A victory for Lees and two strong showings for Curran on Junior Tour

   Agnes Irwin sophomore Kaitlyn Lees racked up 10 pars in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Linfield National Golf Club in cold, blustery conditions Saturday to capture top honors in the 16-to-18 division.

   Lees finished with an 81 over the 5,479-yard, par-71 Linfield National layout to finish eight shots clear of runnerup Sofia Amoroso of West Chester.

   Alyson Rentschler of Hamburg topped the 13-to-15 division with a 96.

   Jonanthan Lumley of Royersford bested the field in the boys 13-to-15 division with a 77.  Andrew Curran, a Media resident and Malvern Prep freshman, posted an 80 to finish in a tie for second with Carson Bacha of York and Alex Mulrooney of Wilmington, Del.

   Hayden Rousselle of Doylestown had the day’s best score with a 5-over 76 in capturing the 16-to-18 division. Radnor junior Jacob Liberman finished in a tie for sixth with an 83.

Hayden Smith of Havertown finished 13^th with a 94 and Aidan Vorhees of Broomall was 20^th with a 113.

   Joshua Ryan of Norristown topped the nine-holers with a 42.

   It was another strong showing by Curran a day later as temperatures warmed a little Sunday for the final Junior Tour stop of the fall at Ramblewood Country Club in Mount Laurel, N.J.

   Curran carded an 8-over 80 on the 6,538-yard, par-72 Ramblewood layout to finish tied atop the 13-to-15 division with Alec Ryden of Moorestown, N.J. Ryden was awarded the top spot in a match of cards.

   Andrew Miller of Bryn Mawr finished in a tie for fourth with an 84.

   Matthew Rizzo of Manahawkin, N.J. had the day’s best score, a 2-over 74, to win the 16-to-18 division.

   Casey Oppenheimer of Conshohocken won the girls 16-to-18 division with a 96, Eden Richmond of Princeton, N.J. won the 13-to-15 division with a 101 and Nicholas Gross of Downingtown won a match of cards with Darren Nolan of Glenside for top honors among the nine-holers after each fired a 45.

Marmorstein finishes first in Junior Tour stop at Mainland

   Notre Dame sophomore Brianna Marmorstein was a winner in the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop Sunday at Mainland Golf Course in Harleysville, Mongtomery County.

Marmorstein had six pars on the tight 5,132-yard, par-70 Mainland layout for an 89.

   In the boys 13-to-15 division, Media resident Andrew Curran, a freshman on Malvern Prep’s Inter-Ac League championship team this fall, placed fourth with a 77. Stephen Lorenzo of Lower Gwynedd won the division with a sparkling 1-over 71 that included four birdies.

   Quinn Guzman of Souderton won the 16-to-18 division with a 3-over 73. Savanna Haas of Pottstown was the girls 13-to-15  winner with a 98. And Nicholas Gross of Downingtown bested the field of nine-holers with a 42.

   Saturday, the Junior Tour stopped at Berkshire Country Club in Berks County and Radnor junior Jacob Liberman carded an 81 to finish third in the 16-to-18 division. Radnor sophomore Daniel Bullock finished in a tie for fifth with an 85 over the 6,256-yard, par-72 Berkshire layout.

   Ryan Tall of Colllegeville topped the 16-to-18 field with a 78.

   Radnor senior Caitlin Bullock finished third in the girls 16-to-18 division with a 116, although she bounced back from a bad start with a back-nine 49. Samantha Fritzinger won division honors with a 90.

   Media’s Curran also teed it up at Berkshire and finished 11^th in the boys 13-to-15 division with an 89. Alec Stern of Bryn  Mawr finished 12^th with a 93. Carson Bacha of York topped the 13-to-15 field with a 75, the day’s best score overall.

   Alyson Rentschler of Hamburg won the girls 13-to-15 division with a 93. John Olson of Boalsburg bested the field of nine-holers with a 43.

Susanin has leading role at Dartmouth and some familar names at Landfall

   It’s been a pretty busy fall on the links and I haven’t been able to keep up with some of the college golfers, both former Delco standouts and some of the District One players they competed against, so I picked a couple of events to spotlight how some of the top female players in the area fared this fall.

   It was an interesting fall for Radnor All-Delco Jamie Susanin, a junior at Dartmouth. I’m certain Susanin was being kept abreast of developments at home where Brynn Walker, Susanin’s teammate on Radnor’s 2012 PIAA girls team champions, won her second straight state individual crown and helped the Raiders win the Class AAA state boys team title.

   Susanin found herself a veteran on a team suddenly filled with talented youngsters. I’m guessing she took to a leadership role in much the same way she did when she was the clear leader of the Radnor girls team that won that 2012 PIAA title.

   Susanin had a solid showing at the Rutgers Women’s Invitational , finishing tied for 16^th individually with rounds of 75, 79 and 82 at the Rutgers University Golf Course for a 236 total.

   Susanin helped the Big Green finish fifth overall at 941, three shots back of fourth-place Xavier and eight shots clear of host Rutgers in sixth. Dartmouth had rounds of 315, 309 and 317.

