Fieger dominates with five-shot victory in GAP Senior Amateur at Little Mill

   When the disappointment of losing his opening-round match in last month’s U.S. Senior Amateur Championship in 21 holes at Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C. wore off, Chris Fieger Sr. had to be thinking, hey, I can play with these guys.

   The 56-year-old from Denver, Lancaster County, making his USGA debut, had finished in a tie for ninth in qualifying for match play and sent his match with Victor Minovich of Thornton, Colo. to extra holes by making a par on the 18^th hole at Old Chatham.

   The confidence boost he undoubtedly received from that showing seemed to carry over this week as Fieger, a Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association entry, rolled to a five-shot victory in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 49^th Senior Amateur Championship, which wrapped up Wednesday at Little Mill Country Club in Marlton, N.J.

   Fieger is a Delco native who starred scholastically in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District. He played around the time Nether Providence joined with Swarthmore to form Strath Haven in the mid-1980s. He went on to play college golf at Temple.

   His older brother Gene dominated the Philadelphia Section PGA as an assistant pro at Overbrook Golf Club in the 1990s and has been one of the top senior club pros in the country, including a victory in the 2013 Senior PGA Professional Championship. Gene Fieger is an instructor at Club Pelican Bay in Naples, Fla.

   Chris Fieger put his first GAP senior major championship victory away when he surged to a five-shot lead after firing a 3-under-par 68 in Tuesday’s opening round that was easily the best round of the tournament over a 6,670-yard, par-71 Little Mill layout that played really tough.

   It was a very efficient round for Fieger, who followed up a birdie at the second hole with an eagle at the seventh hole and another birdie at the 11^th hole before making his only bogey of the round at the 15^th hole.

   Taking a five-shot lead into Wednesday’s second round, Fieger continued his efficient play, making 11 pars, a birdie and a bogey in the first 13 holes, stretching his lead, at times, to as many as seven shots. Despite three bogeys down the stretch, Fieger’s grip on the Allan Sussel Trophy was never threatened.

   Fieger ended up with a 3-over 74 that gave him a 36-hole total of even-par 142.

   “I remained aggressive for most of the day,” Fieger told the GAP website. “I was trying not to get caught up with what everyone else was doing.  I just wanted to keep hitting good solid golf shots.”

   Fieger, who put competitive golf on the back burner while working and raising a family (I met his wife and son Chris Jr., who was representing Cocalico, at the East Regional Championship at Golden Oaks Golf Club), had missed a par putt that would have put him in a playoff in last year’s GAP Senior Amateur at Riverton Country Club.

   Clearly Fieger’s game has taken a big step forward in the ensuing year as he dominated as competitive a group of seniors as can be found in any golf association in the country.

   Thomas Hyland’s local knowledge at his home course at Little Mill helped him earn runnerup honors as he added a 2-over 73 to his opening-round 74 for a 5-over 147 total.

   Jeffrey Allen of Wild Quail Golf & Country Club was another three shots behind Hyland in third place at 8-over 150. Allen was Fieger’s closest pursuer after the opening round as he posted a 2-over 73. Allen finished up with a 77 in Wednesday’s final round.

   Joseph Coulson of Wedgewood Golf Course had a pair of 76s and finished two shots behind Allen in fourth place at 10-over 152.

   A couple more Little Mill guys, Mark Kosko and Joe Roeder, shared fifth place at 153, each with identical 80-73 splits. The 73s posted by Kosko and Roeder in the second round matched the low round of the day that was also registered by Little Mill clubmate Hyland.

   Five players, led by Overbrook Golf Club’s Oscar Mestre, finished in a tie for seventh at 154. The 59-year-old Mestre had a pair of 77s and capped an outstanding 2019 campaign by holding on to claim his first GAP Senior Silver Cross Award.

   Mestre opened his 2019 season by winning the Warner Cup with a 67 at Burlington Country Club and then earning runnerup honors in the Chapman Cup with a 71 at Moselem Springs Golf Club. His pair of 77s at Little Mill gave him a 292 total. A hard-charging Allen finished just a shot behind Mestre with a 293 total.

   Mestre was also the medalist in a GAP-administered U.S. Senior Amateur qualifier at LuLu Country Club that earned him a trip to Old Chatham.

   Joining Mestre in the tie for seventh at 154 were Doug Fedoryshyn of Concord Country Club, Doug Jones, another Little Mill entry, LuLu’s Glenn Smeraglio and Wilmington Country Club’s Steve Walczak.

   Fedoryshyn shaved four shots off an opening-round 79 with a final-round 75, Jones and Smeraglio both added a 79 to an opening-round 75 and Walczak posted a pair of 77s.

   Byron Whitman of Berkshire Country Club finished alone in 12^th place at 155 after bouncing back from an opening-round 81 with a 3-over 74. Whitman struck some major gold earlier this summer with a victory in the Chapman Cup at Moselem Springs.

   The Super-Senior division title went to LuLu’s Thomas Bartolacci Jr., who defeated Lancaster Country Club’s Daniel Burton on the second hole of a playoff

   The 68-year-old Bartolacci, a Washington Crossing resident, held a one-shot lead over Burton in regulation after making a birdie at the par-5 16^th hole, but gave that shot right back with a bogey at the par-3 17^th hole.

   He finished with a second straight 76 over a Little Mill course that played to 6,224 yards for the super seniors for a 10-over 152 total.

   Burton, a 70-year-old Lititz resident, went 2-under in the last four holes to join Bartolacci at 152. Burton’s fast finish enabled him to match the best score of the day in the second round, a 4-over 75, after he had opened with a 77.

   Burton made a tough up-and-down from a greenside bunker to save par and send the playoff to the second hole, but a poor drive left him in a difficult spot that took him two shots to escape. He ultimately conceded a 25-foot birdie putt and the title to Bartolacci.

   It was the first Super-Senior victory for Bartolacci, who won Senior division titles in 2008 at The Springhaven Club and in 2013 at Huntingdon Valley Country Club.

   Robin McCool of Saucon Valley Country Club, a perennial contender in the Super-Senior division, finished a shot out of the playoff in third place at 153. He added a 76 to his opening-round 77.

   James Muller of Manufacturers Golf & Country Club took fourth place at 155 after adding a 77 to his opening-round 78 and John Gonsior of Limekiln Golf Club finished fifth at 156 after sharing the opening-round lead with Bartolacci with a 76 and backing off with a final-round 80.

   Three players finished tied for sixth at 157, led by six-time reigning GAP Super-Senior Player of the Year Don Donatoni of White Manor Country Club. Donatoni added a 78 in the second round to his opening-round 79.

   It was still more than good enough to earn the 71-year-old Donatoni the Super-Senior Silver Cross Award. He got off to hot start in 2019 by winning the Super-Senior division in the Warner Cup with a 67 at Burlington and in the Chapman Cup with a 72 at Moselem Springs.

   His two rounds at Little Mill gave him an 18-over 296 total, four shots better than McCool, the runnerup.

   Joining Donatoni at 157 were Elliot Sheftel of Lehigh Country Club and Richard Umani of Honeybrook Golf Club, both of whom had identical 78-79 splits.

   Tom DiCinti of Mercer Oaks Golf Course and two more Little Mill representatives, Raymond Pawulich and Howard Press all landed on 158 to share ninth place.

   DiCinti improved by four shots off his opening-round 81 with a 77 in the second round, Pawulich added a 78 to his opening-round 80 and Press, after opening up with a 78, posted a final-round 80.