Fuhrer the boys winner, Sowers claims girls crown in Pennsylvania Junior Championships

 

   Dave Fuhrer, the latest in a long line of golfing Fuhrers at Oakmont Country Club, had five players breathing down his neck, just a shot behind him, after he matched par in the opening round of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s (PAGA) 81^st Junior Boys’ Championship at Hershey Country Club’s East Course.

   Fuhrer, a recent Fox Chapel graduate, had some seriously talented guys trying to chase him down with a grueling 36-hole test facing him in spectacular late June weather Tuesday.

   But Fuhrer had all the answers. He again matched par in Tuesday morning’s second round with a 71 and then pulled away from the field with eight birdies in a sparkling 4-under-par 67 in the afternoon in the final round for a four-shot victory.

   Fuhrer, who will join the program at George Mason later this summer, finished the 54-hole event, sponsored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, with a 4-under 209 total. He was the only player in the field to finish under par.

   Fuhrer’s pal, recent Penn Trafford graduate Nick Turowski, playing out of Hannastown Golf Club, caught Fuhrer with a solid 1-under 70 in Tuesday morning’s second round that left them both at even-par 142 going into the final round.

   Turowski, who will be competing in the Southeastern Conference when he joins the program at West Virginia later this summer, matched par in the final round with a 71 to finish alone in second place, four shots behind Fuhrer with an even-par 213 total.

   At nearby Lebanon Country Club, Tam O’Shanter Golf Club’s Kate Sowers, a junior at West Middlesex, took a more commanding five-shot advantage into Tuesday’s double round in the PAGA’s 61^st Junior Girls’ Championship, also sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods.

   But like Fuhrer, Sowers, who finished in a tie for second place in last fall’s PIAA Class AA Championship at Penn State, showed she could play with a lead as she finished with a 2-under 214 total that gave her a dominating seven-shot victory.

   Back at Hershey, Fuhrer had a steady round in Tuesday morning’s second round. After making a birdie at the first hole, Fuhrer ripped off 10 straight pars. After making a bogey at the 12^th hole, Fuhrer made a birdie at 13 before falling back to even for the round with a bogey at 18.

   Fuhrer followed a birdie on the first hole in the afternoon with a bogey at two, but then made birdies at three, four and seven. After a bogey at the 11^th hole, Fuhrer made consecutive birdies at 12, 13 and 14.

   There was an anxious moment at the par-3 13^th hole when Fuhrer missed the green, but his chip shot hit the pin dead center, the ball dropping in for an unlikely birdie.

   Fuhrer had enough cushion to survive a double bogey at the 16^th hole and he bounced right back with a birdie at 17 to close out his 4-under round.

   “The consecutive birdies on the back nine gave me a big confidence boost,” Fuhrer told the PAGA website. “I don’t like to check the live scoring because I don’t want to over-pressure myself, but I knew that with those, I probably had the lead. So then it was all about staying calm, trusting my game, hitting good shots and seeing where it took me.”

   Saucon Valley Country Club’s Thomas Young, who was the qualifying medalist and reached the semifinals in last week’s Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) Junior Boys’ Championship, closed with a 3-under 68 to finish a shot behind Turowski in third place with a 1-over 214 total.

   Young entered the final round four shots behind Fuhrer and Turowski after carding a 1-over 72 in Tuesday morning’s second round.

   Two of the Inter-Ac League’s top returning players, Fieldstone Golf Club’s Davis Conaway, a junior at Malvern Prep, and Merion Golf Club’s Nicky Nemo, a junior at The Haverford School, were among a trio of players tied for fourth place at 4-over 217, three shots behind Young.

   Conaway, winner of the Bert Linton Invitational, the Inter-Ac’s individual championship, as a freshman in the fall of 2022, crept within two shots of the lead with a solid 1-under 70 in Tuesday morning’s second round, closed with a 2-over 73.

   Nemo, who helped the Fords capture the Inter-Ac title last fall, tallied a 2-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round before finishing up with a 1-over 72 to join the group at 4-over.

   Rounding out the trio at 4-over was Fuhrer’s Oakmont clubmate and Fox Chapel teammate Carson Kittsley, who registered a 1-over 72 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 2-over 73. Kittsley will be a junior at Fox Chapel this fall.

   Toftrees Golf Resort’s Luke McGraw, a sophomore at State College, recorded a pair of 2-over 73s Tuesday to finish alone in seventh place with a 5-over 218 total.

