Conner heads the youth movement with Philly Junior Tour victory at RiverCrest

 

   The guys at the top of the younger 13-to-15 division in a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve July 24^th flashed some talent.

   Declan Conner of Swarthmore made birdies at the second, fifth and 16^th holes and had nine pars on his scorecard as he had the best score of the day, a 3-over-par 74 over the par 71 RiverCrest layout in Upper Providence, Montgomery County, to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division.

   Colby Komancheck, whose father Jamie is the head pro and whose mother Kelly is the pro shop manager at RiverCrest, headed a group of three players tied for second place, each ending up at 4-over 75, a shot behind Conner.

   Komancheck was the winner of the 13-to-15 division with a fairly spectacular 1-under 70 that featured two eagles when the Philly Junior Tour stopped at RiverCrest a year ago. Komancheck wasn’t quite that hot this year, but still made birdies at the second, fourth, 16^th and 18^th holes and had seven pars on his card in getting around in 4-over this time.

   Komancheck was joined at that figure by Conestoga sophomore Chris Sung and Ian Larsen of Glenmoore. Sung got off to a strong start with back-to-back birdies at the second and third holes, added another birdie at 18 and had nine pars on his card, six off them coming in a front nine of 1-under 35. Larsen made birdies on the second and 16^th holes and had 11 pars on his card.

   Sung is coming off a solid freshman season at Conestoga and Conner, Komancheck and Larsen are all Class of 2027 entries and figure to make a splash on the scholastic scene somewhere this fall. I know Larsen will be joining the team with defending District One Class AAA champion Downingtown West. Not sure where Conner and Komancheck will be matriculating, but I’ll find out soon enough.

   Trey Barkman of West Chester took fifth place in the 13-to-15 division, Luke LaScala of Wilmington, Del. was sixth with an 81 and Andrew Carroccio of Newtown Square was seventh with an 82.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division was a trio of players tied for eighth place at 83 that included Episcopal Academy eighth-grader Max Leung, Timothy Burns of Phoenixville and Bryan Hebding of Bel Air, Md.

   Three players finished in a tie atop the leaderboard in the 16-to-18 division at 8-over 79, including Methacton junior Matthew Rieger, Andrew Elliott of Souderton and Gavin Dirkes of Berwyn.

   Rieger’s steady round included a birdie at the 18^th hole and 11 pars, eight of them on RiverCrest’s outgoing nine.

   Elliott made birdies on the second, fifth and 16^th holes and had five pars on his scorecard. Dirkes made birdies at the seventh and 15^th holes and had seven pars on his card.

   Brady Manning, who capped his scholastic career by helping Downingtown West claim that District One Class AAA crown last fall at Turtle Creek Golf Course, and Owen J. Roberts senior Erik Harken finished a shot behind the top three in a tie for fourth place, each recording an 80.

   Radnor senior Shaun Mazzalupi, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier, finished alone in sixth place with an 82.

   Brody Bell, a sophomore on Malvern Prep’s Inter-Ac League championship team last fall, Brady Gallagher of Quakertown and Quin Bongiovanni of Ardmore finished in a tie for seventh place, each landing on 83.

   Souderton senior Shane Callahan and Jack Sweeney of Harleysville rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each carding an 84.

   Upper Merion junior Alyssa Schuebel had a steady round that featured 10 pars as she had the best score in the girls divisions, earning a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division with an 86.

   Elizabeth Hershey of Malvern had four pars on her scorecard, all of them on the back nine at RiverCrest, as she was the runnerup with a 92. Ava McCaughan of West Chester had five pars on her card as she finished in third place with a 95.

   Rounding out the field in the 16-to-18 division was Katelyn Grimes of Malvern as she finished in fourth place with a 100.

   Saloni Patel of Collegeville made a birdie on the 18^th hole and three pars on the incoming nine at RiverCrest as she earned top honors in the 13-to-15 division with a 90.

   Eliza Meersman of Fort Washington had three pars on her card as she was the runnerup among the younger girls with a 100. Sarah Lester-Stranick of Lewes, Del. took third place with a 107.

   Audrey Comly of Phoenixville took fourth place with a 109 and Michaela Ianieri of Ambler rounded out the field in the 13-to-15 division as she finished fifth with a 118.

   Preston Minio of Lansdale made a birdie on the ninth hole and had five pars on his scorecard as he bested a typically competitive group of nine-holers with a 2-over 38.

   Nathan Lobo of Collegeville finished his round with a birdie at the ninth hole and had four pars on his card as he finished a shot behind Minio in second place with a 3-over 39.

