It will be a victory lap for Malvern Prep at Waynesborough

   Malvern Prep will play host to Round 6 of the Inter-Ac League’s mini-tournaments Wednesday at Waynesborough Country Club, but a young and talented group of Friars has long since taken the drama out of the race for the league title.

   Off their latest 5-0 sweep in Monday’s mini-tournament host by Germantown Academy at Plymouth Country Club, the Friars have already clinched the title with a 25-0 mark. The only question now is whether they can match the accomplishment of the 2012 Haverford School team that swept its way to the title with a perfect 30-0 mark.

   I managed to tack on a brief, and it turns out a little flawed, report from Monday’s action at Plymouth to my report from the East Regional at Golden Oaks Golf Club that appeared in Tuesday’s Daily Times.

   Once again, the Friars were led by two freshmen with Matt Civitella firing a 2-over 37 and Andrew Curran adding a 3-over 38. Curran, a Media resident and Overbrook Golf Club member, missed some time this fall due to illness, but showed he, like Civitella and John Updike, is a freshman who’s got some game. It looks like Gary Duda’s team is going to be a handful for a while to come.

   Senior Marty McGuckin and junior Gavin Sims added 39s and Updike and sophomore Matthew Davis rounded out the counting rounds with 41s.

   It added up to 235 as the Friars survived a challenge from another team with a bunch of talented youngsters, Episcopal Academy, by four shots to keep their perfect record intact.

   I credited Cole Kemmerer, who shot 40, with being the low score for Episcopal, but upon closer review (it was a long ride – scenic but long -- up to Berks County and back to Delco, what can I say), the Churchmen were led by senior co-captain Cole Testaiuti and freshman Michael Zeng, both of whom carded 3-over 38s. Kemmerer was their third best score at 40 and four players, eighth-grader Case Hummer, junior Matt Marino, sophomore Jon Perry and senior co-captain Scott McConnell, all had 41s.

   Episcopal’s 239 total was two shots better than Haverford School, which placed third at 241. The battle Wednesday at Waynesborough will be for second between the Churchmen and the Fords. Haverford School, with a 17-7-1 mark, will take a narrow edge into the final mini-tournament over Episcopal, which is 16-8-1, in the fight for second.

   Haverford School was led by Thomas Gravina, who was the overall medalist for the day with a 1-over 36.

   Haverford School’s senior All-Delco Max Siegfried had a 41, but held onto first place in the overall individual standings at 201-21-13. The three top contenders for the top spot in the individual standings for the six Inter-Ac mini-tournaments all had their worst round of the fall. The 41 by Updike leaves him at 198-25-12 while Penn Charter sophomore Brian Isztwan, the reigning Inter-Ac Tournament champion, had a 42 and sits in third at 197-32-6.

   The next three players are all from Malvern Prep with McGuckin (193-31-12), Civitella (189-39-6) and Davis (185-35-15), in fourth, fifth and sixth places, respectively. It’s pretty scary for the rest of the league that Malvern Prep has two freshmen, Updike and Civitella, in the top five. And Davis in sixth is just a sophomore.

Ingraham, Fieger, Forster earn spots in Senior PGA Championship

   The pro shop at Overbrook Golf Club was the home for two of the Philadelphia Section PGA’s best players in the 1990s.

   Gene Fieger, the 1979 District One champion at Nether Providence and an assistant pro at Overbrook, was the Section’s Player of the Year five times in a stretch from 1992 to 1998. Stu Ingraham was the head pro who was regularly making it to the PGA Championship out of the Professional National Championship.

   So it’s probably not a huge surprise to see Fieger, the Director of Golf at The Hideout Golf Club in Naples, Fla., and Ingraham, an instructor at the M Golf Range in Newtown Square, land on the same number when the PGA Senior Professional National Championship presented by Mercedes-Benz USA completed play Sunday at the Bayonet Course on the Monterrey Peninsula in Seaside, Calif.

   Ingraham opened up with a 73 at the Bayonet Course and fired a second-round 69 at the Black Horse Course. Weekend rounds of 69 and 73 at the Bayonet left him a 4-under 284. Fieger opened with a 67 at the Black Horse and added a second-round 72 at the Bayonet. Steady weekend rounds of 71 and 74 left him at 4-under 284.

