Sokol at his best while matching par at Kimberton to capture a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   Henry Sokol of Villanova found the George Fazio-designed Kimberton Golf Club near Phoenixville to his liking as he matched par with a 70 to earn a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division Aug. 1^st.

   Sokol, who moved up to the younger of the 18-hole divisions after a successful summer of 2023 with the nine-holers, made back-to-back birdies on the eighth and ninth holes, added birdies on the incoming nine at 15 and 18 and had 10 pars on his scorecard.

   Malvern Prep sophomore Ayden Gallen made birdies on the first, seventh, 10^th and 12^th holes and had eight pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a solid 3-over 73.

   Frank Kunze of Garnet Valley opened his round with an eagle 2 at the par-4 first hole and had 12 pars on his card, including a string of eight in a row from the sixth through the 13^th holes, as he finished a shot behind Gallen in third place with a 4-over 74.

   Matthew Kim of Englewood, N.J., coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory a day earlier at Bluestone Country Club, took fourth place with a 75 and Gus Wolfe of Downingtown was another shot behind Kim in fifth with a 76.

   Adam Cifra of Blue Bell and Ian Rotto of Kennett Square shared sixth place, each ending up a shot behind Wolfe with a 77.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was the trio of Colin Burke of Wilmington, Del., William Thorkelson of Bryn Mawr and Ethan Clouser of Newtown as they finished in a tie for eighth place, each tallying a 79.

   Boyertown senior Chase Dillman, who has been solid all summer, made birdies at the seventh and 17^th holes and had 12 pars on his scorecard, including a run of nine straight pars from the eighth through the 16^th holes, as he earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division with a 5-over 75.

   Ajeet Bagga, one of the Inter-Ac League’s top players during an outstanding scholastic career at Germantown Academy, made birdies at the seventh and 15^th holes and had nine pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Dillman in second place among the younger guys with a 76.

   Bagga will be joining the program at NYU this month.

   Dillman’s Boyertown teammate William Swartley, a junior for the Bears, made a birdie on the eighth hole, then ripped off three straight birdies at 15, 16 and 17 and had five pars on his card as he finished in third place with a 78.

   Alex Topping, a senior on the Springside Chestnut Hill Academy golf team, and Nathan Frazer of Radnor finished in a tie for fourth place, each landing on 80 and the trio of Nick Linkchorst, a senior on the West Chester Rustin golf team and a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, Malvern Prep junior Evan Fulton, an Exton resident, and Southern Lehigh senior David Tervalon finished in a tie for sixth, each signing for an 81.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was another trio tied for ninth place at 82 that included Penncrest graduate Ryan Anderson, Caden Wistreich of Blue Bell and Pearson Wolfe of Haddon Heights, N.J.

   The best score among the girls came out of the 13-to-15 division as Isha Garg of Berlin, Md. had seven pars on her scorecard to earn a Philly Junior Tour victory with an 84.

   It was a tight battle for the top spot as Garg finished a shot better than Bryn Brandt of Lebanon, who had six pars on her card on her way to an 85.

   Ella Bloszinsky of Allentown rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in third place with a 98.

   Bryann O’Tinger of Guilford, Conn. had six pars on her scorecard as she finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division with an 85.

   Conestoga junior Suri Ahn, who helped the Pioneers finish in third place in the PIAA Class AAA team standings last fall at Penn State, also had six pars on her card as she finished two shots behind O’Tinger in second place with an 87.

   Charlotte Anstine, a Chester Springs resident and a senior at Westtown School, made pars at the 10^th and 15^th holes as she finished in third place with a 93.

   Rounding out the field in the 16-to-18 division was Fortress Chryst of Wescosville as she finished in fourth place with a 102.

   Rylan Foust of Exton and Kolton Vannoy of Phoenixville bested the field of nine-holers as they finished in a tie for first place, each signing for a 46.

   Foust had three pars on his scorecard while Vannoy had eight bogeys.

   Carson McNamee of Harleysville finished up his round with a par at the ninth hole as he took third place with a 48.

   A couple of Ambler entries, Mason Arnold and Emilie Davoli, accounted for the next two spots on the leaderboard as Arnold took fourth place with a 49 and Davoli was fifth with a 50.

   Nolan English of Villanova took sixth place with a 52 and Ryan Kaye of Lansdale rounded out the field in the coed 12-and-under division, finishing seventh with a 56.