McGinty rides a fast start to Philly Junior Tour victory at Regents' Glen

 

   Time to start playing catch-up on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour’s weekend fall schedule …

   Miles McGinty, a junior on the Warwick golf team, carded a solid 3-over-par 75 at Regents’ Glen Country Club in York to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division Oct. 10^th.

   McGinty made birdies at the ninth, 14^th and 16^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard, including six straight pars to open his round.

   Lucas Keysock, a junior on the Perkiomen Valley golf team, and John Hoffman of Marlton, N.J. rounded out a short field in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for second place, each posting a 6-over 78.

   Keysock made a birdie at the sixth hole and had 12 pars on his card, including a run of four consecutive pars from 10 through 13. Hoffman had 12 pars on his card, including a string of four straight pars from the seventh through the 10^th holes.

   Noah Gates of Ardmore made a birdie at the fourth hole and an eagle at the par-4 11^th on his way to a 7-over 79 that earned him a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division.

   Gates also had eight pars on his scorecard, including a string of five straight pars from the fifth through the ninth holes.

   A couple of Maryland invaders, Michael Eigenbrode of Baltimore and Brooks Buerhaus of Bel Air, finished in second and third place with respective scores of 80 and 82.

   Eigenbrode made birdies at the sixth and ninth holes and had seven pars on his card. Buerhaus made birdies at the first, third and 17^th holes and had five pars on his card.

   Charlie Wei of Cochranville and Nolan Sweigart, a freshman on the Lancaster Catholic golf team, shared fourth place, each tallying an 83 and Sam Whitehouse, a freshman on the Owen J. Roberts golf team, and Jake Julian of Malvern finished in a tie for sixth, each signing for an 84.

   Connor Bates, a sophomore on the Perkiomen Valley golf team, finished alone in eighth place with an 86.

   Joey Charpentier of Schwenksville has been playing in the boys 12-and-under division all season, but bumped up to 18 holes at Regents’ Glen and was part of a foursome of players who rounded out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division in a tie for ninth place, each carding an 87.

   Joining Charpentier in the quartet tied for ninth place were Lucas Shank, a junior on the Unionville golf team, Justin Burke, a sophomore on the Owen J. Roberts golf team, and Patrick Scally of Garnet Valley.

   Mya Dendler, a junior on the Pennsbury golf team, made a birdie at the 12^th hole and added a par at five as she claimed a Philly Junior Tour victory in the girls 16-to-18 division with a 98.

   Olivia Bond of Del Haven, N.J. rounded out a short field in the 16-to-18 division as she finished in second place with a 118.

   Finley Campbell of West Chester was the lone entry in the 13-to-15 division and she made a birdie at the sixth hole and added a par at 12 on her way to a 112.

   Grayson Wright of Philadelphia had six pars on his scorecard, including three straight pars to close out his round, as he bested the field of boys 12-and-under nine-holers with a 3-over 39.

   Wright was coming off a runnerup finish in the boys 12-and-under division a week earlier at Berkleigh Golf Club.

   Kayaan Patel of Mullica Hill, N.J. had four pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 42.

   Easton Brenner of Lititz had four pars on his card, coming consecutively from the third through the sixth holes, as he finished a shot behind Kayaan Patel in third place with a 43.

   Kamran Patel of Moorestown, N.J. took fourth place with a 44 and Bennett Cho of Chesterbrook rounded out the field in the boys 12-and-under division as he finished fifth with a 51.

   Virginia Anderson of Wilmington, Del. was the lone entry in the girls 12-and-under division and she posted a 50.

 

 

 

 

Aronimink's Wheeldon captures title in Hyndman Memorial Classic at Huntingdon Valley

 

   Riley Wheeldon, the talented instructor at Aronimink Golf Club, rode a birdie barrage on the outgoing nine at the challenging Huntingdon Valley Country Club layout to a 2-under-par 68 and a two-shot victory in the William Hyndman III Memorial Classic Oct. 26^th.