   Fieger and Ingraham, both 55, finished in a tie for 11^th and easily qualified for the Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid in May at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich.

   When Ingraham finished in a tie for second in the Pennsylvania Open at Rolling Green G.C. in August he said he was starting to play well at just the right time. Since then he won the Philadelphia PGA Senior championship, which earned him the trip to Seaside, finished tied for seventh in the Philadelphia PGA Section championship, which earned him a spot in next summer’s PNC, and the solid showing in California that sends him to Harbor Shores.

   And what would a Senior PNC be without Radnor Valley Country Club head pro George Forster, who was in the field for the 10^th straight year. Maybe to celebrate that 10^th anniversary, Forster threw an ace into the mix when his 7-iron shot at the 214-yard 17^th hole at the Bayonet Course found the hole.

   “The pin was back right and I had 173 to the pin, downhill, cross-wind right to left,” Forster told the PGA of America website. “I hit a 7-iron and we could not see it because of the glare. I wasn’t sure it cleared the hump or it came back 30 feet. So, we did not see it. Then we got down there and it was in the hole.”

   The ace propelled him to a 71 at the Bayonet Course. He had opened with a 73 at the Black Horse and then fired a 68 at the Bayonet in  the second round. He then added a final-round 74 for a 2-under 286 total that left him in a tie for 17^th. 

   The 59-year-old Forster easily qualified for the Senior PGA Championship for the ninth time. Counting two U.S. Senior Open  appearances, it will be the 11^th Champions Tour major he will tee it up in.

   John DalCorobbo, a pro at the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course in Indianapolis captured the title and the top prize of $20,000 with an 11-under 277 total.

Yang birdies the back nine

   It happened in the middle of the night our time and she didn’t win the tournament, so it wasn’t the lead when Lexi Thompson’s victory in the KEB Hana Bank Championship in Incheon, South Korea was reported, but Amy Yang birdied the back nine in Sunday’s final round. As in every hole on the back nine.

   Yang, the South Korean who dominated the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club last summer for three rounds before falling short in the final round, finished her final round with nine straight birdies. Her 62 left her in a tie for fourth at 13-under 275.

   The nine straight birdies tied the LPGA record that belonged to Hall of Famer Beth Daniel.

Rohanna earns her LPGA Tour card

   I mentioned last week that the last non-District One girl to win the big-school PIAA title was Rachel Rohanna of Waynesburg Central in 2007.

   Sunday, Rohanna, who starred collegiately at Ohio St., earned her LPGA Tour card by holding on to her spot in 10^th place for 2015  at the Symetra Tour Championship.

   The top 10 finishers throughout 2015 on the Symetra Tour earned full exemptions on the LPGA Tour. Rohanna entered this weekend’s Tour Championship in the 10^th spot and her tie for 24^th at 5-under was good enough for her to hold onto to that precious 10^th spot.

   So look for a PIAA champion when you tune in to an LPGA event in 2016.

Chambers a Junior Tour winner at Buena Vista

   Episcopal Academy product Joe Chambers continued his strong play on the fall stretch of the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour Saturday as he fired a 4-over 76 to take top honors in the 16-to-18 division in a stop at Buena Vista Country Club in New Jersey.

   The sudden turn to chilly weather didn’t bother Chambers as he had 10 pars and three birdies over the 6,443-yard, par-72 Buena Vista layout to finish five shots clear of runnerup Hayden Rousselle of New Hope.

   Akhil Giri of Moorestown, N.J. matched Chambers’ 76 to take top honors in the 13-to-15 division. AJ Aivazoglou, a freshman at The Haverford School, finished in a tie for fourth with an 83, Matthew Barkann of Newtown Square was seventh with an 89 and Alec Stern of Bryn Mawr was eighth with a 90.

   On the girls side, Phoebe Brinker of Wilmington, Del. won the 13-to-15 division with an 80 and Casey Oppenheimer of Conshohocken was the 16-to-18 winner with a 92.

  Among the nine-holers, Henry Fish of Malvern took top honors with a 3-over 39. Ryan Garvey of Media finished eighth with a 53.

