Fuhrer the boys winner, Sowers claims girls crown in Pennsylvania Junior Championships

 

   Dave Fuhrer, the latest in a long line of golfing Fuhrers at Oakmont Country Club, had five players breathing down his neck, just a shot behind him, after he matched par in the opening round of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s (PAGA) 81^st Junior Boys’ Championship at Hershey Country Club’s East Course.

   Fuhrer, a recent Fox Chapel graduate, had some seriously talented guys trying to chase him down with a grueling 36-hole test facing him in spectacular late June weather Tuesday.

   But Fuhrer had all the answers. He again matched par in Tuesday morning’s second round with a 71 and then pulled away from the field with eight birdies in a sparkling 4-under-par 67 in the afternoon in the final round for a four-shot victory.

   Fuhrer, who will join the program at George Mason later this summer, finished the 54-hole event, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, with a 4-under 209 total. He was the only player in the field to finish under par.

   Fuhrer’s pal, recent Penn Trafford graduate Nick Turowski, playing out of Hannastown Golf Club, caught Fuhrer with a solid 1-under 70 in Tuesday morning’s second round that left them both at even-par 142 going into the final round.

   Turowski, who will be competing in the Southeastern Conference when he joins the program at West Virginia later this summer, matched par in the final round with a 71 to finish alone in second place, four shots behind Fuhrer with an even-par 213 total.

   At nearby Lebanon Country Club, Tam O’Shanter Golf Club’s Kate Sowers, a junior at West Middlesex, took a more commanding five-shot advantage into Tuesday’s double round in the PAGA’s 61^st Junior Girls’ Championship, also sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods.

   But like Fuhrer, Sowers, who finished in a tie for second place in last fall’s PIAA Class AA Championship at Penn State, showed she could play with a lead as she finished with a 2-under 214 total that gave her a dominating seven-shot victory.

   Back at Hershey, Fuhrer had a steady round in Tuesday morning’s second round. After making a birdie at the first hole, Fuhrer ripped off 10 straight pars. After making a bogey at the 12^th hole, Fuhrer made a birdie at 13 before falling back to even for the round with a bogey at 18.

   Fuhrer followed a birdie on the first hole in the afternoon with a bogey at two, but then made birdies at three, four and seven. After a bogey at the 11^th hole, Fuhrer made consecutive birdies at 12, 13 and 14.

   There was an anxious moment at the par-3 13^th hole when Fuhrer missed the green, but his chip shot hit the pin dead center, the ball dropping in for an unlikely birdie.

   Fuhrer had enough cushion to survive a double bogey at the 16^th hole and he bounced right back with a birdie at 17 to close out his 4-under round.

   “The consecutive birdies on the back nine gave me a big confidence boost,” Fuhrer told the PAGA website. “I don’t like to check the live scoring because I don’t want to over-pressure myself, but I knew that with those, I probably had the lead. So then it was all about staying calm, trusting my game, hitting good shots and seeing where it took me.”

   Saucon Valley Country Club’s Thomas Young, who was the qualifying medalist and reached the semifinals in last week’s Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) Junior Boys’ Championship, closed with a 3-under 68 to finish a shot behind Turowski in third place with a 1-over 214 total.

   Young entered the final round four shots behind Fuhrer and Turowski after carding a 1-over 72 in Tuesday morning’s second round.

   Two of the Inter-Ac League’s top returning players, Fieldstone Golf Club’s Davis Conaway, a junior at Malvern Prep, and Merion Golf Club’s Nicky Nemo, a junior at The Haverford School, were among a trio of players tied for fourth place at 4-over 217, three shots behind Young.

   Conaway, winner of the Bert Linton Invitational, the Inter-Ac’s individual championship, as a freshman in the fall of 2022, crept within two shots of the lead with a solid 1-under 70 in Tuesday morning’s second round, closed with a 2-over 73.

   Nemo, who helped the Fords capture the Inter-Ac title last fall, tallied a 2-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round before finishing up with a 1-over 72 to join the group at 4-over.

   Rounding out the trio at 4-over was Fuhrer’s Oakmont clubmate and Fox Chapel teammate Carson Kittsley, who registered a 1-over 72 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 2-over 73. Kittsley will be a junior at Fox Chapel this fall.

   Toftrees Golf Resort’s Luke McGraw, a sophomore at State College, recorded a pair of 2-over 73s Tuesday to finish alone in seventh place with a 5-over 218 total.

   The Springhaven Club’s Tyler Debusschere, who was Cornell’s highest finisher as a freshman in the Ivy League Championship at Watchung Valley Golf Club in Watchung, N.J. in April, headed a group of four players who finished in a tie for eighth place at 6-over 219, a shot behind McGraw.

   Debusschere, who starred scholastically at Strath Haven, posted a 2-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Nemacolin Country Club’s Colton Lusk, a Peters Township senior, also matched par in the final round with a 71 after signing for a solid 1-over 72 in Tuesday morning’s second round to join the quartet at 6-over. Lusk finished in a tie for fourth place in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State.

   Rounding out the foursome at 6-over were Out Door Country Club’s Callahan Harrell, a York Suburban junior, and Cable Hollow Golf Course’s Braddock Damore, a recent Warren graduate. Harrell and Damore were both PIAA Class AAA qualifiers last fall.

   Harrell recorded a pair of solid 1-over 72s Tuesday while Damore, who will join the program at St. Bonaventure later this summer, tallied a 2-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 74.

   Over at Lebanon, Sowers matched par in the final round with a 72 to roll to a seven-shot victory with a 2-under total. Like Fuhrer over at Hershey East, Sowers was the only player in the field to finish under par.

