Solano stays steady in the wind to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory at Golden Pheasant

 

   Lucas Solano, a talented 15-year-old from Vineland, N.J., had the best score of the day with a 3-over-par 75 at Golden Pheasant Golf Club in Lumberton Township, N.J. to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior victory in the 13-to-15 division Saturday.

   The wind made for some challenging conditions, but Solano was steady as he made birdies at the first and fifth holes and had 13 pars on his scorecard, including seven straight pars to close out his round.

   The stop at Golden Pheasant was part of a Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) Jersey Series for the weekend that was scheduled to conclude Sunday at Rancocas Golf Club. JGS events offer points that can earn players status on some of the higher profile junior circuits, most notably the American Junior Golf Association.

   Richard Davoli of Ambler had a birdie burst at the seventh, ninth and 10^th holes and had seven pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors among the younger guys with an 82.

   Jack Gilbert of Bryn Mawr and the son of Gulph Mills Golf Club head pro Tom Gilbert also went back-to-back with birdies at the ninth and 10^th holes, added birdies at 12 and 17 and had four pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Davoli in third place with an 83.

   Ethan Clouser, a freshman at Catholic League power La Salle and a Newtown resident, took fourth place with an 84, Nathan Lobo of Collegeville was fifth with an 87, and Oliver Hubbert, another freshman in the La Salle program and a Gwynedd Valley resident, finished sixth with a 92.

   Samuel Nelligan of Gilbertsville, Helmut Dang of Newtown Square and Pushkar Vatsavayi of Marlton, N.J. shared seventh place, each posting a 93.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was Hudson Dingmann of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. as he finished alone in 10^th place with a 101.

   Jesse Shurman of Villanova made three birdies on each side at Golden Pheasant at the second, seventh and eighth holes on the outgoing nine and 14, 15 and 17 on the incoming nine and had five pars on his scorecard as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division with a 4-over 76.

   Henry Sokol, who wrapped up his freshman season at Harriton by earning a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship, and Sebastian Park of Lansdale shared runnerup honors as each signed for a 6-over 78.

   Henry Sokol, moving up to the older division after earning back-to-back Philly Junior Tour Player of the Year awards in the 13-to-15 division, made birdies at the first, 10^th and 14^th holes and had seven pars on his card.

   Park also opened his round with a birdie at the first hole and had 11 pars on his card, including a string of five straight pars from five through nine.

   Chris Pullano, a Wynnewood resident and the Catholic League’s individual champion at Jeffersonville Golf Club as a senior at Devon Prep last fall, and Cooper Aspen, a junior on the Southern Lehigh golf team, shared fourth place, each tallying an 80.

   Jack Ferm, a junior on the Garnet Valley golf team, and Shane Cornell, a junior on the Avon Grove golf team, both of whom were District One Class AAA qualifiers last fall, finished in a tie for sixth place, each recording an 81.

   Jack Sokol, twin brother of Henry Sokol and a District One Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Harriton last fall, and Pierce Drake, a junior on the Downingtown East golf team, finished in a tie for eighth place, each registering an 82.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was the pair of Ryan Sun of Morganville, N.J. and Johnny LaViola of Berlin, Md. as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each landing on 83.

   Megan Choi, who has reached the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of her first two years on the Harriton golf team, had the best score of the day among the girls with a solid 5-over 77 that gave her a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division.

   Megan Choi’s steady round included birdies at the first and 14^th holes and nine pars, including a run of seven straight pars from seven through 13.

   Emma Bergey, a junior at Bishop Shanahan and a Kennett Square resident, made birdies at the ninth and 14^th holes and had five pars on her scorecard as she earned runnerup honors with an 82.

   Zoe Sellon, taking a road trip from Rye, N.Y., rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as she opened her round with a birdie at the first hole and had seven pars on her card on her way to an 84 that left her in third place.

   Eleanor Brillman of Elkins Park went back-to-back with birdies at the 13^th and 14^th holes and had seven pars on her scorecard as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division with an 85.

   Allison Choi, another member of Penn Valley’s Team Choi, made birdies at the 10^th and 17^th holes and had six pars on her card as she finished four shots behind Eleanor Brillman in second place with an 89.

   Evelyn Brillman, another member of Elkins Park’s Team Brillman, had six pars on her card, including three straight pars at the 14^th, 15^th and 16^th holes, as she finished in third place with a 93.

   Emma Cowan of Moorestown, N.J. took fourth place with a 99 and Gigi Lake of Newtown rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished fifth with a 107.

   Brody Rollins of Milton, Del., coming off a runnerup finish in the Philly Junior Tour stop at Indian Spring Country Club a week earlier, bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a 2-over 38.

   Rollins made a birdie on the third hole and had five pars on his scorecard, including three straight pars at seven, eight and nine to close out his round.

   Jack Kolmer of Wayne had six pars on his card, opening his round with three straight pars at the first, second and third holes and rattling off three more pars in a row at five, six and seven as he finished a shot behind Rollins in second place with a 3-over 39.

   Dillon Tierney of Marlton, N.J. had five pars on his card as he finished in third place with a 40.

   Victor Wang of Hockessin, N.J. took fourth place with a 42, Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr was fifth with a 43, Jamie Cahn of Penn Valley was sixth with a 44 and Luke George of Mullica Hill, N.J. finished seventh with a 46.

   Rounding out the field in the boys 12-and-under division was the pair of Kayaan Patel, another Mullica Hill, N.J. guy, and Jaxon Bucci of Marlton, N.J. as they finished in a tie for eighth place, each posting a 51.

   Addison Sabatini of West Chester was the lone entry in the girls 12-and-under division and she carded a 52.