Thomas rides hot start to Philly Junior Tour victory at Garrisons Lake

 

   Patrick Thomas of Hockessin, Del. blitzed the outgoing nine at Garrisons Lake Golf Club in Smyrna, Del. on his way to a sparkling 3-under-par 69 that earned him a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division Sept. 13^th.

   Thomas made birdies at the first, fourth, fifth and seventh holes while touring the front nine at Garrisons Lake in 4-under 32.

   Thomas had 13 pars on his scorecard, including a stretch of six consecutive pars from the eighth through the 13^th holes. A bogey at the 14^th hole was the only blemish on his card.

   Pretty sure the stop at Garrisons Lake stop was the back end of a Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) weekend in Delaware.

   Of the players in the 13-to-15 division who completed rounds at Odessa National Golf Club in Townsend, Del. a day earlier and at Garrisons Lake, Thomas was easily the best with an even-par 144 total. Thomas was the runnerup among the younger guys with a 3-over 75 at Odessa National.

   High finishes in JGS events give players points that can earn then status on some of the higher-profile junior circuits, most notably the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).

   Taimoor Naseem, a talented 13-year-old from Sinking Spring, made a birdie at the 12^th hole, then finished with a flourish, making an eagle at the par-5 17^th and a birdie at 18 as he toured the incoming nine at Garrisons Lake in 4-under 32 while finishing in second place with a 2-over 74.

   Naseem had 11 pars on his card, including a run of four straight pars from the 13^th through the 16^th holes.

   Bryce Bussom of Lewisburg made birdies at the second and sixth holes, went back-to-back with birdies at 12 and 13 and had had six pars on his card as he finished in third place, a shot behind Naseem with a 3-over 75.

   Bussom made a Philly Junior Tour weekend of it in Delaware and his 75 at Garrisons Lake, combined with a 79 at Odessa National, gave him a 10-over 154 total that left him 10 shots behind Thomas in second place for the two days.

   Adrian Santiago of Millsboro, Del. took fourth place with a 77. Santiago also completed both ends of the weekend in Delaware, posting an 81 at Odessa National that left him in third place overall with a 158 total.

   Grayson Throm of Delmar, Del. took fifth place with a 78, Brooks Buerhaus of Bel Air, Md. and Ruben Yoon, a Wilmington, Del. resident and a sophomore on the Archmere Academy golf team, shared sixth, each signing for a 79 and Will Sylvester of Wayne was eighth with an 81.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Michael Perry of Wilmington, Del. and Nathan Lobo, a sophomore on the Spring-Ford golf team, as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each tallying an 87.

   As I mentioned in the post on the stop at Odessa National, Nathan Lobo earned a trip to next week’s District One Class AAA Championship by finishing in a tie for 16^th place in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course.

   Nolan Traczykiewicz, a senior on the Central Bucks South golf team, capped a solid weekend in Delaware as he went back-to-back with birdies at the sixth and seventh holes, added another birdie at 12 and had 13 pars on his scorecard, including six straight pars to close out his round, to finish at the top of the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division with a 2-under 70.

   A bogey at the eighth hole was the only blemish on Traczykiewicz’s card.

   Combined with his runnerup finish at Odessa National with a 1-over 73, Traczykiewicz’s 70 at Garrisons Lake gave him a 1-under 143 total for the weekend, easily the best score among the players in the 16-to-18 division who completed both ends of the Delaware doubleheader.

   Ryan Kline of Millsboro, Md., and Radnor sophomore Gavin Reger, who helped the Raptors finish in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AAA team chase a year ago, shared runnerup honors at Garrisons Lake as each recorded a 1-over 73.

   Kline made birdies at the fifth and 15^th holes and an eagle at the par-5 17^th and had 11 pars on his card. Reger made birdies at the first, fourth and 11^th holes and had 11 pars on his card, including a string of string of six straight pars from 12 through 17.

   Combined with the 78 he posted at Garrisons Lake a day earlier, Kline’s 73 at Garrisons Lake left him in a tie for second place for the weekend in the 16-to-18 division with a 7-over 151 total.