   It was the final Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Philadelphia PGA Player of the Year points event of 2026.

   Wheeldon opened with back-to-back birdies at the first and second holes and added birdies at four and seven to get off to a fast start on the William Flynn gem.

   A bogey at the 13^th hole and a double bogey at 14 dropped Wheeldon back to 1-under for his round before a birdie at 16 enabled him to get to the clubhouse at 2-under.

   “I hadn’t won this year and it’s been a while since I’ve gone a year without winning something, so this one meant something to me,” Wheeldon told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “I’m happy to be able to pull it off and go into winter on a high note.”

   Wheeldon, a native of Canada, made a strong bid to earn himself a berth in the PGA Championship at his new home course at Aronimink when he entered the final round at the Bandon Dunes Resort on Oregon’s rugged coastline last spring in a tie for 17^th place in the PGA Professional Championship.

   The top 20 finishers in the PPC earn spots in the field for the PGA Championship as part of the Corebridge Financial Team. Wheeldon, however, struggled in the final round at the Dunes and didn’t make the cut for the PGA Championship.

   Braden Shattuck, the head of instruction at Rolling Green Golf Club, matched par at Huntingdon Valley with a 70 to earn runnerup honors in the Hyndman Memorial Classic, named for the Huntingdon Valley amateur who won the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship 10 years apart in 1973 and 1983 and represented the United States in the Walker Cup Match five times.

   Shattuck, the reigning four-time Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year (and likely to make it five straight), rallied on the final day at Bandon Dunes last spring and did qualify for the PGA Championship at Aronimink, hitting the first tee shot in the opening round, quite an honor for a Delco guy who starred scholastically at Sun Valley in nearby Aston.

   Chris Gray of Rehoboth Beach Country Club, Parks Price of Bent Creek Country Club and Trevor Bensel of LuLu Country Club shared third place, each posting a 1-over 71.

   Rounding out the top 10 was a five-player logjam at 2-over 72 tied for sixth place that included Ken Taras of Philadelphia Country Club, Rob Wolfers of Manufacturers Golf & Country Club, Andrew Turner of Green Valley Country Club and two of the three Barbin brothers at Chesapeake Bay Golf Club, Zach and Evan.

   Jason Panter, a Life Member, and Jason Wilson of Bethlehem Golf Club, shared top honors in the Senior division, each signing for a 4-over 74.

   Hugo Mazzalupi of the Radnor Golf Foundation finished a shot behind Panter and Wilson in third place with a 5-over 75.

   Mazzalupi was fresh off an appearance in the Senior PGA Professional Championship at the Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club in Gold Canyon, Ariz. Mazzalupi survived the 36-hole cut, but didn’t make it to the final round after coming up short of the 54-hole cutline.

   The ageless Brian Kelly, the long-time head pro at the Bucknell Golf Club who is representing Titleist Fitcrew, recorded a 3-over 73 to top the Super-Senior field.

   Wayne Phillips, a Life Member and the long-time head pro at Lehigh Country Club, and George Forster of Radnor Valley Country Club shared second place, each registering a 4-over 74.

   LuLu’s Bensel defeated Rehoboth Beach’s Gray in a playoff to capture the top spot in the Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization (PAO) event contested simultaneously with the Hyndman Memorial Classic after each carded a 1-under 71.

   The PAO’s Tour Championship was contested the week before the Hyndman Memorial Classic at Merion Golf Club’s West Course and I’ll get to those results later in this post.

   Brittany Weddell, an assistant pro at Green Valley Country Club, was the lone entry in the Women’s division and she tallied a 9-over 79.

   The William Hyndman III Memorial Classic was supported by the Hyndman family, Callaway Golf, Jock Jolly & Son Inc., KM Golf Sales/Kevin McClellan and the PGA Tour.

   The third member of Chesapeake Bay’s Team Barbin, Austin Barbin, defeated Andrew Turner, an assistant pro at Green Valley, in a playoff to capture the title in the PAO Tour Championship at Merion’s West Course Oct. 20^th.

