By Ben Reese
LIMMERICK: It was a bit like the U.S. Postal Service's motto.
You know, the one goes “Neither rain nor snow nor sleet...” Well, you get the idea.
While there was no snow or sleet, there was plenty of wind and a commodity of rain during the District One golf championships at Turtle Creek Golf Club. But the elements really didn't have much effect on the outcome.
In fact, the outcome of both the boys and girls championships was the same as the outcome of the 2010 district championships.
A Herr won.
Zach Herr, the Council Rock North junior, captured the boys’ crown – again. And his sister, sophomore Erica, took the girls’ title – again.
“I came out here to qualify (for regionals), to shoot a good score,” Zach said after turning in a second-day 73 to go with his 69 on Tuesday. “I just wanted to advance to the next round. Obviously, I did a little more than that and I won.”
Erica, who could potentially win four district titles, had it a little bit easier than her brother. She parlayed Tuesday's 68 with a 75 to win by seven strokes over runner-up Alex Liu of Lower Merion.
“I just wanted to come out and play my game,” she said. “I was confident. It's a good feeling; winning is always a good feeling.”
Zach went into the final day of the two-day event with a two-stroke lead on Holy Ghost Prep's Chris Crawford. He was never out of the lead and beat Crawford by one shot.
His lead shrunk to one shot over Crawford after the front nine where Crawford shot a 1-under 35 and Herr was even par. But the lead grew back to two after Herr birdied 13 and Crawford missed an eight-foot birdie putt and settled for par. Herr picked up another stroke with a par on 15 while Crawford bogied but eventually gave it back as the pair both finished the back nine at 1-over 37.
“I love this course,” said Herr. “I've played it a lot and I have a good time playing it.
“I set it (the course) up perfectly. There were a couple of holes I wanted to go for it. On eight, I wanted to go for it but I laid off and took my medicine.
“It was things like that that got me going and kept me going throughout the round.”
He did “go for it” on the 12thhole, driving the green on the 325-yard par-4. It didn't do much for him, however, as he three-putted from the front of the green for a par.
As for the weather, well, it was blustery and cold. But, in the end, it didn't bother Herr.
“The last seven holes were like a monsoon out there,” he said. “There was at least a three-club wind for the last seven holes.”
Herr was challenged by another golfer during the back nine. Central Buck West's T.J. Summers crept within one stroke after getting to 2-under through 14 holes.
Summers lost that and any momentum he had gathered on the 15 when he double-bogied the hole to fall three behind Herr.
“I was playing well,” Summers said, “then I got to 15. He (Herr) was behind me, and periodically I was getting updates on how he was doing, what he was shooting so I knew at one point I was only one behind. I knew that if I could make par or birdie here or there I could probably win it.
“And then 15 really cost me and 18 pretty much took me out of the tournament. (On 15, which is a par 3) I hit a decent drive but then I flubbed the chip and then I two-putted (which gave him double-bogey 5)
“I'm pretty happy how I played for 16 of 18 holes.”
Zach, however, wasn't aware of what was transpiring ahead of him.
"I didn't know what was going on ahead of me," he said. "You can't control what other people do so I tried to control what I do."
Herr had started to lag when he began the back nine. His lead was still there, but he wasn't adding to it.
His tee shot on the par-3 11thhole landed in the front bunker. He blasted out of the sand and made the putt for a par.
“The par on 11 was huge for me,” he explained. “I was kind of losing momentum. The par on 11 with the good putt and the good sand shot really got me going.”
Meanwhile, Erica was carving out her own niche. She entered the final round with a six-shot lead over the field and increased it by one at the end.
“Toward the end (of the round) I was putting a little bit of pressure on myself,” she said, “but I knew I still had a little bit of a lead so I wasn't worried about it.
“My putter was not what it was yesterday (when she shot a 68). My lag putts were just so bad today. I couldn't judge my speed.”
Erica's second-day 75 outscored everyone in the field except Mt. St. Joseph's Isabella DiLisio, who shot a 74.
The weather seemed to bother Erica more than it did her brother.
“The wind was a little strong so I was afraid my ball was going to move (on the green when putting),” she said. “So I was kind of focusing on not putting my putter behind the ball, so if it did move, I wouldn't get a penalty.
“I tried to tee my ball down lower so it didn't go in the air and the wind wouldn't get it. It started to affect my irons near the end when the wind picked up.”
Central Bucks East's Ashley Cassidy came roaring back on the second day to grab the fourth place position and a trip to the regional competition on Monday, Oct. 17, at Golden Oaks Golf Course in Fleetwood. She shot a 77 to offset her 86 on the first day.
“I'm just excited that I came back from yesterday,” Cassidy said. “I made a couple of mistakes but then I recovered.”
In addition to Zach Herr, the others Suburban One players qualifying for the boys regional event were Summers and Stewart Rickenbach of Central Bucks East and Jalen Griffin of Wissahickon.
Erica Herr will be joined at regionals by Jackie Rogowicz of Pennsbury and Lily Gordon of Central Bucks West. Gordon, who earned the eighth and final spot in regionals, won a playoff on the first hole over Nazareth's Michelle Applegate after they tied at 167.
The District One team title went to Holy Ghost Prep, which put four players in the 70s for a total of 299. Central Bucks East was third, Council Rock fifth and Pennsbury sixth.
The Herr siblings have a rivalry going. As mentioned, Erica can win four district crowns while Zach could only net three.
“I want to beat him,” Erica said. “We were arguing who had the lower score (on the first day). He had a 69, but I had a 68 so there is always competition.”
“Hopefully I can get a state championship,” Zach said. “(If both won), that would be good.
“It would be a good day in the Herr house.”
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