Kurtzman, Schuebel the respective boys, girls winners in two-day Philly Junior Tour event at Bucknell

 

   Jake Kurtzman invaded the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour from Madison, N.J. and cruised to a seven-shot victory in the final Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) two-day event of 2023 at Bucknell Golf Club in Lewisburg Aug. 21^st and 22^nd.

   The JGS events can earn players points that give them status to play on some of the bigger junior circuits, American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) events, in particular.

   The overall scoring includes boys and girls ages 13 to 18, but the Philly Junior Tour breaks out its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 divisions, so I will wrap them up while referencing the overall standings.

   Any way you broke it down, Kurtzman was the best player at Bucknell as he opened with a solid 1-over-par 71 and added a 4-over 74 in the final round for a 5-over 145 total to finish first in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall standings.

   Kurtzman made birdies at the third and 10^th holes and had 12 pars on his scorecard in the final round. He started strong in the opening round as he made back-to-back birdies at the 14^th and 15^th holes and had 13 pars on his scorecard, eight of them on the outgoing nine at Bucknell.

   Shaun Mazzalupi, who will be seeking a third trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship in his senior season at Radnor, was the runnerup to Kurtzman in the 16-to-18 division and shared second place in the overall scoring with 13-to-15 division winner Jackson Lane, an eighth-grader at Cinnaminson Middle School in South Jersey, each landing on 12-over 152.

   Mazzalupi matched Kurtzman’s final round of 4-over 74 as he made birdies at the third, eighth, 13^th and 15^th holes and had seven pars on his card. Mazzalupi had opened with a 78 as he made a birdie on the 14^th hole and had 10 pars on his card, seven of them on the front nine.

   Evan Murphy of Stroudsburg added a 6-over 76 in the second round to his opening-round 77 as he finished third among the older guys and shared fourth place with 13-to-15 division runnerup Charlie Barrickman in the overall scoring with a 153 total.

   Murphy made birdies at the third and 15^th holes and had 10 pars on his card in the second round. Murphy was steady in the opening round with 12 pars on his card.

   Jordan Fulchiero of Holidaysburg bounced back from an opening-round 81 with a 6-over 76 in the second round as he finished in fourth place in the 16-to-18 division and was eighth overall with a 15aco7 total.

   Jacob Foti of Arlington, Va. added an 82 in the second round to his opening-round 80 as he took fifth place in the division and rounded out the top 10 in the overall standings by finishing 10^th overall with a 162 total.

   Anthony Manzi of Newtown Square finished in sixth place in the 16-to-18 division as he added an 84 in the second round to his opening-round 82 for a 166 total.

   Cade Kelleher of Clarks Summit opened with a solid 79, but struggled in the second round, recording a 91, as he finished in seventh place among the older guys with a 170 total.

   Rounding out the 16-to-18 division was Jackson Shearer of Harrisburg as he added a 96 in the second round to his opening-round 96 to finish in eighth place with a 190 total.

   Jackson Lane prevailed in a tight battle in the 13-to-15 division as he added a 77 in the second round to his opening round of  5-over 75 for a 12-over 152 total that left him tied for second in the overall scoring with Mazzalupi.

   Jackson Lane made birdies at the third and ninth holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard while trying to hold off Barrickman for the divisional win. Jackson Lane was really solid in the opening round with 15 pars on his card, including 10 straight to open his round.

   Barrickman was the closest pursuer to Kurtzman for the overall title after his opening round of 3-over 73. Barrickman finished up with an 80 to end up a shot behind Jackson Lane among the younger guys and tied for fourth overall with Murphy with a 153 total.

   In the second round, Barrickman made a birdie at the sixth hole and had nine pars on his card. Barrickman’s front nine in the opening round included back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth holes and an eagle at the par-5 ninth. He also had eight pars on his card.

   Cole Powell of Fell Township registered a pair of 77s as he finished a shot behind Barrickman in third place in the 13-to-15 division and in sixth overall with a 154 total.

   Powell made back-to-back birdies at the 16^th and 17^th holes and had 10 pars on his card in the second round.  He made birdies at the third, 12^th and 18^th holes and had eight pars on his card in the second round.

   It was a pretty strong showing for the younger guys at Bucknell as five of the six competitors in the division cracked the top 10 in the overall standings.

   Logan McGinn of South Williamsport added a 78 in the second round to his opening-round 77 to finish in fourth place in the 13-to-15 division and seventh overall with a 155 total.

   Logan Francis of Annville shaved six shots off his opening-round 83 with a 77 in the second round as he finished in fifth place in the division and ninth overall with a 160 total.

   Rounding out the 13-to-15 division was Benjamin Moorhouse of Blue Bell as he improved from an opening-round 99 with an 86 in the second round to finish in sixth place with a 185 total.

   Only two girls teed it up at Bucknell and Upper Merion junior Alyssa Schuebel captured top honors in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall standings with a 196 total.

   Schuebel had four pars on her scorecard in her final-round 98 and also had four pars on her card in an opening-round 102.

   Sarah Lester-Stranick of Lewes, Del. made a par on the 12^th hole in a final-round 115 as she won the 13-to-15 division and was second overall with a 240 total. Lester-Stranick opened with a 125.

   The Team Lane car headed back to Cinnaminson, N.J. had a pair of gold medals aboard as Gavin Lane joined older brother Jackson, who claimed the top spot in the 13-to-15 division, as a winner at Bucknell. Gavin Lane shared the top spot among the nine-holers with Bryce Bussom, playing close to his Lewisburg home, as each landed on 87.

   Gavin Lane, a seventh-grader at Cinnaminson Middle School, made a birdie on the seventh hole and had two pars on his scorecard on his way to a 45 in the final round. Gavin Lane had three pars on his card as he grabbed the lead with a 6-over 42 in the opening round.

   Bussom had four pars on his card, including three straight to open the round, as he carded a 7-over 43 in the second round that enabled him to catch Gavin Lane and get a share of first place. Bussom made pars on the second and seventh holes in an opening-round 44.

   Grayson McCann of Downingtown made a par on the third hole on his way to a 50 in the final round that gave him a third-place finish with a 101 total. McCann also made a par on the third hole and added another par at eight on his way to a 51 in the opening round.

   Chelsea Frederick of Danville added a 61 in the final round to her opening-round 62 as she rounded out the field in the coed 12-and-under division, finishing in fourth place with a 123 total.