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Scores
YORK, Pa. - The top of the leaderboards are separated by only a single stroke after the first rounds in both of the Pennsylvania Golf Association's (PAGA) 35th Men's and 5th Women's Four-Ball Championships.
Kevin P. O'Brien and Christian Matt of Cedarbrook Country Club hold the top spot on the Men's leaderboard with a seven-under-par 63, including a birdie on 18 from Matt to secure the lowest score of the day (one of his six on the day, while O'Brien added birdies on holes No. 2 and 13.)
Chasing O'Brien and Matt are three teams tied at six-under: Brothers Will and Jackson Stewart (CC of York / Aspen Glen Club), LedgeRock Golf Club's Grant Skyllas and Jake Haberstumpf, and the pair of Peyton Mussina (Williamsport CC) and Logan Paczewski (Huntsville GC). For Skyllas and Haberstumpf the day was defined by an impressive run in the middle of the round--with birdies on seven of the eight holes from No. 7 to No. 14--as the pair are trying to improve on last year's third-place finish in the event.
"We bogeyed two and we got off to a rocky start," said Skyllas. "But Jake made birdie on seven, I made birdie on eight, and then we got hot in the middle of the round, birdied 10 through 14, and played solid coming in."
"The greens here are rolling amazing, the fairways are tight, there's nothing more you could ever want from a championship golf course," said Haberstumpf. "The course is laid out great and it's really given us an opportunity here to compete in the Four-Ball."
Mussina and Paczewski found success early in the day, birdieing four of the first five holes (Mussina on 2 and 5 and Paczewski on 1 and 4) and playing steady all day long with the lead. A bogey on 17 was the only hiccup of the round and dropped them back to tied for second place.
"We started hot, birdied one and two, and cruised through the front nine," said Mussina and Paczewski. "We were rolling pretty good and had a good look on 15 but didn't get it to go. We parred 16 but put ourselves in a bad spot on 17, got a little nervous but got away with bogey. On 18 we made par and we're just looking to get it going again tomorrow morning."
The Stewarts were a true team on the day, covering for each other when one of them might have struggled on a hole. Will Stewart's eagle on the par 4 eighth hole helped set the tone on the front nine, and the pair were four-under at the turn.
Rounding out the top five is another pair of brothers, Huntsville Golf Club's Eli and Cael Ropietski, who both play collegiately (Eli at Pitt-Johnstown and Cael at Marshall) and finished the day two strokes back with a five-under 65.
The women's leaderboard is also a close race, with three teams at or under par on the day. The round one leaders are Bryn Krosse (Regents' Glen CC) and Rhianna Gooneratne (The 1912 Club), who fired a three-under 70. After a two-over on the front nine, the pair played near-flawlessly on the back nine, with no bogeys and five birdies.
"I feel like I hit the ball pretty straight and had some good iron shots onto the greens," said Gooneratne. "Overall I think it was a pretty consistent round. These are different greens from what I'm used to on my home course so it may have taken me some time to get used to it, but on the back nine we were settled and ready to go."
"I started off kind of rough and didn't have a good first six holes but I turned it around on the back and helped our team with a couple of birdies," said Krosse. "After the two-over on the front nine I told Rhianna we're going to shoot six-under on this back nine -- and we shot five! I think the back nine is more difficult but we had the right mindset going in."
Just one stroke behind is the duo of Charley Kirby (Royal Manchester Golf Links) and McKylie Boreman (Carlisle CC). Boreman, who won this event in 2023, birdied holes No. 3, 11, and 13 while Kirby birdied 9 and 14.
Still lurking at even par is the team of Emilee Barkley (Moselem Springs GC) and Brooke Graham (Manada GC), who finished tied for fourth place in this event last year. Both are also collegiate golfers in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, with Barkley at West Chester University and Graham at Kutztown University.
Play continues tomorrow with the final rounds. Tee times begin at 8:30 AM, with the leaders teeing off around 1:42 PM.
The Pennsylvania Golf Association would like to thank the staff and membership of the Country Club of York for the hospitality shown during today's rounds. Additional thanks go to DICK’S Sporting Goods for sponsorship of the event as the title sponsor of the PAGA.
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