   Julie Calbi, a freshman, led the way for Dartmouth, finishing in a tie for third with rounds of 81, 71 and 74 for a 226 total. Isabelle Kane, a sophomore, finished tied for 12th with rounds of 76, 78 and 80 for a 234 total and two other freshmen, Hana Bradshaw (83-81-86) and Catharine Roddy (86-83-81) finished in the group tied for 45^th at 250.

   Individual medalist Andrea Sloane (75-74-73—222) led Delaware to the team title as the Blue Hens registered rounds of 302, 304 and 317 for a 923 total that was 10 shots clear of runnerup Brown.

   A couple of weeks earlier at the Dartmouth Invitational at Hanover Country Club, Susanin headed the Dartmouth B team to a seventh-place finish in the team standings.

   Meanwhile, the youngsters populating the A team won the team title as Kane (73-73—146) placed third, Calbi (73-76—149) finished tied for fourth, Bradshaw (71-79—150) was tied for sixth, Roddy (80-76--156) was tied for 13^th and Angela Zhang (77-82—159), yet another freshman, was tied for 21^st.

   It added up to sparkling rounds of 294 and 304 for a 598 total that was 18 shots clear of runnerup Hartford at 616.

   Dartmouth’s B team was led by sophomore Jessica Kittelberger, who had rounds of 80 and 76 and finished tied for 13^th with, among others, her teammate Roddy. Susanin had rounds of 77 and 80 to finish tied for 16^th as the B teamers put up rounds of 319 and 318 for a 637 total.

   Senior Lily Morrison (77-82—159) ended up in a tie for 21^st and junior Tara Simmons (85-80—165) was tied for 37^th .

   With Susanin helping to mentor all that young talent, Dartmouth will be tough in the spring.

   There were some very familiar names when many of the top women’s programs descended on the Country Club of Landfall’s Dye Course for the Landfall Tradition Oct. 23 and 24 in Wilmington, N.C.

    Lauren Waller, the Canon-McMillan product who lost to Radnor’s Walker in a playoff at the 2014 PIAA Class AAA Tournament, is having a breakout freshman season for Denise St. Pierre at Penn State.

   Waller had rounds of 75, 72 and 68 to finish alone in ninth place at the Landfall with a 215 total. She helped the Nittany Lions finish 13^th in the powerhouse 18-team field with rounds of 305, 302 and 285 for an 892 total.

   Another of St. Pierre’s prized freshmen, Jackie Rogowicz, a two-time District One champion at Pennsbury, had rounds of 77, 77 and 72 to finish tied for 47^th at 226. Although she didn’t make the trip to Landfall, Cara Basso, a PIAA Class AA champion at Villa Maria, is another freshman on the Penn State roster. And they’ll be joined by this year’s District One champion, Madelein Herr of Council Rock North.

   While powerhouse Duke cruised to the team title with an 855 total, surprising Notre Dame finished second with an 866. And followers of District One golf aren’t the least bit surprised to learn that a resurgence in women’s golf for the Fighting Irish coincides with the arrival of Isabella DiLisio, the 2013 PIAA Class AAA champion and 2014 Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur champion.

   DiLisio was threatening to win the individual title at Landfall when she opened up with rounds of 67 and 70. She fell back with a final-round 84, but her 221 total left her in a tie for 35^th. The Irish were led by senior captain Talia Campbell (72-76-71) and freshman Maddie Rose Hamilton (77-74-68), who finished tied for 19^th at 219.

   But the runnerup finish for Notre Dame capped a fall season that coach Susan Holt characterized as the best in the program’s history and DiLisio was right in the middle of it.

   Another familiar name at Landfall was that of Wake Forest sophomore Erica Herr, a back-to-back PIAA champion at Council Rock North.  Herr had rounds of 74, 78 and 76 to finish in a tie for 53^rd at 228 and help the Demon Deacons finish seventh at 886.

   And after following the fortunes of Purdue the last four years during the outstanding run of Chichester product Aurora Kan there, I can’t completely let go of the Boilers. They finished a shot back of Wake Forest in eighth at 867 with rounds of 296, 300 and 291.

   Kan led Purdue to the brink of the final eight and match-play competition at last spring’s NCAA Tournament and the Boilermakers will be a force before it’s all said and done in the 2015-16 season. They were led by Anna Appert Lund, their senior from Sweden who has no doubt inherited the leadership mantle from Kan.

   Appert Lund finished in a tie for 10^th at Landfall with rounds of 70, 77 and 70 for a 217 total and August Kim, the talented junior from St. Augustine, Fla., was a shot back of her teammate with rounds of 74, 74 and 70 for a 218 total that left her in a tie for 16^th.

Waggoner, Richards lead Villanova to fouth in City 6 tourney

   The Villanova golf team concluded its fall campaign by taking fourth at the City 6 Tournament, which was held on Halloween Saturday at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course, site of five U.S. Opens, most recently Justin Rose’s 2013 victory.

