Wednesday was a busy golf day in Indiana, and that included two major tournaments taking place in Noblesville.
Harbour Trees is hosting the Girls-Indiana Junior PGA Championship, a 36-hole event. Five Hamilton County players are in the top 10 after first-round play finished on Wednesday.
That includes a tie for third place between two Carmel players, a current star and one who will soon begin her high school career. Katie Kuc, a senior-to-be for the Greyhounds and a recent Xavier University commit, carded a 76, as did Michaela Headlee, who just finished her eighth-grade year and will be a freshman in the fall. Headlee had two birdies in her round.
Christina Pfefferkorn, a junior-to-be at Guerin Catholic, is tied for fifth place after shooting a 77, including one birdie. Her sister Angelica Pfefferkorn, who just graduated from Guerin Catholic and is heading to Oklahoma State, is tied for seventh with a 78; that includes two birdies. Also involved in that seventh-place tie is Cicero’s Sydni Zebrauskas, a sophomore-to-be at Hamilton Heights. Zebrauskas also carded a 78, making three birdies on Wednesday.
Nathaly Munnicha of Columbus is the tournament leader, finishing with a one-over par 72. Nappanee’s Cybil Stillson carded a 75 for second place.
Other Hamilton County players in the tournament and their first-round scores are as follows:
T17. Ava Hedrick, Carmel, 82
T23. Amber Luttrell, Fishers, 83; Sydney Longstreth, Carmel, 83; Sarah Brenneman, Noblesville, 83
T32. Caroline Whallon, Noblesville, 85; Elizabeth Hedrick, Carmel, 85; Claire Swathwood, Carmel, 85
T37. Alison Hildebrand, Carmel, 86
T41. Samantha Brown, Westfield, 87
T46. Sophie Mock, Carmel, 89; Marissa Spreitzer, Fishers, 89; Taylor Caldwell, Noblesville, 89
T54. Ellie Karst, Noblesville, 90; Cate Jensen, Westfield, 90
T58. Bella Deibel, Noblesville, 92; Sophie McGinnis, Carmel, 92
T61. Brette Hanavan, Westfield, 93; Ashley Marcinko, Fishers, 93
T64. Jordan Adam, Noblesville, 94; Ava Nguyen, Carmel, 94; Kathryn Pippenger, Fishers, 94
T67. Mallory Mortl, Westfield, 95
69. Kelsey DuBois, Noblesville, 96
T70. Kaley McHaffie, Fishers, 97; Kelsey Haverluck, Westfield, 97
T72. Sophia Stutz, Noblesville, 98; Grace Dubec, Fishers, 98
T79. Allie McKeown, Westfield, 102
T81. Averie Reiter, Carmel, 103
T86. Jaylyn Henegar, Noblesville, 110; Nadia Brehm, Fishers, 110
Brenneman, Elizabeth Hedrick, Brown and Karst all had two birdies in their rounds, while Ava Hedrick, Luttrell, Whallon, Deibel, Haverluck and Reiter all had one birdie.
The tournament concludes today at Harbour Trees. The first golfers will start at 8 a.m., then players tee off every 10 minutes until 12:50 p.m.
SENIOR OPEN AT PURGATORY
Not too far away, the Indiana PGA Senior Open had its first round Wednesday at Purgatory Golf Club. The event is for the top male players in Indiana ages 50 and up.
Four county players are in the top 12 after the first 18 holes. Carmel’s Lee Crannell and Noblesville’s Mike O’Toole each carded one-under par 71s in their first round. O’Toole made an eagle on the fifth hole, in addition to four birdies, while Crannell drained three birdies.
Two more Carmel golfers are part of a tie for ninth place. David Moore made five birdies on his way to an even-par 72, while Mike Cline had four birdies in his round of 72.
Steve Sterrett of Indianapolis is the tournament leader with a four-under 68.
Other Hamilton County golfers participating in the Senior Open are as follows:
T15. David Carich, Harbour Trees, 74; Jeff Cook, Carmel, 74.
T22. Brad Mays, Pebble Brook, 75
T26. Wes Marshall, Sagamore Club, 76
T29. Chris Gauss, Fishers, 77; Fred Mattingly, Noblesville, 77; Jon Stutz, Purgatory GC, 77; Steve Norris, Carmel, 77
T36. Mike Bell, Carmel, 78; Sterling Thompson, Westfield 78
T41. Greg East, Carmel, 79
T44. Kevin Paige, Carmel, 80
T56. Doug Meade, Carmel, 83
T61. Craig Scheibert, Carmel, 84
T66. Dave Mazanowski, Carmel, 86; Jed Mellott, Noblesville, 86
T69. David Ross, Carmel, 87; Anthony Rhode, Noblesville 87; John Miner, Noblesville, 87
T73. Jon Wendt, Westfield, 90
T76. Dan Zortman, Carmel, 95
Marshall made seven birdies during his first round. Cook and Thomson both had four birdies, while Mays, Mattingly, Stutz Norris and Paige all drained three birdies. Carich, Bell, East, Meade, Ross and Miner all made two birdies, and Scheibert, Mellott, Wendt and Zortman all had one birdie.
The Senior Open finishes up this morning, with golfers going off holes 1 and 10 between 8 and 9:48 a.m.
ANOTHER “SENIOR OPEN”
Another group of seniors – high school seniors – were getting the chance to play one more round of golf at the Indiana Class of 2020 Senior Open, which began Tuesday at The Legends in Franklin.
The tournament is open to graduating boys golf players, letting them play after the IHSAA golf season was canceled. A handful of Hamilton County players are competing.
Clay Stirsman is the county’s current low man, tied for 11th with a 76; that includes four birdies. Fishers’ Dylan O’Daniel is tied for 13th with a 77, making two birdies.
Carmel’s Luke Prall had two birdies on his way to a 78, putting him in 18th place. Westfield’s Drake Biggs is tied for 19th with a 79, and Hamilton Southeastern’s Adam Horner carded an 80, draining three birdies. All of the above players made the cut for tomorrow’s second round (the cut was 82.)
Avon’s Tyler Nickol is the leader, making a three-under par 69.
Other county players that participated were:
Lukas Stitle, Carmel, 84; Luke Snyder, Westfield, 85 (one birdie); Nathaniel Acres, Fishers, 85 (one birdie); Colin Hussey, Guerin Catholic, 88 (two birdies); Ryan Gausepohl, Fishers, 92; Jacob Riddle, 97 (one birdie).
The tournament finishes up this morning at The Legends, with players teeing off between 7:30 and 10:02 a.m.
Caroline Whallon (above) and Kelsey DuBois (below) are both participating in the Girls-Indiana Junior PGA Championship, taking place this week at Harbour Trees in Noblesville. Whallon will be a sophomore at Noblesville and DuBois is a sophomore-to-be at University. (Richie Hall)
