Curran's 70 the best score of the day in a Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship qualifier at Scotland Run

   John Curran, a junior at Devon Prep, headed a group of 22 players who earned a spot in next month’s Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour qualifier Monday at Scotland Run Golf Club in Williamstown, N.J.

   Curran, a Malvern resident, was a sophomore on the Devon Prep team that was the runnerup in the PIAA Class AA Championship last fall. We’ve reached the point in June when last year’s sophomores are now this fall’s juniors.

   Curran made birdies on the fifth, 14^th, 16^th and 18^th holes and had 11 pars on his scorecard, seven of which were on the outgoing nine at Scotland Run, on his way to a 1-under-par 70. Curran was the only player in the field to break par at the par-71 Scotland Run layout as the Philly Junior Tour contestants got their rounds in before Monday’s steady rain arrived.

   The 22 qualifiers from Scotland Run will tee it up in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship July 10^th at the Toftrees Golf Resort outside of State College. The top finishers at Toftrees will advance to the Boys Junior PGA Championship, a major national event for junior golfers which tees off Aug. 1^st at Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs, Ark.

   The qualifiers for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship included players ages 13 to 18. The Philly Junior Tour broke out its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 divisions, so I’ll run down those results while referencing the overall 13-to-18 scoring.

   In addition to leading the overall scoring, Curran finished three shots ahead of Matthew Hurchalla of Wallingford to claim the top spot in the 16-to-18 division.

   Hurchalla made a birdie on the seventh hole and had 14 pars on his card on his way to a solid 2-over 73 that left him in second place among the older guys and earned him runnerup honors in the overall scoring. Hurchalla opened both nines at Scotland Run with a run of six straight pars, starting his round with pars on the first six holes and then making pars on the 10^th through the 15^th holes on the back nine.

   Brady Gleatons, playing close to his Williamstown, N.J. home, finished a shot behind Hurchalla in third place in the 16-to-18 division with a 3-over 74 that left him in a tie for third in the overall scoring with Keller Tannehill of Margate, N.J., the top finisher in the 13-to-15 division. More on Tannehill a little later.

   Brady Gleatons got off to a strong start with birdies on the first, third, sixth and seventh holes on Scotland Run’s outgoing nine and finished with eight pars on his card.

   Luke Tappeiner of Northfield, N.J., Ajeet Bagga, the Inter-Ac League’s best player during the regular season as a junior at Germantown Academy last fall, and Zachary Freed of Linwood, N.J., finished in a tie for fourth place in the 16-to-18 division and were tied for fifth in the overall scoring as each landed on 4-over 75.

   Liam Shearn of Ardmore and Jeremiah Brown of Audubon each posted a 6-over 77 and were tied for seventh place in the 16-to-18 division and tied for eighth in the overall scoring.

   Luke Canino of Sewell, N.J. and Gavin McCloskey, another local guy from Williamstown, N.J., each recorded a 7-over 78 that left them in a tie for ninth place among the older guys and in a tie for 10^th with two more players from the 13-to-15 division in the overall standings.

   Another member of Team Gleatons from Williamstown, N.J., Cole Gleatons, carded a 79 to finish alone in 11^th place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for 14^th place in the overall scoring.

   J.P. Hoban, a junior at The Haverford School from Havertown, and Evan Murphy of Stroudsburg finished in a tie for 12^th place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for 16^th with three players from the 13-to-15 division in the overall scoring as each landed on 80.

   Zach Moua, a junior at The Haverford School from Berwyn, and Campbell Swart of Southampton, N.J. each carded an 81 to finish in a tie for 14^th place in the 16-to-18 division and advance to Toftrees on the number, ending up in a tie for 21^st in the overall standings.

   Tannehill made birdies on the 16^th and 18^th holes and had 12 pars on his card, eight of them on Scotland Run’s outgoing nine, as his 3-over 74 gave him a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division and enabled him to finish in a tie for third with Brady Gleatons in the overall standings.

   Chase Gillie of Newtown and P.J. Foley of Northfield, N.J. shared second place among the younger guys and were tied for 10^th in the overall scoring with Canino and McCloskey from the 16-to-18 division as each landed on 7-over 78.

   Gillie finished his round with a birdie at the 18^th hole and had nine pars on his card while Foley had 12 pars on his card.

   Christopher Mark Parrish of Woolwich Township, N.J. carded a 79 to finish alone in fourth place in the 13-to-15 division and in a tie for 14^th in the overall scoring with Cole Gleatons.

   Ryan Sun of Morganville, N.J., Cole Berry of West Chester and Lucas Albert of Fort Washington were the last three players in the 13-to-15 division to nail down berths in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at Toftrees as they each registered an 80 to finish in a tie for fifth place among the younger guys and in a five-player logjam along with Hoban and Murphy from the 16-to-18 division in a tie for 16th in the overall scoring.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Niklas Skjeveland of Jamison, Jackson Lane of Cinnaminson, N.J. and Onyu Park of Blue Bell as they finished in a tie for eighth place, each landing on 82.

   Only two girls teed it up in the girls divisions with Carly Kuminka of Mickleton, N.J. earning a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division as she had six pars on her scorecard on her way to a 96.

   The event at Scotland Run was not a qualifier for the girls. The Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship is an open event and will be held July 6^th at Spring Ford Country Club.

   Jewel Schaefer of Jamison rounded out the 16-to-18 division as she was the runnerup with a 99 that featured a birdie on the fourth hole and a par at 16.

   Rayan Shah of Newtown bested the field of nine-holers as he had four pars on his scorecard on his way to a 6-over 42 on the back nine at Scotland Run.

   Gavin Lane, another member of Team Lane from Cinnaminson, N.J., was a shot behind Shah in second place with a 46 that included pars on the 16^th and 17^th holes.

   Max Davis of Newtown Square had three pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Gavin Lane in third place with a 44.

   Taimoor Naseem of Sinking Spring took fourth place with a 45, Lucas Solano of Vineland, N.J. was fifth with a 50, Jake Julian of Malvern was sixth with a 52, David Chando, another guy playing close to his Williamstown, N.J. home, was seventh with a 53 and Zachary Proud of Stroudsburg was eighth with a 54.

   Grayson McCann of Downingtown took ninth place with a 58 and Chase Paxton of Wildwood, N.J. rounded out the field in the coed 12-and-under division as he finished in 10^th place with a 59.