   Nicholas DiMedio of Haddonfield, N.J. and Zac DeVos, who wrapped up his scholastic career at Bensalem last fall by earning a trip to the PIAA Class AAA Championship, shared fifth place, each registering a 75 and David Dempsey of Franklinville, N.J. finished seventh with a 76.

   Combined with the 75 he carded a day earlier at Odessa National, Dempsey’s 76 enabled him to share second place with Kline for the weekend with a 151 total.

   Shane Cornell, a senior on the Avon Grove golf team, and Garnet Valley senior Jack Ferm, a District One Class AAA qualifier a year ago, finished in a tie for eighth place, each carding a 77.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division was a foursome of players tied for 10^th place with 78s, a group that included Joel Vogt of Rising Sun, Md., Ben Fifer of Wyoming, Del., Frank Kunze, a junior on the Garnet Valley golf team, and Nathaniel Clark of Dover, Del.

   Really solid weekend in Delaware for Ellie Walls, a junior on the Indian River golf team who finished in third place among the girls in the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championship at Baywood Greens in May.

   Walls made birdies at the 10^th and 13^th holes and had 12 pars on her scorecard, including five straight pars to close out her round, as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 16-to-18 division with a 3-over 75.

   Combined with the 82 Walls posted at Odessa National a day earlier, her 75 at Garrisons Lake gave her a 157 total that was easily the best among the girls in the 16-to-18 division who completed rounds at both courses.

   Brooke Burge, a senior on the Appoquinimink golf team, made a birdie at the fifth hole and had nine pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors with a solid 81.

   Burge was Walls’ closest pursuer for the Delaware doubleheader in the 16-to-18 division as she had carded a 90 at Odessa National and her 81 at Garrisons Lake gave her a 171 total.

   Emmerson Gleber, a senior on the golf team at the Charter School of Wilmington, had three pars on her card as she rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division with a 93.

   Valerie Danby, the talented 13-year-old from Avondale, made birdies at the sixth and 17^th holes and had 11 pars on her scorecard, including four straight pars to open her round, as she matched Walls’ 3-over 75 while claiming a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division.

  It was a typically solid showing for Trisha Lobo, the 11-year-old phenom and a member of Collegeville’s Team Lobo, as she made birdies at the ninth and 12^th holes and had 10 pars on her card, including three straight pars at one, two and three and again at five, six and seven, to finish four shots behind Danby in second place with a 79.

   Trisha Lobo was the only girl in the 13-to-15 division to tee it up in both ends of the Delaware doubleheader and her 79 at Garrisons Lake, combined with the 83 she carded at Odessa National, gave her a 162 total for the weekend.

   Dahila Garrick of Wilmington, Del. made a birdie at the sixth hole and had nine pars on her card as she finished in third placed with an 81.

   Eleanor Brillman of Elkins Park took fourth place with an 82 and Evelyn Brillman, another member of Elkins Park’s Team Brillman, and Hannah LeGrow, a sophomore on the Ursuline Academy golf team, rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as they finished in a tie for fifth, each tallying an 87.

   Niko Muego of Bryn Mawr has been one of the top performers among the boys 12-and-under nine-holers this summer and he was at it again at Garrisons Lake, besting the field with a bogey-free 1-under 35.

   Muego made a birdie at the sixth hole and had eight pars on his scorecard, finishing up his round with a string of five straight pars.

   Jesse Cannon of Glen Mills made birdies at the first, fourth and eighth holes and had three pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 1-over 37.

   Kash Gray of Eagleville and Brody Rollins of Milton, Del. shared third place, each signing for a 38.

   Gray made a birdie at the sixth hole and had five pars on his card. Rollins made a birdie at the second hole and had five pars on his card.

   Alex Cheng of Wilmington, Del. and Grayson Wright of Philadelphia finished in a tie for fifth place, each recording a 40. Wright was coming off a victory a day earlier at Odessa National.

   Ryan Kaye of Lansdale and Bennett Cho of Chesterbrook shared seventh place, each registering a 42 and Samuel Karas of Blue Bell and Leonardo Rossi of Ambler rounded out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each posting a 43.

   It was a typically competitive bunch of boys 12-and-under nine holers as only eight shots separated the top-10 finishers.