   The Springhaven Club’s Tyler Debusschere, who was Cornell’s highest finisher as a freshman in the Ivy League Championship at Watchung Valley Golf Club in Watchung, N.J. in April, headed a group of four players who finished in a tie for eighth place at 6-over 219, a shot behind McGraw.

   Debusschere, who starred scholastically at Strath Haven, posted a 2-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Nemacolin Country Club’s Colton Lusk, a Peters Township senior, also matched par in the final round with a 71 after signing for a solid 1-over 72 in Tuesday morning’s second round to join the quartet at 6-over. Lusk finished in a tie for fourth place in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State.

   Rounding out the foursome at 6-over were Out Door Country Club’s Callahan Harrell, a York Suburban junior, and Cable Hollow Golf Course’s Braddock Damore, a recent Warren graduate. Harrell and Damore were both PIAA Class AAA qualifiers last fall.

   Harrell recorded a pair of solid 1-over 72s Tuesday while Damore, who will join the program at St. Bonaventure later this summer, tallied a 2-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 74.

   Over at Lebanon, Sowers matched par in the final round with a 72 to roll to a seven-shot victory with a 2-under total. Like Fuhrer over at Hershey East, Sowers was the only player in the field to finish under par.

   In her final round, Sowers followed up a bogey at the first hole with back-to-back birdies at three and four. She then followed up a bogey at the sixth hole with birdies at seven and 10. Sowers stumbled briefly with a double bogey at the 12^th hole before finishing up with six straight pars.

   Taking a five-shot lead into Tuesday’s double round, Sowers began the day with a 2-over 74.

   After making a birdie at the second hole, Sowers made a bogey at three and birdies at five and seven. She bounced back from a bogey at the eighth hole with a birdie at 10. Sowers struggled a little down the stretch in the morning with bogeys at the 11^th and 16^th holes and a double bogey at 17.

   But Sowers actually increased her lead to six shots going into the final round.

   “It was amazing,” Sowers told the PAGA website. “I felt really confident all week and I saw the shots well. I was never really in any trouble. It was just an easy three rounds of golf and was stress-free, I’d say. I’ve been playing well recently and to string together some really good holes in a tournament as big as this means everything to me.”

   The victory earned Sowers a spot in the U.S, Girls’ Junior Championship, which tees off July 15 at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, Calif. The Pennsylvania Junior Girls was expanded to 54 holes to take advantage of the initiative by the United States Golf Association to expand the ways players can qualify for its national championships beyond its traditional qualifiers.

   I thought the boys winner was also awarded a spot in the U.S. Junior Amateur, but apparently that is not the case.

   Bucknell Golf Club’s Hannah Rabb, a recent Warrior Run graduate who will join the program at James Madison later this summer, matched par in the final round with a 72 to earn runnerup honors with a 5-over 221 total, seven shots behind Sowers.

   Rabb, who shared second place with Sowers in last fall’s PIAA Class AA Championship at Penn State, had carded a 1-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round.

   The PIAA champions from last fall, Plymouth-Whitemarsh senior Rhianna Gooneratne in Class AAA, and recent North East graduate Anna Swan in Class AA, accounted for the next two spots on the final leaderboard.

   The 1912 Club’s Gooneratne closed with a 2-over 74 after matching par with a 72 in Tuesday morning’s second round to finish in third place, a shot behind Rabb with a 6-over 222 total.

   Lake View Country Club’s Anna Swan also finished up with a 2-over 74 after registering a 1-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round to end up in fourth place, a shot behind Gooneratne with a 7-over 223 total. Anna Swan will join older sister Lydia Swan, the PIAA Class AA champion in 2019, at Oral Roberts later this summer.

   White Manor Country Club’s Clarissa Leung, coming off a spring sweep of the Inter-Ac and Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) individual titles to cap her junior season at Episcopal Academy, finished three shots behind Anna Swan in fifth place with a 10-over 226 total.

   Leung recorded a solid 1-over 73 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 3-over 75.

   Conestoga Country Club’s Piper Smith, a Manheim Township junior, put together a couple of solid even-par 72s Tuesday to climb up the leaderboard and finish in sixth place, a shot behind Leung with a 227 total. Smith has been a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in each of her first two seasons of high school golf.

   Overbrook Golf Club’s Kiersten Bodge, a sophomore at Notre Dame, headed a group of three players tied for seventh place at 229, two shots behind Smith. Bodge, the runnerup to Leung at both the Inter-Ac and PAISAA championships this spring, posted a pair of 3-over 75s Tuesday.

   Whitford Country Club’s Mia Pace, a recent Downingtown East graduate, also landed among the trio tied for seventh place as she put together a solid 3-over 75 in the second round before struggling a little in the final round with an 80.

