Hemminger gets in a groove to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory at Laurel Creek

 

   Carter Hemminger, a senior on the Upper Moreland golf team, posted a solid 2-over-par 73 at Laurel Creek Country Club to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division July 20^th.

   Hemminger, a District One Class AAA qualifier for the Golden Bears last fall, recorded back-to-back birdies at the ninth and 10^th holes and had 12 pars on his scorecard, including a run of five straight pars from four through eight.

   The trio of Billy Nikolaidis, a junior on the Muhlenberg golf team, Andrew Fargnoli of Mickleton, N.J., and Ben Fifer of Wyoming, Del. shared second place, each ending up a shot behind Hemminger with a 3-over 74.

   Niklolaidis, coming off a pair of Philly Junior Tour wins the previous week at The Berkshire Country Club and in the Hickory Valley Open, a two-day Junior Golf Scoreboard event, made birdies at the fifth and 15^th holes and had 12 pars on his card, including a run of five straight from six through 10.

   Fargnoli made birdies at the 12^th and 14^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, including a string of five straight pars from two through six. Fifer made a birdie at the third hole and had 13 pars on his card, including a run of four straight pars from eight through 11.

   William Thorkelson, a Bryn Mawr resident and a sophomore on the golf team at The Haverford School, finished in fifth place with a 4-over 75.

   Garnet Valley teammates Jack Ferm and Jack Yantosh, both seniors, headed a group of four players tied for sixth place at 5-over 76. Ferm was a District One Class AAA qualifier as a junior last fall.

   Rounding out the foursome at 5-over were Tom Fletcher of Moorestown, N.J. and Lucas Keysock of Schwenksville.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was Logan Hyndman, a Newtown resident and a senior on the golf team at The Pennington School who finished in 10^th place with a 77.

   That makes 10 players separated by four shots in a pretty competitive day at Laurel Creek in Mt. Laurel Township, N.J. among the older guys.

   Preston Minio of Lansdale went back-to-back with birdies at the seventh and eighth holes, added another birdie at 15 and had 10 pars on his scorecard, including five straight pars to open his round, as he matched Hemminger’s 2-over 73 to finish at the top of the leaderboard in the 13-to-15 division.

   Jack Gilbert of Bryn Mawr made birdies at the sixth, ninth and 16^th holes and had nine pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 3-over 74, a shot behind Minio.

   Turned out to be a perfect tuneup for Gilbert, the son of Gulph Mills Golf Club head pro Tom Gilbert, as, a day later, Jack Gilbert captured the title in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship with an even-par 70 at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s St. Martins Course.

   Mason Kim of Blue Bell made an early birdie on the first hole and went back-to-back with birdies at seven and eight while touring the outgoing nine at Laurel Creek in 1-under 35 on his way to a 4-over 75 that left him in third place. Kim also had nine pars on his card, rattling off four straight pars from the 14^th through the 17^th holes.

   Anthony Petrone of Moorestown, N.J. took fourth place with a 76 and Jonathan Thomas of Landenberg and Robert Davoli of Ambler shared fifth, each tallying a 78.

   The trio of Connor Bates of Schwenksville, Jackson Roy of Medford, N.J. and Gavin McLane of Wyncote finished in a tie for seventh place, each signing for an 80.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was a logjam of six players tied for 10^th place at 80 that included Chase Schmidt of Waterford, N.J., Thomas Holt IV of Haddonfield, N.J., Thomas Airoldi of Bryn Mawr, Jason Leekley of Moorestown, N.J., Hunter Pearson of Medford, N.J. and Henry Small of Berwyn.

   The best score among the girls came out of the 13-to-15 division as Mia DeCarlo of Glen Mills made birdies at the fifth and 15 holes and had 10 pars on her scorecard, including a run of four straight pars from 11 through 14 as she earned a Philly Junior Tour victory with a 5-over 76.

   Whoa. Looks like somebody’s been practicing. DeCarlo won the Sam Penecale Scoring Average Award among the girls 12-and-under nine-holers in 2025 before moving up to the 13-to-15 division this season.

   Emilie Davoli, another member of Ambler’s Team Davoli, had five pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors with an 86.

   Sonia Rosenman of Moorestown, N.J. made a birdie on the ninth hole and had three pars on her card as she finished in third place with an 88.

   Shree Desai of Moorestown, N.J. took fourth place with a 95 and the trio of Emma Cowan, another Moorestown, N.J. gal, Mallie Heenan of Ocean City, N.J. and Lela Canataro of Mount Laurel, N.J. finished in a tie for fifth, each recording a 99.

   Rounding out the field in the 13-to-15 division was Elyssa Capaldo of Trooper as she finished in eighth place with a 105.

   Madison Gibson of Cinnaminson, N.J. and Madeline VanBuskirk, a senior on the Pocono Mountain East golf team, shared the top spot in the girls 16-to-18 division as each posted a 93.

   Gibson had five pars on her scorecard, including three straight pars at the 10^th, 11^th and 12^th holes. VanBuskirk had three pars on her card.

   Ella Kikuchi, a junior on the Downingtown East golf team, made a birdie on the second hole and a par at 14 as she finished in third place with a 97.

   Olivia Bond of Del Haven, N.J. took fourth place with a 109 and Taylor Hanna, another Cinnaminson, N.J. entry, rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as she finished fifth with a 115.

   Grayson Wright of Philadelphia blitzed the outgoing nine at Laurel Creek with birdies at the second, third, sixth and ninth holes and had three pars on his scorecard as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a sizzling 2-under 34.

   Samuel Karas of Blue Bell finished up his round with a birdie at the ninth hole and had six pars on his card, including a string of four straight pars from four through seven, as he earned runnerup honors with a 1-over 37.

   Chase Venne of Moorestown, N.J. and James Wilson of Wilmington, Del. shared third place, each tallying a 39.

   Venne made a birdie at the fourth hole and had six pars on his card. Wilson had six pars on his card, opening his round with four straight pars.

   Leonardo Rossi of Ambler took fifth place with a 41, Damien Dollard of Cinnaminson, N.J., the reigning Philly Junior Tour boys 12-and-under Player of the Year, was sixth with a 42 and Andrew Herman of Telford finished seventh with a 44.

   Ryan Stefanski of Newtown Square and Nolan English of Villanova shared eighth place, each registering a 46, and Massimo Testaiuti of Newtown Square rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished 10^th with a 47.

   Arianna Testaiuti, another member of Newtown Square’s Team Testaiuti, was the lone entry in the girls 12-and-under division and had two pars on her scorecard on her way to a 55.