Notre Dame's Jackson, a PIAA champion, invited to U.S. Walker Cup practice session in Florida

   It’s been four years since Palmer Jackson became Franklin Regional’s first state golf champion, going on a breathtaking run of six birdies in seven holes to pull away from a strong field and capture the 2018 PIAA Class AAA individual title at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County.

   His first name is no accident. He was named after Western Pennsylvania’s greatest contribution to the game of golf and, while no Arnold Palmer, Jackson has done his namesake  proud.

   Jackson seemed to come out of nowhere to reach the quarterfinals of the 2019 U.S. Amateur at the Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina before falling to eventual runnerup John Augenstein of Vanderbilt.

   Jackson then headed to South Bend, Ind. where he has been one of the cornerstones of a project to make Notre Dame a competitive program on the national golf scene. By any measure, that project has been a success.

   The first thing the Fighting Irish had to do was try to establish themselves as a competitive team in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which has long been one of college golf’s most powerful leagues, even pre-dating the arrival of Arnold Palmer at Wake Forest.

   Notre Dame’s fifth-place finish in last spring’s ACC Championship at the Shark’s Tooth Golf Course in Panama City, Fla. was its best ever. The Fighting Irish were led by Jackson, who finished in a tie for third place in the individual chase.

   Notre Dame’s No. 3 seed in the NCAA’s Palm Beach Regional was its highest ever, although the Fighting Irish never fired at PGA National’s Champion Course, ending up in ninth place and failing to advance to the NCAA Championship.

   In the offseason, Notre Dame head coach John Handrigan was promoted to director of golf and is overseeing both the men’s and women’s programs. It would not be a surprise to see the men’s team take that next step next spring and earn a trip to Scottsdale, Ariz. and the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club. The Fighting Irish were ranked No. 37 by Golfstat at the end of the fall.

   During the pause in the wraparound 2022-2023 season, Jackson will get to tee it up with 15 other top amateur players who have been invited by the USGA International Team Selection Committee for a practice session for the 49^th Walker Cup Match, which will be played Sept. 2 and 3 next summer at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

   The Walker Cup is special no matter the venue, but the Old Course at St. Andrews, that’s a little extra special.

   The practice session will be conducted Dec. 15 to 18 at golf courses in and around Jupiter, Fla., where there is no shortage of great courses from which to choose.

   Other than mid-amateur Evan Beck, the 32-year-old two-time reigning Eastern Amateur champion from Virginia Beach, Va., the USGA International Team Selection Committee pretty much went right down the list of Americans in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) list in deciding who to invite to Jupiter.

   Beck, a 2013 graduate of Wake Forest, is the top-ranked mid-am not named Stewart Hagestad at No. 66 in the WAGR.

   The 21-year-old Jackson is No. 40 in the WAGR and is coming off a fall during which he was consistently finishing in the top 15 to 20 in Notre Dame’s tournament appearances, all of which came against top-notch fields.

   Obviously, Jackson showed the kind of match-play grit that is a prerequisite for inclusion on a U.S. Walker Cup team with his run to the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals in Pinehurst in 2019.

   Not sure how much more big-time match-play experience is on Jackson’s resume, but I do know he defeated Penn State senior Patrick Sheehan – he was in the final group along with Jackson in the state tournament at Heritage Hills in 2018 and finished in a tie for third place – in the final of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s R. Jay Sigel Match Play Championship at Sewickley Heights Golf Club in the summer of 2021.

   The 2021 Walker Cup Match sat in an unusual spot in the schedule in May, right in the middle of the college golf postseason. Nobody really complained, though, because it was staged at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., the revered Donald Ross design.

   The return to the more traditional September time frame always presents a bit of a quandary for college players who are anxious to get their professional careers started. Jackson is one of the few college players invited to Jupiter who is a senior, although I’m pretty sure he will have the option of taking a fifth year of college golf as a result of the spring of 2020 being cancelled due to the advent of the coronavirus.

   In recent Walker Cup cycles, the top three U.S. players in the WAGR a month to six weeks out become automatic selections to the U.S. team. Also, the winner of the U.S. Amateur, if he is an American, is usually reserved a spot on the U.S. team, if not otherwise qualified. The 2023 U.S. Amateur will conclude Aug. 20 at Cherry Hills Country Club, the William Flynn classic in Cherry Hills Village, Colo.

   One way or another, U.S. team captain Mike McCoy, winner of the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in 2013 at age 50, will likely have Hagestad on his side at the Old Course.

   It’s been six years since Hagestad, a 2013 graduate of Southern California from Newport Beach, Calif., won the first of his two U.S. Mid-Am titles as a mid-am “rookie” at Stonewall’s Old Course. He said at the time that he was more than OK with being the face of the American mid-am golf and he has  certainly done that.

   At 31, Hagestad is No. 9 in the WAGR. He added a second U.S. Mid-Am crown in the summer of 2021 at Sankaty Head Golf Club on Nantucket Island. More importantly, Hagestad has been a veteran presence on winning U.S. Walker Cup teams at the course he grew up on, Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, in 2017, at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England in 2019 and at Seminole in the spring of 2021.

   Hagestad is the only player returning from Seminole on the list of players invited to the practice session in Jupiter next month. Not sure how many Walker Cup match wins Hagestad has after being part of the U.S. team three times. The great Jay Sigel has the Walker Cup record with what always seemed to be an unassailable total of 18 wins.

   It is somewhat forgotten, but the Walker Cup at Seminole was a little over a year from the lockdowns of the spring of 2020. The widespread availability of vaccines in this country didn’t happen until the spring of 2021. To add insult on top of the pandemic, a stomach virus wreaked havoc on players from both sides at Seminole.

   U.S. captain Nathaniel Crosby put Hagestad in the next-to-last spot in his singles lineup on the second day of a tight match and his victory helped the U.S. pull out a hard-fought 14-12 victory.

   Reigning NCAA individual champion Gordon Sargent, a sophomore from Birmingham, Ala. and No. 3 in the WAGR, and his Vanderbilt teammate Cole Sherwood, a junior from Austin, Texas and No. 11 in the WAGR, head a glittering lineup of college talent that will be trying to impress McCoy in Jupiter.

   Vanderbilt entered the pause in the 2022-’23 college season at No. 2 in the Golfstat rankings after claiming a 3-2 victory over Arizona State in the final of the East Lake Cup to cap an outstanding fall campaign.

   Expect Sargent and Sherwood to play in some high-stakes matches as the Commodores try to improve on last spring’s march to the NCAA semifinals at Grayhawk, where they fell to eventual national champion Texas.

   Vanderbilt isn’t the only Tennessee college with two players invited to the practice session at Jupiter as Southeastern Conference rival Tennessee will be represented by Bryce Lewis, a junior from Hendersonville, Texas and No. 31 in the WAGR, and Caleb Surratt, the Volunteers’ freshman phenom from Indian Trail, N.C. and No. 13 in the WAGR.

   Surratt showed some match-play chops with a run to the final of last summer’s U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes, where he fell to Wenyi Ding of China in the title match.

   Surratt and Lewis have Tennessee ranked No. 8 after a strong fall campaign that included a 3-2 victory over Vandy in the final of the SEC Fall Match Play at the Old Overton Club in Vestavia Hills, Ala. Surratt found himself matched up with Sargent and while he lost the battle, 6 and 5, the Volunteers won the war.

   Another junior standout of recent vintage, North Carolina’s David Ford, a sophomore from Peachtree Corners, Ga. and No. 7 in the WAGR, will be joined in Jupiter by fellow Tar Heel Dylan Menante, a senior from Carlsbad, Calif. and No. 6 in the WAGR. The Tar Heels, another ACC entry, took a No. 5 ranking into the midseason pause.

   It was Menante who put a halt to the improbable run to the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals by Downingtown West junior Nick Gross with a 4 and 3 victory at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. Menante suffered a tough 1-up loss to eventual champion Sam Bennett in the semifinals at Ridgewood.

   It will be a reunion at Jupiter for Menante and his former Pepperdine teammate Derek Hitchner, a graduate student from Minneapolis, Minn. with the Waves and No. 37 in the WAGR. Menante and Hitchner were both in the starting lineup for Pepperdine in its 4-1 loss to Arizona State in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship last spring.

   Menante, who decided to come east and take his COVID year at North Carolina, was in the starting lineup when Pepperdine captured the NCAA crown in 2021 with a victory over Oklahoma in the Final Match at Grayhawk. Hitchner was solid that season, but was left off the first five for the postseason.

   Like Menante, Hitchner made a run to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur at Ridgewood in August, falling to Ben Carr, 3 and 2. Hitchner and the Waves are ranked 14^th at the midseason break.

   North Carolina’s Ford finished in a tie for fifth place in the NCAA Championship’s individual chase as a freshman last spring at Grayhawk.

   Reigning ACC champion Wake Forest will be represented by Michael Brennan, a junior from Leesburg, Va. and No. 18 in the WAGR. The Demon Deacons are probably a tad underrated at No. 34 in the rankings at the midseason pause.