   Austin Barbin and Turner each matched par with a 70 at the West and Austin Barbin made a birdie on the first hole of the playoff to take the title.

   After opening his round with a birdie at the first hole, Austin Barbin, who capped his amateur career by capturing the title in the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship in 2024 at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, got in some trouble on the outgoing nine at the West with a triple bogey at the second and bogeys at five and six.

   But Austin Barbin righted the ship with back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth holes and again at 12 and 13 to get it back to even-par for the round.

   Turner offset bogeys at the fourth and seventh holes with birdies at five and 12.

   Andrew Cornish of Llanerch Country Club and Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club, shared third place, each ending up two shots behind Austin Barbin and Turner with a 2-over 72.

   The trio of Bensel, Burlington Country Club’s Logan Hay and Yardley Country Club’s J.T. Wambold finished in a tie for fifth place, each recording a 3-over 73.

   Anthony Sebastianelli, the talented assistant pro at Whitford Country Club, and Du Pont Country Club’s Matt Finger shared eighth place, each registering a 4-over 74.

   Rounding out the top 10 was Nick Hayden, another player out of the pro shop at Llanerch, as he finished in 10^th place with a 76.

   The PAO Tour Championship was supported by Ohana Farm LLC.

   Austin Barbin, his older brother Zach Babin, Cornish, Oakley, Bensel, Hay and Sebastianelli will be representing the Philly Section when the Assistant PGA Professional Championship tees off Thursday at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   Sebastianelli defeated Hay in a playoff in June at Laurel Creek Country Club to capture the title in the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship, which was the local qualifier for this week’s Assistant PPC.

   Zach Barbin finished in a tie for second place in the Assistant PPC a year ago at the PGA Golf Club and Oakley seems to always be in contention in the Assistant PPC and is very familiar with the courses at the PGA Golf Club.

 

 

 

 

Auburn takes men's title, Arkansas the women's winner in East Lake Cup

 

   Jackson Koivun might be gone, but Auburn, winner of two national championships in the last three seasons, the second of which occurred last spring, remains among the top echelon in Division I as men’s college golf takes its midseason pause.

   Haven’t really had a chance to get to much of the national college golf scene this fall while focusing a little closer to home with the high schools and the local colleges, including all those District One kids on the Delaware women’s team, capturing most of my attention.

   That’s why it’s always good to look in on the East Lake Cup, which brings together the top men’s and women’s teams from last spring’s postseason to Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club for a round of stroke play and a couple rounds of match play.

   On the men’s side, it was Southeastern Conference power Auburn, No. 3 in the latest Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, taking down Big 12 champion Oklahoma State, No. 1 in the Scoreboard rankings, 4-1, in the final Oct. 28^th.

   On the women’s side, it was another SEC power in Arkansas knocking off the Oklahoma State Cowgirls, 3.5-1.5, to capture the East Lake title.

   Not a great day for the two Oklahoma State teams, but it’s a pretty nice feather in the cap for Okie State to have both its men’s and women’s teams competing on The Golf Channel during Halloween week.

   Auburn and Oklahoma State have been the two best teams in men’s college golf over the last three years.

   The East Lake final was a rematch of a semifinal match in last spring’s NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. as the Tigers ended Oklahoma State’s title defense with a dominant 5-0 victory.

   Yes, Koivun, the best player in college golf for most of his three seasons with the Tigers was gone, but the rest of the Auburn lineup at La Costa last spring teed it up last week at East Lake.

   Jake Albert of Blacksburg, Va. and Logan Reilly of Lovettsville, Va. came up huge for Auburn as freshmen in the Tigers’ run to a national championship last spring. And both figured prominently in the East Lake Cup final.

   Albert, No. 69 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), dropped a 2 and 1 decision to Oklahoma State’s Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson, a junior from Sweden, in the first match of the day.