   Luke Waggoner, the lone senior on the Villanova roster, and freshman Peter Richards shared medalist honors for the Wildcats, each carding a 5-over 75 over the Hugh Wilson design in the Ardmore section of Haverford Township.

   That left them in a tie for seventh in the individual standings and helped Villanova post a 303 total. Temple did not participate and only eight shots separated first-place Saint Joseph’s, which had a 298 total, and fifth-place La Salle at 306.

   The Hawks were led by Brian Turley, who shared medalist honors with Penn’s Patrick O’Leary as each carded a 1-over 71 at the East.

   Villanova’s other two counters were sophomore Andy Butler with a 76 and freshman Andrew Bowyer with a 77. The Wildcats were able to toss an 81 by sophomore Zach Egermayer and an 85 by junior Lucas Trim.

   Drexel finished second in the team standings, three shots back of St. Joe’s at 301. The Dragons were led by senior Yoseph Dance, share shared third place with St. Joe’s senior Zach Bach and Penn sophomore Amay Poria at 4-over 74.

   O’Leary and Poria led the Quakers to a third-place finish at 302.

   Drexel also got a 75 from Mike Cook, a freshman who starred at Conestoga, and 76s from senior Christopher Crawford, who won the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Patterson Cup this summer at Chester Valley Golf Club, and sophomore Adam Mistretta.

   Cook was in a five-way tie for seventh with Waggoner and Richards from Villanova and Saint Joseph’s senior T.J. McNulty. The group at 76, which included Crawford, Mistretta and Villanova’s Butler, finished tied for 14^th.

Chambers, Kan earn top-10 finishes at Bustard Memorial

   Episcopal Academy product Joe Chambers got a share of eighth place and Chichester junior Caprian Kan was ninth as a field of the top players from the Philadelphia Section PGA’s Junior Tour and the New Jersey Section PGA’s Junior Tour gathered at the Old York Country Club over the weekend for the Bustard Memorial Junior Invitational.

   The event is named for Paul L. Bustard, a long-time Old York Country Club member who wanted to give back to the game by hosting a tournament for the promising young players in the two sections.

   Byron Chin of Princeton Junction, N.J. took top honors among the boys with rounds of 73 and 76 over the 6,377-yard, par-71 Gary Player design for a 7-over 149 total. Alex Aulerich of Flemington, N.J. was the runnerup with rounds of 78 and 74 for a 10-over 152 total. Andrew Gallagher of Marlton, N.J. and  Hayden Rousselle of New Hope were the low Philly Junior representatives as they shared third at 153. Gallagher followed up an opening-round 81 with a 1-over 72 in difficult conditions Sunday while Rousselle had rounds of 78 and 75.

   Chambers had rounds of 77 and 79 for a 156 total to get a share of eighth place.

   Wayne resident John Updike, coming off a very strong freshman campaign at Malvern Prep, had rounds of 79 and 82 to get a share of 17^th at 161. Also at that figure was Updike’s playing partner at the Inter-Ac League Tournament a few days earlier at a rainy Merion East, Germantown Academy junior Gaven Giampalmi who matched Updike’s rounds of 79 and 82.

   Radnor freshman D.J. Colleran, who helped the Raiders capture the PIAA Class AAA team title last week, had rounds of 83 and 81 to finish in a tie for 23^rd at 164.

   A couple of other Inter-Ac freshmen, The Haverford School’s AJ Aivazoglou of Glen Mills and Malvern Prep’s Andrew Curran of Media, also teed it up at Old York. Aivazoglou had rounds of 94 and 84 to finish tied for 44^th at 178 and Curran had rounds of 98 and 90 to finish 55^th at 188.

   Ami Gianchandari of Short Hills, N.J. took the girls title with rounds of 74 and 72 for a 4-over 146 total. Gianchandari’s second round featured three birdies and an eagle as she finished four shots clear of ruunerup Haley Bookholdt of Columbus, N.J. who had a pair of 75s for a 150 total.

   Phoebe Brinker of Wilmington, Del. was the low Philly Junior Tour finisher with rounds of 79 and 73 for a 152 total that left her in third place. Kan, coming off a solid scholastic campaign at Chichester,  had rounds of 83 and 84 to finish ninth at 167.

A win for Marmorstein at Foxchase

   Notre Dame sophomore Brianna Marmorstein fired a front-nine 38 on her way to an 89 that earned her the top spot in the 16-to-18 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Foxchase Golf Club in Stevens Sunday.

   Marmorstein’s round over the 5,505-yard, par-72 Foxchase layout left her five shots clear of Casey Oppenheimer of Conshohocken.

   Andrew Kreider of Ephrata won the boys 16-to-18 division with a 3-over 75. Radnor sophomore Daniel Bullock finished in a tie for 10^th with an 87.

   Alex Seelig of Birdsboro captured top honors in the 13-to-15 division with a 77 and Alyson Rentschler of Hamburg won the girls 13-to-15 division with a 90. Graham Calhoun of Lititz bested the nine-holers with a 41.