Kempa surges to victory in Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship

   Chester Valley Golf Club’s Zachary Kempa fired a spectacular 8-under-par 63 in the second round in sweltering heat Monday at Laurel Creek Country Club in Mt. Laurel, N.J. to capture the top spot in the National Car Rental Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

   The Philadelphia Section PGA’s top assistant pros – and the Section boasts a talented group of assistants  – played 36 holes to determine a champion and fill its five berths to the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship, which will be played in November at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   And Kempa was the best of the bunch Monday. He opened with a solid 2-under 69 over the 6,665-yard, par-71 Laurel Creek layout, but that still left him four shots behind the pace-setter, The ACE Club’s Billy Stewart, who had fired a 6-under 65. It also left Kempa with work to do just to assure himself a spot in the coveted top five.

   And get to work he did. He made seven birdies and eagled the par-5 ninth hole to offset a lone bogey at 13 and surge to the victory with a 10-under 132 total.

   Billy the Kid, coming off a huge win in the Philadelphia Open last month at St. Davids Golf Club, added a 3-under 68 to his opening-round 65 to finish a shot behind Kempa in second at 9-under 133.

Stewart, a Malvern Prep and Saint Joseph’s University product, was especially efficient in his opening round with six birdies and no bogeys.

   Stewart earned a trip to the national Assistant Pro event last fall, his first appearance in one of the PGA of America’s national events, and fired a final round of 3-under 69 at the Wannamaker Course to finish tied for fifth. Stewart is very familiar with the Florida courses having spent nearly a decade playing professional mini-tours in the South, mostly in the Sunshine State.

   Rusty Harbold of the Philadelphia Cricket Club finished alone in third at 7-under 135 as he added a 4-under 67 to his opening-round 68.

   Defending champion Brian Bergstol of the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort earned a return trip to the PGA Golf Club as he finished tied for fourth at 6-under 136. Bergstol finished tied for 31^st last fall in Port St. Lucie at 2-over 290.

   Bergstol, who fired a 5-under 66 in the afternoon after opening with a 1-under 70, shared fourth with three other players. I imagine there was a playoff for the final two berths to the national Assistant Pro event.

   The fifth ticket to the PGA Golf Club went to Waynesborough Country Club’s Zac Oakley, who carded a pair of 3-under 68s.

   The first two alternates are the other two players who landed on 6-under 136, Bill Walker of Riverton Country Club and Alex Knoll of Bethlehem Golf Club. Walker’s day mirrored that of Bergstol as he added a 5-under 66 to an opening-round 70.

   Knoll, who has been playing solid golf all season, opened with a 67 and added a 69 in the afternoon. Knoll and Stewart were two of the five players from the Philadelphia Section who survived two cuts and played all four rounds in the PGA Professional Championship at the Bayonet and Black Horse Courses on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula in June.

   The third alternate is Lookaway Golf Club’s Michael Little, who finished alone in eighth at 137 after adding a 68 to an opening-round 69, and the fourth alternate spot went to Overbrook Golf Club’s Trevor Bensel, who finished alone in ninth place at 3-under 139 after opening up with a 4-under 67 and slipping back with a 1-over 72 in the afternoon.

   Heading a group of five players who finished tied for 10^th at 2-under 140 was Radley Run Country Club’s Brett Melton, the Section’s reigning OMEGA Player of the Year. Melton, who is having another big year on the Philadelphia Section circuit, opened with a 69 and added an even-par 71.

   Sunnybrook Golf Club’s Andrew Turner also landed on 140 as he opened with a 3-under 68 before finishing up with a 1-over 72.

   Rounding out the group tied at 140 were Saucon Valley Country Club’s Ryan McLean (71-69), Manufacturers Golf & Country Club’s Ross Seaman (72-68) and Out Door Country Club’s Steve Swartz (72-68).