Soeth, Vandayar having fine fall seasons in college

   With all the scholastic action as well as several USGA events going on, I haven’t focused in on the college scene as much as usual in the fall. So here’s a recap of the last month or so for two-time Marple Newtown All-Delco Sam Soeth, who’s a freshman at Temple, and former Garnet Valley standout Annika Vandayar, who is having a nice freshman season at Wellesley.

   Soeth was enrolled in a golf management program last year that is associated with Coastal Carolina, the school located just outside Myrtle Beach, S.C. But the competitive bug was still biting, so Temple coach Brian Quinn, a golf guru to players young and old throughout the region, lured Soeth back home to play for the Owls.

   And he’s been a solid addition to a program that is headed by senior All-American Brandon Matthews, who has won the Philadelphia Open twice in the last three years. Matthews recently advanced out of the First Stage qualifying for the Web.com Tour and may have a decision to make should he make it all the way through and earn a Web.com Tour card.

   Most recently, Soeth had rounds of 75, 79 and 75 for a 229 total that left him in a tie for 69^th at the fifth annual AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic at Berkeley Hills Country Club in Duluth, Ga.  

    Matthews, the 2010 PIAA champion as a junior at Pittston, led the way for the Owls with a 3-over 219 total, finishing in a tie for 29^th. Temple finished 13^th in the team standings.

   I couldn’t quite figure out what happened at the end of this tournament, but a couple of weeks ago when Matthews was playing in the Web.com Tour qualifier, Soeth fired a 1-over 72 at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on the campus of North Carolina State and stood in a tie for eighth following the first round of the Wolfpack Invitational.

   Soeth had the low round for the Owls that day, helping them to 10^th place in the 16-team field in the early going.

   The last weekend of September (best known in these parts as the Pope weekend), Soeth was the second-best Temple finisher, behind only Matthews, as he had rounds of 76 and 74 at the Quechee Cup Collegiate Challenge in Quechee, Vt.

   His 6-over 150 total left him in a tie for 17^th overall. Matthews finished in a tie for 10^th at 2-over 146 to lead the Owls to fifth in the team standings at 604.

   There were a couple of other familiar names in the field at the Quechee Cup. Three-time Haverford School All-Delco Scott Jaster, a junior at Dartmouth, had rounds of 71 and 74 to finish in a tie for eighth at 1-over 145, a shot better than Matthews.

   Led by freshman John Lazor, who finished second overall, the Big Green claimed the team title. Dartmouth had rounds of 285 and 293 for a 2-over 578 total that was four shots clear of Rhode Island.

   Temple and Dartmouth were allowed a couple of added starters and that meant a little Fahey family feud between the Owls’ Liam and the Big Green’s Sean. Low Fahey honors went to Sean, a former Episcopal Academy standout, as he had a pair of 80s for a 160 total that left him in a tie for 57^th.  Liam had rounds of 82 and 81 to finish in a tie for 63^rd at 163.

   Vandayar never quite made it out of the District One Tournament during her scholastic career at Garnet Valley, but was a consistent player who often counted for the Jaguars in team matches and had some nice finishes in the summer, including a couple of strong showings at the Pennsylvania Girls Junior Tournament.

   She seems to have landed in the perfect place to pursue her academic goals while playing a little golf, too.

   Vandayar had rounds of 89 and 87 last weekend to help Wellesley finish ninth out of 15 teams at the Williams Fall Invitational at the Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown,  Mass.

   Sophomore Maya Muldowney led the way for the Blue with rounds of 90 and 85 for a 175 total that left her in a tie for 37^th. Vandayar was a shot back in 39^th.

   Also this fall, Vandayar delivered Wellesley’s best round at the Mount Holyoke Invitational, a second-day 83 at the Orchards Golf Club in South Hadley, Mass. She had opened with an 85.

    Wellesley had rounds of 372 and 380 to finish 11^th in the 14-team field.

   A week earlier, Vandayar again improved from the first day to the second, firing an 84 at the Spook Rock Golf Course in Suffern, N.Y. after an opening-round 90 in the NYU Invitational.

   Wellsley was led by Amy Zilin Jin, a freshman from China who had rounds of 81 and 85. Wellesley finished 10^th in the team standings.