    Josiah Gilbert, a senior from Millbrook, Ala. and No. 4 in the WAGR, put a point on the board for Auburn with a 4 and 3 decision over Gaven Lane, a senior from Argyle, Texas and No. 51 in the WAGR.

   But the marquee match of the day pitted Reilly, No. 25 in the WAGR, against Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout, a senior from Richardson, Texas who inherited the No. 1 spot in the WAGR from Koivun when the two-time winner of the Fred Haskins, Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan awards turned pro in July.

   The two had shared medalist honors in qualifying for match play, each carding a sizzling 7-under 65 over an East Lake layout that measured 7,255 yards and played to a par of 72 for the guys.

   Got a chance to watch Reilly in some high-stakes match-play situations in the quarterfinals and the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club’s storied East Course in August and came away really impressed with his poise under pressure.

   The Golf Channel couldn’t get enough of this matchup and it was Reilly, with a burst on the incoming nine, who came away with a 3 and 2 victory.

   Stout had represented the United States in the Walker Cup Match against Great Britain & Ireland at Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland, the homestanding GB&I team rallying in the Sunday singles to claim a 13.5-12.5 victory. It was Stout’s second straight appearance in the Walker Cup for the U.S. as he was part of a victory for the Red, White & Blue in 2025 at the iconic Cypress Point Club on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula.

   The clinching point for Auburn at East Lake came from Billy Davis, a junior from Spring Valley, Calif. and No. 96 in the WAGR. Davis is the twin brother of Auburn’s top women’s player, Anna Davis.

   Davis’ match with Eric Lee, a senior from Fullerton, Calif. and No. 20 in the WAGR, went to extra holes.

   Davis found the green with his tee shot at the par-3 15^th hole and when Lee dunked his tee shot into the water, Davis had a victory on the 19^th hole and Auburn had a third point.

   Auburn got the final point out of the anchor match as Cayden Pope, a senior from Lexington, Ky. and No. 33 in the WAGR, claimed a 4 and 2 verdict over John Wild, a graduate student from Glen Ellyn, Ill.

   Albert, Gilbert, Reilly and Pope were all in the lineup when Auburn knocked off UCLA in the Final Match last spring at La Costa. Fahlberg-Johnsson, Lee, Lane and Stout were all in the lineup when Oklahoma State defeated Virginia in the Final Match two springs ago at La Costa to nail down the program’s 12^th national championship.

   I did run into Auburn earlier in the fall while checking in on former Downingtown West standout Nick Gross at Alabama as the Tigers were the runnerup to the Crimson Tide in the Ben Hogan Collegiate at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

   Auburn took a nearly month-long hiatus after the Ben Hogan Collegiate before another runnerup finish in the Williams Cup, presented by STICH, at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, N.C. Gilbert was the individual medalist with an 8-under 208 total.

   Auburn followed up its victory at East Lake with another tournament title just days later at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, which wrapped up Nov. 1^st, unleashing a spectacular 42-under 822 total at Steelwood Country Club in Loxley, Ala.

   Auburn rolled into the final with a 4-1 victory over Arizona, another Big 12 entry that fell to UCLA in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship last spring at La Costa, in the semifinals at East Lake.

   Albert edged William Wistrand, a sophomore from Sweden, 1-up, Reilly claimed a 3 and 2 decision over Matej Baca, a junior from the Czech Republic, Gilbert earned a 2 and 1 victory over Jorge Sampedro, a sophomore from Spain, and Davis pulled out a 2-up verdict over Adam Fahey, a freshman from Ireland, for the Tigers.

   Tianyi Xiong, a senior from China, accounted for Arizona’s lone point with a 2-up win over Pope.

   Not sure where the Wildcats were ranked going into the East Lake Cup, but they were at No. 60 after avenging their semifinal loss to UCLA at La Costa with a 3-2 victory over the Bruins in the third-place match.

   Oklahoma State reached the East Lake final with a 3-2 victory over UCLA, the Big Ten representative that had made a surprising run to the Final Match in the NCAA Championship at La Costa last spring.