   Another ACC standout, Georgia Tech’s Ross Steelman, a junior from Atlanta and No. 23 in the WAGR, was invited to the Walker Cup practice session. Steelman reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 U.S. Amateur at iconic Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh before falling to eventual runnereup Austin Greaser.

   Virginia’s freshman phenom, Ben James of Milford, Conn. and No. 22 in the WAGR, was also invited to join the practice session at Jupiter. Coming off an outstanding junior career on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit, came roaring out of the gate this fall with impressive wins at the Streamsong Invitational and at the Hamptons Intercollegiate.

   James has helped the Cavaliers rise to No. 12 in the Golfstat rankings at the midseason break.

   North Florida’s Nicholas Gabrelcik, a junior from Trinity, Fla. and No. 10 in the WAGR, will also join college golf’s top players at Jupiter for the U.S. Walker Cup practice session. Gabrelcik reached the semifinals of the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont before falling to eventual champion James Piot.

   The perennially underrated Ospreys are No. 42 in the latest Golfstat rankings.

   The second-highest ranked American player in the WAGR headed for Jupiter for the Walker Cup practice session is Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen, a junior from Wellesley, Mass. who is No. 4 in the world.

   Thorbjornsen gutted out a 1-up victory over Akshay Bhatia in the U.S. Junior Amateur final in 2018 at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. The Cardinal, a perennial Pac-12 power, are No. 6 in the latest Golfstat rankings.

   Rounding out the group that will tee it up in the U.S. Walker Cup practice session is Big Ten representative Maxwell Moldovan, a junior at Ohio State from Uniontown, Ohio and No. 25 in the WAGR. The Buckeyes finished the fall just inside the Golfstat top 25 at No. 24.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross struggles in final round, finishes 10th in Rolex Tournament of Champions

    It was a disappointing day in Wednesday’s final round for Downingtown West junior Nick Gross in the final round of the 45^th Rolex Tournament of Champions, the marquee event on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit.

   In contention all week at TPC San Antonio’s Canyons Course, Gross, who won the District One Class AAA crown for the second time last month, faltered on the back nine and ended up with a 10^th-place finish.

   It was reminiscent of Gross’ performance in last summer’s Boys Junior PGA Championship when he had just one bad nine, the front nine of his third round on Cog Hill’s tough Dubsdread Course in suburban Chicago, in that 72-hole event and ended up in third place.

   This one will probably sting a little more in that his bad nine was his final nine, lowlighted by a quadruple bogey 9 on the par-5 15^th hole over the 7,106-yard, par-72 Canyons Course layout. It led to a final round of 5-over 77 that left him alone in 10^th place with a 3-under 285 total.

   A top-10 finish in an event that caps what the AJGA bills as the Greatest Week in Junior Golf is nothing to be disappointed with and one bad nine certainly takes nothing away from what has been an epic 2022 for Gross.

   Gross finished in fourth place in the prestigious Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in South Carolina in March then really took off in the summer, making the match-play bracket in the U.S. Junior Amateur and reaching the second round at the Bandon Dunes resort on the Oregon coastline, the aforementioned third-place finish in the Boys Junior PGA Championship at Cog Hill and then his spectacular run to the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., all before his 16^th birthday.

   A couple of weeks after winning the District One crown and leading the Whippets to the district team crown at Turtle Creek Golf Course and finishing in third place in defense of the PIAA Class AAA crown he won in 2021, Gross announced that he had made a verbal commitment to join the program at Southeastern Conference power Alabama in the summer of 2024. Not a bad year at all.

   There were lessons in dealing with adversity all around for Gross at TPC San Antonio.

   Jackson Koivun of Chapel Hill, N.C. arrived at the final round of the 2021 Rolex Tournament of Champions at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. with a two-shot lead. He was caught by Eric Lee of Fullerton, Calif., who then defeated Koivun in a playoff to claim the title.

   This time, Koivun, who will join the program at another SEC power, Auburn, next summer, arrived at the final round of the Rolex Tournament of Champions trailing Johnnie Clark of Mesa, Ariz. by three shots. Clark, as Koivun had a year earlier, had held the lead for three days.

   Koivun unleashed a final round of 4-under 68 Wednesday as he overtook Clark, even having the luxury of taking a bogey on the 18^th hole, the only blemish on his scorecard for the day. Koivun finished with a 13-under 275 total.

   Koivun made birdies at the second and third holes to jump-start his round and then took control of the championship with birdies at 12, 13 and 15.

   Clark, who will join the program at Big 12 power Oklahoma State next summer, had a little disappointment to deal with, too. But he had a breathtaking opening-round 63 that featured nine birdies, seven on the front nine alone. Clark closed with his second straight even-par 72 to finish a shot behind Koivun with a 12-under 276 total.

   “It’s pretty awesome,” Koivun told the AJGA website after making the most of his second chance to win a Rolex Tournament of Champions crown. “Last year I got second place at this tournament, but I lost in a playoff, so that one kind of hurt.

   “It’s really nice to come back and compete for the second time and take the win.”

   Jeremy Chen of Taiwan finished strong with a 4-under 68 in Wednesday’s final round to finish in third place, two shots behind Clark with a 10-under 278 total. Chen will join the program at Big Ten power Northwestern next summer.

   Gerardo Gomez of Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. via Mexico was in the hunt all week and closed with a solid 1-under 71 to finish in fourth place, a shot behind Chen with a 9-under 279 total.

   Asher Whitaker of Wichita, Kan. made the biggest move of Wednesday’s final round, posting a scintillating 8-under 64 to zoom up the leaderboard and finish a shot behind Gomez in fifth place with an 8-under 280 total. Whitaker plans to join the program at Big 12 power Oklahoma in the summer of 2024.

   Lee, the defending champion, finally found his groove in the final round, closing with a 4-under 68 to finish in the group tied for 27^th place with a 9-over 297 total. Lee, who will join the program at the University of California next summer, picked up his Rolex Junior Player of the Year award at the AJGA gala that always precedes the Rolex Tournament of Champions.

   In addition to his successes on the AJGA circuit, Lee reached the semifinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes, losing on the 20^th hole to eventual champion Wenyi Ding of China.

   On the girls side, Meja Ortengren of Sweden and No. 16 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) took most of the drama out of it as she closed with a 4-under 68 over a Canyons Course that played to 6,242 yards for the girls to repeat as the champion with a 15-under 273 total.

   It was a dominating four-shot victory for Ortengren, who had four rounds in the 60s, opening with a 69, adding a 5-under 67 in Monday’s second round and another 69 in Tuesday’s third round before finishing up with her 68 in Wednesday’s final round.

   Ortengren started fast with birdies at the first, third and fourth holes before making a bogey at five. She ripped off three straight birdies at the 10^th, 11^th and 12^th to open the back nine before closing with a bogey at the finishing hole.

   Not sure what’s going on in Irvine, Calif. these days, but Ortengren’s three closest pursuers all come from that Orange County town.

   Alice Ziyi Zhao, a native of China who has made Irvine her home base in the United States, and Irvine home girl Leigh Chien shared second place, each finishing with an 11-under 277 total, four shots behind Ontengren.

   Ziyi Zhao, a Class of 2027 entry – the kid’s an eighth-grader – was in contention the whole way, closing with a 1-under 71.

   Chien, who plans to join the program at Pac-12 power Stanford – at the top of the current Cardinal lineup is another Irvine golfer you might have heard of, Rose Zhang, the No. 1 player in the Women’s WAGR – in the summer of 2024, finished up with the best individual round of the week, a sparkling 6-under 66.

   A third Irvine resident, Elise Lee, who plans to join the program at Big Ten power Northwestern next summer, finished five shots behind Ziyi Zhao and Chien in fourth place with a 6-under 282 total after matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Another talented Class of ’27 youngster who hung around near the top of the leaderboard all week at TPC San Antonio, Asterisk Talley of Chowchilla, Calif., and Siuue Wu of Reunion, Fla. via Hong Kong finished in a tie for fifth place, each landing on 5-under 283.

   Talley finished up with a 2-over 74 while Wu, a Class of ’24 entry, closed with a solid 4-under 68.

   Gianna Clemente of Estero, Fla. and No. 73 in the Women’s WAGR, closed with a 3-under 69 to finish in a tie for seventh place with a 4-under 284 total. Clemente, a runnerup in last summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. at age 14, is a native of Warren, Ohio.

   Anna Davis of Spring Valley, Calif. and No. 7 in the Women’s WAGR carded a final round of 2-over 74 and finished alone in ninth place with a 2-under 286 total.

   The bucket-hatted left-hander who was the surprising winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship on one of the biggest stages in golf made a verbal commitment this week to join the program at SEC power Auburn in the summer of 2024. Bypassing college and turning professional right out of high school still appears to be an option Davis is considering.

