Conestoga sophomore Will Johnson and Scranton Prep sophomore Brendan Bell have been two of the top young scholastic players in Pennsylvania the last two falls.
With the March winds blowing at the Seaview Golf Club’s Bay Course, across the bay from Atlantic City, N.J., last weekend, the pair went toe-to-toe, battling the difficult conditions and each other in a two-day Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour event.
After 36 holes, Johnson and Bell were tied at 8-over-par 148 before Johnson went out and claimed a hard-fought victory on the first hole of a playoff.
The two-day tournament offered Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) points, which can earn players some status on some of the bigger junior circuits, most notably the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).
The Philly Junior Tour breaks down its usual 13-to-15 and 16-to-18 groups, so I’ll round them up while referencing the overall 13-to-18 scoring, which is what counts toward the JGS points.
Johnson and Bell went 1-2, respectively, in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring.
As a freshman in the fall of 2024, Johnson was the runnerup in the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course and his tie for ninth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State was the highest finish for a District One player.
Johnson earned a second trip to the state tournament by finishing in a tie for seventh place in the district tournament last fall at Turtle Creek.
Bell has helped Scranton Prep capture the PIAA Class AA team crown in each of his first two seasons with the Cavaliers.
The wind was really blowing in Saturday’s opening round at the Bay Course, home to the LPGA Tour’s annual visit to the Jersey Shore, the ShopRite LPGA Classic, with gusts of more than 30 mph coming from the northwest and the scores reflected the difficult conditions.
Josh Mohn, a junior on the St. Mark’s golf team, grabbed the lead following a fairly spectacular 2-over 72, given the conditions.
The high school season is in the spring in Delaware, so Mohn was tuning up for his junior season. Mohn made birdies at the fifth, 16th and 18th holes and had 11 pars on his scorecard.
Greg Kriz, a junior on the St. Joseph’s Prep golf team and a Blue Bell resident, was two shots behind Mohn with a 4-over 74. Kriz made birdies on the second and ninth holes and grinded out 10 pars.
Johnson was two shots behind Kriz with a 7-over 77 as Johnson, a product of the junior program at White Manor Country Club, had 11 pars on his card, including a string of four straight pars from the fourth through the seventh holes, in a very patient round.
Bell was a shot behind Johnson with an 8-over 78 as he opened his round with an eagle on the par-4 first hole and had 10 pars on his scorecard.
The wind was still blowing Sunday, although it switched directions and was coming in off the ocean. It wasn’t quite as cold as it had been a day earlier, but conditions were hardly easy on a tough golf course.
Johnson made birdies on the eighth, ninth, 13th and 18th holes and had nine pars on his card on his way to a 1-over 71.
After making a birdie at the third hole, Bell made an eagle at the par-4 fourth and added birdies at 13, 14 and 18 while putting seven pars on his card. Bell toured the incoming nine at the Bay Course in 5-under 30 while matching par with a 70 that enabled him to catch Johnson at 8-over.
Kriz made birdies at the third, fifth and 18th holes and had nine pars on his card as he added a 4-over 74 to his opening-round 75 to finish a shot behind Johnson and Bell in third place among the older guys and in the overall scoring.
Benjamin Allwein, a PIAA Class AA qualifier as a junior at Annville Cleona last fall, closed with a solid 1-over 71 as he shared fourth place in the 16-to-18 division with Mohn and in the overall scoring with Mohn and Trebor Melendez, the Vineland, N.J. phenom who finished atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division, each landing on 10-over 150.
Allwein had opened with a 79. Mohn couldn’t carry his momentum from that opening-round 72 and he added a 78 in Sunday’s second round.
Onyu Park, a talented sophomore on the Germantown Academy golf team, Luke Fallon, coming off a solid sophomore season at Wilson, and Daniel Kim of Franklin Lakes, N.J. finished in a tie for sixth place in the 16-to-18 division and rounded out the top 10 in the overall scoring by finishing in a tie for eighth as each ended up with a 152 total.
Park bounced back from an opening-round 80 with a solid 2-over 72 in Sunday’s somewhat less challenging conditions. Fallon opened with a 77 and added a 5-over 75 in Sunday’s second round. Kim recorded a pair of 6-over 76s.
Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was the trio of Holden Sparks, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at Nazareth last fall, Kyan DeLong, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Emmaus last fall by earning a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship, and Garnet Valley sophomore Frank Kunze as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each landing on 153.
Sparks and Kunze had the same splits, each opening with a 76 and adding a 77 in Sunday’s second round. DeLong opened with a solid 5-over 75 in the cold and wind before adding a 78 in Sunday’s second round.
