Yenser outduels Kittsley to repeat as Pennsylvania Junior Boys champion; Zhang a runaway winner in Junior Girls

 

   Reading Country Club’s Chase Yenser outlasted Oakmont Country Club’s Carson Kittsley in a thrilling stretch duel to become the first repeat winner of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Junior Boys’ Championship in 30 years Tuesday at Hershey Country Club’s East Course.

   Kittsley, back-to-back winner of the PIAA Class AAA Championship and with still a year to go at Fox Chapel, put a nose in front when he opened Tuesday afternoon’s final round with an eagle at Hershey East’s par-5 opening hole and added birdies at five and six.

   But Yenser, who wrapped up an outstanding scholastic career at Daniel Boone by finishing in fourth place in last fall’s Class AAA state tournament behind Kittsley at Penn State, made four birdies in a stretch of 12 holes while Kittsley faltered ever so slightly.

   Yenser closed with a 3-under-par 68 that gave him a 54-hole total of 11-under 202, one shot better than Kittsley, who closed with a 2-under 69 and a 10-under 203 total in the 83^rd edition of the Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ Championship.

   Yenser became the first player to repeat as the Pennsylvania Junior Boys champion since Jon Rusk, the current general manager at LuLu Country Club, achieved the feat in 1995 and ’96.

   The victory earned Yenser a ticket to the U.S. Junior Amateur, which will be something of a home game for Yenser as it tees off July 20 at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem.

   There was no such drama in the 63^rd edition of the PAGA’s Junior Girls’ Championship at Lebanon Country Club as Wildwood Golf Club’s Alyssa Zhang, a third-place finisher in the PIAA Class AA Championship in each of her first two years at Shady Side Academy, ran away with a 12-shot victory with a fairly spectacular 12-under 204 total.

   The dominating win at Lebanon punched Zhang’s ticket to the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship, which tees off July 13 at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C.

   Dick’s Sporting Goods is the title sponsor for all of the PAGA championships.

   Yenser had a share of the lead at Hershey East following a sizzling 6-under 65 in Monday’s opening round.

   It looked like he might turn it into a runaway in Tuesday morning’s second round as he made birdies at the first, seventh, 10^th, 12^th and 14^th holes to get it to 11-under for the tournament.

   But Yenser, who will join the program at Big 12 power Baylor later this summer, stalled a little at the end of the round with bogeys at the 15^th, 16^th and 18^th holes that left him with a 2-under 69 and at 8-under going into Tuesday afternoon’s final round.

   Kittsley, who had opened with a 4-under 67, started to make his move in Tuesday morning’s second round as he made birdies at first, sixth, seventh and 12^th holes to get it to 8-under for the tournament.

   Kittlsley dropped a shot with his lone bogey of the round at the 13^th hole, but a birdie at 17 gave him another 4-under 67 and left him tied with Yenser at 8-under going into Tuesday afternoon’s final round.

   Kittsley was 12-under for the tournament following his opening burst in the final round that included that eagle at the first hole.

   But he stumbled with a bogey at the seventh hole and a costly double bogey at eight that dropped him back to 9-under.

   Back-to-back birdies at the 16^th and 17^th holes got Kittsley within a shot of Yenser, but Kittsley closed with a bogey at the finishing hole.

   Yenser made birdies at the sixth, 10^th, and 12th holes and a critical birdie at 17, to get to 12-under for the tournament. That gave him the luxury of making a bogey at the last while Kittsley was doing the same.

   Yenser had taken the first step toward a possible appearance in the U.S. Amateur, which tees off Aug. 10 at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course, when he earned co-medalist honors in a GAP-administered local U.S. Am qualifier last week with a 2-under 68 in his first look at Huntingdon Valley Country Club.

   Radley Run Country Club’s Charlie Barrickman, who closed out an outstanding scholastic career at Unionville with a third-place finish behind Kittsley in the Class AAA state tournament last fall, elbowed his way into the picture with two really strong rounds Tuesday.

