Legarda uses fast start to capture a Philly Junor Tour victory at Indian Spring

 

   Ethan Legarda of Voorhees, N.J. got off to a fast start on the front nine on his way to a 1-over-par 71 as he claimed the top spot in the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop Aug. 11^th at Indian Spring Golf Course in Marlton, N.J.

   Legarda made back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth holes and had 13 pars on his scorecard. He toured the outgoing nine at the par-70 Indian Spring layout in 1-under 34.

   Harrison Brown of Villanova made a birdie on the 17^th hole and had 12 pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors among the older guys with a 5-over 75.

   Matthew Rieger of Collegeville made birdies at the second and 15^th holes and had nine pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Brown in third place with a solid 76.

   John Bollendorf of Sewell, N.J. took fourth place with an 81, Brady Hydock of Norristown was fifth with an 83, Aiden Riley of Pennsauken, N.J. was sixth with an 84, Devin Carpenter of Philadelphia was seventh with an 85 and Isaiah Garcia of Runnemede, N.J. was eighth with an 86.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were three players tied for ninth place at 88, including Paul Clavner of Mount Laurel, N.J., Andrew Squire of Galloway, N.J. and Danny Peyre-Ferry, playing close to his Marlton, N.J. home.

   Archmere Academy sophomore Michael Liu made birdies on the third, 12^th and 18^th holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard on his way to a solid 2-over 72 to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division. Liu’s 72 was the second-best round of the day behind only Legarda’s 71.

   Paul Reilly of West Creek, N.J. finished two shots behind Liu in second place with a steady 4-over 74. Reilly had 15 pars on his card, including a run of seven in a row from the fourth through the 10^th holes.

   P.J. Foley of Northfield, N.J. had 12 pars on his card as he finished in third place with a 76.

   Quinten Joiner of Millington, Md. and Patrick Hiltner, another Northfield, N.J. guy, ended up in a tie for fourth place, each tallying a 79 and Trevor Sieben of Medford, N.J. and Ryan Kelly of Harleysville finished in a tie for sixth, each registering an 82.

   Landen Finsen of Westampton, N.J. took eighth place with an 84 and the trio of Thomas Carpenter of Bristol, Michael Acchione of Sewell, N.J. and Daniel Herzchel of Linwood, N.J. rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as they finished in a tie for ninth, each carding an 86.

   Rayan Shah of Newtown made a birdie on the sixth hole and added pars at two and three as he carded a 6-over 41 to share first place among the nine-holers with Henry Sokol of Villanova and Lucas Solano of Vineland, N.J.

   It was the third straight victory in the coed 12-and-under division and 16^th win of the season for Shah, who bested the field of nine-holers two days earlier at John F. Byrne Golf Club and a day earlier at Paxon Hollow Country Club.

   Shah would make it four straight victories three days later in the 45^th Junior Tour Championship at Chester Valley Golf Club. I had jumped ahead and wrapped up the Junior Tour Championship, but I didn’t have the context of Shah’s winning streak when I did that roundup.

   Sokol made a birdie on the fourth hole and added a par at six and Solano had four pars on his card as they joined Shah at the top of the leaderboard among the nine-holers at 6-over.

   David Padgett of Barnegat, N.J. took fourth place with a 46, Charlie Sears of Wilmington, Del. was fifth with a 54 and David Gilman of Cape May Court House, N.J. was sixth with a 55.

   Rounding out the field in the coed 12-and-under division were two players -- William Broadbelt of Sewell, N.J. and Pratik Fernandes of Radnor --who finished in a tie for seventh place, each recording a 62.