   Pace, who will join the program at Utah Valley later this summer, finished in fifth place in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship.

   Rounding out the trio at 229 was Wildwood Golf Club’s Alyssa Zhang, who had a solid finish Tuesday, carding a pair of 2-over 74s. Zhang is about to start high school and will be a solid addition to somebody’s scholastic team during the upcoming school year.

   Phoenixville’s Roberts sisters, Kate, a recent Phoenixville graduate, and Kayley, who will be a junior, had solid finishes at Lebanon. Both entered as PAGA individual members.

   Kate Roberts, who edged sister Kayley by a shot to win the District One Class AAA Championship last fall at Turtle Creek Golf Course, finished alone in 10^th place at Lebanon with a 233 total. Kate Roberts bounced back from an opening-round 83 to match par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a 6-over 78.

   Kayley Roberts finished a shot behind her sister in a tie for 11^th place with RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve’s Alli Engart, a senior at Souderton and, like the Roberts sisters, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, as both landed on 234.

   Kayley Roberts, who finished in a tie for seventh place in the Girls 14-15 division in the Drive, Chip & Putt national finals at Augusta National Golf Club in April, bounced back from an opening-round 82 with a 4-over 76 in Tuesday morning’s second round before closing with a 78

   Engart sandwiched a 4-over 76 in Tuesday morning’s second round with a pair of 79s.

   With no cut following Monday’s opening round, the team competition for the girls continued through all three rounds of the individual chase.

   Philadelphia Cricket Club and Overbrook shared the team title, each of the two-girl teams landing on 58-over 490.

   The Cricket Club team was comprised of Germantown Friends sophomore Sarah Stumacher and Episcopal Academy senior Addie Chang, who helped the Churchwomen sweep to Inter-Ac and PAISAA team titles this spring.

   Stumacher finished up with a solid 3-over 75 in the final round while Chang posted a 5-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round to lead the way for the Cricket Club tandem.

   The Overbrook duo included Notre Dame’s Bodge and Radnor junior Elayna Fannelli, the girls medalist in the Central League Championship at Turtle Creek last fall and a PIAA Class AAA qualifier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fuhrer, Sowers the respective boys, girls leaders as Pennsylvania Junior Championships tee off

 

   Recent Fox Chapel graduate Dave Fuhrer, the latest in a long line of Fuhrers from Oakmont Country Club, matched par with an even-par 71 at Hershey Country Club’s East Course Monday to take a one-shot lead over a host of competitors following the opening round of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s (PAGA) 81^st Junior Boys’ Championship.

   The weekend heat wave was replaced by windy conditions that challenged Pennsylvania’s top junior players.

   The field will be right back at it for 36 holes Tuesday in the expanded Pennsylvania Junior Boys’ Championship. There was a cut following Monday’s opening round that fell at 8-over 79.

   The PAGA’S 61^st Junior Girls’ Championship is being held concurrently at nearby Lebanon Country Club, where West Middlesex junior Kate Sowers, playing out of Tam O’Shanter Golf Club, grabbed a five-shot lead with a sizzling opening round of 4-under 68.

   The girls will also play 36 holes Tuesday with the winner earning a spot in the field for the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, which tees off July 15 at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, Calif. There was no cut on the girls side.

   Fuhrer, who capped his senior season at Fox Chapel by finishing in a tie for 10^th place in last fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at Penn State, opened his round with a birdie at the par-5 first hole at Hershey’s East Course. After another birdie at the fourth hole, Fuhrer struggled a little in the gusty conditions as he made bogeys at eight, 10 and 13.

   Fuhrer got a shot back with a birdie at the 14^th hole, made a bogey at 16 and then got one more birdie at 17 to get back to even par and separate himself from a group of five players who are in a tie for second place, each landing on 1-over 72.

   Included in that group was Fuhrer’s clubmate at Oakmont and teammate at Fox Chapel, Carson Kittsley, who is coming off a solid freshman season for the Foxes.

   Merion Golf Club’s Nicky Nemo, a junior at The Haverford School who helped the Fords capture the Inter-Ac League championship last fall, was also in the group tied for second place at 1-over.

   Rounding out the group at 1-over were Hannastown Golf Club’s Nick Turowski, who lost in a playoff for the PIAA Class AAA title as a senior at Penn Trafford last fall, Cable Hollow Golf Course’s Braddock Damore, a recent Warren graduate who will join the program at St. Bonaventure later this summer, and the Toftrees Resort’s Luke McGraw, a sophomore at State College.

