Smith fires 29 to set all-time Div. IV scoring record
BRADFORD, Pa. — Evan Maloney didn’t get off to a particularly strong start on the back nine in this latest Penn-York Junior Golf showdown.
The recent Jamestown High School graduate settled for a couple of early bogies, which put him off the par pace he’d established over the first nine holes – a stretch that included an impressive eagle on hole six.
But he finished the round in impressive fashion, going birdie, par, birdie over the final three holes. “And that helped me get back to a good score,” he said. It also helped him edge one of his top adversaries this season, Cattaraugus-Little Valley’s Owen Wright, for the boys’ Division I (16-18 years old) title.
Maloney fired an even-par round of 72, topping Wright by one stroke, to claim his second Penn-York victory in the last three weeks – both of which have come in Bradford – on a beautiful Monday afternoon. It was one of two standout accomplishments to emerge from this fourth leg of the 57th Penn-York campaign: Keegan Smith (Bavarian Hills) made history in Division IV (11-and-under), firing an extraordinary 29 from the modified tees to shatter the age group’s all-time single-round scoring record.
Presumably neck-and-neck throughout the back nine, Maloney said he wasn’t aware of how Wright was doing down the stretch. “But after the round, he told me he was 1-over going into the last hole as well,” Maloney, the Chautauqua Golf Club member, said. “And he just parred it and I birdied it, which is was what allowed me to seal the win.”
Their performances Monday reflected their battles throughout the Penn-York series as a whole. Maloney, who’s also posted a second and tied-for-sixth finish, Wright and Caledonia Country Club’s Liam McArdle have all been about even since the Week 1 Elkdale stop. After four weeks, according to the league’s official results, McArdle has the lowest scoring average so far at 74.66. But Maloney and Wright sit just behind him at 75.66 apiece, while Matt Beaver (Cardinal Hills) is also right there with a 77.33 scoring average.
Maloney, however, notched his best round yet at Monday’s Pine Acres session.
How would he assess his round?
I played pretty well overall,” he said. “There wasn’t anything specific; I was pretty consistent most of the day. I was making all the par saves, the par putts, and got a couple birdies to fall later in the round.”
Unaware that he’d even made eagle on No. 6, he added: “I thought it was a birdie. I didn’t know it was a par five, so that was nice.”
In boys’ Division II (14-15), Emporium’s Donovan Palumbo earned his first win of the season with an 82, besting Smethport Country Club’s Kael Riekofsky by one stroke. In Division III, Kaysen Beaver registered his second-consecutive triumph after finishing tied-for-fifth and second at the first two stops, respectively. He notched his second 40 in a row, which this time was enough to edge Chautauqua’s Carter Crabtree, who placed second with a 41.
Smith, aside from his historic round of 29, also continued his roll; he’s won all four Division IV stops this year with impressive scores of 34, 34, 36 and 29. Griffin Beaver (Cardinal Hills) earned second place in Division IV with a 41.
On the girls’ side, Molly Burnett (Bartlett Country Club) and Ally Sikora (Orchard Park) both shot 114 in the 18-hole Division I, with Burnett taking the individual crown on a tiebreaker. Alaina Hirliman (Birch Run) won the nine-hole division for the fourth week in a row with a 44.
Two weeks ago, Maloney said it was his wedges that helped put him over the top in his 7over-par 77 triumph at Pennhills. On Monday, he mostly credited those same clubs, plus his irons, for making the difference.
“I feel like I was striking my irons and wedges pretty solid,” he said. “I was getting into play a lot of the time, my recovery shots would kind of bail me out if I hit a bad drive, so it was kind of just all in unison.”
Whatever it was, his performances now have him in contention for the overall points and low-average championships in his first Penn-York Junior Golf League competition. “It’s nice, for sure,” he said, when asked about having a chance to win it all heading into next week’s final leg at Bartlett Country Club. “I’m gonna have to put together a pretty good round to beat the other guys. As you know, they’re pretty good. I gotta step up and play a good round.”
Results and next week’s Penn-York tee times can be found at www.swnynwpa.com.
Said tournament director Kyle Henzel of Monday’s stop at Pine Acres: “We had a lighter turnout than usual, but those who showed up brought their A-game – the scoring across divisions was some of the best of the season.” Following are the top 10 finishers from each age group.
(Story courtesy of J.P. Butler as a special to the Olean Star)
BOYS
DIVISION I (16-18)
1. E. Maloney (Chautauqua GC) 72 10
2. O. Wright (Cardinal Hills) 73 9
3. L. McArdle (Caledonia CC) 74 8
4. C. Backus (Caledonia) 77 7
5. M. Beaver (Cardinal Hills) 78 6
6. K. Caskey (Bavarian Hills) 79 5
7. P. Leet (Pine Acres) 80 3.5
7. C. Okerlund (Smeth./Pennhills) 80 3.5
9. C. Bartman (Bartlett CC) 81 1
9. K. Shinebarger (Hornell GC) 81 1
9. J. Bell (Pine Acres) 81 1
DIVISION II (14-15)
1. D. Palumbo (Emporium) 82 10
2. K. Riekofsky (Smethport CC) 83 9
3. D. Preston (Caledonia CC) 83 8
4. K. McArdle (Caledonia CC) 84 7
5. K. Caskey (Bavarian Hills) 85 6
6. J. Antonio (Elkdale) 90 5
7. D. Martin (Smethport) 92 4
8. C. Learn (Ischua Valley) 94 2.5
8. L. Himes (Smethport CC) 94 2.5
10. H. Smith (Smethport) 95 0.5
10. A. Leet (Pine Acres) 95 0.5
DIVISION III (12-13)
(9 holes)
1. K. Beaver (Cardinal Hills) 40 10
2. C. Crabtree (Chautauqua GC) 41 9
3. M. Myers (Kane CC) 41 8
4. R. Wendel (Leaning Pines) 42 7
5. K. Caskey (Bavarian Hills) 43 6
6. C. Blocher (Bartlett) 44 5
7. C. Warmbrodt 45 4
8. A. Wade (Elkdale CC) 46 3
9. B. Rook (Kane) 49 2
10. C. Hill (Holiday Valley) 51 1
DIVISION IV (11-and-under)
(9 holes)
1. K. Smith (Bavarian Hills) 29 10
2. G. Beaver (Cardinal Hills) 41 9
3. C. Giles (Chautauqua) 44 8
4. H. Honeck (St. Bonaventure) 45 7
5. G. Straub (Bavarian Hills)
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