   Kasey Bell of Wilmington, Del. was the lone entry in the girls 12-and-under division and she registered a 60.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shaw goes low at Odessa National to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   Kie Shaw, a Wilmington, Del. resident and a senior at the Delaware Military Academy, got it in red figures with a 2-under-par 70 at Odessa National Golf Club in Townsend, Del. to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division Sept. 12^th.

   It was the first of the series of weekend fall events that wraps up the Philly Junior Tour season. Looks like it might have been part of a weekend Junior Golf Scoreboard (JGS) series of events in Delaware as the stop at Odessa National was followed up by an event at Garrisons Lake Golf Club Sept. 13^th.

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

   Shaw, who finished in a tie for fifth place in last spring’s Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) Championship at Baywood Greens, got his round going with back-to-back birdies at the fifth and sixth holes, added another birdie at 12 and had 15 pars on his scorecard, finishing up his round with six straight pars.

   Shaw made a bogey at the first hole and went 3-under the rest of the way.

   Nolan Traczykiewicz, a senior on the Central Bucks South golf team, made back-to-back birdies at the 15^th and 16^th holes and had 13 pars on his card, including a stretch of five consecutive pars from six through 10, as he finished three shots behind Shaw in second place with a 1-over 73.

   Chase Schmidt of Waterford, N.J. made birdies at the fourth, 10^th and 18^th holes and had 10 pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Traczykiewicz in third place with a 2-over 74.

   The trio of Joel Vogt of Rising Sun, Md., Brayden Hughes of Hockessin, Del. and David Dempsey of Franklinville, N.J. shared fourth place, each posting a 75.

   Ben Fifer of Wyoming, Del. took seventh place with a 76, Shane Cornell, a senior on the Avon Grove golf team, was eighth with a 77 and the trio of Ryan Kline of Millsboro, Del. and a couple of Haddonfield, N.J. guys, Will Simonson and Nicholas DiMedio, rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for ninth, each signing for a 78.

   It was a pretty competitive group of older guys with just eight shots separating the top 11 finishers.

   Helmut Dang, a talented 13-year-old from Newtown Square, made an eagle at the par-5 16^th hole on his way to a 1-over 73 that gave him a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division.

   Dang, who had represented the Philly Junior Tour against top players from the New Jersey Junior Tour in the Under Armour Jon M. Pritsch Memorial Cup last month, also made birdies at the fifth, eighth and 18^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard.

   Patrick Thomas of Hockessin, Del. made birdies at the fifth and eighth holes, went back-to-back with birdies at 12 and 13 and had seven pars on his card, including three straight pars at 15, 16 and 17, as he earned runnerup honors with a 3-over 75.

   Nathan Lobo, a sophomore on the Spring-Ford golf team, made a birdie at the fifth hole and had 13 pars on his card, including a run of five straight pars from 12 through 16, as he finished in third place with a 76.

   Looks like Nathan Lobo earned a trip to next week’s District One Class AAA Championship by finishing in a tie for 16^th place in the Pioneer Athletic Conference Championship last Wednesday with an 80 at Turtle Creek Golf Course, which is where the district championship will be played Oct. 5 and 6.

   Dean Matta of West Grove took fourth place with a 78, Bryce Bussom of Lewisburg was fifth with a 79, Preston Minio of Lansdale was sixth with an 80 and the duo of Adrian Santiago of Millsboro, Del. and Steven Musacchio of Glenmoore finished in a tie for seventh, each recording an 81.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were Carter Bove of Kennett Square and Joseph Hoynoski IV, a sophomore on the North Penn golf team, as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each tallying an 82.

   Ellie Walls, a junior on the Indian River golf team who finished in third place in last spring’s DIAA Championship at Baywood Greens, ripped off three straight birdies at the fourth, fifth and sixth holes, added another birdie at 10 and made an eagle at the par-5 16^th as she earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division with an 82.

   Walls also had four pars on her scorecard.

   Brooke Burge, a senior on the Appoquinimink golf team, had seven pars on her card as she finished in second place with a 90.

   Olivia Bond of Del Haven, N.J. made pars at the first and 17^th holes as she rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division by finishing in third place with a 115.

