Dunn puts Little Mill over the top in GAP Team Matches

   Little Mill Country Club didn’t seem to have much of a chance to unseat Philadelphia Cricket Club as the king of the Golf Association of Philadelphia BMW Team Matches, a reign that had lasted three years and looked like it was heading for a fourth straight year during Saturday’s playoffs.

   But then nobody counted on Little Mill’s Michael Dunn, a 25-year-old from Marlton, N.J., sweeping all nine of his possible points in the final group at the Cricket Club’s Militia Hill Course. That result vaulted Little Mill past the Cricket Club to victory and the title in the AA Division, the top tier of the Team Matches.

  The AA Division playoffs are a far-flung affair with each club sending three players to the four contending courses, so the competition was going on in South Jersey (Little Mill), eastern Montgomery County (Huntingdon Valley Country Club), Montgomery County near its border with Chestnut Hill (the Cricket Club) and Delco (Llanerch Country Club).

   But most precincts had reported by the time the last match at the Cricket Club headed for the 18^th green at the Militia Hill Course. And when Dunn completed his clean sweep, Little Mill was the winner.

   Little Mill finished with 60.5 points, four points clear of the Cricket Club’s 56.5. Huntingdon Valley was third at 51.5 and Llanerch finished fourth at 47.5.

   Little Mill kept its captain Michael Hyland home and along with his father Tom Hyland and Jim Ausenault, picked up 17 points. The Cricket Club got 18 at Little Mill, but Little Mill’s home team held the fort just well enough to give Dunn his opportunity to grab the overall match.

   The Cricket Club’s best total actually came at Llanerch, where it picked up 20.5 points. There was also an interesting name on the Cricket Club side at Llanerch, that of Conrad Von Borsig, the former Strath Haven standout and 2009 BMW Philadelphia Amateur champion. Von Borsig was joined at Llanerch by Philip Bartholomew and Ryan Gelrod.

   There’s no shame for Llanerch in finishing fourth in this group. Llanerch’s best side turned out to be the trio it sent to Huntingdon Valley. James Wingertier matched the feat Dunn accomplished at the Cricket Club by sweeping all nine of his possible points to help Llanerch pile up 21 points at Huntingdon Valley. Wingertier was joined at Huntingdon Valley by fellow Llanerch members Brian McDermott and Joe Kerrigan Jr.