By Ben Reese
LIMERICK — It’s becoming a yearly occurrence at the District One golf tournament.
Wind!
It blew very hard in 2024 and once again it blew very hard in 2025. This year, it followed by one day a lingering rainstorm that forced the postponement of the first day of the championship from Monday to Tuesday, Oct. 14.
However, it didn’t seem to bother everyone at Turtle Creek Golf Course. In fact, despite the bluster, four male golfers broke par as did one female golfer.
Leading the way for the boys was Cole Berry of West Chester Rustin, who shot a 3-under 69, after flirting with 4- and 5-under-par scores during the round. Tops for the girls was Phoenixville’s Kayley Roberts, also with a 3-under score of 68 at par-71 Raven’s Claw Golf Club.
The Suburban One League wasn’t left out of the under-par shooters, however. Central Bucks West’s Andy Brexler trailed Berry by one shot at 2-under 70, with Strath Haven’s Eddie Gebhart and Coatesville’s Carson Holmes coming in at 1-under.
Right behind those golfers was Bensalem’s Zac DeVos. He finished his round at even par 72.
Brexler was one of the players who wasn’t too concerned with the gusty conditions.
“I thought that the wind didn’t affect my game as much as I thought it would,” he said. “I was able to keep the ball down a lot lower today.
“It didn’t get too rowdy with the wind, but I was still able to play my game and keep it straight. Getting my irons on the greens with the wind was my main priority, especially with my driver being a little squirrely.”
Meanwhile, DeVos wasn’t bothered by the wind.
Did it bother your game at all, he was asked.
“No, not really,” he answered. “I didn’t think the wind was as bad as last year.”
Central Bucks South’s Colin Chelak, who finished at 1-over 73, didn’t enjoy the wind at all.
“I felt like I was hitting the ball pretty high, so the wind was tough,” he explained. “It’s annoying.
“It wasn’t as bad as last year but I played through it. The wind killed me last year (when Chelak missed making the second day of play).”
Brexler, who started on the 12th hole in the shotgun-start format, put together a round with six birdies and four bogies. After a bogey at 12, he birdied two straight, bogeyed 15 before birdying 16, parring 17 and bogeying 18.
Moving on to the front nine, he bogeyed the first hole, his eighth hole of the round, followed by two pars, a birdie, three more pars, a birdie on eight and a par on nine. This put him at 1-under before a par on 10 and a birdie on 11 for his final score.
The 11th hole, a par-3, was something of a good surprise.
“It was uphill kind of downwind, so I pulled out a 7-iron,” Brexler said. “(I had) like a 25-footer (left).
“I just hit the putt, a little bit of a slider, and it just fell in. It was amazing.”
It was enough to put him in second place after the first day.
While everyone who made the cut – the top 30 scorers with the cut at 4-over 76, Brexler feels that he can come back and get a win or at least qualify for the state tournament. Both Brexler and DeVos have some momentum entering the second day of competition.
“It gives me a goal for tomorrow,” DeVos said, “just to do better. I had a couple of missed opportunities. I’ll try to capitalize on them tomorrow.”
Brexler was a bit more positive.
“The round today gives me a little bit of motivation going into tomorrow, trying to make states because I missed it last year,” Brexler said. “I’m just going to go and prove I’m as good as I am.”
In addition to Brexler, DeVos and Chelak, four other male SOL golfers advanced to the second day. They are North Penn’s Kellen Toussaint (74), Ryan Brnich of Springfield Township (75), Central Bucks South’s John Moyer (75) and Ty Sheftic of Wissahickon (76).
In addition, one other Suburban One golfer advanced. He is Charlie Plebani of New Hope Solebury, which is in the AA division.
He finished second with an 80. Only two AA golfers will make states.
On the girls’ side, two SOL golfers will advance to the second round. This one will be played at Turtle Creek with the boys.
They are Noor Mehta of Council Rock North and North Penn’s Gigi Gratz, the co-winners of the SOL tournament. Mehta shot a 9-over 80 on the par-71 course and Gratz had a 12-over 83.
They were the only SOL girls to survive the cut.
All the golfers who made it to the second round will be vying for a spot in the state tournament. Seventeen boys and eight girls will move from the district finals to the state tourney.
The PIAA Championship for both the boys and girls will be held Oct. 22-25 at Penn State University.
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