Haverford School's Curran rolls to seven-shot victory in HJGT's Philly Junior Open at Scotland Run

 

   As a sophomore last fall, Sean Curran played a key role in The Haverford School’s run to its first Inter-Ac League championship since 2019.

   Curran, a Newtown Square resident, spent the Memorial Day weekend rolling to a seven-shot victory in the Boys 16-to-18 division in the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour’s Philly Junior Open at Scotland Run Golf Club in Williamstown, N.J.

   I still have some catching up to do with the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour, but the HJGT’s Memorial Day stop in the Philadelphia area, a three-day, 54-hole event that concluded on Memorial Day (May 27^th), has become a popular late spring stop for many of the area’s junior golfers preparing for the big events coming in the summer and was worth revisiting.

   Curran struggled in the opening round with a 6-over-par 77 over the par-71 Scotland Run layout, but he surged into contention on the strength of a sizzling 5-under 66 in the second round that got him within a shot of the leader, Ravi Khannan of Fairfield, Conn., going into the final round.

   Curran was hot right from the start in his second round with birdies at the first, second, third and fifth holes. He made a bogey at the sixth hole, the only blemish on his scorecard, but bounced right back with a birdie at eight as he toured the outgoing nine at Scotland Run in 4-under 31.

   Curran was steady the rest of the way, rattling off seven straight pars, making a birdie at 16 and then closing the round with a pair of pars.

   Curran, who finished in a tie for sixth place in the Bert Linton Invitational, the Inter-Ac’s individual championship at Aronimink Golf Club, then pulled away from the field with a solid 1-under 70 in the final round for an even-par 213 total.

   Tommy Marshall of Marlton, N.J. was tied for second place with Curran going into the final round as he matched par in the opening round with a 71 before adding a 1-over 72 in the second round. Marshall struggled in the final round with a 6-over 77, but held onto second place with a 7-over 220 total.

   Khanna had the lead going into the final round after he added a 1-under 70 in the second round to his opening round of 1-over 72. Khanna closed with an 8-over 79 to finish a shot behind Marshall in third place with an 8-over 221 total.

   Another of the talented sophomores who contributed to Haverford School’s Inter-Ac championship run last fall, Nicky Nemo of Bryn Mawr, finished a shot behind Khanna in fourth place with a 9-over 222 total.

   Nemo, who also earned a spot in the field for the Bert Linton last fall, was steady all weekend at Scotland Run, adding a 2-over 73 in the second round to his opening round 75 before closing with a 3-over 74.

   Michael Henry, a junior for Malvern Prep last fall, finished two shots behind Nemo with an 11-over 224 total.

   Henry, the runnerup in the Bert Linton at Aronimink last fall, bounced back from an opening round of 5-over 76 with a solid 1-under 70 in the second round before closing with a 7-over 78.

   P.J. Foley of Northfield, N.J. carded a pair of 6-over 77s in the first two rounds before closing with a solid 2-over 73 to finish three shots behind Henry in sixth place with a 14-over 227 total.

   Keller Tannehill of Margate, N.J. and Nathan Smith of Chestertown, Md. were another two shots behind Foley in a tie for seventh place, each landing on 16-over 229.

   Tannehill added a 5-over 76 in the second round to his opening-round 78 before finishing up with his best round of the weekend, a 3-over 74. Smith opened with a 3-over 74 and added a 76 in the second round before struggling a little in the final round with a 79.

   Joseph Vantabedian of Crofton, Md. rode a sparkling opening round of 2-under 69 to a first-place finish in the Boys 14-15 division, ending up with a 14-over 227 total and a five-shot victory.

   Vantabedian made birdies at the first, fourth, 11^th and 12^th holes to get it to 4-under for the day in his opening round before making bogeys at the 13^th and 18^th holes to get it to the clubhouse at 2-under.

   Vantabedian struggled in the second round with an 83 before bouncing back with a 4-over 75 in the second round.

   It was a solid showing at Scotland Run for Ridley freshman Declan Conner, who earned runnerup honors with a 232 total. After opening with an 80, Conner recorded a 3-over 74 in the second round to creep within two shots of Vantabedian heading into the final round. Conner closed with a 7-over 78.

   It was 14 shots back to Scott Cunningham of Wayne as he finished alone in third place with a 246 total. Cunningham was steady all weekend, adding an 82 in the second round to his opening-round 83 before closing with an 81.

   Tyler Koch of Monroe Township, N.J. finished two shots behind Scott Cunningham in fourth place with a 248 total as Koch sandwiched a 92 in the second round with a pair of solid 7-over 78s.