   Barrickman, who led the Longhorns to the PIAA Class AAA team crown at Penn State, had matched par in the opening round with a 71. But he signed for a 4-under 67 in Tuesday morning’s second round and tallied a sizzling 5-under 66, the best round of the day, in the final round to finish a shot behind Kittsley in third place with a 9-under 204 total.

   Barrickman, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Player of the Year in 2025, will join the program at Bucknell later this summer.

   Out Door Country Club’s Callahan Harrell was another five shots behind Barrickman in fourth place as he registered a pair of 2-under 69s in Tuesday’s double round to finish with a 4-under 209 total.

   Harrell, who had matched par in Monday’s opening round with 71, will join the program at Charleston Southern later this summer.

   Wouldn’t be a state Junior Boys if a phenom didn’t show up and Niko Ameredes of The Club at Nevillewood, headed a trio of players tied for fifth place at 2-under 211.

   The kid is a Class of 2031 competitor, which means he’s still more than a year away from playing high school golf. Ameredes had opened with a 1-over 72 Monday, but got it going in Tuesday morning’s second round with a 4-under 67 before closing with another 72.

   Ameredes was joined at 2-under by the home course’s Carson Hummer, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Hershey High with a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall, and Dane Mohap, who finished in a tie for ninth place in the state Class AAA tournament with Nazareth last fall.

   Hummer, who had opened with a 1-under 70 Monday, posted a solid 3-under 68 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 2-over 73. Hummer will join the program at West Chester later this summer.

   Mohap, who also opened with a 2-under 70, recorded a solid 2-under 69 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 1-over 72.

   Union League Golf Club Torresdale’s Logan Cassidy, a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep last fall, and Lebanon Country Club’s Benjamin Allwein, who finished in a tie for seventh place in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a freshman at Annville-Cleona last fall, shared eighth place, each landing on 1-under 212.

   Cassidy, who had opened with a 2-under 69, struggled a little in Tuesday morning’s second round with a 3-over 74 before bouncing back with another 69 in the final round.

   Allwein carded a second straight 1-under 70 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 1-over 72.

   Rounding out the top 10 at Hershey East was Overbrook Golf Club’s Freddy Hartmann, who helped Episcopal Academy claim the Inter-Ac League Championship as a junior with the Churchmen last fall, as he finished alone in 10^th place with an even-par 213 total.

   Hartmann had matched par in the opening round with a 71 and added a 1-over 72 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 1-under 70.

   Hartmann’s Episcopal teammate, Liam Crowley, playing out of Aronimink Golf Club, finished among a trio of players tied for 12^th place with a 2-over 215 total.

   Crowley, winner of the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac’s individual championship as a junior last fall at The 1912 Club, had opened with a 1-over 72, but got it going with a 4-under 67 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 6-over 76.

   Merion Golf Club’s Brad McDermott, who capped his scholastic career at Radnor with a second trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall, had shared the lead with Yenser on the strength of a 6-under 65 in Monday’s opening round and was still very much in the hunt when he matched par in Tuesday morning’s second round with a 71.

   McDermott struggled in the final round with an 81 that left him in the group tied for 18^th place at 4-over 217.

   McDermott will join Barrickman in a freshman class with a distinct District One flavor at Bucknell later this summer.

   Zhang took a one-shot lead into Tuesday morning’s second round, but proceeded to put the tournament away with a flawless tour of the Lebanon layout.

   Zhang made a birdie at the first hole and then eagled the par-5 second. After making a birdie at the ninth hole, Zhang parred out on the incoming nine for a bogey-free 4-under 68 that gave her a commanding six-shot lead going into the final round.

   There wasn’t much letup in the final round as Zhang jumped out of the gate with birdies at the second, third and sixth holes before finally making her first bogey of the day at seven.

   Zhang made a birdie at the eighth hole and a bogey at 12 before making her second eagle of the day at the par-4 13^th. A bogey at the finishing hole gave Zhang a final round of 3-under 69 and a 12-under total.

   Centre Hills Country Club’s Maddie Koshko, who wrapped up her outstanding scholastic career at the Saint Joseph Catholic Academy in Boalsburg by claiming a second straight PIAA Class AA crown last fall, and Cobblestone Creek Country Club’s Myra Toomer, a talented youngster from Newtown, finished in a tie for second place, each ending up 12 shots behind Zhang with an even-par 216 total.