   North Hills Country Club’s Chris Vahey, a senior at La Salle, and Sewickley Heights Golf Club’s Severin Harmon, a Sewickley Academy junior, are tied for seventh place, each posting a 2-over 73.

   Vahey’s La Salle teammate Ian Natale, a senior for the Explorers and a USGA/Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) entry, was part of an eight-player logjam tied for ninth place at 3-over 74.

   Also in that group at 3-over were Fieldstone Golf Club’s Davis Conaway, a junior at Malvern Prep, Merion Golf Club’s Sean Curran, another member of The Haverford School’s Inter-Ac championship team as a sophomore last fall, and Honeybrook Golf Club’s Ian Larsen, a sophomore at Downingtown West.

   Saucon Valley Country Club’s Thomas Young, who reached the semifinals in last week’s GAP Junior Boys’ Championship at The Ridge at Back Brook, also was in the group at 3-over.

   Rounding out the group at 3-over were Pine Hills Country Club’s Michael Maslanka, who finished in a tie for fourth place in the PIAA Class AA Championship last fall with Riverside, White Oak Farms Golf Course’s Alex Talmadge, who finished in a tie for ninth in last fall’s PIAA Class AA Championship with West Shamokin, and Hannastown’s Jack Sacriponte, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier with Greater Latrobe last fall.

   The Springhaven Club’s Jake Lairdieson, a recent Archmere Academy graduate, was part of a six-way tie for 17^th place at 4-over 75 on the strength of a hole-in-one on the  par-3 13^th hole.

   Lairdieson was joined at the figure by Springhaven clubmate Tyler Debusschere, a former Strath Haven standout who is coming off a solid freshman season at Cornell.

   There was a team competition Monday. Pretty sure it was just a one-round affair, although it’s not entirely clear from the PAGA website.

   Looks like Hannastown, behind Turowski’s 72 and Sacriponte’s 74, captured the team title with an 11-over 224 total in the four-score-three format. Braden Riley added a 78 for Hannastown, which was able to toss the 82 turned in by Luke Sikora.

   Oakmont, behind Fuhrer’s 71 and Kitttsley’s 72, finished five shots behind Hannastown in second place with a 229 total.

   Over at Lebanon, Sowers, who finished in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AA Championship at Penn State last fall, put together an efficient four-birdie, no-bogey masterpiece to take a commanding lead in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship.

   Sowers, seemingly unbothered by the gusty winds, made birdies at the first, third, seventh and 15^th holes with nary a bogey on her scorecard.

   St. Clair Country Club’s Sophia Severns, who helped Peters Township claim the PIAA Class AAA team crown last fall, was Sowers’ closest pursuer as she tallied a 1-over 73.

   Recent Downingtown East graduate Mia Pace, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall, was another shot behind Severns in third place with a 2-over 74. Pace is playing out of Whitford Country Club.

   Last fall’s PIAA champions, Plymouth-Whitemarsh senior Rhianna Gooneratne in Class AAA and recent North East graduate Anna Swan in Class AA, were among a trio of players tied for fourth place at 4-over 76. Gooneratne is representing The 1912 Club and Swan is playing out of Lake View Country Club.

   Rounding out the trio at 4-over 76 was Bucknell Golf Club’s Hanna Rabb, who shared second place with Sowers behind Swan in the Class AA state tournament last fall as a senior at Warrior Run. Rabb will join the program at James Madison later this summer.

   White Manor Country Club’s Clarissa Leung, who won the Inter-Ac League and Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) individual crowns this spring with Episcopal Academy, headed a trio of players tied for seventh place at 6-over 78.

   Joining Leung at 6-over were Regents’ Glen Golf & Country Club’s Bryn Krosse and Savannah Laverty, a Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association entry.

   Overbrook Golf Club’s Kiersten Bodge, the runnerup to Leung in last month’s Inter-Ac Championship at French Creek Golf Club as a freshman at Notre Dame, headed a group of five players tied for 10^th place at 7-over 79.

   Joining Bodge at 7-over were Manufacturers Golf & Country Club’s Kiran Bagga, a senior at Germantown Academy, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve’s Alli Engart, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier for Souderton last fall, another Philadelphia Publinks entry in Katherine Liu, who is a fixture on Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour leaderboards, and Bent Creek Country Club’s Elle Overly, a Warwick senior and a PIAA Class AAA qualifier last fall.

   The Country Club of York, with a 21-over total, took a two-shot lead over Concord Country Club with another round to go in the battle for the girls team crown.