Davis leads Malvern Prep to another Inter-Ac sweep

   While Radnor was claiming the District One team title Tuesday at Turtle Creek Golf Club, Malvern Prep was keeping the pedal to the metal in the Inter-Ac League race at Merion Golf Club’s West Course.

   Radnor and Malvern then met Wednesday in a heavyweight showdown at St. Davids. More on that later.

   We had a little blurb in Wednesday’s Daily Times about Round 4 of the Inter-Ac mini-tournaments Tuesday, but I got my hands on some returns from a couple of other precincts since then.

   Malvern Prep sophomore Matthew Davis apparently got tired of being upstaged by his fellow Aronimink Golf Club member, freshman John Updike, and fired a 3-under 32 at the West to lead the way for the Friars. As those of us who played the West many times on caddie day are aware, it’s not a hard course (if you hit it straight, which I never have really mastered), but it can bite you if you’re not careful.

   Malvern Prep needed that strong showing by Davis. Its 223 total bested Haverford School by just four shots. The Fords probably weren’t going to catch the Friars, but Haverford School would probably like to prevent Malvern Prep from matching the perfect 30-0 run the Fords made through the Inter-Ac mini-tournaments in 2012.

   Freshman  Matt Civitella backed up Davis with a 1-over 36 and Updike slipped to a 37 as Gary Duda continues to get outstanding production from his youngsters. Senior Marty McGuckin matched Updike’s 37 and senior Mike  Miller added a 39 with Springfield resident Jimmy Murray’s 42 the final counter.

   Haverford School senior All-Delco Max Siegfried continued his rock-solid play with an even-par 35 as the Fords posted a 227 total. Sam Walker added a 36, Max Brooks had a 38, Jack McKnight had a 39 and Thomas Gravina and David Hurly posted 40s.

   Penn Charter finished third with a 231 total behind an even-par 35 by David DiStefano. Reigning Inter-Ac champion Brian Isztwan continued his solid play for the Quakers with a 1-over 36.

   The writeup that made the Wednesday Daily Times mentioned that Episcopal Academy finished fourth at 234 behind 38s from Ashton Dunn, Michael Zeng, Matt Marino and senior co-captain Cole Testaiuti. Jon Nolan Perry added a 39 and Cole Kemmerer added a 43.

   Malvern Prep sits at a perfect 20-0 through four mini-tournaments and Haverford School solidified its hold on second place a little at 14-5-1. Episcopal is third at 12-7-1.

   An alert reader of the blog (and trust me, I’m thrilled people are reading this stuff) pointed out that I had the order of the top three in the individual standings incorrect through three mini-tournaments. Updike was actually leading after his spectacular 33 at Gulph Mills with Isztwan second and Siegfried third.

   Well, Siegfried turned that around with his solid showing at Merion West and, through four mini-tournaments, he holds narrow lead over Isztwan and Updike. Seigfried’s mark is 176-8-4, Isztwan sits at 174-9-5 and Updike is 173-12-3. By claiming overall medalist honors at Merion West, Davis sneaked into the picture a little in fourth at 160-22-6.

   And thanks to Malvern Prep’s Duda for staying up to date on the individual and team standings.

   Which brings us to that little two-team tussle between newly minted District One Class AAA champion Radnor and likely Inter-Ac League champion Malvern Prep Wednesday.

   With Brynn Walker, tuning up for defense of her Class AAA East Regional title next week at Golden Oaks Golf Club, shooting a 34 on her home course at St. Davids, the Raiders beat the Friars, 186-194.

   Two of Radnor’s talented freshmen, David Colleran and Jake Calamaro, went 37 and 38, respectively. Junior Michael Sydnes bounced back from missing a trip to regionals by a single shot at Turtle Creek to match Calamaro’s 38  and Conor Rinehart had a 39.

   The victory improved Radnor’s dual-match record to 15-0-1, the tie coming against Haverford School in mid-September.

   Malvern Prep’s freshman phenoms didn’t play badly either as Civitella led the Friars with a 36 and Updike had a 39. Davis had a 38, McGuckin carded a 40 and Murray had a 41.