   The Bruins improved from No. 46 to No. 40 in the Scoreboard rankings in the aftermath of the East Lake Cup.

   Oklahoma State got dominant wins from Lane, who rolled to an 8 and 7 victory over Tyler Loree, a sophomore from Kula, Hawaii, Fahlberg-Johnsson, who claimed a 5 and 3 decision over Lucas Rizo-Patron, a sophomore from Rye, N.Y., and Stout, who also won by a 5 and 3 margin over Alex Papayoanou, a senior from The Woodlands, Texas.

   Baylor Larrabee, a junior from Ferndale, Wash., earned a point for UCLA with a 2 and 1 victory over Wild and Josh Kim, a sophomore from Danville, Calif., added another point for the Bruins with a 2 and 1 decision over Lee.

   Wins by Wistrand and Fahey and a pair of matches that ended in draws enabled Arizona to edge UCLA in the third-place match.

   Reilly’s 7-under 65 in qualifying for match play Oct. 26^th gave him a share of medalist honors with Stout and led Auburn to the top seed in the match-play bracket with a 13-under 275 total.

   Davis, Pope and Albert backed up Reilly as they were three of the five players who finished in a tie for sixth place at 2-under 70.

   Stout’s 65 led Oklahoma State to a second-place finish in qualifying for match play with an 11-under 277 total that left the Cowboys two shots behind Auburn.

   Wild backed up Stout for Oklahoma State as he posted a 4-under 68 to finish in a tie for third place.

   It was another three shots back to UCLA in third place with an 8-under 280 total.

   The Bruins had three players among the top six finishers in the round of stroke play as Larrabee shared third place with Oklahoma State’s Wild at 4-under, Kim was alone in fifth with a 2-under 69 and Loree was part of the five-player logjam tied for sixth at 2-under.

   Arizona finished in fourth place in the stroke-play qualifier with a 1-over 289 total.

   The Wildcats were led by Xiong, who rounded out the fivesome tied for sixth place at 2-under.

   Gilbert rounded out the Auburn lineup in in the stroke-play round as he finished among the trio tied for 13^th place with a 1-over 73.

   The East Lake Cup invites the four semifinalists from the previous spring’s NCAA Championship and all four of the men’s teams accepted those invitations.

   As has been the case in recent years, the reigning champion on the women’s side, Stanford, declined to take a trip to Atlanta for the East Lake Cup.

   The Cardinal’s place at East Lake was taken by Oklahoma State, which fell to Arkansas in the quarterfinals of last spring’s NCAA Championship at La Costa.

   And the Cowgirls, pulling off a 3-2 upset of reigning Big Ten champion Southern California in the semifinals, earned a rematch of that quarterfinal loss to Arkansas in the East Lake final.

   Behind Maria Jose Marin, a senior from Colombia and No. 7 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), the Razorbacks claimed the team crown.

   Arkansas moved up a spot in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings from No. 20 to No. 19 in the aftermath of its East Lake Cup victory. Oklahoma State moved up four spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 29 to No. 25 following its runnerup finish.

   Marin, who had captured medalist honors in stroke-play qualifying for match play with a sparkling 5-under 67 over an East Lake Course that measured 6,185 yards and played to a par of 72 for the women, earned the clinching point for the Razorbacks with a 2 and 1 victory over Marta Silchenko, a senior from Latvia and No. 42 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Marin broke open a tight match with back-to-back birdies at the 15^th and 16^th holes that gave her a 2-up lead with two holes to play.

   Sara Bretencheneff, a sophomore from France and No. 26 in the Women’s WAGR, put the first point on the board for Arkansas with a 2 and 1 victory over Ellie Bushnell, a senior from Granite Bay, Calif.

   Swetha Sathish, a sophomore from Canada, earned another point for the Razorbacks with a 2 and 1 decision over Summer Lee, a junior from Plano, Texas.

