O'Sullivan, Roberts share the lead following opening round of Pennsylvania Junior Girls' Championship at Lebanon

   Ava O’Sullivan, who helped Downingtown East win the PIAA Class AAA team crown in 2021, and Kayley Roberts, who led Phoenixville to the state team title in Class AAA last fall, found themselves tied at the top of the leaderboard following the opening round of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Junior Girls’ Championship Monday at Lebanon Country Club.

   O’Sullivan, who will move up to Division I at Bowling Green this summer after a solid freshman season at Division II Converse, and Roberts, coming off a bustout freshman season with the Phantoms, each carded a 1-under 71 at Lebanon that left them one shot clear of a host of talented pursuers.

   O’Sullivan, playing out of Applecross Country Club, had an efficient round that included three birdies and two bogeys. She made a birdie at the first hole, fell back to even-par with a bogey at four, made a birdie at seven and again fell back to even-par with a bogey at 14 before getting it into red figures for the round with a birdie at 16.

   Roberts, a Pennsylvania Golf Association (PAGA) individual member, started fast with an eagle at the par-5 second hole and birdies at four and seven that quickly got her to 4-under for the round. After a bogey at the ninth hole and a birdie at 13, she was still at 4-under before closing with three straight bogeys at 16, 17 and 18.

   Roberts was the runnerup to Lower Merion senior Sydney Yermish in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State’s White Course last fall and teamed with older sister Kate to help hang District One and PIAA championship banners in the gymnasium at Phoenixville.

   The Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship will wrap up with another 18 holes Tuesday at Lebanon.

   White Manor Country Club’s Clarissa Leung, who led Episcopal Academy to an Inter-Ac League championship as a sophomore this spring, and Bucknell Golf Club’s Hannah Rabb, the PIAA Class AA champion as a junior at Warrior Run last fall, were a shot behind the co-leaders in a tie for third place as each matched par with a 71.

   Leung was coming off a solid third-place finish in the overall scoring in last week’s Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour Junior Golf Scoreboard two-day event at Turtle Creek Golf Course. I’ll get around to wrapping up that Philly Junior Tour stop at some point this week.

   Got a chance to watch Overbrook Golf Club’s Kiersten Bodge earn her second straight runnerup finish in the Inter-Ac’s individual championship as an eighth-grader at Notre Dame last month at French Creek Golf Club. The kid can play.

   Bodge opened with a 1-over 73 Monday which got her a share of fifth place with Marissa Malosh, a PAGA individual member. Malosh was a two-time WPIAL champion at South Fayette and finished in a tie for fourth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior last fall.

   The 1912 Club’s Rhianna Gooneratne, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in each of her first two seasons at Plymouth-Whitemarsh, headed a talented trio tied for seventh place at 2-over 74.

   Gooneratne was joined at that figure by Moselem Springs Golf Club’s Kayla Maletto, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Wilson, and Blue Bell Country Club’s Carolina Gola, a member of Mount St. Joseph’s 2019 PIAA Class AAA championship team who is coming off her freshman season at Holy Cross.

   Rounding out the top 10 following Monday’s opening round was Kennett Square Golf & Country Club’s Mary Grace Dunigan as she was alone in 10^th place with a 3-over 75. Dunigan wrapped up an outstanding scholastic career at Unionville with a third-place finish in the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall.

   The Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ Championship opened Monday at Hershey Country Club’s East Course  with a talented group of guys lighting it up.

   Josh James, the PIAA Class AA champion as a junior in 2021 at Union City, led the way with a sizzling 6-under 65.

   After opening his round with birdies at the first, fourth and seventh holes, James stumbled briefly with back-to-back bogeys at eight and nine. But James got it going again on the incoming nine at Hershey East with five birdies in a stunning six-hole stretch. James made birdies at the 10^th, 11^th, 12^th, 14^th and 15^th holes.

   Saucon Valley Country Club’s Evan Eichenlaub, who capped his scholastic career at Moravian Academy with a fourth-place finish in the PIAA Class AA Championship last fall, was just a shot behind James in second place with a 5-under 66.

   Eichenlaub earned a spot in the match-play bracket in the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship a  couple of weeks ago at Huntingdon Valley Country Club and won a match before falling in the round of 16.

   Hannastown Golf Club’s Nick Turowski, a runnerup in this championship a year ago, and Thomas Young, another Saucon Valley entry, were tied for fifth place, two shots behind Eichenlaub, as each posted a solid 3-under 68.

   Turowski, who has committed to West Virginia, is a senior at Penn-Trafford and a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier. Turowski will represent the Pittsburgh area in next month’s U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the Daniel Island Club in Charleston, S.C. after advancing out of a qualifier earlier this month at Avalon Field Club at New Castle in New Castle, Pa.

   Young was a Moravian Academy teammate of Eichenlaub’s and has another year of scholastic golf remaining.

   Northampton Country Club’s Matt Vital, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Liberty who will join the program at Temple later this summer, headed a group of five players tied for fifth place at 2-under 69. Vital was joined at 2-under by Drew Clark, a PAGA individual member, and Trevor Todd of Indiana Country Club.

   A couple of players who earned spots in the match-play bracket in the championship flight of last week’s Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ Championship at LuLu Country Club, Llanerch Country Club’s Aidan Farkas and Huntsville Golf Club’s Michael Lugiano, headed a group of five players tied for eighth place at 1-undere 70.

   Farkas is a senior at St. Joseph’s Prep who finished in a tie for sixth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State last fall. Lugiano finished in third place in the PIAA Class AA Championship and led Lake Lehman to the state Class AA team title at Penn State last fall. He will be a senior this fall.

   Rounding out the group at 1-under were Oakmont Country Club’s Frank Fuhrer, the latest in a long line of golfing Fuhrers in the Pittsburgh area, Owen Blum, a USGA/Western Pennsylvania entry, and Jack Estrella of Bensalem Country Club.