Sheftic gets it in red figures to finish ahead of the pack in a Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship qualifier at Pine Meadows

 

   Ty Sheftic, a junior on the Wissahickon golf team, carded a 2-under-par 70 May 3^rd at the Pine Meadows Golf Complex in Lebanon to lead a group of 23 players who qualified for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship.

   Sheftic is the son of Mark Sheftic, the head of instruction at Sunnybrook Golf Club. With PGA Championship week dawning in the Philadelphia area, it’s worth noting that Mark Sheftic played his way into that major championship at least three times with top-20 finishes in the PGA Professional Championship.

   The top 23 finishers at Pine Meadows earned a spot in the field for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship, a one-day, 36-hole test scheduled for June 15 at Bellewood Country Club across the Schuykill River from Pottstown.

   The top finishers at Bellewood – and it’s usually just the top two or three who make it – will earn a spot on the Boys Junior PGA Championship, one of the major national events for juniors staged by the PGA of America.

   The Boys Junior PGA Championship tees off July 28 at Fields Ranch East and West at the PGA of America’s headquarters in Frisco, Texas.

   Boys ages 13 to 18 were in the running for a spot in the field at Bellewood. The Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour broke out its usual 16-to-18 and 13-to-15 divisions, so I’ll wrap them up while referring to the overall qualifying.

   Pretty sure some of the guys had already secured spots in the field for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at earlier qualifiers, but it was a good chance to test their games in a competitive situation on a Sunday that started chilly and didn’t warm up all that much.

   Ty Sheftic, a District One Class AAA qualifier last fall, made an early birdie at the fifth hole, went back-to-back with birdies at nine and 10, added birdies at 14 and 17 and had 10 pars on his scorecard as he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division and in the overall scoring.

   Luke McGraw, who finished in a tie for ninth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a junior at State College last fall, headed a trio of players tied for second place among the older guys and in the overall scoring with a 1-under 71.

   McGraw, who helped the Little Lions finish in a tie for second place in the state Class AAA team competition last fall, made birdies at the sixth, 11^th and 18^th holes and had 12 pars on his card, including three separate strings of four pars in a row, the first four holes of his round and again from 7 through 10 and 12 through 15.

   McGraw was joined at 1-under by Benjamin Allwein, who finished in a tie for seventh place in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a sophomore at Annville Cleona last fall, and Anderson Narzisi, a sophomore on the Souderton golf team.

   Allwein made birdies on the 10^th and 15^th holes and had 15 pars on his card, opening his round by matching the card on the outgoing nine at Pine Meadows with nine straight pars.

   Narzisi made birdies at the sixth, 10^th and 18^th holes and had 13 pars on his card, including a pair of runs of four straight pars from two through five and 14 through 17.

   Drake Brogan of Ocean View, N.J. matched par with a 72 as he finished in fifth place in the 16-to-18 division and fifth overall.

   Quinn Marshall, a junior on the Wilmington Friends School golf team, was two shots behind Brogan in sixth place among the older guys with a 74. Marshall shared sixth place in the overall standings with the pair of Daniel Ross, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a freshman at Souderton last fall, and Sam Vinc, a PIAA Class AA qualifier as a freshman at Tamaqua last fall, as they finished at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division.

   Luke Fallon, a sophomore on the Wilson golf team, Luke Ladrido, a classmate of McGraw’s on the State College team that got a share of runnerup honors in the PIAA Class AAA team chase last fall, and Jake Jaffe, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior on the Central Bucks South golf team last fall, finished in a tie for seventh, each signing for a 4-over 76.

   That trio shared ninth place in the overall standings with Gavin Reger, a freshman on the Radnor golf team that finished in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AAA team standings with State College last fall, as Reger finished in third place in the 13-to-15 division.

   Joseph Bilson, a junior on the Manheim Township golf team and Ty Miller of State College shared 10^th place in the 16-to-18 division and finished in a tie for 13^th in the overall standings with Helmut Dang of Newtown Square out of the 13-to-15 division as each tallied a 78.

   Keegan Redmond and Jaden Irvin, teammates on the Hershey golf team last fall, finished in a tie for 12^th place in the 16-to-18 division and were tied for 16^th in the overall standings as each recorded a 79. Redmond, a senior, wrapped up his scholastic career with the Trojans last fall while Irvin is a junior.

