It was a partnership born from illness and injury, but it
proved to be a successful one as the Huntingdon Valley Country Club pair of
Daniel Galbreath and Conor McGrath made yards of putts on Rolling Green Golf
Club’s notoriously slick surfaces to cruise to a two-shot victory in the Golf
Association of Philadelphia’s Francis X. Hussey Memorial Monday.
Galbreath, a recent Lower Moreland graduate, had every
intention of defending the Hussey title with Matthew Acker, his partner in
triumph a year ago, but Acker had surgery for an abscess and was sidelined.
McGrath, a senior at the Academy of the New Church, planned to partner with
Frankie Gregor, but Gregor broke a bone in his foot playing basketball.
So, the Huntingdon Valley clubmates got together and decided
they would honor their sidelined pals by winning the Hussey, a
better-ball-of-partners event, for them. It didn’t hurt that they’re pretty
good buddies anyway.
“We know each other’s game so well,” Galbreath, who will
study finance at Stetson University, told the GAP website. “I caddied for Conor
in the (BMW Philadelphia) Amateur qualifier for 36 holes. I know how he hits the ball. I know how he
putts. We play together all of the time, so he knows my game, too. We were able to help each other out all
day.”
Galbreath and McGrath had a pair of eagles and four birdies
against a lone bogey for a sparkling 7-under-par 64 over the 6,336-yard, par-71
Rolling Green layout, which like the winners’ home course at Huntingdon Valley,
is a classic William Flynn design. Rolling Green was in the national spotlight
in 2016 as the host of the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
It’s been a pretty good summer for McGrath. He claimed
medalist honors in qualifying for the GAP Junior Boys’ Championship, presented
by PURE Insurance, and reached the quarterfinals.
The Tavistock Country Club pair of Finnian McGarry and Doug
Ergood finished second with a 5-under 66.
Galbreath and McGrath might have jump-started their title
run with a couple of big par saves early as Galbreath holed a 12-foot putt for
par on the par-4 second and McGrath got a little lucky when the flagstick
stopped a chip shot and enabled him to get a par on the par-3 third.
Galbreath lofted a 60-degree wedge to 10 feet and made the
putt for a birdie at the fifth. McGrath blasted a 6-iron from 195 yards away to
reach the par-5 seventh in two and dropped a 25-foot eagle putt. When Galbreath
got a 30-footer for birdie to fall at No. 8, arguably the toughest green at
Rolling Green, the pair was officially on a roll.
Galbreath bombed his drive onto the green at the short par-4
12th and made a 25-footer for eagle. After a bogey at the tough,
par-3 14th hole, Galbreath dropped in another long birdie try from
30 feet at the par-3 16th and McGrath got it up-and-down from a
greenside bunker after nearly reaching the par-5 17th in two for one
more birdie.
Waynesborough Country Club’s Cole Kemmerer and Applecross
Country Club’s Jacob Zeng, members of Episcopal Academy’s Inter-Ac League
championship last fall, headed three pairs tied for third at 1-under 70.
Joining them at 1-under 70 were the pairs of Noah Harrington
of Cedarbrook Country Club and Matt Graeff of Manufacturers Golf & Country
Club and Timothy Lorenzo of Philadelphia Cricket Club and Stephen Lorenzo of
Manufacturers.
Two of District One’s top returning players, Downingtown
East’s Wills Montgomery, who plays out of Applecross, and Bishop Shanahan’s
Ryan Conners, the runnerup in Class AAA at districts last fall who plays out of
Whitford Country Club, headed a group of six teams tied for sixth at even-par
71.
They were joined at that figure by Spring-Ford Country
Club’s Ryan Tall, the Central League champion at Conestoga last fall, and Alex
Cook of Waynesborough, the Blue Bell Country Club pair of Shane McCullough and
Buddy Hansen IV, Greg DeLuca of Makefield Highlands Golf Club and Chris Benvenuto
of the Philadelphia Junior Tour, Jack Habeeb of The Country Club of Scranton
and Daniel Hinton of Elmhurst Country Club and Justin Hershey of Applebrook
Golf Club and Trevor Paolone of Overbrook Golf Club.
Two more members of Episocopal’s Inter-Ac championship team,
its senior leader, Matt Marino, and Jon Nolan Perry, who finished second in the
league’s regular-season points standings, headed a group of five more teams
tied for 12th at 1-over 72. Marino and Perry play out of
Waynesborough.
Also in the group tied for 12th were Liam Hart of
Spring Mill Country Club and Jack LaRosa of Philmont Country Club, the Kennett
Square Golf & Country Club pair of Ryan McHugh and Padraic Walsh, the
Huntingdon Valley duo of Brett McGrath and Patrick Isztwan and D.J. Pinciotti III
of Huntingdon Valley and Ryan Bammann of Five Ponds Golf Club.
Rolling Green’s Kathleen Mark and Riley Quartermain of
Llanerch Country Club emerged from a tight three-way race to take the girls
title with an 8-over 79. Mark is an incoming freshman at Episcopal and
Quartermain will be a freshman at Haverford High.
The Merion Golf Club pair of Lauren Jones and Amanda Jones
were a shot back in second with an 80 and Grace Simenson of RiverCrest Golf
Club & Preserve and Allison Bradley of Aronimink Golf Club were another shot
back of the Joneses in third with an 81.
Darren Nolan of Talamore Country Club and Henry Fish of
Chester Valley Golf Club cruised to the Junior-Junior boys crown with a 1-under
35. Nolan will be an eighth-grader at Abington Junior High while Fish will be
an eighth-grader at Malvern Prep.
The Rolling Green pair of Ryan Garvey and Sydney Yermish
shared runnerup honors with Nathan Guertler of Tavistock and Chase Cristilla of
Laurel Creek Country Club, each team carding a 40. Richie Biborosch of
Aronimink and Jack Ploszay of Chester Valley finished fourth at 44.
The Huntingdon Valley pair of Emma McGrath and Molly Gregor
were unopposed in the Junior-Junior girls division, but still posted a solid 6-over
42.
The Francis X. Hussey Memorial is named for an avid junior
golfer at Rolling Green who suffered from congenital heart disease. Hussey, who
attended Haverford Township schools, died at age 13 in December 1983 while
undergoing heart surgery.
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