Sallies and a little artificial rain on the Cape Golf parade
May 8, 2026
Beating the Salesianum School golf team is a tall order, even if it’s a home match at Rehoboth Beach Country Club.
The Wilmington Catholic prep school enrolls over 900 boys from four states. Many of them golf at private clubs in the area. Head coach Bill Fitzpatrick said the Sallies golf team is the hardest challenge for would-be varsity members to earn a spot. This year, 44 tried out for 13 openings.
Currently ranked second in the state golf rankings behind Archmere Academy, another Wilmington Catholic prep school, Sallies was 13-0 before the May 4 match with Cape, currently 4th in the same ranking.
Led by medalist Joseph Kelly’s 2-under par 34, Sallies beat the Vikings 147-154.
Kingston Davis played best for Cape with his even-par 36, with Ryan McNett two strokes back at 38. Chad Hughey and Jack Tunnell posted a pair of 40s.
The Vikings’ 154 was 4 strokes above the team’s best this season, a pair of 150s made April 23 and April 27. It also helped reduce Cape’s average match score to 158.4 for 2026.
Sprinkers came on during the match, creating a rainbow spray over the 8th green.
Sallies’s 147 was 4.5 strokes lower than the Wilmington school’s 151.5 2026 match average.
This is how tight things are at the top.
On May 5 Sallies played Archmere at DuPont CC and tied 151-151. Hannah Webb of Archmere also tied for co-medalist with Sallies’ Grant Burkhart and Luke LaScala with one-over par 37s.
The Sallies/Cape match featured a few breaks in the action, courtesy of the club’s irrigation system. The sprinklers came on and doused several greens (and some surprised high school golfers) for several minutes. The spray created a tiny rainbow mist over the 8th green and a short game delay.
The Vikings’ Senior Day home match May 11 is set for Delmarva Christian and Woodbridge at RBCC.
Seahawks v. Seahawks
The Delaware Military Academy Seahawks traveled down from Wilmington May 4 to face the Sussex Academy Seahawks on the back nine at Kings Creek CC.
We don’t often see golf matches with matching mascots.
The hosts won, 160-166. Players from both teams earned co-medalist honors in yet another improbable circumstance. SAS’s Jordan Green led his team with a 37, while DMA’s Brayden Hughes did the same thing for his squad.
Ryan Kline’s 39, Bodhin Williams’ 40, and Nicholas DeEmedio’s 44 made up the rest of the SAS total.
In other action, SAS played Sussex Tech at Heritage Shores May 6, winning 158-207 on the par-36 front nine.
Green won medalist again with a one-over par 37. DeEmedio finished one stroke back with a 38. Ryan Dostal contributed with a 40 and Gino Magliano added his 43 to the team total.
The Seahawks previously hosted the Delmar Wildcats April 30 on the front nine of Kings Creek CC winning the contest 157-165.
Delmar’s Grayson Throm won medalist with a one-under par 34. DeEmedio led SAS with his 37, with Williams two strokes back. Green’s 40 and Kline’s 41 completed the Seahawk scoring.
Delmarva Christian faces Knights and Quakers
The Delmarva Christian Royals played the Sussex Central Golden Knights and the Quakers of Wilmington Friends May 4 at Baywood Greens.
Central’s 164 defeated Friends by a single stroke and DCHS by 15 strokes.
Quinn Marshall of Friends won medalist honors with an even-par 36. Joseph Neumann scored best for Sussex Central with his 39.
Nicholas Gipko’s 41 led the Royals, with Donavan Balback’s 42 and a pair of 48s by Avery McCoy and Cole Parker completing the team scoring.
May 15 Midway Par 3 fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity
The Annual Walt Jones Memorial Golf Outing takes place May 15 at Midway Par 3 in Lewes.
Fundraiser proceeds support Sussex County Habitat for Humanity.
The $85 per player/$320 per foursome entry fee includes a pre-round putting contest, meals, and awards. Morning and afternoon tee times are available, as are sponsorships.
Go to sussexcountyhabitat.org to register.
Making the best of it
On May 3 Spirit Airlines shut down completely, leaving customers stranded.
The airline’s sudden demise created an immediate and tiny bump in the Cape Region economy. On May 4 I met three Spirit refugees for an 8:03 a.m. tee time at The Rookery.
Three very pleasant gentlemen from Massachusetts had flown Spirit to Myrtle Beach, SC last week for a golf vacation. They played Long Bay and other courses but were rained out of a round at Arrowhead CC. On Saturday night they received the email notice there would be no plane home. They decided to rent a car, drive north, find a hotel and play golf in Delaware, and head home thereafter.
We met at the first tee and had a fun round. I gave them my best Chamber of Commerce spiel about the area and recommended they take the Cape May-Lewes Ferry home.
I think they did.
Local club competition results
The Mulligan’s Pointe Ladies played a 5 Club/Net game May 5.
Tammy Findlay won the first division, with Sue Brady in second and M. L. York in third. Donna Dolce won the second division, followed by Jackie Adams in second and JoAnn Foster in third.