Brennan leads by one in Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship

   Jack Brennan of Mountain View Country Club grabbed the lead with a 1-under-par 69 in the opening round of the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship Monday at St. Davids Golf Club.

   The top eight finishers in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship will earn a trip to the Senior PGA Professional Championship Nov. 17 to 20 at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   Brennan had two birdies and a bogey over the par-70 Donald Ross design in Tredyffrin Township. He’ll take a one-shot lead into Tuesday’s second round.

   Don Allan of Burlington Country Club and Stu Ingraham, the head of instruction at the M Golf Range in Newtown Square, are tied for second at even-par 70. Allan overcame an early double bogey with four birdies. Ingraham bogeyed the first hole and rattled off 15 straight pars before getting back to even with a birdie at the par-3 17^th hole.

   Ingraham qualified for last year’s Senior PGA Professional Championship at the Bayonet and Black Horse in Seaside, Calif. and played well enough there to punch his ticket to the Senior PGA Championship, a Champions Tour major held at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich. in May. Ingraham then made the cut at the Senior PGA.

   Five players are tied for fourth at 1-over 71, including Bill Sautter of Philadelphia Cricket Club, Terry Hertzog of the Country Club of York, Jim Bromley of Play-a-round Golf, Bob Lennon of Wilmington Country Club and Brian Kelly of Bucknell Golf Club.

   Sitting just outside of the cut to advance to the Senior PGA Professional Championship are five more players tied for ninth at 2-over 72. Among that group is Radnor Valley Country Club head pro George Forster, who is trying to extend his streak of 10 straight trips to the Senior Club Pro.

   Also in that group is Jack Connelly, a past president of the PGA of America who is working out of the North Hills Country Club pro shop. Rounding out the fivesome at 2-over are Dave McNabb of Applebrook Golf Club, Dave Quinn of The Links Golf Club and John Appleget of Wildwood Golf & Country Club.

   Good to see Ed Dougherty teeing it up at St. Davids. Owner of two Champion Tour victories and nearly $6 million in earnings on the senior circuit, Dougherty posted a 6-over 76 Monday.