice start in Friday’s double round as he added a 2-under 70 in the afternoon to his opening round of 1-over 73. His sizzling final round enabled Pamer to finish with a 6-under 210 total.

   Nobody was going to catch Sun, however, as he added a 4-under 68 in Friday afternoon’s second round to his sparkling opening round of 5-under 67 to take a three-shot lead heading into Saturday’s final round. Sun closed with a 2-under 70 for an 11-under 205 total.

   It was the first career tournament win for Sun and he set the program record in relation to par with his 11-under total.

   Sun led the reigning Big East champion Pirates to a dominating 12-shot victory over Yale in the team chase.

   Behind Sun’s opening-round 67, the Hall posted a sizzling 11-under 277 total in the first of Friday’s two rounds. The Pirates followed up that quick start with an 8-under 280 in the second round in the afternoon and took a seven-shot advantage over reigning Ivy League champion Yale into Saturday’s final round.

   Seton Hall’s final round of 4-under 284 gave the Pirates a 23-under 841 total.

   Yale, behind a tie for third place from Will Lodge, a freshman from Darien, Conn., was the only other team to finish under par for the weekend. The Bulldogs posted back-to-back 6-under 282s in the opening day’s double round and trailed Seton Hall by seven shots going into the final round. Yale closed with a 1-over 289 for an 11-under 853 total.

   Rhode Island out of the Atlantic 10 was 15 shots behind Yale in third place with a 4-over 868 total. The Rams added a 3-over 291 in the second round to their opening-round 290 before finishing up with a solid 1-under 287.

   Pamer’s strong showing helped Villanova, one of Seton Hall’s Big East rivals, finish in a tie for fourth place with reigning Patriot League champion Lafayette, each landing on 8-over 872, four shots behind Rhode Island.

   The Wildcats added a solid 1-over 289 in the second round to their opening-round 293 before closing with a 2-over 290. After opening with a 4-over 292, Lafayette carded a solid 3-under 285 in the second round before finishing up with a 295.

   Another Ivy League entry, Cornell, was three shots behind Villanova in sixth place with an 11-over 875 total. The Big Red shaved 15 shots off an opening-round 300 with a solid 3-under 285 in the opening day’s afternoon round. Cornell then closed with a 2-over 290.

   Penn, another Ivy League team, opened its season by finishing in 11^th place in the 14-team field with an 18-over 882 total behind a solid fifth-place finish by Mark Haghani, a senior from Wilson, Wyo. The Quakers got off a decent start, adding a 3-over 291 in the opening day’s afternoon round to their opening round of 1-over 289 before struggling to a 302 in the final round.

   Backing up Sun for Seton Hall were two other Pirates who finished among the top six.

   Wangliang Xie, a senior from China, shared third place with Yale’s Lodge with a 5-under 211 total. Xie sandwiched a 3-under 69 in the opening day’s afternoon round with a pair of 1-under 71s.

   George Fricker, a freshman from England, finished among a group of three players tied for sixth place at 2-under 214 for the Hall. Fricker added a 1-under 71 in the opening day’s afternoon round to his opening round of 2-under 70 before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Angus O’Brien, a sophomore from Australia, finished in a tie for 24^th place with a 3-over 219 total. O’Brien contributed a 3-under 69 to Seton Hall’s fast start in the opening round. O’Brien struggled to a 77 in the second round with a closing 1-over 73.

   Jack Bosworth, a freshman from Simsbury, Conn., finished among the group tied for 35^th place with a 6-over 222 total. After struggling in the opening round with a 4-over 76, Bosworth matched par in the second round with a 72 before finishing up with a 74.

   Teams were allowed a sixth player in their lineups in the season-opening event and Brody Hanley, a freshman from Lantana, Texas rounded out the Seton Hall lineup as he finished in the group tied for 42^nd place with a 7-over 223 total. Hanley struggled in the opening round with a 6-over 78 and added a 3-over 75 in the second round before closing with a counting 2-under 70 for the Pirates.

   Yale’s Lodge closed with a solid 3-under 69 to get his share of third place with Seton Hall’s Xie at 5-under 211, a shot behind Villanova’s Pamer, the runnerup. Lodge had opened with a 2-under 70 before matching par with a 72 in the opening day’s afternoon round.

   Penn’s Haghani was Sun’s closest pursuer going into the final round as he carded a sparkling 5-under 67 in the opening day’s afternoon round after opening with a 1-under 71. Haghani cooled off a little in the final round with a 3-over 75.

   Joining Seton Hall’s Fricker in the trio tied for sixth place at 2-under 214 were Robert Morris senior Alex Seelig, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Exeter who was a Stonewall looper this summer, and Bucknell’s Jackson Bussell, a senior from Lincolnshire, Ill.

   Seelig’s summer was highlighted by a tie for 23^rd place in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Open Championship at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course, an A.W. Tillinghast gem. After opening with a 74 at Seven Oaks, Seelig carded back-to-back 2-under 70s.