   Trisha Lobo, a talented 11-year-old and another member of Collegeville’s Team Lobo, made birdies at the fifth and ninth holes and had five pars on her scorecard as she finished atop the leaderboard while playing up in the 13-to-15 division with an 83.

   Grace Carroll of West Chester had nine pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors with an 87.

   Addison Murphy of Phoenixville had four pars on her card as she finished in third place with a 92.

   Sonia Rosenman of Moorestown, N.J. took fourth place with a 96, Antonella Ferrer of Wynnewood was fifth with a 107 and Molly Wagner, a Newark, Del. resident and a junior on the St. Mark’s golf team, finished sixth with a 108.

   Hannah He of Chadds Ford rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished in seventh place with a 112.

   It was a four-way logjam at the top among the boys 12-and-under nine-holers as Grayson Wright of Philadelphia, Dino Luccia of North Wales, Kash Gray of Eagleville and Leonardo Rossi of Ambler each carded a 3-over 39.

   Wright made an eagle at the par-4 fourth hole, added a birdie at five and had two pars on his scorecard. Luccia had six pars on his card, including three straight pars at the second, third and fourth holes.

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

   James Hanson of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. and Bennett Cho of Chesterbrook shared fifth place, each tallying a 42, Tyler Drinker of West Chester was seventh with a 43, Kayaan Patel of Mullica Hill, N.J. was eighth with a 47 and Kamran Patel of Moorestown, N.J. was ninth with a 48.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the boys 12-and-under division was Jackson Larrabee of Wilmington, Del. as he finished in 10^th place with a 50.

   Juniper Ha of Royersford was the lone entry in the girls 12-and-under division and she made a par at the sixth hole on her way to a 51 on the outgoing nine at Odessa National.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gooneratne's first collegiate victory leads Delaware to team title in Mary Fossum Invitational

 

   Rhianna Gooneratne, the PIAA Class AAA champion as a junior at Plymouth-Whitemarsh in 2023, was the leading lady for Delaware in its first two tournaments of the fall portion of the wraparound 2026-2027 season.

   Last week in the Mary Fossum Invitational, hosted by Big Ten power Michigan State at Forest Akers West in East Lansing, Mich., Gooneratne, a junior for the Blue Hens, was the leading lady, period.

   Gooneratne carded a second straight even-par 72 over the 6,370-yard, par-72 Forest Akers West layout to claim her first individual collegiate victory by two shots with an even-par 144 total. It was the 13^th individual tournament victory in the history of the Delaware program.

   The Mary Fossum was originally scheduled to be a 54-hole event, but rainy weather limited the planned 36-hole double round Sept. 20^th to just one round. The tournament was completed with another single round last Monday, Sept. 21^st.

   More importantly, Gooneratne led Delaware, a Conference USA representative, to the team title, the Blue Hens putting together a 23-over 599 total that enabled them to finish four shots clear of Mid-American Conference entry Central Michigan.

   It was the 16^th tournament team title in the history of the Delaware program.

   Delaware had battled a couple of tough fields in its first two tournaments of the season.

   Gooneratne had finished in a tie for 15^th place to help the Blue Hens finish in 10^th place in the Nittany Lion Invitational to open their season.

   It was a tie for 10^th place in the Badger Invitational, which wrapped up Sept. 15^th at host Wisconsin’s University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wis., for the Blue Hens. Gooneratne again led the way, finishing in a tie for 28^th place in the individual standings.

   In the Mary Fossum, Delaware opened with a 10-over 298, the best team round of the tournament, to take a two-shot lead over Michigan State.

   The Spartans boast an elite program and closed out their 2025-’26 season in the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. after gutting out a fourth-place finish as a seven seed at the Chapel Hill Regional last spring.

   A 13-over 301 in the second round enabled Delaware to finish at the top of the team leaderboard.

   Delaware also got a strong showing from senior Mary Grace Dunigan, who led Unionville to the PIAA Class AAA team crown in 2020 during an outstanding scholastic career with the Longhorns.

   Dunigan, who captured the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur crown in July at Gulph Mills Golf Club, opened with a 1-over 73 and added a 2-over 74 in the second round to finish alone in third place with a 3-over 147 total that left her a shot behind Bowling Green’s Addison Kartusch, a junior from Canada.

