Shah's solid 70 at John F. Byrne earns him a Philly Junior Tour victory

   Rayan Shah of Newtown won 21 times on his way to Player of the Year honors in the coed 12-and-under division in 2023 and he did it against a really competitive group of nine-holers.

   So, it’s not a huge surprise to see Shah land at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division of a  Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop Aug. 20^th with a 3-over-par 70 at John F. Byrne Golf Club, the headquarters of First Tee of Greater Philadelphia in Philadelphia.

   Shah made a birdie at the 12^th hole and had 13 pars on his scorecard, including a run of six straight pars from the third through the eighth holes. The birdie at the 12^th hole helped Shah tour the incoming nine at John F. Byrne in even-par 34.

   One of Shah’s many rivals in the coed 12-and-under division a year ago, Henry Sokol of Villanova, earned runnerup honors as he had a steady round of 7-over 74 that left him four shots behind Shah.

   Tyler Whitney of Cherry Hill, N.J. made a birdie at the third hole and had nine pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Henry Sokol in third place with a 75.

   A couple of Fort Washington guys accounted for the next two spots on the leaderboard as Ethan Meersman took fourth place with a 77 and Michael Darcy was fifth with a 79.

   Jack Labley of Gladwyne took sixth place with an 81, Henry Sokol’s twin brother Jack Sokol was seventh with an 84, Tyler Gerard was eighth with an 86 and Bryce Moyer of Bryn Mawr was ninth with an 87.

   Mason Kim of Blue Bell rounded out the top 10 in the 13-and-under division as he finished in 10^th place with a 91.

   Hank Charlton made birdies at the third, seventh and 16^th holes and had eight pars on his scorecard, including a string of seven straight pars from the ninth through the 15^th holes, as he claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division with a 5-over 72.

   That run of pars and the birdie at the 16^th hole enabled Charlton to tour the incoming nine at John F. Byrne in even-par 34.

   Brandon Carrigan of Warrington and Sean Allen Jr. of Philadelphia finished in a tie for second place, each signing for a 74 that left them two shots behind Charlton.

   Carrigan made a birdie on the fourth hole and had 10 pars on his card. Allen made birdies at the 12^th and 16^th holes and had eight pars on his card as he matched par on the back nine at John F. Byrne with a 34.

   Michael Liu, a Garnet Valley resident and a member of the golf team at Archmere Academy, finished in fourth place with a 76. Liu, a junior, helped the Auks capture the team crown in the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championship in the spring at Maple Dale Country Club.

   Scott Twilley of Pipersville took fifth place with a 78, Drake Brogan of Ocean View, N.J. was sixth with an 80, Michael Links – great last name for a golfer, by the way – of Swedesboro, N.J. was seventh with an 82, Noah Taylor of Columbus, N.J. was eighth with an 83 and Michael Doyle of Haddonfield, N.J. was ninth with an 85.

   Gabriel Abalos of Washington Township, N.J rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as he finished in 10^th place with a 90.

   Emma Liu of Moorestown, N.J. made birdies at the seventh and 12^th holes and closed out her round with a par at 18 as she earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 13-to-15 division with a solid 84.

   Masey Heenan of Ocean City, N.J. had three pars on her card, all of them on the incoming nine at John F. Byrne, as she earned runnerup honors with an 88.

   Juliana Gatt of Newtown made a birdie on the 12^th hole and added a par at nine as she took third place with a 100.

   Addison Murphy of Cummings rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in fourth place with a 114.

   Patrick Thomas of Hockessin, Del. made eight pars, opening his round with six straight pars, as he bested the field of nine-holers with a solid 1-over 34.

   Preston Minio of Lansdale made a birdie on the third hole and had six pars on his scorecard as he finished a shot behind Thomas in second place with a 2-over 35.

   Bobby Stefanski of Newtown Square made birdies at the third and seventh holes and had two pars on his card as he finished two shots behind Minio in third place with a 37.

   Connor Michaels of Lancaster took fourth place with a 40, Damien Dollard of Cinnaminson, N.J. was fifth with a 41 and the quartet of Ryan Dungan of Warrington, Steven Musacchio of Glenmoore, Mallie Heenan, another member of Team Heenan out of Ocean City, N.J., and Mason Arnold of Ambler finished in a tie for sixth place, each posting a 42.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division were Baylor Keim of Blue Bell and Eric Cunningham of Wayne as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each signing for a 43.