   Kaitlyn Schroeder of Jacksonville, Fla., honored as the girls Rolex Junior Player of the Year earlier in the week, matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish in the group tied for 14^th place with a 1-over 289 total.

   Schroeder, who won the Girls Junior PGA Championship at Cog Hill and reached the second round of match play in the U.S. Girls’ Junior at The Club at Olde Stone, will join the program at SEC power Alabama next summer.

   Katie Li of Basking Ridge, N.J. matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish among a trio of golfers tied for 22^nd place at 6-over 294.

   Li, who reached the round of 16 in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., will join the program at Atlantic Coast Conference power Duke next summer.

   Avery McCrery, a Wilmington, Del. resident and a sophomore at the Tower Hill School, capped a really solid week with her third straight 1-over 73 that left her alone in 25^th place with a 7-over 295 total.

   McCrery, playing out of Wilmington Country Club, won the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Girls’ Championship in 2020 at Sandy Run Country Club.

   Megan Meng of Pennington, N.J. and a junior at Hopewell Valley was part of a group of five players tied for 31^st place at 10-over 298 after closing with a 4-over 76. Meng, playing out of Jericho National Golf Club, won the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship in 2020 at Lebanon Country Club.

   Also in the group at 298 was Kiera Bartholomew of Wake Forest, N.C. as she finished up with a 1-over 73. Bartholomew, who will join the program at Virginia next summer, began her career as a junior golfer at Indian Valley Country Club in Telford before her family moved to North Carolina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross four shots out of the lead heading into final round of Rolex Tournament of Champions

   Downingtown West junior Nick Gross dropped a spot on the leaderboard Tuesday, but gained some ground on the leader heading into the final round of the 45^th Rolex Tournament of Champions, the marquee event on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit.

   The tee times were gone by the time I got to the leaderboard, but Gross did some serious grinding, regardless of where he started. Gross, a U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist in August at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., made birdies at the first, third and 12^th holes and had 15 pars on his scorecard in a 3-under 69 that left him in a tie for third place with an 8-under 208 total.

   It was the kind of patient, don’t-force-the-issue round over TPC San Antonio’s 7,106-yard, par-72 Canyons Course that really separates Gross from a lot of his junior rivals.

   Gross was tied for second place, but trailed Johnnie Clark of Mesa, Ariz., the 36-hole leader, by seven shots following Monday’s second round of the 72-hole test.

   Clark, who will join the program at Big 12 power Oklahoma State next summer, had taken control of the championship with a spectacular opening round of 9-under 63 Sunday and had added a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round.

   Clark backed off a little in Tuesday’s third round as he only managed to match par with a 72. Still, Clark was at 12-under 204 and will take a three-shot lead into Wednesday’s final round.

   Clark offset bogeys at the 11^th, 14^th and 18^th holes with birdies at three, seven and 15.

   It’s a complete role reversal for Clark’s closest pursuer as Jackson Koivun of Chapel Hill, N.C. took a two-shot lead into the final round of the Rolex Tournament of Champions a year ago at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

   Koivun, who will join the program at Southeastern Conference power Auburn next summer, was caught by Eric Lee of Fullerton, Calif. and lost the title in a playoff.

   This time, Koivun is the chaser as he put together a sparkling 4-under 68 that gave him a 54-hole total of 9-under 207 and left him three shots behind Clark.

   Again, not sure where he started his round, but Koivun, who began the day tied with Gross at 5-under, got it going in the middle of the Canyons Course layout with birdies at the fifth, sixth, eighth and 12^th holes. He also had a birdie at the second hole and a bogey at three on the outgoing nine, made his only other bogey at 17 and made a birdie at 18.

   Joining Gross in a tie for third place was Gerardo Gomez of Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. via Mexico. In contrast to Gross’ steady round, Gomez’s loop was more of a roller-coaster ride, but he stayed aggressive, offsetting three bogeys with seven birdies in a 4-under 68 that enabled him to join Gross at 8-under 208, four shots behind Clark.

   Gross, who recently made a verbal commitment to join the program at SEC power Alabama, was an impressive winner of the District One Class AAA crown last month with rounds of 66 and 64 at Turtle Creek Golf Course and finished in third place a couple of weeks later at Penn State in defense of the PIAA Class AAA title he won in 2021 at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County.

   On the girls side, defending champion Meja Ortengren of Sweden and No. 16 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) will take a one-shot lead into Wednesday’s final round as she carded a solid 3-under 69 over a Canyons Course that measured 6,242 yards for the girls and landed on 11-under 205.

   Ortengren, though, wasn’t able to quite shake Alice Ziyi Zhao of Irvine, Calif. via China, a Class of 2027 youngster who recorded the low round of the day, a sparkling 5-under 67 that left her a shot behind Ortengren with a 10-under 206 total.

   Ortengren had to return to the golf course first thing Tuesday morning to complete a second-round 67 with a par at the 18^th hole.

   Ortengren did most of her damage in a six-hole stretch on the Canyons Course’s outgoing nine with birdies at the second and third holes, an eagle at the par-5 sixth and a birdie at seven. The only blemishes on her scorecard were bogeys at the ninth and 10^th holes.

   Zhao fell three shots behind Ortengren when she finished up her second round with a bogey at the 18^th hole. But she hung tough with a round that featured an eagle at the par-5 second hole and five birdies against two bogeys.

   Asterisk Talley, another talented Class of ’27 kid from Chowchilla, Calif., was three shots behind Zhao in third place at 7-under 209. Talley had shared the lead with Zhao following the opening round when each fired a 4-under 68. After adding a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round, Talley remained in contention with a solid 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s third round.

   Elise Lee, another player out of Irvine, Calif., matched par with a 72 in Tuesday’s second round and was a shot behind Talley in fourth place with a 6-under 210 total. Lee plans to join the program at Big 10 power Northwestern in the summer of 2024.

   Anna Davis, the Spring Valley, Calif. kid who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship last spring at age 16, got it going to the tune of a 4-under 68 and was alone in sixth place with a 4-under 212 total.

   Davis, who made the cut in five of the seven LPGA Tour starts she made in the aftermath of her bustout victory at Augusta National, has risen to No. 7 in the Women’s WAGR. It looks like Davis made a verbal commitment to join the program at Auburn in the summer of 2024 this week, although she still has an option to bypass college golf and turn professional between now and then.

   Gianna Clemente of Estero, Fla. and No. 73 in the Women’s WAGR was in the group tied for eighth place at 1-under 215 after signing for a 2-under 70. Clemente, the runnerup in last summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at The Club at Old Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. at age 14, grew up in Warren, Ohio before relocating to Florida.

   A large group of players tied for 28^th place at 6-over 222 included a pair of Jersey girls and a Delawarian.

   Megan Meng of Pennington, N.J. and a junior at Hopewell Valley carded a 3-over 75. Meng captured the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship in 2020 playing out of Jericho National Golf Club.

   Katie Li of Basking Ridge, N.J. struggled a little with a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s third round. Li, a quarterfinalist in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., will join the program at Atlantic Coast Conference power Duke next summer.

   Avery McCrery, a Tower Hill School sophomore from Wilmington, Del., posted her second straight 1-over 73. McCrery, playing out of Wilmington Country Club, won the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Girls’ crown in 2020 at Sandy Run Country Club.

   Kiera Bartholomew of Wake Forest, N.C. bounced back from an 80 in Monday’s second round with her best round of the week, a 1-under 71 that left her alone in 35^th place with a 225 total. Bartholomew, who will be an ACC rival of Li’s when she joins the program at Virginia next summer, was playing out of Indian Valley Country Club in Telford when she began her junior career.

 

 

 

Gross tied for second, but trails Clark by seven at halfway point of Rolex Tournament of Champions

   Downingtown West junior Nick Gross moved up the leaderboard in the second round of the 45^th Rolex Tournament of Champions at TPC San Antonio Monday, but couldn’t close the gap with pace-setter Johnnie Clark of Mesa, Ariz.

   Gross, who stunned the world of amateur golf with his remarkable run to the quarterfinals of last summer’s U.S. Amateur at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. as a 15-year-old, carded a 2-under-par 70 at TPC San Antonio’s 7,106-yard, par-72 Canyons Course and shared second place with Jackson Koivun of Chapel Hill, N.C., each landing on 5-under 139 through two rounds of the marquee event on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit.

   Koivun, who will join the program at Southeastern Conference power Auburn next summer, had the lead through three rounds of last year’s Rolex Tournament of Champions at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.  before settling for a runnerup finish to Eric Lee of Fullerton, Calif.

   Gross, who recently made a verbal commitment to join the program at another perennial SEC power, Alabama, had opened with 3-under 69.

   Starting on the 11^th hole, Gross made birdies at the 12^th and 15^th holes, but gave those two shots back with back-to-back bogeys at 17 and 18. Birdies at the second, fifth and seventh holes got Gross to 6-under for the championship before he closed with a bogey at 10.

   Gross captured the District One Class AAA individual crown last month with sizzling rounds of 66 and 64 at Turtle Creek Golf Course and led the Whippets to the team crown.