   Delaware had a third finisher inside the top six as Hyunji Kim, a junior from England who ended up in a tie for sixth place with a 6-over 150 total. After opening with a 5-over 77, Kim contributed a critical 1-over 73 in the second round.

   Central Michigan, with Rachel Niskanen, a senior from Negaunee, Mich., and Elise Fennell, a freshman from Caledonia, Mich., finishing in a tie for fourth place in the individual standings at 5-over 149, matched Delaware’s final round of 13-over 301 to finish four shots behind the Blue Hens in second place with a 27-over 603 total.

   The Chippewas had opened with a 302.

   Niskanen bounced back from an opening round of 5-over 77 to match Gooneratne’s even-par 72 for the low round of the day in the second round. Fennell opened with a 1-over 73 before closing with a 4-over 76.

   Central Michigan had a third player end up in the top 10 as Lexi Schulman, a senior from Vernon Hills, Ill., finished among the group tied for 10^th place with an 8-over 152 total. Schulman closed with a 3-over 75 after opening with a 77.

   Michigan State only trailed Delaware by three shots following its opening round of 13-over 301, but the Spartans struggled in the second round with a 307 and settled for a third-place finish at 32-over 608, five shots behind Central Michigan.

   Michigan State was led by Keeley Marx, a senior from Australia who shared sixth place with Delaware’s Kim with a 6-over 150 total. Marx signed for a pair of 3-over 75s.

   Sarisa Pajanalai, a sophomore from Thailand, gave Michigan State another player inside the top eight as she finished in a tie for eighth place with a 7-over 151 total. After opening with a solid 2-over 74, Pajanalai finished up with a 77.

   Rutgers, another Big Ten representative, and Bowling Green, one of Central Michigan's MAC rivals, finished in a tie for fourth place in the 15-team field, each ending up a shot behind Michigan State with a 33-over 609 total.

   The Red Knights added a 16-over 304 in the second round to their opening-round 305. The Falcons bounced back from an opening-round 310 with one of the best team rounds of the tournament, an 11-over 299 in the second round.

   Rutgers was led by Emily James, a senior from England who shared eighth place with Michigan State’s Pajanalai at 7-over. James had grabbed the lead after opening with a 1-under 71, the best individual round of the tournament, before falling back with an 80 in the second round.

   The Red Knights had another finisher in the top 10 as Judy Amano, a junior from Japan, ended up among the trio tied for 10^th place at 8-over. Amano closed with a solid 2-over 74 after opening with a 78.

   Bowling Green, behind Kartusch, the runnerup in the individual chase, bounced back from an opening-round 310 with an 11-over 299 in the second round.

   Kartusch was right there with Gooneratne, matching par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 2-over 74 that left her alone in second place with a 2-over 146 total.

   Bowling Green’s Avery Thompson, a junior from Heath, Ohio, rounded out the trio tied for 10^th place 8-over as she bounced back from an opening-round 79 with a solid 1-over 73 in the second round.

   Bowling Green accepted an invitation to last spring’s National Golf Invitational at the AK-Chin Southern Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz. and Kartusch made the most of the opportunity by capturing the individual crown.

   Backing up the top three of Gooneratne, Dunigan and Kim for Delaware was Anushka Sawant, a junior from South Brunswick, N.J. who finished among the group tied for 38^th place with a 158 total. Sawant opened with a 4-over 76 before adding an 82 in the second round.

   It was a bit of a struggle at Forest Akers West for freshman Kayley Roberts, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during an outstanding scholastic career at Phoenixville.

   Roberts rounded out the Delaware lineup as she finished in a tie for 71^st place with a 165 total after adding an 82 in the second round to her opening-round 83.

   One of Roberts’ chief rivals during her scholastic career, Mya Morgan, who captured the last two PIAA Class AAA individual titles in her last two years at Elizabeth Forward, had a strong showing for Central Michigan.

   Morgan, a freshman, opened with a 3-over 75 and added a 78 in the second round to finish in the group tied for 13^th place with a 9-over 153 total for the Chippewas.