 

 

 

 

 

Pillar comes on strong in second round at Sandy Run to take title in Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship

 

   Coming off the biggest payday of his professional career, John Pillar, the director of golf at the Country Club at Woodloch Springs, continued his spring roll by capturing the title in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship, which wrapped up June 12^th at Sandy Run Country Club in Oreland.

   Pillar survived a playoff the day after Memorial Day to win the Haverford PGA Professional Classic and its whopping $100,000 payoff, the largest prize offered in any PGA Section event in the country, at Sunnybrook Golf Club.

   The 57-year-old Pillar entered the second round of the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship four shots out of the lead after matching par in the opening round June 11^th with a 72. But he quickly started to make up ground. Pillar rattled off birdies at the third, fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth holes to quickly get it to 5-under.

   After a bogey at the 10^th hole, Pillar quickly got that shot back with a birdie at 11. He followed up back-to-back bogeys at the 13^th and 14^th holes with birdies at 15 and 16, his seventh and eighth birdies of the round. A bogey at the 17^th hole left Pillar with a 4-under-par 68 and a 4-under 140 total.

   That gave him a one-shot victory over Spring Ford Country Club head pro Rich Steinmetz, who had won the previous two Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship titles in his first two years of senior eligibility, and Brian Kelly, the now retired long-time head pro at Bucknell Golf Club.

   Steinmetz added a 1-under 71 in the second round to his opening round of 2-under 70 to finish with a 3-under 141 total. Kelly was just a shot out of the lead following an opening round of 3-under 69 before matching par in the second round with a 72 to join Steinmetz at 3-under.

   Pillar, Steinmetz, and Kelly will head a contingent of at least six Philadelphia Section PGA pros at the Senior PGA Professional Championship, which tees off Sept. 26 at the Sunriver Resort in Oregon. 

   The top 35 finishers in the Senior PGA Professional Championship will earn a spot in the field for next May’s KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, a major championship on the PGA Tour Champions which will be played at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

   Pillar was still trying to process his startling success in the Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic when he added a victory in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship to his two previous wins in the event in 2019 and 2020.

   “Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if I was going to win again, at 57, competing with the younger PGA professionals,” Pillar told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “To be able to follow that up with a win here is really special. It means the world to me.”

   Eric Kennedy, the head pro at Overbrook Golf Club, finished a shot behind Steinmetz and Kelly in fourth place with a 2-under 142 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Kennedy closed with a 2-under 70.

   George Forster, the ageless PGA Life Member who maintains his association with Radnor Valley Country Club where he was the long-time head pro, and Chris Krueger of Kings Creek Country Club, finished a shot behind Kennedy in a tie for fifth place, each landing on even-par 144.

   Forster opened with a 2-under 70 before adding a 2-over 74 in the second round. Krueger had the identical splits, adding a 2-over 74 in the second round to an opening round of 2-under 70.

   Kennedy, Forster and Krueger also earned spots in the Senior PGA Professional Championship at the Sunriver Resort in Oregon. Forster has represented the Philadelphia Section in the Senior PGA Professional Championship probably a dozen times, at least.

   Three players – Pete Lovenguth, the host professional at Sandy Run, Jeb Boyle, a Philadelphia PGA entry, and Stephen Swartz of Carlisle Country Club – finished in a tie for seventh place, each ending up with a 2-over 146 total.

   Lovenguth opened with a solid 1-under 71 before adding a 3-over 75 in the second round. Lovenguth is the first alternate to the Senior PGA Professional Championship.

   Swartz and Boyle had the identical splits as Lovenguth, each adding a 3-over 75 in the second round to an opening round of 1-under 71. Swartz and Boyle are the second and third alternates, respectively, to the Senior PGA Professional Championship.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship was the trio of Dave Quinn of Laurel Creek Country Club, Dom DiJulia of the DiJulia School of Golf, and Brendon Post, the head coach of the Delaware men’s golf team, all of whom finished in a tie for 10^th place at 3-over 147.

   Quinn and DiJulia had identical splits as each added a 2-over 74 in the second round to an opening round of 1-over 73. They are the fourth and fifth alternates, respectively, to the Senior PGA Professional Championship.

   Post matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 3-over 75 in the second round.

   Bill Sautter, out of the pro shop at Philadelphia Cricket Club, took top honors in the super-senior division as he opened with a 3-under 69 before adding a 3-over 75 in the second round.

   Wayne Phillips of Lehigh Country Club was the super-senior runnerup as he added a 4-over 76 in the second round to the solid 1-under 71 he put up in the opening round.

   The Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship was supported by The Golf Channel, Jani-King, and Ohana Farms LLC.