   Clark, who will join the program at Big 12 power Oklahoma State next summer, was three shots clear of the field after a scintillating opening round of 9-under 63. He finally made a bogey in Monday’s second round, but still offset it with four birdies in a 3-under 69 for a 12-under 132 total that left him seven shots in front of Gross and Koivun.

   Starting off the first tee, Clark made a bogey at the fourth hole, but then made birdies at six, 10, 12 and 15 to maintain his blazing pace.

   Clark and Gross both had strong showings in last summer’s U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the Bandon Dunes Resort on Oregon’s rugged coastline, Clark reaching the round of 16 and Gross also earning a spot in the match-play bracket and winning a match before falling in the round of 32.

   Koivun, starting off the 11^th tee in the same group with Gross, got off to a fast start with birdies at the 12^th, 13^th and 15^th holes before running into trouble with back-to-back bogeys at 16 and 17. Birdies at the first and sixth holes got him back on track as he added a 3-under 69 to his opening-round 70 to join Gross at 5-under.

   Gerardo Gomez of Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. via Mexico, Cayden Pope of Lexington, Ky., and Bryan Kim of Brookeville, Md. were a shot behind Gross and Koivun in a tie for fourth place at 4-under 140.

   Pope, who will join Koivun at Auburn next summer, and Kim were tied for third place after each recorded an opening-round 67 and each fell back a little with a 1-over 73.

   Gomez was tied for fifth place with Gross following an opening-round 69 and added a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round.

   On the girls side, it looks like they ran out of daylight with at least one group still left on the course.

   Defending champion Meja Ortengren of Sweden and No. 16 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) had grabbed the lead at 7-under with one hole left in her round.

   Ortengren had opened with a 3-under 69 over a Canyons Course that was playing to 6,242 yards for the girls and that left her a shot out of the lead. She began her second round with a bang, making an eagle on the par-5 first hole. A birdie at the third hole got her to 6-under for the championship, but she gave a shot back with the only bogey on her scorecard at four.

   Back-to-back birdies at the 11^th and 12^th holes got Ortengren to 7-under, which is where she stood with a hole left to play.

   That left Ortengren with a one-shot lead over playing partner Alice Ziyi Zhao of Irvine, Calif. via China and Elise Lee, another Irvine, Calif. entry.

   Ziyi Zhao, a Class of 2027 entry, had grabbed a share of the lead with an opening round of 4-under 68. She was 2-under for her round through 17 holes and a shot behind Ortengren at 6-under.

   Lee, who plans to join the program at Big Ten power Northwestern in the summer of 2024, completed a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round after opening with a 70 and was in the clubhouse at 6-under.

   Asterisk Talley of Chowchilla, Calif. had shared the opening-round lead with Ziyi Zhao with a 4-under 68 and was 1-under through 17 holes in Monday’s second round, leaving her alone in fourth place at 5-under. Like Ziyi Zhao, Talley is a Class of ’27 entry.

   Yana Wilson, the reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship winner, headed a group of four players tied for fifth place with a 2-under 142 total. Wilson of Henderson, Nev. signed for a second straight 1-under 71.

   Anna Davis, the talented left-hander who captured the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship last spring, added a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 74 and was alone in 11^th place with an even-par 144 total. A whirlwind schedule that included three LPGA major championships in the summer has enabled Davis to rise to No. 7 in the Women's WAGR.

   Gianna Clemente, the runnerup to Wilson in a hard-fought U.S. Girls’ Junior final in 100-degree heat at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. last summer, headed a group of four players tied for 12^th place at 1-over 145.

   Clemente, a Warren, Ohio native who has moved to Estero, Fla., added a 2-over 74 to her opening-round 71.

   Katie Li of Basking Ridge, N.J. carded a solid 2-under 70 after opening with a 76 and headed a group of five players tied for 16^th place with a 2-over 146 total.

   Li, who reached the round of 16 in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., will join the program at Atlantic Coast Conference power Duke next summer.

   Another Jersey girl, Megan Meng of Pennington and a junior at Hopewell Valley, was part of a group of four players tied for 26^th place at 3-over 147. Meng, who captured the title in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship in 2020 at Lebanon Country Club, added a solid 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round to her opening-round 76.

   Avery McCrery, of Wilmington, Del. and a sophomore at Tower Hill School, landed among a trio tied for 30^th place at 5-over 149. McCrery, winner of the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Girls’ Championship in 2020 at Sandy Run Country Club, shaved three shots off her opening-round 76 with a 1-over 73.

   Kiera Bartholomew of Wake Forest, N.C. struggled to an 80 after opening with a 2-over 74 and was tied for 40^th place with a 10-over 154 total. Bartholomew, who will join the program at ACC power Virginia next summer, played out of Indian Valley Country Club in Telford early in her junior career before moving to North Carolina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Downingtown West's Gross gets off to solid start in Rolex Tournament of Champions with a 69

   Downingtown West junior Nick Gross arrived at the Rolex Tournament of Champions, the marquee event on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) schedule, a year ago at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. as a recently crowned PIAA Class AAA champion.

   He struggled a little, particularly in the final round, and finished in a tie for 12^th place. But Gross was pretty solid, especially considering he was still just a 15-year-old kid competing against the elite of junior golf, most of whom were older than he was.

   A lot has changed in that year. First of all, the Rolex Tournament of Champions has moved west to TPC San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas. And the Nick Gross who teed it up in Sunday’s opening round is a much different guy and a much better player, having played in some rarified air in the interim.

   After a fourth-place finish in the prestigious Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in South Carolina, after reaching the second round of match play in the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes on the rugged Oregon coast, after finishing in a tie for third place in the Boys Junior PGA Championship at Cog Hill in suburban Chicago and after that memorable run to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., Gross is one of the biggest names in junior golf.

   The high school postseason in Pennsylvania pales in comparison to those events, but Gross put on a show in winning the District One Class AAA Championship with rounds of 66 and 64 at Turtle Creek Golf Course. And he led the Whippets to a district team crown.

   A third-place finish in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn Stare in defense of the state title he won in 2021 was a bit of a disappointment, but you can’t win ’em all in golf.

   Gross showed up on my Twitter timeline last week with the announcement that he has made a verbal commitment to join the program at Southeastern Conference power Alabama, but he will be eligible for a lot of golf, at both the junior and open levels, between now and the summer of 2024.

   Gross got off to a decent start when the 45^th Rolex Tournament of Champions teed off Sunday, making three birdies on the incoming nine at the 7,106-yard, par-72 Canyons Course at TPC San Antonio to open with a 3-under 69 that left him in a tie for fifth place.

   The Rolex Tournament of Champions is a 72-hole event that will wrap up on Thanksgiving Eve. It brings together boys and girls fields that feature members of the Rolex Junior All-American teams, Rolex Scholastic honorees and many of the winners of AJGA events throughout the year. It’s the best of the best in junior golf.

   That’s why you can go 3-under and still be six shots out of the lead because a guy like Johnnie Clark of Mesa, Ariz., who will join the Oklahoma State program next summer, goes off for a nine-birdie, no-bogey 9-under 63 to take a three-shot lead. These kids can really play.

   Clark, who reached the round of 16 in the U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes last summer, made birdies on the first, second, third, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth holes in a pretty sweet 7-under 29 on the outgoing nine at the Canyons Course. And from the still photos I saw on the AJGA website, it looked like it was pretty chilly in San Antone.

   Clark cooled off on the back nine, making only two birdies at the 13^th and 16^th holes to wrap up a ridiculously good round.

   Gross didn’t find the front nine at the Canyons Course nearly as easy as Clark did. Gross offset bogeys at the third and seventh holes with birdies at one and four. Heading for the back nine at even-par, Gross ripped off birdies at the 12^th, 16^th and 17^th holes to get within shouting distance of Clark and just three shots out of second place.

   One of Gross’ future SEC rivals, Texas A&M commit Aaron Pounds of The Woodlands, Texas, was Clark’s closest pursuer after carding a solid 6-under 66 that left him in second place. Pounds is headed for College Station, Texas next summer.

   Another player who is headed for the SEC next summer, Auburn recruit Cayden Pope of Lexington, Ken., recorded a 5-under 67 to get a share of third place with Bryan Kim of Brookeville, Md.

   Carmelo Gomez of Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. joined fellow Class of 2024 entry Gross in the tie for fifth place as he matched Gross’ 3-under 69.

   On the girls side, a couple of Class of ’27 entries – these kids are basically eighth-graders – Alice Ziyi Zhao of Irvine, Calif. via China, and Asterik Talley of Chowchilla, Calif., shared the lead following the opening round as each signed for a 4-under 68 over a Canyons Course that played to 6,242 yards for the girls.

   Zhao had a very efficient round with birdies at the fourth, 10^th, 12^th and 16^th holes with nary a bogey on her scorecard.

