Oakley gets it going at Radley Run to capture Delaware Valley Open title

   It’s been a pretty solid season for Bidermann Golf Club teaching pro Zac Oakley, highlighted by a low-pro showing in the Philadelphia Open at Huntingdon Valley Country Club, where he was the runnerup to the region’s top amateur player, Jeff Osberg.

   Oakley, son of Pete Oakley, a Philadelphia Section PGA legend and 2004 winner of the Senior Open Championship, got it going again the Delaware Valley Open, originally scheduled to be played in May, but finally played four months later, Monday at Radley Run Country Club outside of West Chester.

   Zac Oakley fired a 4-under-par 68 to edge Brett Melton, playing on his home course at Radley Run, by a shot to capture the Delaware Valley Open title.

   Oakley made a bogey at the second hole, but made very few mistakes after that. He made birdies at the sixth, ninth, 12^th, 16^th and 18^th holes to get it to 4-under. The birdie at the last turned out to be the difference in the victory.

   “I started the day slow, but by mid-round I was able to get used to the green speeds,” Oakley told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “I felt like I struck the ball decent the whole round, but I was able to make a lot of my putts on the back nine, which helped.

   “I finished my round with a birdie on 18, which, it turned out I needed. The course was in great shape and it is always fun playing with my college teammate (at Wesley College) Will Scarborough (of Peninsula Golf & Country Club).”

   Melton, with host duties to take care of, went off in the first group of the day and set the bar pretty high with a 3-under 69 that included three birdies and an eagle 2 at the par-4 15^th hole. Two bogeys left him just a shot behind Oakley in second place.

   Four players, including two of the Philadelphia Section’s talented senior players, David Quinn of Laurel Creek Country Club, and Stu Ingraham, an instructor at the M Golf Range in Newtown Square, shared third place at 2-under 70, a shot behind Melton.

   Joining Quinn and Ingraham at 2-under were Waynesborough Country Club’s Jeff Herb and Sunnybrook Golf Club’s Andrew Turner.

   Alex Knoll, an assistant pro at Glen Brook Golf Club who was coming off a big win in last week’s Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at the Union League Golf Club at Torresdale and Riverton Country Club, headed a group of five players tied for seventh place at 1-under 71.

   Also coming at 1-under were Mark Sheftic, the head of instruction at Merion Golf Club, Lookaway Golf Club assistant pro Mike Little, Joe Kogelman of GolfTEC Moorestown and Ross Brown of Fox Hill Country Club.

   Sharing top honors in the Senior division were Laurel Creek’s Quinn and Ingraham of the M Golf Range. Quinn will be one of the Philadelphia Section’s representatives in the 31^st Senior PGA Professional Championship, presented by Cadillac and supported by The Golf Channel and John Deere, which tees off next Thursday at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas.

   The Delaware Valley Open was also a stop for the Player’s Assistant Organization (PAO) and Oakley also bested the field of assistant pros with his 68.

   Waynesborough’s Herb was the runnerup with his 70 and Glen Brook’s Knoll and Lookaway’s Little shared third place with their 1-under 71s.