Melendez is a Class of 2030 entry, so an eighth-grader, but he is a proven competitor, especially when the Philly Junior Tour ventures to South Jersey.
Melendez had 10 pars on his scorecard, including a string of four straight pars from the second through the fifth holes, in a patient opening round of 79 that left him a shot behind Henry Sokol, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Harriton last fall, Jesse Shurman of Villanova and Nathan Lobo of Collegeville in the 13-to-15 division.
But Melendez got it going in Sunday’s second round, making birdies at the third, fifth, 10th and 13th holes to go along with nine pars as he signed for a sparkling 1-over 71 for a 150 total that gave him a one-shot edge over Sokol among the younger guys and left him in a tie for fourth place in the overall standings with Allwein and Mohn from the 16-to-18 division.
Sokol closed his opening round with a birdie at the 18th hole and had nine pars on his card, including a run of four straight pars from four through seven.
Sokol was really steady in Sunday’s second round as he made birdies on the third, fifth and 11th holes and had 10 pars on his card, including a string of five straight pars from six through 10 on the outgoing nine and four more in a row from 13 to 16 on the incoming nine, while tallying a 3-over 73 that left him a shot behind Melendez in the 13-to-15 division with a 151 total.
Sokol was the only other player from the younger group to post a top-10 finish in the overall scoring as he ended up alone in seventh place.
Sokol and Melendez finished 1-2, respectively, in the race for Philly Junior Tour Player of the Year in the 13-to-15 division in 2025, Sokol claiming that honor for the second straight season.
Jesse Shurman made a birdie at the 18th hole and had 10 pars on his card to get a share of the lead following the opening round. He made birdies at the third and fifth holes and had nine pars on his card in a final round of 5-over 75 as he finished two shots behind Sokol in third place in the 13-to-15 division with a 153 total.
Another talented youngster, Taimoor Naseem, a Class of 2031 entry from Sinking Spring, added a 6-over 76 in Sunday’s second round to his opening-round 79 as he took fourth place in the 13-to-15 division with a 155 total.
Nathan Lobo, who had a share of first place with his opening-round 78, added another 78 in Sunday’s second round as he finished a shot behind Naseem in fifth place among the younger guys with a 156 total.
Logan Turner, a PIAA Class AA qualifier as a freshman at Devon Prep last fall, and Owen Ciesielka, a freshman at Malvern Prep and a West Chester resident, finished in a tie for sixth place in the 13-to-15 division, each ending up with a 158 total.
Turner, a Berwyn resident and, like Will Johnson, a White Manor guy, struggled in the difficult winds of the opening round with an 84, but bounced back with a solid 4-over 74 in Sunday’s second round.
Ciesielka also struggled in the opening round with an 83 before bouncing back with a solid 5-over 75 in Sunday’s second round.
Beckett Kush of Yardley and Evan Smith of Elkton, Md. shared eighth place in the 13-to-15 division as each ended up with a 160 total.
Kush added a 79 in Sunday’s second round to his opening-round 81. Smith tallied a pair of 80s.
Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was the pair of Jack Lobley, a freshman at Shipley and a Gladwyne resident, and Ethan Clouser, a freshman at La Salle and a Newtown resident, as both ended up with a 162 total.
Lobley bounced back from an opening-round 85 with a 77 in Sunday’s second round. Clouser opened with an 80 and added an 82 in Sunday’s second round.
Pretty impressive turnout among the guys for the Philly Junior Tour stop at Seaview. Despite the tough conditions, 75 guys completed two rounds in the cold and wind last weekend. They will all be better players for gutting it out.
The best score among the girls at Seaview came out of the 13-to-15 division as Emilie Davoli of Ambler was 10 shots clear of the field with a 162 total.
Watch out for this one. Davoli is a Class of 2032 kid, so a seventh-grader. The 12-year-old seemed unbothered by the difficult conditions as she made birdies on the fifth and 12th holes and had four pars on her scorecard in an opening-round 82.
Davoli came back in Sunday’s second round with a birdie at the fifth hole and had nine pars on her card on her way to an 80 that landed her atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division and in the overall scoring.
Our awful winter had these kids largely limited to getting some swings in on a simulator. Back on a real golf course, Davoli seemed ready to go.
Olivia Kirmayer, a freshman on the Downingtown East golf team, was the runnerup among the younger girls and finished in fifth place in the overall scoring with a 188 total.
Kirmayer made a birdie on the 17th hole and had a par at 11 in an opening-round 97. She had five pars on her card as she shaved six shots off her opening round with a 91 in Sunday’s second round.