   Talley’s path to 4-under was a little more adventurous, beginning with a double bogey on the 10^th hole, her first of the day. After making back-to-back birdies at the 12^th and 13^th holes, Talley made a bogey at 14 before getting it to 2-under with birdies at 15, 17 and 18. Talley was much steadier on the outgoing nine with birdies at the first and fifth holes and no bogeys.

   Defending champion Meja Ortengren of Sweden shared second place with Siuue Wu of Reunion, Fla. via Hong King as each posted a 3-under 69. Ortengren is No. 16 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

   The two players who battled it out for 34 holes in 100-degree heat at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ken. in the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship final last summer, Yana Wilson of Henderson, Nev. and Gianna Clemente of Estero, Fla., landed in a tie for seventh place, each opening with a solid 1-under 71.

   Wilson claimed that U.S. Girls’ Junior crown with a hard-fought 3 and 2 victory. Clemente, a Class of ‘26 entry, is in Florida now, but she is the pride and joy of her native Warren, Ohio.

   Anna Davis of Spring Valley, Calif., the left-hander who was so impressive in winning the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship last spring carded a 2-over 74 and is in a group of seven players tied for 17^th place.

   If you Google Davis, there’s a pretty neat Golf Digest story authored by Tod Leonard chronicling the worldwide odyssey of golf she was on in the summer of 2022. She played in three of the LPGA’s major championships and in seven LPGA starts, Davis made the cut five times. She has risen to No. 7 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Also in that group at 2-over was Kiera Bartholomew of Wake Forest, N.C., who will join the program at Virginia next summer. Bartholomew launched her junior career at Indian Valley Country Club in Telford before her family moved to North Carolina.

   A couple of Jersey girls, Megan Meng of Pennington and Katie Li of Basking Ridge, landed in the group tied for 26^th place, each carding a 4-over 76.

   Meng, a junior at Hopewell Valley, came across the Delaware River to capture the 2020 Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship at Lebanon Country Club while representing Jericho National Golf Club. Li, who reached the round of 16 in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. in August, will join the program at Atlantic Coast Conference power Duke next summer.

   Also in the group at 4-over was Wilmington Country Club’s Avery McCrery, who captured the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Girls’ Championship in 2020 at Sandy Run Country Club. McCrery is a sophomore at Tower Hill School in Wilmington, Del.

 

 

Bergstol a runnerup for the second year in a row in NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship

   This one will sting a little more, but for the second straight year Brian Bergstol came away with a runnerup finish in the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

   It wasn’t exactly a Chamber of Commerce day in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Sunday with rain and a chilly wind making conditions tough, but Bergstol, the head of instruction at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, caught 54-hole leader Domenico Geminiani, a young assistant at Old Corkscrew Golf Course in Estero on South Florida’s West Coast, when Bergstol birdied the 12^th hole while Geminiani made a fourth consecutive bogey.

   But Bergstol made a couple of mistakes on the next two holes that led to bogeys on the par-5 13^th hole and at the par-4 14^th hole and Geminiani, to his credit, knocked it close and made birdie at 14. Suddenly, Geminiani, who turned pro a decade ago at 16, had a three-shot lead with five holes to go.

   Geminiani made another birdie at the 17^th hole before finishing with a bogey at 18, but his final round of 1-over-par 73 over the PGA Golf Club’s par-72 Wanamaker Course gave him a 72-hole total of 6-under 282 and a three-shot margin of victory over Bergstol and Riley Wheeldon of the Desert Fox Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   The 46^th NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship was supported by Srixon, Cleveland Golf, XXIO and Asics.

   Geminiani earned the top prize of $12,000 out of a total purse of $50,000. Bergstol pocketed a check for $8,450 for his share of second place. A year ago, Bergstol finished seven shots behind the winner, Jin Chung of Chateau Elan Golf Club in Braselton, Ga. He had a much better chance this time around, but Bergstol was able to put a solid week of golf at the PGA Golf Club in perspective.

   “I’ll take that finish every time,” Bersgstol told the PGA of America website’s Craig Dolch. “At the end of the day, it’s a job and I’m here to make money. But this is the second year in a row where I had to make a run in the middle of the round. I’m going to have to learn how to start faster.”

   Dolch’s report on the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship briefly wraps up Geminiani’s journey from his birth in Martinique to St. Lucia, where he lived with his mother, to Bradenton, Fla., where he lived with his father. He joined the staff at Old Corkscrew this year. Talented golfers, it seems, come from anywhere.

   Bergstol’s slow start to Sunday’s final round included bogeys at the second and fourth holes. But birdies at the fifth and 12^th holes suddenly pulled him even with Geminiani.

   Geminiani looked like he was going to run away with it when he came out of the gate with birdies at the first and sixth holes. But he came back to Bergstol and the rest of the field with consecutive bogeys at the ninth, 10^th, 11^th and 12^th holes.

   Bergstol three-putted the 13^th hole for a bogey after trying to do too much with his second shot when his drive found a fairway bunker. The bogey at the 14^th hole was the result of an errant drive.

   Bergstol put a little bit of heat back on Geminiani with a birdie at the 16^th hole, but a bogey at the finishing hole left him with a final round of 2-over 74 and a 3-under 285 total.

   The late summer into the fall is when there is some pretty decent money out there for a talented club pro like Bergstol and he made the most of those opportunities this year.

   Bergstol won the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at DuPont Country Club and Concord Country Club in late August, pocketing the top prize of $9,000. He shared second place with Bidermann Golf Club instructor Zac Oakley in the qualifier for this week’s NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship at Heidelberg Country Club.

   Bergstol lost in a playoff to amateur Andrew Keeling of Kennett Square Golf & Country Club, but was the low pro and took the top prize of $15,000 in the inaugural playing of the lucrative Silvercrest Cup at Gulph Mills Golf Club in late September.

   Wheeldon surged into contention with birdies at the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth holes. Back-to-back bogeys at the 10^th and 11^th holes halted his momentum, but a birdie at 13 enabled him to match the low round of the day with a 3-under 69 as he caught Bergstol for a share of second place at 3-under.

   It was a pretty good week for the Philadelphia Section PGA in Port St. Lucie as Oakley was also in the mix all week, finishing in a tie for fourth place, and Trevor Bensel, an assistant pro at Sandy Run Country Club who defeated Bergstol and Oakley by two shots to win the title in the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship at Heidelberg, gave the Philly Section a third top-20 finisher by landing among the group tied for 20^th place.

   Oakley began the day five shots behind Geminiani and matched par in the final round with a 72 as he ended up a shot behind his Philadelphia Section rival Bergtsol and Wheeldon in a tie for fourth place with Andy Svoboda of Engineers Country Club in Roslyn Harbor, N.Y. on Long Island, each landing on 2-under 286.

   Oakley was 2-under for his round after making birdies at the first, seventh and ninth holes around a bogey at five on the Wanamaker Course’s outgoing nine. Bogeys at the 12^th and 18^th holes on his way to the clubhouse dropped Oakley back to even for the day.

   Svoboda, who has played on the PGA Tour and owns three career wins on the Korn Ferry Tour, closed with a 1-over 73 to join Oakley at 2-under.

   Bensel, recently named the Player of the Year by the Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization (PAO), closed with a 4-over 76 to finish in the trio tied for 20^th place with a 6-over 294 total.

   Oakley finished in third place and Bensel was right behind him in a tie for fourth in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at DuPont and Concord. Bergstol, Oakley and Bensel will head the Philadelphia Section contingent in next spring’s PGA Professional Championship – once known as the National Club Pro – at Twin Warriors Golf Club and Santa Ana Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   Before this year, Bensel and Ashley Grier, honored by the PGA of America as the Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year in 2020, were colleagues in the Overbrook Golf Club pro shop for several years.

   Grier, who moved on to the Yinglings Golf Center in Hagerstown, Md., had a strong showing in the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship, matching par in Sunday’s tough conditions with a 72 to finish in a tie for 29^th place with a 10-over 298 total.

   Steve Sanderson, out of the Pine Valley Golf Club pro shop, and Jeff Fick of Moselem Springs Golf Club rounded out the Philadelphia Section’s contingent at the PGA Golf Club as each posted a 78 in Sunday’s final round, Sanderson finishing in the group tied for 52^nd place with a 304 total and Fick ending up among the group tied for 61^st place with a 306 total.

 

 

 

 

 

Bergstol in second place, Oakley is tied for fourth going into final round of NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship

   If Brian Bergstol was going to win this week’s 46^th National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship, his first order of business might have been to just try to make sure he finished ahead of his Philadelphia Section PGA rival Zac Oakley.

   Well, going into Sunday’s final round, Bergstol, the director of instruction at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, leads Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club, by three shots, which leaves Bergstol in second place just two shots behind leader Domenico Geminiani of Old Corkscrew Golf Course in Estero, Fla.

   The NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship is supported by Srixon, Cleveland Golf, XXIO and Ascis.

   Bergstol, the runnerup in the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship a year ago, carded a solid 4-under-par 68 at the PGA Golf Club’s par-72 Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla. in Saturday’s third round that gave him a 5-under 211 total.

