LaScala heats up on a dreary day at Rock Manor as he leads 23 qualifiers for Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship

 

   It was chilly and rain eventually arrived Saturday, but a lot of junior golfers showed up at Rock Manor Golf Club near Wilmington, Del. looking for a spot in the field for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship in June.

   And it was a Wilmington guy, Luke LaScala, a junior on the Salesanium golf team who scorched the Rock Manor layout with a sparkling 3-under-par 68 for the best score of the day.

   It was also the first day of a Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) Delaware Series for the weekend with another Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop scheduled for Sunday at Maple Dale Country Club near Dover, Del.

   Players can accumulate points in JGS events that can earn them status on some of the higher-profile junior circuits, most notably the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).

   LaScala led a group of 23 players who qualified for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship, a one-day 36-hole test which tees off June 15 at Bellewood Country Club, just across the Schuylkill River from Pottstown.

   The top finishers – and it’s usually only two or three players – at Bellewood will qualify for the Boys Junior PGA Championship, a marquee national event for juniors conducted by the PGA of America which will tee off July 28 at Fields Ranch East and West at the PGA of America’s national headquarters in Frisco, Texas.

   The qualifiers came from players ages 13 to 18. The Philly Junior Tour broke out its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 divisions for the boys, so I’ll round up the top finishers in those divisions while referring to the overall scoring.

   Nobody was better than LaScala, who made birdies at the first, third, sixth, ninth, 16^th and 17^th holes and had 10 pars on his scorecard, including a string of six straight pars from 10 through 15. Those four front-nine birdies enabled LaScala to tour the outgoing nine in 3-under 33.

   LaScala’s 68 gave him the top spot in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring.

   Liam Crowley, a Wayne resident and the winner of the Bert Linton Memorial for the Inter-Ac League’s individual title at The 1912 Club as a junior at Episcopal Academy last fall, was the runnerup among the older guys and in the overall scoring with a solid 1-under 70.

   Crowley, who helped the Churchmen capture the Inter-Ac title last fall, made birdies on the second, third and ninth holes on Rock Manor’s front nine and then heated up on the incoming nine with four straight birdies at 14, 15, 16 and 17. He also had six pars on his card.

   Quinn Gallagher, a Bryn Mawr resident and a junior on the golf team at The Haverford School, matched par with a 71 to finish a shot behind his Inter-Ac rival Crowley in third place in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring.

   Gallagher made birdies at the 11^th and 18^th holes and an eagle at the par-5 13^th to go along with 12 pars, including seven straight pars to open his round.

   Cole Powell, a Fell Township resident who capped his sophomore season at Scranton Prep by capturing the PIAA Class AA crown at Penn State’s White Course, was a shot behind Gallagher in fourth place among the older guys and in the overall scoring with a 1-over 72.

   Powell also helped Scranton Prep repeat as the state Class AA team champion at Penn State last fall.

   Ravi Gohel of Mount Laurel, N.J. and Jack Tunnell of Lewes, Del. each posted a 3-over 74 to finish in a tie for fifth place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for sixth in the overall scoring.

   Daniel Herzchel of Linwood, N.J. was another shot behind Gohel and Tunnell in seventh place in the 16-to-18 division with a 4-over 75 that left him in a tie for eighth in the overall scoring with Jack Sokol, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Harriton last fall, in the 13-to-15 division.

   Chase Andrews, a junior on the Souderton golf team, and Jake Yerkes, a Wyncote resident and a sophomore with Catholic League power La Salle, finished in a tie for eighth place among the older guys, each signing for a 5-over 76 that left them in a tie for 10^th place in the overall scoring with Jack Sokol’s twin brother Henry Sokol, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Harriton last fall, also playing in the 13-to-15 division.

   Bryce Erwin, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Hershey last fall, and Pierce Drake, a junior on the Downingtown East golf team, finished in a tie for 10^th place in the 16-to-18 division and in a tie for 13^th in the overall scoring as each tallied a 77.

   Johnny LaViola of Berlin, Md. finished in 12^th place among the older guys with a 78 and shared 15^th in the overall scoring with Taimoor Naseem of Sinking Spring from the 13-to-15 division.

   Ian Larsen, a junior on the Downingtown West golf team, finished in 13^th place in the 16-to-18 division with a 79 and shared 17^th in the overall scoring with Ben Meixell of Wilmington, Del. and Beckett Kush of Yardley from the 13-to-15 division.

   Gus Stoltzfus, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Avon Grove last fall, Trevor Sieben of Marlton, N.J., Billy Nikolaidis, a sophomore on the Muhlenberg golf team, and Johnny Lee of Glenside finished in a tie for 14^th place in the 16-to-18 division and made the cut for a spot in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship on the number as they were tied for 20^th in the overall scoring, each recording an 80.