Julie Costello of Ocean City, N.J. finished in third place in the 13-to-15 division and sixth in the overall scoring with a 193 total.
Costello made a birdie at the 14th hole and a par at five in an opening-round 100. She had four pars on her card as she bounced back in Sunday’s second round with a 93.
Alexa Mcelwain of Schnecksville improved by eight shots off her opening-round 103 with a 95 in Sunday’s second round as she ended up in fourth place among the younger girls and seventh overall with a 197 total.
Rounding out the 13-to-15 division was Hailey Cousins of Port Republic, N.J. as she finished in fifth place and was eighth overall with a 201 total. After struggling to a 107 in Saturday’s cold and wind, Cousins bounced back with a 94 in Sunday’s second round.
Nicole Tarquinio of Bridgeton, N.J. claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division and was the runnerup to Davoli in the overall scoring with a 172 total.
Tarquinio made a birdie on the 12th hole and had three pars on her scorecard in an opening-round 89. After a shaky start, Tarquinio had a solid 41 on the Bay Course’s incoming nine. Tarquinio made a birdie on the sixth hole and had six pars on her card on her way to a solid 83 in Sunday’s second round.
Morgan Tyhanic of Little Egg Harbor, N.J. was steady in the opening round’s cold and wind, making seven pars as she led Tarquinio by three shots among the older girls with an opening-round 86.
Tyhanic finished up with a birdie at the 18th hole and had four pars on her card, going 1-under for her last four holes, on her way to an 89 in Sunday’s second round that left her three shots behind Tarquinio in second place in the 16-to-18 division and third overall with a 175 total.
Rounding out the field in the 16-to-18 division was Siena Cohen of Marlton, N.J. as she was another three shots behind Tyhanic in third place and fourth in the overall standings with a 178 total.
Cohen made a birdie on the 15th hole and finished up with a par at 18 on her way to an opening-round 98. Cohen was 18 shots better in Sunday’s second round as she made birdies at the fifth and 17th holes and had six pars on her card on her way to a solid 80.
Blake Shurman, another member of Villanova’s Team Shurman, bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with an 87 total over two days.
Blake Shurman had four pars on his scorecard in an opening-round 45 and made three pars on his way to a 42 in Sunday’s second round.
Damien Dollard of Cinnaminson, N.J. and James Wilson of Wilmington, Del. shared runnerup honors as they finished a shot behind Blake Shurman, each posting an 88.
Dollard was the Player of the Year in a fiercely competitive boys 12-and-under division in 2025. Dollard had three pars on his card in an opening-round 46 and made a birdie on the fifth hole and back-to-back pars at three and four on his way to a 42 in Sunday’s second round.
Wilson had two pars on his card as he opened with a 45. He started his second round Sunday with three straight pars and ended up with five pars on his card on his way to a 43 that left him tied with Dollard.
Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville added a 45 in Sunday’s second round to his opening-round 44 to finish a shot behind Dollard and Wilson in fourth place with a total of 89.
Michael Antolino of Richboro had grabbed the lead with a solid 43 in the difficult conditions of Saturday’s opening round. He added a 51 in Sunday’s second round to finish in fifth place with a 94 total.
Luke George of Mullica Hill, N.J. registered back-to-back 48s to finish in sixth place with a 96 total.
Dillon Tierney of Marlton, N.J. was a shot behind George in seventh place with a 97 as he added a 49 in Sunday’s second round to his opening-round 48.
Jamie Cahn of Penn Valley added a 47 in Sunday’s second round to his opening-round 51 as he took eighth place with a 98.
Smith Rawes of Elkins Park was a shot behind Cahn in ninth place at 99 as he bounced back from an opening-round 54 with a 45 in Sunday’s second round.
Rounding out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division was Kayaan Patel, another Mullica Hill, N.J. entry, as he improved six shots from an opening-round 55 with a 49 in Sunday’s second round to finish in 10th place with a 104 total.
There was only one entry in the girls 12-and-under division, but she was a good one as Trisha Lobo, the reigning Philly Junior Tour’s Player of the Year in the division and another member of Collegeville’s Team Lobo, put together an 89 total.
Trisha Lobo made a birdie on the eighth hole and had two pars on her scorecard as she actually scored better in the gusty winds and chill of Saturday with a 42. She made two pars in Sunday’s second round on her way to a 47.
Might turn out to be an interesting little rivalry between the 12-year-old Davoli and the 11-year-old Trisha Lobo starting to brew.
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