   Ebba Liljeberg, a sophomore from Sweden, was tied with Louise Depadt, a senior from France, were tied when Marin sealed the outcome and their match went into the books as a tie.

   Tarapath Panya, a junior from Thailand, picked up the lone full point for Oklahoma State with a 4 and 2 verdict over Natalie Blonien, a junior from Altus, Okla.

   It was the first team title of the season for Arkansas.

   The Razorbacks did earn runnerup honors in their home event, the Blessings Collegiate in early October at the Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. Marin captured the individual crown in the Blessings with a 12-under 204 total.

   Arkansas reached the final at East Lake with a 4-1 victory over Eastern Michigan, the Mid-American Conference representative that made a magical run to the semifinals in the NCAA Championship at La Costa last spring before running into Stanford.

   Brentcheneff claimed a 3 and 1 victory over Karen Tsuru, a senior from Carlsbad, Calif. who transferred to Eastern Michigan from Oregon, Marin rolled to a 5 and 4 win over Baiyok Sukterm, a senior from Thailand, Liljeberg pulled out a 1-up victory over Constanza Quiroga, a sophomore from Bolivia, and Blonien earned a 4 and 2 decision over Laura Gorgees Baeta, a freshman from Spain.

   Savannah de Bock, a senior from Belgium, picked up the lone point for Eastern Michigan with a 4 and 3 victory over Sathish.

   Eastern Michigan was No. 56 in the Scoreboard rankings following its showing at East Lake.

   Oklahoma State pulled off the big upset in the other semifinal, pulling out a 3-2 victory over Southern California, the runnerup to Stanford in the NCAA Championship last spring at La Costa and No. 3 in the Scoreboard rankings.

   Depadt earned the clinching point for the Cowgirls as her match with Sarah Hammett, a sophomore from Australia, went to extra holes and Depadt pulled out the victory with a birdie at the 19^th hole.

   Oklahoma State got a really nice win in the leadoff match as Panya claimed a 3 and 2 victory over Jasmine Koo, a junior from Cerritos, Calif. and No. 15 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Bushnell, in the anchor spot, earned another big point for the Cowgirls with her 3 and 2 decision over Kylie Chong, a junior from Torrance, Calif. and No. 35 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Southern Cal got wins from Bailey Shoemaker, a senior from Dade City, Fla. and No. 30 in the Women’s WAGR, who claimed a 3 and 2 victory over Silchenko in a heavyweight matchup, and Elise Lee, a junior from Irvine, Calif. and No. 33 in the Women’s WAGR who rolled to a 6 and 5 decision over Summer Lee.

   Chong, Koo and Hammett bounced back with match wins as Southern Cal claimed a 3-2 victory over Eastern Michigan in the third-place match.

   Southern Cal had captured the top seed in the match-play bracket with an 8-under 280 total in the stroke-play round Oct. 26^th.

   Koo and Chong led the way as they were part of a foursome tied for second place at 3-under 69, two shots behind Arkansas’ Marin, the medalist.

   Shoemaker gave the Trojans a third player inside the top six as she finished in a tie for sixth place with a 2-under 70.

   Behind Marin, Arkansas finished two shots behind Southern Cal in second place with a 6-under 282. Brentcheneff added a 2-under 70 for the Razorbacks as she shared sixth place with Southern Cal’s Shoemaker.

   Eastern Michigan was another three shots behind Arkansas in third place with a 3-under 285 total as three Eagles – Tsuru, Gorgees Baeta and de Brock – comprised the trio tied for eighth place at 1-under 71.

   Oklahoma State finished in fourth place in qualifying with a 2-over 290 behind Depadt and Silchenko, who comprised the other half of the quartet tied for second place, each tallying a 3-under 69.

   Elise Lee backed up Koo, Chong and Shoemaker for Southern Cal as she finished among the trio tied for 11^th place with an even-par 72. Hammett rounded out the lineup for the Trojans as she finished in a tie for 14^th place with a 1-over 73.