CB East senior Patrick Sheehan captured the District One golf title on Tuesday.
By Ben Reese
LIMERICK -- Patrick Sheehan wasn't satisfied.
Sure, the Central Bucks East senior won the District One golf championship in a playoff, Sure he shot a final-round 67.
But he still wasn't satisfied. What did he want?
"Sixty-six, 65 because I knew I had it in me," he said. "All my birdie putts were inside 20 feet. They were all makeable."
Disappointed?
"Yeah, a little bit," he said. "There's always shots that you leave out there. But, I mean, I'm happy to be moving on.
"I'm still not happy with the score but I'm happy to be moving on. Winning always helps."
The girls’ champion was Victoria Kim of West Chester East, who shot a 75 on the second day to go with her 69 on Monday.
But if Sheehan wasn't especially enamored with his round despite his victory, there were other Suburban One League golfers who were happy to be moving into the next round of tournaments.
One was CB West's Luca Jezzeny, who lost to Sheehan in the playoff after finishing the two-round tournament at 5-under 139.
"It was pretty solid," he said of his round of 71. "A little shaky in the middle, but I kind of righted the ship toward the end.
"Five-under for two rounds. I'm definitely happy with that. It was a good two days."
He was pleased with his ball-striking but not with his putting.
"I was hitting the ball in the fairway and giving myself good chances on the greens," he said. "Putting wasn't quite as good today so I didn't make quite as many birdie,s but overall it was still pretty consistent."
However, he wasn't as happy with the playoff, which also included Holy Ghost Prep’s Liam Hart.
"I hit a poor tee shot into that right bunker (on Hole No. 1)," he explained. "It left me with a tough second shot. I missed the green and failed to get up and down."
Another golfer who was pleased with the day was CB East's Sarah Scarpill, who finished seventh.
"It's unbelievable," she said. "I came into this season with this being my goal, to make it this far.
"I've been working hard. I've really been grinding out there every hole. Sometimes I'm scrambling, but I manage to make it work and save myself in a lot of sticky situations. I'm proud of myself for that."
Excited?
"Extremely," she said with a big smile. "There's really no words to describe it."
Or there was Souderton's Stephen Butler, only a sophomore. He turned in a second straight 74 to tie for 13th.
"I'd be quite ecstatic, I'd say," he said, "I didn't really expect to make it through and I played two really good rounds."
Actually, Butler would have finished higher in the standings if not for one slight miscue. He three-putted the 18th hole.
"I was thinking," he said, "that I really hope this doesn't make me miss the cut." He made it by two strokes.
However, all was not sweetness and light for everyone. Some players who qualified for Regionals still weren't pleased with their play.
"I didn't play as well as I did yesterday," said Council Rock South's Matt Fleming after turning in a 76 to go with his 69 in the first round for a tie for seventh. "I just couldn't make any putts.
"Today was kind of bad. Yesterday, everything went really well. Today I didn't putt really well. I hit my tee shots decent. I just scraped together a decent round today."
Pennsbury's Jade Gu finished in a tie for second in the girls tourney. She paired her first-round 70 with a 76 in the second round.
"It was really bad," she said. "I just couldn't focus today.
"I had trouble walking up to the ball and hitting it. I just got distracted really easily. I couldn't tell you why. I left so many strokes out there. I'm happy I'm going there (to Regionals) but it could have been a lot better."
The player who may have been most disappointed was Cristea Park of Wissahickon. The senior had gone to states in both her sophomore and junior years but won't be able to get there this year.
She double-bogeyed the 18th hole and dropped out of contention for the final spot for the girls.
"My driver just didn't work today," she said. "Everything else was fine. It was just my driver which ruined everything. It wasn't even OK; it was just bad."
Paramount to all who made the cut was the chance to advance to the next step toward states.
"I've made it and that was the only goal," said Fleming. "It didn't really matter where you finished just so you made it through to the next round.
"Take it day to day. Last year, I played in a playoff to get to Regionals so this year it was a lot easier."
"I like where my game is at going into Regionals," Jezzeny said. "I'm definitely excited to put my game to the test. The ultimate goal is to qualify for the state championship."
In the team competition, the Unionville boys captured the spot in the state playoffs with a 291 (for four golfers). Souderton finished third at 300, CB West fifth at 306, Wissahickon 11th at 316 and Pennsbury 12th at 321.
The Eastern Regional tournament will be held at Golden Oaks Golf Club in Fleetwood on Monday, Oct. 15. The PIAA State Golf Tournament will be at Heritage Hills Golf and Spa in York on Monday, Oct. 22, Tuesday, Oct. 23 and Wednesday, Oct. 24.
DISTRICT ONE BOYS
1 Patrick Sheehan, CB East 72-67--139*
T2 Luca Jezzeny, CB West 68-71--139
T2 Liam Hart, Holy Ghost Prep 69-70--139
4 Josh Ryan, Norristown 73-70--143
T5 David Fitzgerald, Harriton 73-71--144
T5 David Colleran, Radnor 70-74--144
T7 Morgan Lofland, Conestoga 75-70--145
T7 Luke Watson, Spring-Ford 73-72--145
T7 Matt Fleming, CR South 69-76--145
T10 Connor Bennink, Unionville 77-69--146
T10 Richie Kline, Unionville 73-73--146
12 Caleb Ryan, Norristown 74-73--147
T13 Will Bennink, Unionville 73-75--148
T13 Stephen Butler, Souderton 74-74--148
T13 Jack Cooley, Unionville 73-75--148
T16 Ryan Glenn, Owen J. Roberts 76-73--149
T16 Andrew Wallace, Harriton 71-78--149
T18 Axel Kalbach, Spring-Ford 75-75--150*
*Won playoff
DISTRICT ONE GIRLS
1 Victoria Kim, WC East 68-75--143
T2 Jade Gu, Pennsbury 70-76--146
T2 Charlotte Scully, Unionville 70-76--146
T4 Liddie McCook, Downingtown East 76-71--147
T4 Riley Quartermain, Haverford 73-74--147
6 Samantha Yao, Conestoga 71-80--151
7 Sarah Scarpill, CB East 76-80--156
T8 Olivia Wirsching, Mt. St. Joseph 77-80--157
T8 Clare Gimpel, Mt. St. Joseph 78-79--157
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