Central Bucks East’s Patrick Sheehan captured the individual crown at the Suburban One League Tournament Tuesday. Photos of tournament action were provided by Larry Small and Keith Clelmens. CLICK HERE to go directly to the GOLF GALLERY.
By Ben Reese
WARMINSTER -- The venue changed for this year's Suburban One League boys golf tournament. But, no matter the course, it was still an excellent day for golf.
The Continental Conference dominated the scoreboard, putting five golfers in the top six. Leading the way was Central Bucks East's Patrick Sheehan who carded a 4-under 67.
Right behind Sheehan was Luca Jezzeny of Central Bucks West with a 68.
They were the only golfers to break par at the par-71 Five Ponds Golf Club in Warminster. Last year's tournament was played at Indian Valley Country Club.
All told, 38 golfers qualified to advance to the District One tournament next week. Thirty-seven of them will be playing in the 3A tournament and one, Ryan Fireman of Springfield Township, will be playing in the 2A tourney.
Jezzeny got out to a quick start, going 2-under for the front nine and then adding to it with a birdie on the par-5 No. 12. But he couldn't hold off Sheehan.
After playing the front in even par, Sheehan caught fire on the back. He birdied the 11th hole, eagled the 12th and birdied the 13th to get to 4-under, where he finished.
When asked what turned his round around, Sheehan said "Definitely 11. It was a 196-yard par-3 and I hit it to within eight feet and made the putt.
"Then I kind of surged to eagle the next hole and then a hole later I made birdie. That was kind of the run I had."
The eagle on 12 was something to see. Sheehan hit his drive on the par-5 278 yards in the center of the fairway.
"I hit a 5 (iron) from about 209 (yards) into the wind, trying to keep it low from a little draw lie," Sheehan said. "I almost holed it. It landed like three inches from the hole (before it rolled past)."
Even Jezzeny was impressed with Sheehan's play on No. 12.
"He stuck it to about five feet and then he made the eagle and then he's right there," Jezzeny said.
However, Jezzeny played a pretty good game of golf also. He rattled a lot of cups in shooting his 3-under 68.
"Hitting greens and making some putts, more than I normally do," he said when asked what was working on his round. "The putter was pretty hot today.
"I made a few long putts that kind of gave me confidence. I played well and Pat just beat me on the back (nine). He started making a lot of birdies and he got me by a shot."
In addition, two newcomers collected conference titles. Council Rock South's Matt Fleming won the National Conference and freshman Dylan Goonereatne of Plymouth Whitemarsh took the American.
"It feels good," said Fleming, when informed that he had won the conference. "I started off the day with a bogie but then I came back.
"I made a birdie on 10 which felt good. I felt good."
Gooneratne was completely unaware of his victory.
"I played well today," he said. "I had a couple of unlucky breaks but then I made some putts. A couple of putts I made saved me but a couple of things hurt me."
One thing all the golfers realized was that, while the win is nice, it isn't necessary to move on to district play. They knew they just had to be one of the 37 to advance.
"It's definitely nice to win" Sheehan said. "I've not played well the last two years and I haven't been happy.
"Even in the SOLs, I haven't played well so this was nice to play well. I knew I'd been playing well so it's nice to get a good number."
The two newcomers were also aware of the situation.
"I'm just going to try to play my best (next week)," Fleming said. "Go out there and try to shoot around par. It's going to be tough especially at Turtle Creek with the winds."
Gooneratne had some praise for his fellow golfers.
"I was just trying to come out here and shoot the best score I could and make it to districts," he said. "I've got to give a lot of credit to my team. They helped me out a lot.
"My coaches were fantastic. I give them a lot of credit."
Souderton's foursome of Anthony Barr (75), Thomas Butler (75), James O'Malley (79) and Joshua Smith (81) coasted to the wild card team spot. Their total of 310 was more then 10 shots better than the closest competitor.
The Suburban One League girls take center stage Wednesday at 5 Ponds. They will be playing for a maximum of 18 spots in the District One tournament.
The District One tourney will be played on Tuesday, Oct. 10, and Wednesday, Oct. 11, at Turtle Creek in Limerick. The boys will play Turtle Creek both days and the girls will play Tuesday at Gilbertsville and finish up on Wednesday at Turtle Creek.
Suburban One League
District One Tournament Qualifiers
Patrick Sheehan (CBE) 67
Luca Jezzeny (CBW) 68
Thomas Butler (Soud) 75
Dylan Gooneratne (PW) 75
Anthony Barr (Soud) 75
Kevin Anthony (CBS) 77
Matt Fleming (CRS) 77
Pat Laushell (Pb) 78
Colin Walsh (WT) 79
James O'Malley (Soud) 79
Hayden Moffat (HH) 80
Chris Dull (Pb) 80
Jack Haggerty (CBE) 80
Greg Deluca (Nesh) 81
Jack Cenci (CBS) 81
Jon Silberman (PW) 81
Jack Farrington (CBW) 81
Michael Festa (HH) 81
Joshua Smith (Soud) 81
Zach O'Leary (Ab) 81
Ryan Zakrzewski (CBS) 81
Dan Fantini (Wiss) 81
Matt Becker (CBE) 82
Chris Benenuto (Nesh) 82
Ryan Fireman (Sp) 82
Jack McCormick (HH) 82
Luke Semarini (HH) 82
Jarod Metz (UD) 82
Noah Sim (HH) 82
Nick Taylor (CRN) 82
Jonathan Papp (Pb) 83
Cooper Arnold (Pb) 83
Simon Asadoorian (CRS) 84
Stephen DeFrancis (Chelt) 84
Gavin O'Donnell (Ab) 84
Joseph Monaghan (UD) 84
Grant Molloy (UD) 84
Alec Goldberg (PW) 84
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