   John Moyer of Warrington finished in 14^th place among the older guys and 18^th in the overall scoring with an 80.

   Nolan Traczykiewicz, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Central Bucks South last fall, Zach Raihill, who closed out his scholastic career at West Chester Rustin last fall, Jackson Murland, a Villanova resident and a junior on the Friends’ Central golf team, and Justin Marcus, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Downingtown West last fall, finished in a tie for 15^th place in the 16-to-18 division and qualified for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship on the number as each registered an 81.

   Thomas Holt IV of Haddonfield, N.J. joined the foursome from the older group as one of the final players to punch their ticket to Bellewood next month as he carded an 81 to finish in fifth place in the 13-to-15 division and tied for 19^th in the overall scoring.

   Souderton’s Ross made birdies on the 10^th and 13^th holes and had 12 pars on his card, including a string of eight straight pars from two through nine, to get his share of the top spot in the 13-to-15 division with a 2-over 74.

   Tamaqua’s Vinc made birdies at the seventh and 15 holes and had 12 pars on his card, including a run of four pars in a row from eight through 11, to get his share of first place among the younger guys with Ross and earn a spot in the field for the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at 2-over.

   Reger, the Radnor freshman, made birdies at the second, fifth and 10^th holes and had nine pars on his card to finish in third place in the 13-to-15 division and earn a spot in the top 10 in the overall scoring with his 4-over 76.

   Dang and Holt were the final players out of the 13-to-15 division to grab spots in the field at Bellewood as Dang took fourth place among the younger guys and was tied for 13^th in the overall standings with his 78 and Holt finished fifth and joined a large group that finished in a tie for 19^th overall and made the qualifying cut on the number with an 81.

   Drew Gebhard, a freshman on the Cedar Crest golf team, took sixth place in the 13-to-15 division with an 82 and the trio of Tucker Detwiler, a West Chester resident who was a freshman on the Malvern Prep JV roster last fall, Bryce Moyer, a freshman on the Harriton golf team and Richard Davoli of Ambler finished in a tie for seventh place, each posting an 83.

   Only a couple of girls teed it up at Pine Meadows, but it was a solid showing for Jill Burks, who wrapped up her junior season by making her third straight trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship individually and leading the Pioneers to a state Class AAA team crown last fall.

   Burks, the lone entrant in the 16-to-18 division, made a birdie on the sixth hole and had 12 pars on her scorecard, including a run of five straight pars from seven through 11, to sign for a 6-over 78.

   It wasn’t a qualifier for the girls as the Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship is basically an open tournament and tees off July 6 at DuPont Country Club, once the home of the LPGA Championship, a major on the LPGA Tour.

   The top finishers at DuPont will earn a trip to the Girls Junior PGA Championship, which will be held simultaneously with the boys beginning July 28 at Fields Ranch East and West in Frisco, Texas.

   Reagan Miller, a sophomore on the Lampeter-Strasburg golf team, was the lone entrant in the 13-to-15 division and she had five pars on her scorecard, four of them on the incoming nine at Pine Meadows, as she tallied a solid 89.

   Victor Wang of Hockessin, Del. and Baylor Keim of Blue Bell shared the top spot among the boys 12-and-under nine-holers as each tallied a 5-over 41.

   Wang, who has been playing some solid golf this spring, opened his round by rattling off six straight pars. Keim also had six pars on his scorecard, closing out his round with five straight pars.

   Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr had four pars on his card, including a run of three straight pars at the fourth, fifth and sixth holes, to finish three shots behind Wang and Keim in third place with a 44.

   Sid Joshi of Coopersburg took fourth place with a 46, Jamie Cahn of Penn Valley was fifth with a 50 and Massimo Testaiuti of Newtown Square and Joseph Sherman of Gladwyne finished in a tie for sixth, each recording a 52.

   Joseph (J.T.) Smith rounded out the field in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished in eighth place with a 58.

   Arianna Testaiuti, another member of Newtown Square’s Team Testaiuti, was the lone entrant in the girls 12-and-under division and made a birdie on the second hole on her way to a 49.