   Jaxon Piccoli of Berlin, N.J. finished a shot behind Koch in fifth place with a 249 total as he bounced back from an opening-round 89 with a 6-over 77 in the second round before struggling to an 83 in the final round.

   Lucas Flynn of Melrose, Mass. was the runaway winner of the Boys 11-to-13 division as he opened with a 5-over 76 and then added a pair of 6-over 77s for a 230 total.

   Flynn’s closest pursuer was Ethan Clouser of Newtown as he finished 17 shots behind Flynn in second place with a 247 total. Clouser was steady at Scotland Run as he added an 81 in the second round to his opening-round 82 before closing with an 84.

   Preston Minio of Lansdale was three shots behind Clouser in third place with a 250 total as he added an 82 in the second round to his opening-round 85 before finishing up with an 83.

   Christos Bottos of Berwyn closed with a 4-over 75 that was the best individual round in the division for the weekend and left him four shots behind Minio in fourth place with a 254 total. Bottos had trouble figuring out the Scotland Run layout in the first two rounds as he opened with an 88 and added a 91 in the second round before something clicked in time for the final round.

   Eric Cunningham of Wayne’s Team Cunningham and Henry Bizzozero of Hingham, Mass. finished in a tie for fifth place as each landed on 257, three shots behind Bottos.

   After opening with an 87, Eric Cunningham signed for back-to-back 85s in the final two rounds. Bizzozero sandwiched a 91 in the second round with a pair of 83s.

   Pretty impressive 1-under 70 in the opening round for Isaac Lee of Alpine, N.Y. on his way to a dominating win in the Boys Under-10 division. The kid’s under 10 and he’s under par for the round? Look out.

   Lee added a 4-over 75 in the second round before closing with a 2-over 73 for a 5-over 218 total.

   Ethan Hahn of New York City matched Lee’s final round of 2-over 73 to earn runnerup honors with a 265 total. Hahn had opened with a 5-over 76 before struggling a little in the second round with an 86.

   Rounding out the field in the Boys Under-10 division was Fraser Gannon of Doylestown as he took third place with a 275 total. Gannon opened with a solid 76, struggled in the second round with a 95 and closed with an 84.

   Jacqueline Zeng of Princeton, N.J. matched par in the final round with a 71 and was a dominant winner of the Girls 14-to-18 division by 11 shots with a 5-over 218 total.

   In the final round, Zeng made a birdie at the seventh hole and a bogey at eight before rattling off eight straight pars. After making a bogey at the 17^th hole, Zeng finished in style with a birdie at the last to get it back to even-par for the round.

   Zeng had opened with a 3-over 74 before adding a 1-over 73 in the second round.

   Naaz Mehta of Newtown was Zeng’s closest pursuer as she posted three rounds in the 70s to earn runnerup honors with a 229 total. Naaz Mehta opened with a 4-over 75, added a 5-over 76 in the second round and closed with a 78.

   It was another nine shots back to Gege Ren of Bryn Mawr as she finished in third place with a 238 total. Ren opened with a solid 6-over 77 and added an 80 in the second round before closing with an 81.

   Isabel Knickle of Washington, D.C. took a road trip to South Jersey finished in fourth place with a 256 total as she added an 85 in the second round to her opening-round 84 before closing with an 87.

   Another member of Newtown’s Team Mehta, Noor Mehta, took fifth place as she was steady all weekend, adding an 84 in the second round to her opening-round 86 before finishing up with an 87.

   Prisha Pandey, a Bradenton, Fla. resident, might have had to take to the air to get to South Jersey and she finished three shots behind Noor Mehta in sixth place with a 260 total. Pandey posted back-to-back 85s in the first two rounds before closing with a 90.

   Neshaminy senior Sabrina Swope and Grace Rotatori of Stamford, Conn. finished in a tie for seventh place, each ending up with a 265 total.

   After opening with an 87, Swope posted back-to-back 89s in the final two rounds. Rotatori bounced back from an opening-round 92 with an 85 in the second round before closing with an 88.

   Emma Lewis, a junior at Downingtown West who helped the Whippets capture the Ches-Mont League title last fall, finished three shots behind Swope and Rotatori in ninth place with a 268 total. Lewis carded back-to-back 91s in the first two rounds before closing with an 86.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the Girls 14-to-18 division was Vidushi Gupta of Malvern as she finished five shots behind Lewis in 10^th place with a 273 total. Gupta added a 90 in the second round to her opening-round 89 before closing with a 94.

   Chiara Sanchez Rodriguez of Hackensack, N.J. was the lone entry in the Girls Under-13 division and saved her best round for last, finishing up with an 86 for a 272 total. Sanchez Rodriguez opened with a 91 before adding a 95 in the second round.