   Henry Sokol of Villanova made a birdie on the fifth hole and had four pars on his card as he finished in third place with a 40.

   Rayan Shah of Newtown took fourth place with a 43, Ethan Meersman, another member of Fort Washington’s Team Meersman, was fifth with a 44, Max Davis of Newtown Square was sixth with a 45 and Jack Sokol, another member of Villanova’s Team Sokol, was seventh with a 46.

   Logan Turner of Berwyn took eighth place with a 47, Declan Mayo of Chadds Ford was ninth with a 49 and Bryce Moyer of Bryn Mawr rounded out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division, finishing in 10^th place with a 54.

 

 

 

 

O'Doherty gets it in under par at Manor with a 69 to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   Twin Valley senior Shayne O’Doherty finished in red figures with a 1-under-par 69 at Manor Golf Course near Reading to claim a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division July 21^st.

   It was the second straight Philly Junior Tour victory for a regular in the Stonewall caddyshack. O’Doherty’s dad Adam is a Stonewall partner, but Shayne O’Doherty has been a pretty regular looper at the ’Wall. Recent Pope John Paul II graduate Jack Brennan was a Philly Junior Tour winner two days earlier at The Bucks Club.

   Shayne O’Doherty has had a pretty strong summer, highlighted by appearances in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at the Toftrees Resort near State College and in the Christman Cup, one of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s major junior championships, at Gulph Mills Golf Club in the space of four days last month.

   O’Doherty also had a nice showing in the stroke-play championship at Stonewall a 36-hole test over two days from the tips on the Old Course last month as he finished in a tie for second place. With one Jack Brennan on the bag.

   For a blogger who pays a lot of attention to the junior golf scene, it’s nice to get some insights from a couple of guys who are playing in some of the big junior events.

   O’Doherty’s round at Manor included a birdie at the seventh hole, an eagle at the par-5 12^th hole and another birdie at 14. He also had 12 pars on his scorecard.

   Austin Zweizig of Mohrsville was O’Doherty’s closest pursuer as he earned runnerup honors with a 6-over 76 that left him seven shots out of the top spot. Zweizig made a birdie on the 16^th hole and had 10 pars on his card.

   Pierce Murphy of Ardmore and J.D. Murray of Wayne finished in a for third place, each landing a shot behind Zweizig with a 77. Murphy made a birdie on the ninth hole and had 11 pars on his card and Murray made a birdie at 12 and had 10 pars on his card.

   Alexander Martin of Mountain Top took fifth place with an 82 and Jackson Colonna of Avondale and Anthony Manzi of Aston rounded out the field in the 16-to-18 division as they finished in a tie for sixth place, each posting an 84.

   Ryan Kelly of Harleysville made a birdie at the 11^th hole and had eight pars on his scorecard as he earned a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 13-to-15 division with an 84.

   Pierce Roth of Penn Valley had four pars on his card, three of them on the incoming nine at Manor, and finished two shots behind Kelly in second place with an 86.

   Rounding out a short field in the 13-to-15 division was Neil Ray of West Chester as he had three pars on his card on his way to a 94 that left him in third place.

   Brooke Graham, who capped an outstanding scholastic career at Boiling Springs by finishing in fifth place in the PIAA Class AA Championship at Penn State’s Blue Course last fall, was the only girl who teed it up at Manor and she put together a solid 7-over 77 in earning a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division.

   Graham, who will join the program at Kutztown later this month, made birdies at the sixth, ninth and 12^th holes and had six pars on her scorecard.

   Villanova’s Team Sokol was prominent among the nine-holers as Henry Sokol bested the field with a 4-over 40 and Jack Sokol was a shot behind him in a tie for second place with Nathan Lobo of Collegeville as each landed on 41.

   Henry Sokol had a steady round with seven pars on his scorecard. Jack Sokol had six pars on his card and Lobo finished with four pars on his card.

   Ethan Clouser of Newtown took fourth place with a 44 and Antonella Ferrer of Wynnewood rounded out the field in the coed 12-and-under division, finishing in fifth place with a 61.

 

 

 

 

Brennan finishes strong at The Bucks Club to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory

 

   Recent Pope John Paul II graduate Jack Brennan toured the back nine at The Bucks Club in 1-under-par 33 on his way to a 2-over 72 that gave him a three-shot Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division July 19^th.

   When Brennan isn’t playing winning golf on the Philly Junior Tour, he is helping golfers have their best possible experience as a looper at Stonewall.