   If not for a remarkable late surge by Geminiani during which he went 5-under over the final four holes, Bergstol might have grabbed the 54-hole lead. The lesson there, though, is that things can change quickly at the Wanamaker Course, so the two shots that separate Bergstol from Geminiani is hardly insurmountable.

   It is something Oakley knows all too well as he had some success over the Wanamaker Course, including a victory last winter in Event No. 3 of the PGA Tournament Series, beating former Philadelphia Section rival Brett Walker, who had moved on from Sunnybrook Golf Club in the offseason a year ago, in a playoff.

   A bogey at the 18^th hole Saturday left Oakley with a 3-under 69 and a 2-under 214 total, three shots behind Bergstol and five behind Geminiani. It dropped Oakley into a tie for fourth place with Danny Lewis of Hollywood Golf Club in Deal, N.J.

   Bergstol overtook Oakley in the final round in August to capture the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at DuPont Country Club, Oakley falling back to third place.

   Bergstol got it going early in the third round Saturday, rattling off birdies at the second, third, sixth and seventh holes. A bogey at the eighth hole slowed Bergstol’s roll a little. He made another birdie at the 11^th hole, but a bogey a 13 dropped him back to 3-under for the round. Bergstol picked up one more birdie, his sixth of the round, at the 16^th hole to get it to the house at 4-under.

   Geminiani opened with a bang when he made an eagle at the par-5 first hole. But a bogey at the ninth hole and a double bogey at 11 was starting to make it look like a round that was nothing special when he arrived at the 15^th tee at 1-over for the day.

   That’s when he proceeded to turn his round into something special. Geminiani made a birdie at the 15^th hole and followed that up with his second eagle of the day at the par-5 16^th. Back-to-back birdies to finish his round at the 17^th and 18^th holes enabled Geminiani to post a 4-under 68 and gave him a 7-under 209 total.

   Andy Svoboda, who works out of the pro shop at Engineers Country Club in Roslyn Harbor, N.Y. on Long Island, had taken a five-shot lead into Saturday’s third round, but struggled to a 5-over 77 and was two shots behind Bergstol in third place with a 3-under 213 total.

   Svoboda has spent time on the PGA Tour and owns three career Korn Ferry Tour victories, so don’t expect him to back down as the best assistant pros in the country battle for the top prize of $12,000 out of a total purse of $50,000 in Sunday’s final round.

   Oakley got off to a solid start with birdies at the first, third, fifth and seventh holes around a bogey at four. Following the birdie at the seventh hole, Oakley put together a string of eight straight pars before a birdie at 16 got him to 4-under for the round. His closing bogey left him with a 3-under 69 and a 2-under 214 total.

   Lewis had grabbed a share of the lead following the opening round with a 3-under 69, but struggled a little with a 3-over 75 in Friday’s second round. A 2-under 70 in Saturday’s third round enabled Lewis to join Oakley in a tie for fourth place at 2-under.

   Sandy Run Country Club’s Trevor Bensel matched par with a 72 that left him in the group tied for 13^th place at 2-over 218.

   Bensel was the medalist in the Philadelphia Section’s qualifier for the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship in September at Heidelberg Country Club. Bergstol and Oakley finished two shots behind Bensel in a tie for second place.

   Bensel finished behind Oakley in a tie for fourth place in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship and Bergstol, Oakley and Bensel will all represent the Philadelphia Section in next spring’s PGA Professional Championship – I still like its old-school moniker, the National Club Pro – at the Twin Warriors Golf Club and Santa Ana Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   Pine Valley Golf Club’s Steve Sanderson signed for a 2-over 74 in Saturday’s third round and was in the group tied for 48^th place at 10-over 226 total.

   Sanderson was joined at that figure by Bensel’s former colleague in the Overbrook Golf Club pro shop, Ashley Grier, who was named the Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year in 2020 while she was sill working at Overbrook.

   Grier, who has moved on to the Yinglings Golf Center in Hagerstown, Md., carded a 3-over 75 to join Sanderson at 10-over.

   Rounding out the Philadelphia Section contingent at the PGA Golf Club was Moselem Springs Golf Club’s Jeff Fick, who posted his second straight 3-over 75 and was in the group tied for 61^st place at 228.

 

Bergstol matches par at tough Wanamaker Course to climb into fourth place in NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship

   Brian Bergstol, an instructor at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, matched par with a 72 at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course and inched into fourth place following the second round of the 46^th National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship Friday in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   Bergstol, winner of the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at DuPont Country Club and Concord Country Club in late August, headed a group of three players from the Philadelphia Section PGA inside the top 15 through 36 holes of the 72-hole stroke-play event with five Philly Section players surviving the 36-hole cut.

   Bergstol, the runnerup in the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship a year ago at the Wanamaker Course, trails 36-hole leader Andy Svoboda of Engineers Country Club in Roslyn Harbor, N.Y. on Long Island by seven shots.

   But Bergstol is only two shots behind a pair of players tied for second place and was one of only four players under par as windy conditions in South Florida have made club selection an adventure and firmed up the tricky putting surfaces on the Wanamaker Course.

   The NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship is supported by Srixon, Cleveland Golf, XXIO and Asics.

   Bergstol had opened with a solid 1-under 71 that left him a tie for fifth place following Thursday’s opening round. His even-par round over the par-72 Wanamaker Course layout left him with a 1-under 143 total.

   Bergstol, starting off the 10^th tee, followed up a bogey at the 12^th hole with birdies at 13 and 15 before stumbling with a double bogey at 18 that dropped him back to 1-over for the round. A birdie at the first hole got him back to even, but he gave another shot back with a bogey at six. A birdie at the seventh hole left Bergstol at even for the day.

   One of Bergstol’s chief rivals on the Philadelphia Section circuit, Bidermann Golf Club instructor Zac Oakley, carded a 1-over 73 that landed him in a group of seven players tied for seventh place at 1-over 145.

   Oakley, who matched par with a 72 in Thursday’s opening round, got off to a good start Friday with a birdie at the first hole, but then got on the bogey train with bogeys at three, seven and eight. Birdies at the 10^th and 13^th holes got him back to even for the round, but he closed his round with a bogey at 18 to finish at 1-over for the round.

   Trevor Bensel, an assistant pro at Sandy Run Country Club, moved up the leaderboard with a 1-under 71 in Friday’s second round that enabled him to join the group tied for 14^th place at 2-over 146. Bensel, who had opened with a 3-over 75, offset three bogeys with four birdies.

   Bensel was the winner in the Philadelphia Section qualifier for the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship in September at Heidelberg Country Club, edging Bergstol and Oakley, who finished in a tie for second place, by two shots.

   Oakley finished in third place and Bensel landed in a tie for fourth behind Bergstol in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at DuPont and Concord. The talented trio will also be representing the Philadelphia Section in next spring’s PGA Professional Championship at the Twin Warriors Golf Club and the Santa Ana Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   Oakley finished in a tie for sixth place in last spring’s PGA Professional Championship at the Omni Barton Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas to earn a trip to the PGA Championship, one of professional golf’s four major championships, at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

   Svoboda put together a sparkling five-birdie, no-bogey 5-under 67 in Friday’s second round to surge to a five-shot lead at the halfway point of the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship with an 8-under 136 total.

   Svoboda, who had opened with a 3-under 69, started off the 10^th tee and made birdies at the 13^th and 16^th holes on the Wanamaker Course’s incoming nine. He then added birdies on the first, fifth and seventh holes on the front nine to complete his 5-under round.

   One of Svoboda’s rivals in Metropolitan Section filled with talented players, Westchester Country Club’s Mike Bollo Jr., was tied for second place with Domenico Geminiani of Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero, Fla., both landing on 3-under 141, five shots behind Svoboda.

   Bollo offset two bogeys with five birdies while adding a 3-under 69 to his opening-round 72. Geminiani, who had opened with a 2-over 74, matched Svoboda’s five-birdie, no-bogey 5-under 67 to get his share of second place.

   Two other representatives of the Philadelphia Section, Pine Valley Golf Club’s Steve Sanderson and Moselem Springs Golf Club’s Jeff Fick, battled to survive the 36-hole cut, which fell at 9-over 153.

   Sanderson carded a second straight 4-under 76 for an 8-over 152 total. Fick made the cut on the number as he added a 3-over 75 to his opening-round 78.

   Also surviving the cut was former Overbrook Golf Club assistant pro Ashley Grier, who has moved on to the Yinglings Golf Center in Hagerstown, Md. Grier, winner of the PGA of America’s Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year award in 2020 while she was still working in the Overbrook pro shop, added a 5-over 77 in Friday’s second round to her opening-round 74 for a 7-over 151 total that left her in the group tied for 48^th place.

   Rounding out the Philadelphia Section contingent at the PGA Golf Club were Andrew Turner of Berkshire Country Club and Rocco Sgrillo of Philadelphia’s John F. Byrne Golf Course, both of whom missed the cut.