   Nathan Lobo of Collegeville finished atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division and was fifth in the overall scoring as he made birdies on the third, ninth, 11^th and 18^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard in registering a solid 2-over 73.

   The Sokol twins, Jack and Henry, went 2-3, respectively, in the 13-to-15 division.

   Jack Sokol made birdies on the first, ninth and 16^th holes and had 10 pars on his card on his way to a 4-over 75 that earned him runnerup honors among the younger guys and left him in a tie for eighth in the overall standings with Herzchel in the 16-to-18 division.

   Henry Sokol made birdies on the first and 13^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, including a run of four straight pars from four through seven, as he carded a 5-over 76 that left him a shot behind his twin brother in third place in the 13-to-15 division and in a tie for 10^th in the overall scoring with Andrews and Yerkes from the 16-to-18 division.

   Naseem put together a solid 7-over 78 as he finished in fourth place among the younger guys and in a tie for 15^th in the overall scoring with LaViola.

   Meixell and Kush were the final two players out of the 13-to-15 division to punch their ticket to Bellewood for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship as they each tallied a 79 to finish in a tie for fifth place among the younger guys and in a tie for 17^th in the overall standings with Larsen out of the 16-to-18 division.

   Chase Yakaitis, a freshman on the Salisbury golf team, and Richard Davoli of Ambler finished in a tie for seventh among the younger guys, each registering an 81.

   Lucas Shank of West Chester took ninth place with an 82 and Samuel Nelligan of Gilbertsville rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division as he finished 10^th with an 83.

   Mariana Walker, who wrapped up her scholastic career at Council Rock North last fall, had 10 pars on her scorecard, opening her round with five straight pars, as she earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 16-to-18 division with an 85.

   It was not a qualifier for the girls. There will be a Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship July 6 at DuPont Country Club, but, I’m pretty sure, it’s an open tournament. The top finishers at DuPont will qualify for the Girls Junior PGA Championship, which will be contested simultaneously with the boys at Fields Ranch East and West in Frisco, Texas beginning July 28.

   Emma Bergey of Kennett Square had five pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors with an 88.

   Ellie Walls of Millsboro, Del. made an eagle at the par-5 ninth hole and had five pars on her card, rattling off three straight pars at 15, 16 and 17, as she rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division by finishing in third place with a 96.

   Ella Buerhaus of Abingdon, Md. and Mia DeCarlo of Glen Mills, one of the top performers in the girls 12-and-under division last year, finished tied atop the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division, each signing for an 86.

   Buerhaus made a birdie at the 14^th hole and had five pars on her scorecard and DeCarlo had seven pars on her card. Buerhaus was coming off a Philly Junior Tour victory April 19th at Running Deer Golf Club.

   Evelyn Brillman of Elkins Park made a birdie on the 14^th hole and had eight pars on her card, including three straight pars to open her round, as she finished a shot behind Buerhaus and DeCarlo in third place with an 87.

   Another member of Elkins Park’s Team Brillman, Eleanor Brillman, finished in fourth place with an 89.

   Annabelle Barr of Gladwyne took fifth place with a 90, Hannah LeGrow of Wilmington, Del. was sixth with an 86 and Kate Benson, a freshman on the Great Valley golf team, rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished seventh with a 113.

   Jack Kolmer of Wayne made a birdie on the sixth hole and had five pars on his scorecard, including back-to-back pars to close out his round at eight and nine, as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a 2-over 38.

   James Wilson of Wilmington, Del. made birdies at the first and third holes and had three pars on his card, also finishing up his round with back-to-back pars at eight and nine, as he finished a shot behind Kolmer in second place with a 3-over 39.

   Grayson Wright of Philadelphia and Luke George of Mullica Hill, N.J. shared third place, each ending up a shot behind Wilson with a 40.

   Wright made a birdie on the fifth hole and had four pars on his card, including three straight pars at seven, eight and nine to close out his round. George finished up his round with a birdie at the ninth hole and had five pars on his card, including a string of four straight pars from five through eight.

   Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. took fifth place with a 41, Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr was sixth with a 42, Ben Adkins of Lewes, Del. was seventh with a 43 and Jamie Cahn of Penn Valley was eighth with a 46.

   A couple of Wilmington, Del. guys, Chris Pilcher and Alex Cheng, rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division with Pilcher taking ninth place with a 48 and Chen finishing 10^th with a 50.

   Trisha Lobo, another member of Collegeville’s Team Lobo, made a birdie on the sixth hole and had two pars on her scorecard as she bested the field of girls 12-and-under nine-holers with a solid 6-over 42.

   Lillian Fry of Pennsburg had three pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors with a 47.

   Addison Sabatini of West Chester took third place with a 53 and Arianna Testaiuti of Newtown Square rounded out the field in the girls 12-and-under division as she finished fourth with a 54.