   Koshko, who will be staying home and joining the program at Penn State later this summer, had trailed Zhang by only a shot following an opening round of 4-under 68, added a 1-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 3-over 75.

   The 14-year-old Toomer also opened with a 3-under 68 and was only a shot behind Zhang. Toomer matched Koshko’s splits during Tuesday’s double round, posting a 1-over 73 in the morning and a 3-over 75 in the afternoon to join Koshko in the tie for second place at even-par.

   Nice rally by Kayley Roberts, who wrapped up her scholastic career at Phoenixville last fall with a runaway victory in the District One Class AAA Championship and a runnerup finish in the PIAA Class AAA Championship.

   As Roberts wraps up her junior career, she bounced back from an opening round of 6-over 78 by matching par in Tuesday morning’s second round with a 72 and closing with a sparkling 3-under 69 that left her three shots behind Koshko and Tomer in fourth place with a 3-over 219 total.

   Roberts will join her older sister Kate at Delaware later this summer. Kayley Roberts and Kate Roberts qualified for the match-play bracket in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship at the Daniel Island Club in Charleston, S.C. in April, falling in the opening round of match play.

   Really nice showing by Rolling Green Golf Club’s Nicolette Bottos, who helped Conestoga capture the PIAA Class AAA team crown as a sophomore with the Pioneers last fall.

   Bottos recorded a second straight 2-over 74 in Tuesday morning’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 72 that left her a shot behind Kayley Roberts in fifth place with a 4-over 220 total.

   Overbrook’s Kiersten Bodge, a senior at Notre Dame who captured the Inter-Ac League’s individual crown at Sandy Run Country Club in May, finished a shot behind Bottos in sixth place with a 5-over 221 total.

   Bodge, who plans to join Koshko at Penn State at the end of next summer, registered a second straight even-par 72 in Tuesday morning’s second round before struggling a little in a final round of 5-over 77.

   Regents’ Glen Country Club’s Bryn Krosse finished a shot behind Bodge in seventh place with a 6-over 222. Krosse tallied a second straight 4-over 76 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a solid 2-under 70.

   Krosse, a Class of 2030 entry, is the latest in a long line of Krosses and she just might be the best of them all. I’m guessing she’ll follow her older siblings and play at Dallastown.

   Penn Oaks Golf Club’s Hannah Webb, who capped her junior season at Archmere Academy with a runnerup finish in the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championship at Baywood Greens in late May, finished a shot behind Krosse in eighth place with a 7-over 223 total.

   Webb had opened with a 3-over 75 and carded a pair of 2-over 74s in Tuesday’s double round.

   Conestoga Country Club’s Piper Smith, who capped her senior season at Warwick by finishing in third place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship last fall, and Foxchase Golf Club’s Makenna Heckman, a Class AAA state tournament qualifier as a sophomore at Ephrata, rounded out the top 10 as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each ending up with an 8-over 224 total.

   After opening with a 2-over 74, Smith carded a 76 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a book-end 74. Heckman struggled in an opening round of 6-over 78, but flashed her talent with a 4-under 68 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with another 78.

   West Shore Country Club’s Cora Hirz, who capped her scholastic career by finishing in fourth place in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a senior at Fairview last fall, finished three shots behind Smith and Heckman in 11^th place with an 11-over 227 total.

   After opening with a 2-over 74, Hirz registered a 5-over 77 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 76.

   Rolling Green’s Alaina Carson, the defending champion who has qualified for the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of her first two seasons at Cardinal O’Hara, shared 12^th place with Nemacolin Country Club’s Mya Morgan, who repeated as the PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Elizabeth Forward last fall, as they each landed on 13-over 229.

   Carson, who was coming off a victory in a two-day Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Penn State (which I will round up eventually) June 18^th and 19^th, had opened with a 6-over 78 and added a 76 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 75, her best round of the tournament.

   Morgan had opened with a 2-over 74, but struggled a little in Tuesday’s double round with a 77 in the morning and a 78 in the afternoon.