   Turner shaved four shots off his opening-round 80 with a 4-under 76 in Friday’s second round for a 156 total. Sgrillo struggled to an 83 Friday after opening with a 79 as he finished with a 162 total.

 

 

Bergstol, Oakley get off to solid starts in opening round of NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship

   Two of the Philadelphia Section PGA’s most talented players, Brian Bergstol, the director of instruction at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, and Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club, got off to solid starts as the 46^th National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship teed off Thursday at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   Bergstol, winner of the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship in August at DuPont Country Club and Concord Country Club, made a couple of late birdies to get to the clubhouse with a 1-under-par 71 that left him in a group of seven players tied for fifth place, two shots behind the three co-leaders.

   Bergstol is in familiar territory as he was the runnerup in the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship a year ago over the par-72 Wanamaker Course.

   It was an up-and-down round for Bergstol as he opened with a birdie at the first hole, made a bogey at five, a birdie at eight and bogeys at 12 and 13 that dropped him back to 1-over for the round. But he got it in red figures with back-to-back birdies at the 15^th and 16^th holes.

   Oakley also made a couple of late birdies to rescue his round as he matched par with a 72 that left him in a group of four players tied for 12^th place.

   Oakley started off the 10^th tee and was even-par heading to the front nine as he made a birdie at the 16^th hole and a bogey at 18. After making a birdie at the first hole to briefly get into red numbers, Oakley made a bogey at two and a double bogey at three to fall back to 2-over for his round.

   Birdies at the fifth and seventh holes enabled Oakley to finish the day at even par.

   Bergstol and Oakley finished in a tie for second place in the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship in September at Heidelberg Country Club to punch their tickets to this week’s PGA of America national event at the PGA Golf Club.

   A couple of weeks earlier, Oakley took a one-shot lead over Bergstol into the final round of the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship. Bergstol came on strong in the final round at DuPont to claim the Philadelphia Section crown. Oakley fell back to third place.

   Danny Lewis, an assistant pro at Hollywood Golf Club in Deal, N.J. – think Ocean Township, not all that far from Monmouth Park Racetrack – got a share of the lead after opening with a 3-under 69.

   Starting off the 10^th tee, Lewis made a bogey at the 12^th hole, but followed that up with birdies at 13 and 14 and then got it to 3-under with an eagle at the par-5 16^th. He then parred his final 11 holes to get it in at 3-under.

   Lewis was joined at 3-under by Colin Inglis of Shadow Hills Country Club in Junction City, Ore. and Andy Svoboda of Engineers Country Club in Roslyn Harbor, N.Y. on Long Island.

   Inglis had two birdies and two bogeys on the outgoing nine at the Wanamaker Course and the rattled off birdies at the 13^th, 14^th and 16^th holes to get his piece of the lead. Svoboda finished his round with birdies at the 17^th and 18^th holes to join the trio atop the leaderboard.

   An interesting name popped up in the group tied for 23^rd place at 2-over 74, that of former Overbrook Golf Club assistant pro Ashley Grier, who is working out of the Yinglings Golf Center in Hagerstown, Md. these days. Grier was honored by the PGA of America when she received the Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year award in 2020 while she was still working out of the pro shop at Overbrook.

   Sandy Run Country Club assistant pro Trevor Bensel landed in the group tied for 34^th place with a 3-over 75. Bensel captured the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship with a 3-under 67, two shots better than Bergstol and Oakley, at Heidelberg in September.

   Bensel was recently named the Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization’s Player of the Year for 2022.

   Another member of the Philadelphia Section contingent, Pine Valley Golf Club assistant Steve Sanderson, finished among the group tied for 46^th place with a 4-over 76.

   Also in that group at 4-over was defending champion Jin Chung, an instructor at the Chateau Elan Golf Club in Braselton, Ga. Chung finished seven shots clear of Bergstol in capturing the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship a year ago at the PGA Golf Club.

   Jeff Fick of Moselem Springs Golf Club landed in the group tied for 79^th place with a 6-over 78, Rocco Sgrillo of Philadelphia’s John F. Byrne Golf Course was among the group tied for 92^nd place with a 79 and Andrew Turner of Berkshire Country Club rounded out the Philadelphia Section contingent at the PGA Golf Club as he ended up in the group tied for 102^nd place with an 80.

   Not sure exactly where the cut falls, but the field will be cut following Friday’s second round.

 

 

Shattuck, Steinmetz, Coe earn Player of the Year honors in the Philadelphia Section PGA

   From the eye-opening 9-under-par 61 that Braden Shattuck fired on his way to a victory in the 36^th Burlington Classic in early June to his runnerup finish in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship on the last day of August, it was obvious that the 28-year-old head of instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club was the best player in the very competitive Philadelphia Section PGA circuit in 2022.

   When the points were added up, Shattuck was indeed the runaway winner of the Rolex/The Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year in the Philadelphia Section.

   Shattuck, who played his high school golf at Sun Valley and a year of college golf at Delaware, followed up his victory in the Burlington Classic at Burlington Country Club in Westampton, N.J. with two more wins, in the Doylestown Open at Doylestown Country Club in July and in the Jack Jolly & Son Championship at Moselem Springs Golf Club in Fleetwood, Berks County, in September.

   Shattuck was a constant presence, not just on the Philadelphia Section leaderboards, but in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Open Championship at the A.W. Tillinghast masterpiece that is the Wissahickon Course at Philadelphia Cricket Club and in the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Open Championship at the Longue Vue Club in the Pittsburgh suburb of Verona.

   Shattuck’s consistency also earned him the F. Edward DeBaufre Trophy that recognizes the player with the lowest scoring average in Rolex/Haverford Trust Company points events.

   Shattuck compiled a 69.06 scoring average in 16 rounds, not far off the record scoring average of 68.93 recorded by DeBaufre Trophy winner Zac Oakley in 2021 when Shattuck and Oakley were colleagues in the pro shop at Bidermann Golf Club.

   Shattuck was the runnerup to Oakley in the race for the Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year honor a year ago. But Shattuck would not be denied in 2022 and he contended in some of the biggest events of the summer.

   Shattuck closed with a 5-under 66 at DuPont Country Club to earn runnerup honors in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship. It gave him a 7-under 206 total that left him two shots behind Brian Bergstol, an instructor at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort. The 54-hole Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship also included a round at Concord Country Club.

   Bergstol was Shattuck’s closest pursuer in the Rolex/Haverford Trust Player of the Year chase as he finished with 4003.01 points to Shattuck’s total of 5,205.5 total.

   Oakley, the 2021 Rolex/Haverford Trust Player of the Year, finished third in this season’s point standings with a 3,753.01 total. Oakley finished in third place, a shot behind Shattuck, in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship, which concluded Aug. 31^st at DuPont.

   Shattuck, Bergstol and Oakley will head a strong contingent that will represent the Philadelphia Section in the PGA Professional Championship, which tees off April 30^th at Twin Warriors Golf Club and Santa Ana Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   Last spring, Oakley finished in a tie for sixth place in the PGA Professional Championship – its old-school moniker was the National Club Pro – at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa’s Fazio Foothills Course in Austin, Texas to punch his ticket to the PGA Championship, one of professional golf’s four major championships, at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

   The top 20 finishers in next spring’s PGA Professional Championship in New Mexico will earn a spot in the field for the PGA Championship, which tees off May 18^th at Oak Hill Country Club’s East Course, a Donald Ross classic in Rochester, N.Y.

   Shattuck had a share of the lead on the 18^th tee in the final round of the Philadelphia Open at the Cricket Club, but sent his tee shot out of bounds. He fell back into a share of second place with a 1-under 141 total, two shots behind amateur John Brennan, who was playing on his home course. Shattuck shared low-pro honors with Sunnybrook Golf Club assistant pro Robert Fenton.

   Shattuck closed with a solid 3-under 67 at Longue Vue to finish a shot out of the playoff that decided the Pennsylvania Open winner with a 4-under 206 total.

   A couple of western Pennsylvania players, Jake Sollon, a pro from Venetia, and Tanner Grzegorczyk, an amateur from Glenshaw, both landed on 7-under 203 with Sollon claiming the title and the top prize of $8,000.

   Shattuck halted his bid in the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School process with a back issue in the aftermath of the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship, but recovered quickly enough to earn his third victory in the Jack Jolly & Son Championship and finish in a tie for 10^th place in the inaugural playing of the Silvercrest Cup at Gulph Mills Golf Club in September.

   A senior “rookie,” Spring Ford Country Club head pro Rich Steinmetz captured the Philadelphia Section’s Robert “Skee” Riegel Senior Player of the Year honor for 2022.

   Making his debut in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship at Medford Village Country Club in June, Steinmetz captured the title with a 5-under 139 total.

   Steinmetz remained a player to be reckoned with against Philadelphia Section pros of all ages. He was the winner in the Golf Association of Lehigh Valley (GALV) Lehigh Valley Open in July by three shots with a 3-under 139 total at Brookside Country Club in Macungie.

