Penn Manor's Jesse Shue, Warwick's Elle Overly birdie early, hang on late to win L-L League golf titles

Throughout his high school and junior golf career, Jesse Shue has contended often but fallen just short, played brilliant stretches of golf that weren’t quite long enough.

Until Monday.

That’s when the Penn Manor junior put it all together, dusting a strong field with a 4-under par 68 at Tanglewood Manor to win the Lancaster-Lebanon League championship.

“I feel like I’ve been close all season,’’ Shue said. “I’m happy I was finally able to finish it off.’’

The perseverance thing also paid off for league girls champion Elle Overly of Warwick, who led early, fell behind defending champion Piper Smith and rallied to edge Smith, a Manheim Township sophomore, 75 to 76.

The team championship went to Manheim Township, now playing without Smith since the school has a separate, freshly minted girls team. The Section One champion Blue Streaks got a 74 from Nick Stramara, tied for third overall; a 76 by Ben Connors; a 77 by Andrew Bilson; and an 80 by Braden Leed.

All four of Township’s counting scores tied for 13th or better. The Streaks’ 307 total was six better than that of Section One rival and defending league champion Cedar Crest.

The Falcons’ Dylan Ramsey, last year’s PIAA state champion, finished second overall with an even-par 72.

L-L League Golf Championship from Tanglewood Manor [photos]

Both Shue and Overly birdied their first two holes of the day, although they weren’t the same two holes, due to a shotgun start.

Shue kept cruising. He birdied the par-3 seventh with a 9-iron and 15-foot putt, and parred his way through the middle of the round of most of the field fell back in the rainy gloom. Ramsay kept plugging, making a 6-foot par-save after making a mess of the par-5 10th, and then birdieing 11 to briefly pull within three.

Then Shue’s putter seized the day. He made a 15-footer at 13 and then, the final nail, a 40-foot bomb at 14. He led by five with five holes left, and steered it home from there.

Overly’s first two holes, and birdies, were the ninth and 10th. She was 1-under par for the round, but just one ahead of Smith, until Overly’s second shot to the par-4 14th hit a sprinkler head and bounded over the green, leading to a double bogey.

Smith birdied the next hole, the par-3 16th, while Overly bogeyed, and Smith suddenly had a three-shot lead with eight holes left.

The next hole, 17, has a blind tee shot and a risk-reward element, meaning a perennial traffic jam at the tee.

“That was a blessing for me,’’ Overly said. “It helped me reset. Like, ‘Why are you not committing to your shots? Why are you having doubts?’ I was getting into my own head.’’

Refreshed, Overly played the next six holes at 1-under par, taking the lead for good.

Now a junior, Overly has been a force in L-L golf since day one of her freshman year, when she won the league title.

She hasn’t always felt like a force. That seems to be changing.

“I’m trying not to have fear on the golf course,’’ she said. “I used to have a lot of doubts and fear, but I’m changing my mentality.’’

Next up is the District Three tournament, to be held Oct. 6-7 at Honey Run (Class 3A) and Briarwood East (2A) in York County.

The low 19 Class 3A boys, low six 2A boys and low 11 overall girls have berths in the district individual tournament.

Manheim Township’s boys and girls teams are in the team competition. In 2A, Pequea Valley’s boys qualified, edging Lancaster Catholic and Annville-Cleona each by three shots.