Yahrling, Hilliard the winners in Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup (Net)

   Michael Yahrling of Makefield Highlands Golf Club kept his cool in Wednesday’s brutal heat and used a strong finish to capture the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup (Net) title at Medford Lakes Country Club in Medford, N.J.

   Yahrling, a 58-year-old licensed mortgage broker from Doylestown, put up 44 points in the Stableford scoring system, a total that was matched by the defending Frank H. Chapman (Net) champion, Hank Collins, a Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association entry.

   A scorecard playoff broke the tie in Yahrling’s favor, but even that was tight as they had identical splits of 20 points on the front nine and 24 points on the back nine. Yahrling finally got the tiebreaker edge by outscoring Collins, 17-15, over the last six holes.

   Yahrling, who spent 22 years as a member at Indian Valley Country Club, opened what turned out to be a productive back nine over the 5,779-yard, par-71 Medford Lakes layout with four straight bogeys.

   A 22-handicapper, Yahrling then launched a 1-under burst over the next four holes that earned him the victory.

   Yahrling got it up and down from a greenside bunker, dropping a six-foot par putt at the 14^th, hit a 7-iron to 60 feet at the par-3 15^th and lagged the long birdie try to tap-in range for a par and two-putted from 25 feet for par after his 6-iron approach found the green at the par-4 16^th hole.

   Then his 7-iron approach at the par-4 17^th hole finished 12 feet from the hole and he dropped the birdie putt that earned him four Stableford points and went a long way toward earning him the title.

Collins had captured the Frank H. Chapman (Net) title a year ago at the Sand Barrens Golf Club that has since been renamed as the Union League National Golf Club with 45 points.

   Francis Tan of tournament host Medford Lakes and John O’Rourke of McCall Golf & Country Club shared third place, each putting up 42 points, two behind the top pair.

   Basil Gilfillian of Little Mill Country Club finished fifth with 40 points, Mike Connell of The Springhaven Club was sixth with 39 points and Jerry Maxwell Jr. of Five Ponds Golf Club was seventh with 38 points.

   Sev Pancssian of the Golf Course at Glen Mills and James Nesbitt of Merion Golf Club shared eighth place, each piling up 37 points apiece.

   Manny Felzer of White Manor Country Club and Zoltan Varga of Springhaven finished in a tie for 10^th with 36 points apiece. Gary Crompton of Limekiln Golf Club, Gil Golding of Commonwealth National Golf Club and Edward Osciak Jr. of Loch Nairn Golf Club finished tied for 12^th with 35 points apiece.

   Karen Hilliard of Spring-Ford Country Club, playing in her second GAP event, put up 39 points to capture top honors in the women’s flight. The 52-year-old Douglassville resident has only been playing for four years and has been looking for more opportunities to play competitively. Taking home a trophy was an added bonus.

   Hilliard, who carries a 24 handicap, posted a gross 93, which translated to her winning Stableford total.

   Alison Kellock of Flourtown Country Club was the runnerup with 33 points and Charlotte Kocher of LedgeRock Golf Club took third with 17 points.