Lower Merion freshman Yermish battles in 3-way playoff for PIAA state title

With a birdie on the final hole of regulation play, Lower Merion freshman Sydney Yermish entered a three-way playoff for the PIAA Class AAA Golf Championship title at Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York Oct. 22.
And although Yermish did not win the playoff, the Lower Merion freshman impressed onlookers with her gutsy play under pressure,
“I was very proud of Sydney’s performance and the way she handled the pressure especially as a freshman,” said Lower Merion golf coach Dennis Keenan. “When she needed a birdie on her final hole to force a playoff, she made one of the most clutch shots I ever saw from 80 yards out to put it within a foot of the hole.”
Yermish’s final hole of regulation play happened to be the tough par 4 ninth hole (it was a shotgun start). Hole No. 9 features ponds and out-of-bounds to the right. Yermish blasted a 260 yard drive, then hit a 54 degree wedge from 80 yards out that nearly went into the hole for an eagle, finishing six inches away. She tapped in the birdie putt, then headed to No. 18 to begin a three-way playoff with Wissahickon freshman Elizabeth Beek and West Chester East sophomore Victoria Kim.
West Chester East golf coach Todd Lorback added, “It was a shame there had to be a second- and third-place finisher. It was mind-boggling – two of the girls [Yermish and Beek] are 14 years old, and Victoria Kim is 15, and all three of them displayed nerves of steel in the final round and the playoff. I lack the words to describe how impressive the level of play was among these girls today when the pressure was on and the stakes were high.”
After Yermish birdied the final hole of regulation to get into the playoff, she birdied the first hole of the playoff, the par 5 18th hole. But both Beek and Kim also birdied the first playoff hole, so they proceeded to the second playoff hole, where Yermish was eliminated. On the third playoff hole, Beek prevailed to win the state title.
“Sydney was determined to win the playoff but when she was eliminated on the second hole, she handled it with great sportsmanship,” said Keenan. “Being only a freshman, she still has three more opportunities to win the state title, and the odds are with her to win at least one championship if not more.”
The PIAA state tournament turned out to be an exciting ride for Yermish, who led after the first round Oct. 21 with a par 72. In the second round, she carded a 74, which included the birdie on her final hole.
“The Lower Merion golf team came up to watch Sydney play the final round, and when she knocked in her birdie putt on her 18th hole to get into the playoff, everybody in the group went crazy,” said Sydney’s mother Dana Yermish. “Their presence and support really pumped Sydney up.”
“My irons were pretty consistent today and kept me in the running,” said Yermish, who captured the PIAA District 1 AAA title earlier this fall. “I had some chances to make birdies earlier in the second round, but my putting wasn’t working as well as it did in the first round.”
In the first playoff hole, Yermish hit a 280-yard drive, then a three-quarter 9-iron from 130 yards out to within eight feet of the hole. She missed her eagle putt and tapped in for a birdie, which matched her two partners. On the third playoff hole, Beek prevailed for the title.
“Elizabeth was steady, kept her head up, played consistent,” said Yermish, who has developed a friendship with Beek during the past two years.
In the national ranking system from Junior Golf Scoreboard (www.juniorgolfscoreboard.com) for Pennsylvania female golfers in the high school Class of 2023, Yermish currently ranks first and Beek second.
“They are good for each other and respect the talent and hard work they both put in,” said Dana. “They will try to qualify as partners for USGA 4-ball partners next fall. Sydney and Elizabeth both agree that they will be a team to reckon with.”
McCabe finishes 3rd
In the PIAA Class AA Boys’ Golf Championship, Devon Prep junior Ryan McCabe shot 73-75-148 to finish tied for third place, four strokes behind first-place finisher Skyler Fox of Riverside (72-72). McCabe, who earned a state medal for his efforts, carded five birdies Monday and his Tuesday round included an eagle and two birdies. He started his round on hole No. 13 (it was a shotgun start due to impending rain), and after taking an 8 on No. 17, bounced back nicely, carding birdies on Nos. 1 and 2, and an eagle on No. 7.
“Ryan played really solid golf over the past two days,” said Devon Prep golf head coach Joe Suarez. “In typical Ryan fashion he turned his attention to his teammates and joined them out on the course for the practice round before we compete [Wednesday] for the team championship. Ryan is the ultimate team player and leader of our team.”
McCabe eagled the par 5 seventh hole with a drive, 5-iron and a 40-foot putt from the fringe of the green. On the following hole, the par 3 eighth hole, he hit his tee shot to the left of the cart path, then hit a nice lob wedge to within six feet of the hole, and made the par putt.
McCabe, who placed second in last year’s PIAA Class AA Boys tournament, said of his third-place finish, “It didn’t end up the way I [really] wanted it to, but I was happy I came back the way that I did.”
Lofland earns medal
Conestoga junior Morgan Lofland earned a medal at the PIAA Class AAA Boys’ Golf Championship Tuesday, finishing in ninth place with a total of 6-over-par 148, which was 14 strokes behind the first-place finisher, Central York senior Carson Bacha (67-67-134). Bacha’s winning score was a Heritage Hills PIAA record by five strokes over the previous best score. Only four players in the field were able to break par for the two-round tournament.
Lofland shot a 4-over-par 75 Monday, then followed it up with an improved 73 Tuesday at Heritage Hills.
“I really felt good at the medal presentation today, because after my round on Monday it didn‘t look likely that I would get a medal,” said Lofland, who finished 23rd at States as a freshman but did not compete in the state tourney last year. “I was driving the ball better today – I hit a lot of blocked shots Monday. My ball-striking was really good today, and I gave myself a lot of looks at birdies, but I wasn’t able to make a lot of putts today – the greens were [relatively] slow.”
Lofland started his Tuesday round with a couple of bogeys (he started his round on Hole No. 2), but rebounded nicely toward the end of his round with birdies on hole Nos. 16 and 17.
Conestoga golf coach John Jones said, “I’m extremely proud of Morgan for finishing his junior year as one of the top 10 golfers in the state. Morgan is a tough competitor and will always scratch and claw to the end. His ball striking was great during the tournament. While he struggled some with the putter, he ultimately rolled in some late birdies and earned himself a PIAA medal.”
Harriton senior Andrew Wallace shot 80 in his opening round, then improved with a 76 Tuesday.
“Andrew was a little rusty Monday – his sister got married in New York City Saturday night,” said Harriton golf coach Brian Dobak. “His ball striking was okay Monday but he really felt it on the greens – he had 36 putts. Today, Andrew got his stroke back on the greens, he putted better; however he had five lip-outs, He had the stroke but the putts just weren’t falling. His 76 could have easily been even par or better. On both days Andrew got himself into some trouble off the tee; however, he is a good scrambler and managed to get himself out of trouble most of the time.”
Radnor senior Jack Hamilton, who will be playing golf for Sienna College next fall, shot 80-76-156 to tie for 22nd place with Wallace.
“Jack set making it to States as his goal in August,” said Radnor golf coach Andy Achenbach. “Jack was definitely capable of [a higher finish], but he just couldn’t get a putt to drop over the two days. It was Radnor’s first trip back to States with a boy since 2011 so it was nice to just be there.”