Christopher Crawford was right at home on an old-style
course with tight fairways and small greens when he grabbed his first title in
a Golf Association of Philadelphia major championship, capturing the Patterson
Cup at Chester Valley Golf Club last summer.
Monday the Drexel senior, playing his final regular-season
event with the Dragons, showed the same kind of mastery at the 6,707-yard,
par-71 Philadelphia Country Club, firing rounds of 68 and 70 for a 4-under 138
total that gave him the individual title by four shots in the Finegan
Invitational, hosted by La Salle.
Crawford, who starred scholastically at Holy Ghost Prep,
extended his Drexel record by claiming the eighth tournament title of his
outstanding career.
The event is played in memory of Jim Finegan, who played
collegiately at La Salle and was a fine player in the area. But Finegan gained
much more notoriety as a golf historian before his death in March 2015. Were he
in attendance Monday, he would have been reminding the players that Philadelphia
Country Club was the site of the 1939 U.S. Open, an Open most noted because Sam
Snead blew his best chance to win the Open, the only missing piece in his
gleaming career resume, by making a triple bogey on the 72nd hole.
The Finegan got glorious summer-like conditions for the
event, so much so that the 14 teams got in 36 holes and still had enough
daylight for Navy and Drexel to stage a two-hole playoff for the team title,
each team sending out its full five-man contingent.
The Middies trailed Drexel by four shots following the
Dragons’ 9-over 293 morning round. But Navy posted a 296 afternoon total to
Drexel’s 300 to catch the Dragons at 25-over 593. Navy claimed the title on the
second hole of the playoff.
The Middies were led by Thomas Fricke, a sophomore from
Haymarket, Va. who had rounds of 72 and 73 to finish sixth in the individual
standings at 3-over 145. Fricke also had a couple of key sand saves in the
playoff.
Lehigh (297-297) was just a shot out of the playoff in third
place at 594, Lafayette (305-290) was fourth at 595, Villanova (299-299)
finished fifth at 598 and the host Explorers (295-304) were sixth at 599.
Rider’s Aaron Simone, a junior from Niskayuna, N.Y., and
Lehigh’s Johnny Hsu, a freshman from Atlanta, finished tied for second at even-par
142, four shots back of Crawford. Simone had a 72 in the afternoon after a
1-under 70 in the morning while Hsu went 1-under 70 in the afternoon after
opening with a 72.
Lafayette’s Art Griffin, a sophomore from Lake Placid, N.Y.,
and Iona’s Kevin Kramarski, a sophomore from Cinnaminson, N.J. who starred
scholastically at St. Joseph’s Prep, finished tied for fourth at 2-over 144.
Griffin had a pair of 72s while Kramarski matched par in the afternoon with a
71 following an opening-round 73.
Villanova was led by Zach Egermayer, a sophomore from Glen
Rock, N.J. who had rounds of 74 and 72 to finish tied for seventh at 4-over
146. Andrew MacMillan, a sophomore from Scottsdale, Ariz., was another shot
back in a tie for ninth at 5-over 147. MacMillan broke par in the afternoon
with a 1-under 70 to bounce back nicely from a morning 77.
Rounding out the scorers for the Wildcats were: Luke
Waggoner (73-78), a senior from Crystal Lake, Ill. who finished tied for 17th
at 151; Lucas Trim (75-79), a junior from Tampa, Fla. who finished tied for 31st
at 154; and Will Byne (78-79), a sophomore from Oakmont who finished tied for
45th at 157.
La Salle got a strong showing from Andrew Reynolds, a
freshman from Pittsburgh who had rounds of 70 and 77 to finish tied for ninth
at 5-over 147.
The Explorers also got nice efforts from their La Salle High
connection as juniors Joe Markmann and P.J. Acierno finished 16th
and tied for 17th, respectively. Markmann had rounds of 76 and 74
for an 8-over 150 total while Acierno had rounds of 73 and 78 for a 9-over 151
total. La Salle dominated the Catholic League when Markmann and Acierno were in
high school.
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