   In her final round, Sowers followed up a bogey at the first hole with back-to-back birdies at three and four. She then followed up a bogey at the sixth hole with birdies at seven and 10. Sowers stumbled briefly with a double bogey at the 12^th hole before finishing up with six straight pars.

   Taking a five-shot lead into Tuesday’s double round, Sowers began the day with a 2-over 74.

   After making a birdie at the second hole, Sowers made a bogey at three and birdies at five and seven. She bounced back from a bogey at the eighth hole with a birdie at 10. Sowers struggled a little down the stretch in the morning with bogeys at the 11^th and 16^th holes and a double bogey at 17.

   But Sowers actually increased her lead to six shots going into the final round.

   “It was amazing,” Sowers told the PAGA website. “I felt really confident all week and I saw the shots well. I was never really in any trouble. It was just an easy three rounds of golf and was stress-free, I’d say. I’ve been playing well recently and to string together some really good holes in a tournament as big as this means everything to me.”

   The victory earned Sowers a spot in the U.S, Girls’ Junior Championship, which tees off July 15 at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, Calif. The Pennsylvania Junior Girls was expanded to 54 holes to take advantage of the initiative by the United States Golf Association to expand the ways players can qualify for its national championships beyond its traditional qualifiers.

   I thought the boys winner was also awarded a spot in the U.S. Junior Amateur, but apparently that is not the case.

   Bucknell Golf Club’s Hannah Rabb, a recent Warrior Run graduate who will join the program at James Madison later this summer, matched par in the final round with a 72 to earn runnerup honors with a 5-over 221 total, seven shots behind Sowers.

   Rabb, who shared second place with Sowers in last fall’s PIAA Class AA Championship at Penn State, had carded a 1-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round.

   The PIAA champions from last fall, Plymouth-Whitemarsh senior Rhianna Gooneratne in Class AAA, and recent North East graduate Anna Swan in Class AA, accounted for the next two spots on the final leaderboard.

   The 1912 Club’s Gooneratne closed with a 2-over 74 after matching par with a 72 in Tuesday morning’s second round to finish in third place, a shot behind Rabb with a 6-over 222 total.

   Lake View Country Club’s Anna Swan also finished up with a 2-over 74 after registering a 1-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round to end up in fourth place, a shot behind Gooneratne with a 7-over 223 total. Anna Swan will join older sister Lydia Swan, the PIAA Class AA champion in 2019, at Oral Roberts later this summer.

   White Manor Country Club’s Clarissa Leung, coming off a spring sweep of the Inter-Ac and Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) individual titles to cap her junior season at Episcopal Academy, finished three shots behind Anna Swan in fifth place with a 10-over 226 total.

   Leung recorded a solid 1-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 3-over 75.

   Conestoga Country Club’s Piper Smith, a Manheim Township junior, put together a couple of solid even-par 72s Tuesday to climb up the leaderboard and finish in sixth place, a shot behind Leung with a 227 total. Smith has been a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in each of her first two seasons of high school golf.

   Overbrook Golf Club’s Kiersten Bodge, a sophomore at Notre Dame, headed a group of three players tied for seventh place at 229, two shots behind Smith. Bodge, the runnerup to Leung at both the Inter-Ac and PAISAA championships this spring, posted a pair of 3-over 75s Tuesday.

   Whitford Country Club’s Mia Pace, a recent Downingtown East graduate, also landed among the trio tied for seventh place as she put together a solid 3-over 75 in the second round before struggling a little in the final round with an 80.

   Pace, who will join the program at Utah Valley later this summer, finished in fifth place in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship.

   Rounding out the trio at 229 was Wildwood Golf Club’s Alyssa Zhang, who had a solid finish Tuesday, carding a pair of 2-over 74s. Zhang is about to start high school and will be a solid addition to somebody’s scholastic team during the upcoming school year.

   Phoenixville’s Roberts sisters, Kate, a recent Phoenixville graduate, and Kayley, who will be a junior, had solid finishes at Lebanon. Both entered as PAGA individual members.

   Kate Roberts, who edged sister Kayley by a shot to win the District One Class AAA Championship last fall at Turtle Creek Golf Course, finished alone in 10^th place at Lebanon with a 233 total. Kate Roberts bounced back from an opening-round 83 to match par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a 6-over 78.

   Kayley Roberts finished a shot behind her sister in a tie for 11^th place with RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve’s Alli Engart, a senior at Souderton and, like the Roberts sisters, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, as both landed on 234.

   Kayley Roberts, who finished in a tie for seventh place in the Girls 14-15 division in the Drive, Chip & Putt national finals at Augusta National Golf Club in April, bounced back from an opening-round 82 with a 4-over 76 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 78

   Engart sandwiched a 4-over 76 in Tuesday morning’s second round with a pair of 79s.

   With no cut following Monday’s opening round, the team competition for the girls continued through all three rounds of the individual chase.

   Philadelphia Cricket Club and Overbrook shared the team title, each of the two-girl teams landing on 58-over 490.

   The Cricket Club team was comprised of Germantown Friends sophomore Sarah Stumacher and Episcopal Academy senior Addie Chang, who helped the Churchwomen sweep to Inter-Ac and PAISAA team titles this spring.

   Stumacher finished up with a solid 3-over 75 in the final round while Chang posted a 5-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round to lead the way for the Cricket Club tandem.

   The Overbrook duo included Notre Dame’s Bodge and Radnor junior Elayna Fannelli, the girls medalist in the Central League Championship at Turtle Creek last fall and a PIAA Class AAA qualifier.