   The Bucks Club in Jamison, Bucks County is not all that far from Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, where Brennan will continue his academic career and join the golf program.

   Brennan, who made it to the second day of the District One Class AAA Championship at Turtle Creek Golf Course as a PJP senior last fall, made birdies on the seventh and 14^th holes and had 12 pars on his scorecard at The Bucks Club. Eight of those pars, along with the birdie at the 14^th, came on the incoming nine.

   David Florita, playing close to his Jamison home, made a birdie at the ninth hole and had 11 pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 5-over 75.

   Central Bucks East senior Will Dunsmore, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, made a birdie on the third hole and had 11 pars on his card as he finished two shots behind Florita in third place with a 77.

   Caden Quinn of Haddonfield, N.J. took fourth place with a 78, Devin Carpenter of Philadelphia was fifth with an 80, Liam Gamble of Line Lexington was sixth with an 82 and Drew Soltys of Warrington and David Orford of Doylestown finished in a tie for seventh place, each recording an 84.

   Zach Shrager, another guy playing close to his Jamison home, took ninth place with an 86 and James Castronuovo of Maple Glen rounded out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division as he finished alone in 10^th place with an 88.

   Drake Brogan of Ocean View, N.J. earned his second Philly Junior Tour win in as many days as his steady 8-over 78 featured 12 pars and gave him a two-shot victory in the 13-to-15 division.

   Brogan finished atop the leaderboard in the division in a Philly Junior Tour stop a day earlier at Laurel Creek Country Club.

   William Shuford of Wayne and Ty Sheftic of Blue Bell finished in a tie for second place, each registering an 80.

   Shuford opened his round with back-to-back birdies at the first and second holes, added a third birdie at 14 and had seven pars on his scorecard. Sheftic made a birdie at the 14^th hole and had eight pars on his card.

   Christopher Mark Parrish of Woolwich Township, N.J. and Judd Fletcher of Moorestown, N.J. finished in a tie for fourth place as each carded an 82.

   Nicolas Gaughan of West Chester took sixth place with an 84, Anderson Brexler of Doylestown and Ayden Pino of Sellersville shared seventh, each posting an 85, and Jake Patterson of Malvern was ninth with an 86.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were James Rogers of Philadelphia and Ben Mayer of Garnet Valley as they finished in a tie for 10^th place, each registering an 87.

   Recent Germantown Academy graduate Serena Bagga of Blue Bell had the best score among the girls, carding a solid 8-over 78 to claim a Philly Junior Tour victory in the 16-to-18 division.

   Bagga, who helped the Patriots claim the Inter-Ac League crown in 2021, made a birdie on the sixth hole and had 11 pars on her scorecard.

   Carly Kuminka of Mickleton, N.J. made birdies at the eighth and 16^th holes and had five pars on her card as she earned runnerup honors among the older girls with an 85. Downingtown West junior Rachel Schuda had seven pars on her card as she took third place with a 92.

   Rounding out the field in the 16-to-18 division was Lilly Reagan of Philadelphia as she finished in fourth place with a 124.

   Maya Kuminka, another member of Team Kuminka out of Mickleton, N.J., had three pars on her scorecard as she earned a Philly Junior Tour win in the 13-to-15 division with a 95.

   Freja Jensen of Solebury finished a shot behind Maya Kuminka in the division as Jensen had four pars on her card to end up in second place with a 96. Mariana Walker of Richboro made a par on the 13^th hole as she took third place with a 107.

   Rounding out the field in the 13-to-15 division was Christina St. Pierre of Yardley as she finished in fourth place with a 117.

   Max Davis of Newtown Square made a birdie on the first hole and had four pars on his scorecard as bested a typically contentious group of nine-holers with a 3-over 39.

   Rayan Shah of Newtown, who, like Davis, has appeared frequently on the coed 12-and-under division leaderboards all season, and Ben Meixell of Wilmington, Del. shared runnerup honors as each recorded a 4-over 40 to finish a shot behind Davis.

   Shah’s steady round featured five pars while Meixell made a birdie at the first hole and had three pars on his card.

   William Thorkelson of Bryn Mawr took fourth place with a 41, Madison Cabot of Langhorne was fifth with a 48, Ethan Meersman of Fort Washington was sixth with a 49 and Joseph Aronson of Souderton was seventh with a 50.

   Rounding out the field in the coed 12-and-under division was Emilie Davoli of Ambler as she finished in eighth place with a 52. Davoli is listed as Class of 2032, which makes her, what, a fourth-grader? That’s pretty good playing by the youngster.