   Steinmetz’s victory in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship earned him a spot in last month’s Senior PGA Professional Championship, also held at Twin Warriors and Santa Ana in New Mexico.

   Steinmetz finished in a tie for 24^th place in the Senior National Club Pro, earning a spot in the field for next spring’s KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, a major championship on the PGA Tour Champions which will tee off May 25^th at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco at the PGA of America’s new headquarters in Frisco, Texas.

   Steinmetz will be joined in Frisco by Applebrook Golf Club head pro Dave McNabb, who finished in a tie for 26^th place in New Mexico to earn his third straight trip to the Senior PGA Championship. Steinmetz succeeded McNabb as the winner of the Robert “Skee” Riegel Senior Player of the Year honor as McNabb had been the Philadelphia Section’s top senior player in 2020 and 2021.

   Steinmetz and Shattuck represent two different moments in my 38-year journalism career. I was covering high school golf at The Mercury in Pottstown when Steinmetz was a standout at Perkiomen Valley in the 1980s. Nearly 30 years later, I was covering high school golf at the Delaware County Daily Times when Shattuck finished in a tie for 14^th place in the 2011 PIAA Championship as a senior at Sun Valley.

   The golf business can take you far from home. It’s nice to see a couple of local guys who are making their mark not far from where they starred as high school players.

   For the first time, the Philadelphia Section named a Women’s Player of the Year and that honor went to Joanna Coe, who was in her first year as an instructor at Merion Golf Club after moving into the Section from Baltimore Country Club.

   Coe, a Mays Landing, N.J. native, is used to firsts as she was the inaugural winner of the PGA of America’s Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year award in 2019.

   Coe was a dominant winner of the Women’s Philadelphia PGA Championship when she had nine birdies in a 5-under 67 that gave her a seven-shot victory at Whitford Country Club in July.

   Not long after that, Coe lost in a playoff in the LPGA Professional National Championship at the Kingsmill Resort’s River Course in Williamsburg, Va., which earned her a spot in next year’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, a major on the LPGA Tour. The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship tees off June 22^nd at another Tillinghast classic, the Lower Course at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.

   Coe was a winner against the guys on the Philadelphia Section circuit when she prevailed in a three-way playoff with Shattuck and Overbrook Golf Club head pro Eric Kennedy to capture the title in the Conestoga Classic at Conestoga Country Club in Lancaster in June.

   Brian Kelly, who retired from his position at Bucknell Golf Club this year, was the Philadelphia Section’s Super Senior Player of the Year for the second year in a row.

   Trevor Bensel, who moved from Overbrook to Sandy Run Country Club in the offseason, was the Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization (PAO) Player of the Year.

   The talented Bensel carded a 5-under 67 at Heidelberg Country Club in Bernville, Berks County to capture the title in the National Car Rental Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship in September, outdueling Bergstol and Oakley.

   Bensel, Bergstol and Oakley will head a contingent of Philadelphia Section pros when the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship tees off Thursday at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Bergstol was the runnerup in the PGA of America national event a year ago at the PGA Golf Club.

   Bensel finished in a tie for fourth place in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at DuPont and Concord and will be part of the Philadelphia Section contingent teeing it up in the PGA Professional Championship in New Mexico next spring.

   Bensel also claimed a victory in a Rolex/Haverford Trust Company points event when he won the Tournament Players Division Championship in April at Hartefeld National Golf Club in New Garden Township, Chester County.

   Bergstol was the Central Counties PGA Chapter Player of the Year and Kelly was its senior Player of the Year.

   Doylestown Country Club’s Travis Deibert was the Philadelphia Section’s Comeback Player of the Year and Chester Valley Golf Club’s Sam Ambrose won the Section’s Ike Turner Most Improved Player Award.

 

 

 

 

 

Herzchel unfazed by the cold and wind in a Junior Tour victory at Cape May National

    While the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour moved just a few miles down the South Jersey coast from Saturday’s stop at Avalon Golf Club to Sunday’s event at Cape May National Golf Club, the junior players faced wildly different weather conditions than they had less than 24 earlier.

   Saturday’s temperatures in the 70s with a warm breeze were replaced overnight by cold temperatures and stiff, cold winds. Hey, it’s November, it was going to happen eventually.

   Daniel Herzchel of Linwood, N.J. seemed to thrive in the cold weather as he made a birdie on the ninth hole and had 13 pars on his scorecard, opening his round with a string of six straight pars, as he posted the best score of the day among the guys, a 4-over-par 75, to claim first place in the 13-to-15 division.

   Herzchel was coming off a runnerup finish among the younger guys in Saturday’s Philly Junior Tour stop at Avalon.

   Keller Tannehill of Margate, N.J. switched places with Herzchel as Tannehill, who earned a Philly Junior Tour win Saturday at Avalon, was the runnerup at Cape May National with an 81. Tannehill made a birdie on the 14^th hole and had 10 pars on his card, including a run of five in a row from the sixth through the 10^th holes.

   Joseph Gangemi Jr. of Downingtown had six pars on his card as he finished in third place, six shots behind Tannehill with an 87.

   Boyertown sophomore Chase Dillman took fourth place with an 88, Trevor Sieben of Medford, N.J. was fifth, Tyler Whitney of Cherry Hill, N.J. was sixth with a 90 and Luke Tappeiner of Northfield, N.J. was seventh with a 93.

   Michael Doyle of Haddonfield, N.J. took eighth place with a 95, Drake Brogan of Ocean View, N.J. was ninth with a 96 and P.J. Foley of Northfield, N.J. rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished alone in 10^th place with a 97.

   Archbishop Carroll junior Jake Johnson was another player who seemed unbothered by the sudden shift in seasons as he hung around after getting a share of second place at Avalon and finished atop the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division with a solid 5-over 76 over the par-71 Cape May National layout.

   Johnson, a Wayne resident, made a birdie at the 10^th hole and had 11 pars on his scorecard in recording the second-best score in the two boys divisions.

   Joseph Fargnoli of Mickleton, N.J. made birdies at the third and seventh holes and had seven pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 78. Johnny Neveling of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. had nine pars on his card as he finished in third place with an 86.

   Patrick McGonigle of Broomall took fourth place with an 87 and Owen Doyle of Galloway, N.J. and David Birmingham of Reading finished in a tie for fifth, each signing for an 89.

   Owen Wise of Downingtown took seventh place with a 92 and Springfield senior J.P. Devinney, a Morton resident, rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division by finishing eighth with a 98.

   Sophia DeSantis of Glen Mills made it a clean sweep of the weekend at the Shore as she endured the cold and wind to make six pars on her way to an 86 that gave her a Philly Junior Tour win in the 16-to-18 division. DeSantis had recorded an 82 Saturday at Avalon in more favorable conditions for golf to claim a victory.

   Isabella Magno of Delran, N.J. made three straight pars at the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th holes as she gutted out a 103 to finish as the runnerup to DeSantis for the second day in a row while rounding out a short field in the 16-to-18 division.

   All four finishers in the 13-to-15 division made a weekend of it at the Jersey Shore with Mina Benedetto of West Chester ending up with three pars on her scorecard as she earned a Philly Junior Tour victory with a 94.

   Sarah Stumacher of Gladwyne and Makayla Stone of Garnet Valley finished in a tie for second place, each ending up two shots behind Benedetto with a 96. Stumacher had two pars on her card while Stone recorded three pars.

   Kasey O’Brien of Linwood, N.J. rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in fourth place with a 112.

   Stumacher was the runnerup Saturday at Avalon while Benedetto took third place, Stone was fourth and O’Brien landed in fifth place.

   Trebor Melendez of Vineland, N.J. continued his recent run of solid play by besting the field of nine-holers with a 1-over 36. It was a really solid showing by Melendez in the difficult conditions as he made eight pars with a bogey at the third hole the only blemish on his scorecard.

   Melendez claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in a stop last weekend at Deerfield Golf Club and was coming off a third-place finish Saturday at Avalon.

   Winston Chew of Exton made a birdie at the sixth hole and had three pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 6-over 41.

   Benjamin Allwein of Annville completed a solid weekend at the Shore as made a par on the third hole on his way to a 45 that left him alone in third place. Benjamin Allwein was coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory Saturday at Avalon.

   Nicholas Fargnoli of Team Fargnoli out of Mickleton, N.J. and Jameson Foreman of Somers Point, N.J. shared fourth place, each landing on 46.

   David Padgett of Barnegat, N.J. took sixth place with a 49, Jefferson Allwein, another member of Annville’s Team Allwein, was seventh with a 51, Gabriella Magno, a member of Team Magno out of Delran, N.J., was eighth with a 53 and Ethan Clouser of Newtown was ninth with a 54.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division were Michael Lyons of Media and Bradan Boal of Woodbine, N.J., each of whom carded a 56 to finish in a tie for 10^th place.