With Thompson never far from his thoughts, Mestre tastes major success in Warner Cup

   Oscar Mestre, the Overbrook Golf Club veteran, knew he had an unseen force pushing him toward a victory in the first major championship for the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s senior division, the Warner Cup (Gross), Thursday at Burlington Country Club in Burlington, N.J.

   Maybe Ray Thompson wasn’t there, but Mestre could feel the presence of his longtime Overbrook pal, his partner in the last two GAP Senior Four-Ball victories who died suddenly and too young at 67 last November.

   The 59-year-old Mestre fired a sparkling 3-under-par 67 over the 6,430-yard, par-70 Burlington layout to cruise to a three-shot victory, adding his name to a trophy that lists his buddy Thompson as the winner in 2007 and again in 2009.

   “It sounds corny to say, but I definitely thought about Ray a lot today,” Mestre told the GAP website after adding a second senior major to his resume. “When I got it to a couple under par I said, ‘Ray would be yelling at me to keep it going.’ I got it to 4-under (through 14).

   “I was trying to stay in the moment and not get too ahead of myself or too sentimental or too nervous, which are all difficult things to do. I hit the ball as well and as solid as I have in a really long time.”

   No, it doesn’t sound corny and yes, you did Ray proud.

   Mestre, whose first major success came in last year’s Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup (Gross), quickly got it to 2-under with a birdie at the second hole and another at the par-5 fourth, where he reached the green in two and two-putted.

   He went back-to-back with birdies at the 13^th and 14^th holes before finally giving a shot back at the 17^th hole, where he missed the green and couldn’t get it up and down.

   Paul Rogowicz of Yardley Country Club, making his GAP senior debut, was joined by Jeffrey Allen of Wild Quail Golf & Country Club and Randy Mitchell of Wilmington Country Club in a tie for second, all three matching par with a 70.

   William McGuiness of Tavistock Country Club finished alone in fifth with a 1-over 71. Michael Anderson, out of the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s deep stable of talent, and Robert Gill of Fox Hill Country Club shared sixth place, each carding a 2-over 72.

   A three-way tie for eighth featured a trio of consistent contenders on the GAP senior circuit as Brian Rothaus of Philmont Country Club, Glenn Smeraglio of LuLu Country Club and Steven Walczak of Wilmington Country Club each posted a 3-over 73.

   No surprise to see White Manor Country Club’s ageless Don Donatoni atop the Super-Senior leaderboard as the 71-year-old easily bettered his age and the rest of the field with a 3-under 67 of his own to claim his third Warner Cup crown.

   Just six weeks removed from hernia surgery, GAP’s reigning six-time Super-Senior Player of the Year struggled a little out of the gate with bogeys at the first two holes.

   But a birdie at the sixth hole began a string of five birdies in seven holes that got him to 2-under for the round. He spun his approach to the 18^th green back to within an inch of the cup for a tap-in birdie in front of an appreciative crowd of onlookers.

   It gave Donatoni a four-shot margin of victory over runnerup Gary Daniels of Applebrook Golf Club, who posted a solid 1-over 71.

   One of Donatoni’s chief rivals on the super-senior circuit, Robin McCool of Saucon Valley Country Club headed a group of four players tied for third at 3-over 73. McCool was joined at 3-over by clubmate Joe Cordaro, Tom Barsello of Hartefeld National and Frank Polizzi of Whitemarsh Valley Country Club.