   Seelig helped Robert Morris, which plays out of the Horizon League, finish in 10^th place in the team standings with a 17-over 881 total. After struggling in the opening round with a 302, the Colonials matched par with a 288 in the opening day’s afternoon round before closing with a 3-over 291.

   Bussell matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 3-under 69 in the opening day’s afternoon round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Villanova had a second finisher among the top 10 as Peter Weaver, a junior from Frontenac, Mo., landed in a tie for ninth place with Lafayette’s Ray Dennehy, a sophomore from Princeton, Mass., at 1-under 215.

   Weaver got his season off to a strong start with a pair of 2-under 70s in the opening day’s double round before finishing up with a 3-over 75. Dennehy also played well in the opening day’s double round as he added a 71 in the afternoon to the 3-under 69 he recorded in the morning before closing with a 3-over 75.

   Backing up Pamer and Weaver for Villanova was Vimai Alokam, a sophomore from Ypsilanti, Mich. who finished in a tie for 55^th place with an 11-over 227 total. Alokam added a pair of 3-over 75s to his opening-round 77.

   Jason Lohwater, a graduate student from Rochester, N.Y. who transferred to Villanova from Bucknell, finished among the group tied for 69^th place with a 231 total. Lohwater opened with a solid 1-over 73 before struggling to a pair of 79s in the final two rounds.

   Joshua Lavely, a freshman from Kewadin, Mich., finished in a tie for 77^th place with a 233 total. After struggling to an 83 in the opening round, Lavely bounced back with a 77 in the opening day’s afternoon round and closed with a solid 1-over 73.

   Rounding out the Wildcats’ six-man lineup was Kyle Kinnane, a graduate student from Anaheim Hills, Calif. who transferred to Villanova from Loyola Marymount and who finished in a tie for 84^th place with a 238 total. Kinnane rebounded from an opening-round 80 with a counting 2-over 74 in the opening day’s afternoon round before struggling to an 84 in the final round.

   Backing up Haghani for Penn was John Richardson, a sophomore from England who finished in the group tied for 42^nd place with a 7-over 223 total. Richardson got off to a solid start with a 1-under 71 before backing off with a 78 in the opening day’s afternoon round and closing with a 2-over 74.

   Jimin Jung, a junior from Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., finished in a tie for 46^th place with an 8-over 224 total as he sandwiched an even-par 72 in the opening day’s afternoon round with a pair of 76s. Andy Fan, a senior from Scarsdale, N.Y., finished among the group tied for 55^th place with a 227 total as he registered a pair of 77s in the final two rounds after opening with a 1-over 73.

   Anthony Basilio, a senior from Knoxville, Tenn., finished among the group tied for 69^th place with a 231 total. After opening with a solid 2-over 74, Basilio added a 79 in the opening day’s afternoon round before closing with a 78.

   Rounding out the Penn lineup was Harrison Ornstein, a senior from Naples, Fla. who shared 77^th place with Villanova’s Lavely at 233. After opening with a 78, Ornstein posted his best round of the weekend, a 3-over 75, before closing with an 80.

   A couple of familiar names in the Cornell lineup, including a solid showing from sophomore Jackson Debusschere, a key member of Strath Haven’s 2019 District One Class AAA championship team. Debusschere added a 1-under 71 in the opening day’s afternoon round to his opening-round 74 and closed with a 1-over 73 to finish in the group tied for 18^th place with a 2-over 218 total.

   Senior Noah Schwartz, who starred scholastically at Penn Charter, finished among the group tied for 35^th place with a 6-over 222 total. Schwartz, my bag in qualifying for match play in the 2019 BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Stonewall, struggled a little in the opening round with a 77 before adding a 1-over 73 in the opening day’s afternoon round and matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Lehigh senior David Hurly, a member of two Inter-Ac League championship teams at The Haverford School, had a solid showing in the Alex Lagowitz Memorial as he finished in the group tied for 27^th place with a 4-over 220 total. After carding a pair of 3-over 75s in the opening day’s double round, Hurly closed with a 2-under 70.

   Lehigh sophomore Aidan Oehrle, a member of Fox Chapel’s 2019 PIAA Class AAA championship team, finished among the group tied for 35^th place with a 6-over 222 total. Oehrle struggled on the first day, adding a 4-over 76 in the afternoon to his morning 77, but he finished strong, carding a 3-under 69 in the final round.

   The Robert Morris lineup, led by Seelig, has a heavy Pennsylvania presence.

   Graduate student Chase Miller, the PIAA Class AA champion as a senior at Tulpehocken in 2017, and senior Logan Hess, who starred scholastically at Penn Manor, both landed in the group tied for 59^th place at 228 for the Colonials.

   Miller added a 1-over 73 in the opening day’s afternoon round to his opening-round 76 before struggling in the final round with a 79. Hess added a 5-over 77 in the second round to his opening-round 76 before finishing up with his best round of the weekend, a 3-over 75.

   Senior Parker Johnson, a Peters Township product, was another shot behind his teammates Miller and Hess in the group tied for 65^th place with a 229 total. Johnson struggled in the opening day’s double round, adding a 5-over 77 in the afternoon to his opening-round 80 before matching par in the final round with a solid 72.