Braden Shattuck has always possessed a ton of golf talent.
He was a really good high school player at Sun Valley when
my vote counted a little more than anybody else’s and he was named the Delaware
County Daily Times Player of the Year following a standout senior season in
the fall of 2011.
Shattuck was only at Delaware for a year, but he was really
good there, too. When I next ran into him at the 2015 Pennsylvania Open at
Rolling Green Golf Club, he was a 21-year-old pro. It looked to me like was
playing some pretty good golf, but he understood his journey as a professional
golf was in its infancy.
I’m not certain where that journey is going to take
Shattuck. For now, he is helping out head pro Mike Moses in the Concord Country
Club pro shop. And guess what, he can still play.
The 24-year-old Shattuck proved that once again Monday as he
fired a sparkling 3-under-par 67 at the tough Huntingdon Valley Country Club layout
to earn his first victory in an Omega Player of the Year points event,
presented by Haverford Trust,, the William Hyndman III Memorial Classic.
Shattuck is capable of breathtaking runs on the golf course.
After making a bogey on the first hole of the par-70 William Flynn design,
Shattuck ripped off six birdies in a stretch of 12 holes from the fifth to the
16th to get it to 5-under for the round. He made a pair of bogeys on
the last two holes to finish at 3-under, but he was still two shots clear of a
talented field of Philadelphia Section pros.
“After that hiccup on the first hole, I got more
aggressive,” Shattuck told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “I was hitting
my driver really well off the tee and hitting greens. I feel like I left a lot
out there still, as I missed a lot of short putts.
“But other than that, I played extremely well on a difficult
track, so I am thankful. I wanted to thank all of our sponsors for this event,
as well as Huntingdon Valley for hosting us today.”
Jamie Gylan of the Royal Manchester Golf Links got a share
of second place as he battled through some early rain showers and carded a
solid 1-under 69 that was the best round recorded among the starters in the
morning wave.
Gylan was finally caught in the afternoon by the ageless Stu
Ingraham, the head of instruction at the M Golf Range & Learning Center in
Newtown Square. Ingraham’s 1-under 69 earned him a share of second with Gylan.
The 59-year-old Ingraham played in his 31st
national PGA of America event when he teed it up in the PGA Professional
Championship at Belfair in Bluffton, S.C. in April.
Four players matched par at 70 to finish in a tie for
fourth, including Ryan Shaughnessy of Bethlehem Golf Club, Peter Clarke of
Manufacturers Golf & Country Club, Mike Tobiason of Deerfield and Greg
Matthias of Tavistock Country Club.
Two of the early starters who had shared the clubhouse lead
for a while, Bill Walker of Riverton Country Club and Grant Gardiner of Merion
Golf Club, headed a group of six players who finished in a tie for eighth place
at 1-over 71.
Joining Walker and Gardiner at that figure were Mike Furey
of Blue Shamrock Golf Club, Overbrook Golf Club assistant pro Trevor Bensel,
Christopher Miller of the Scranton Golf Center and Parks Price of The Country
Club of York.
Ingraham’s 69 gave him top honors in the Senior division.
Bucknell Golf Club’s Brian Kelly was the runnerup to Ingraham among the seniors
with a 2-over 72. Kelly represented the Philadelphia Section in the KitchenAid Senior
PGA Championship at the venerable East Course at Oak Hill Country Club in
Pittsford, N.Y. over the Memorial Day weekend.
Deerwood Country Club head pro Greg Farrow topped the
Super-Senior division with a 5-over 75. Bill Sautter of Philadelphia Cricket
Club was a shot behind Farrow in second with a 76.
Shattuck also earned the top prize in the concurrent
Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization (PAO) event at Huntingdon Valley with his
67. The even-par 70s posted by Clark, Tobiason and Matthias gave each a share
of second place.
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