The 116th Philadelphia Open was originally scheduled to be played at Galloway National Golf Club in July, but, due to the coronavirus pandemic, ended up being played at Doylestown Country Club the first week of October.
The change in the venue and the date didn’t take one bit of the luster off one of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s premier events. You could argue that the top four finishers when the Philadelphia Open concluded Tuesday were the four players in this region who are playing the best golf of anybody at this moment.
Mike Little, the head pro at Lookaway Golf Club, had the final say and he made it count. Knowing he needed birdie to win and from a dodgy lie on the edge of a divot 225 yards away, Little drilled a 5-wood to 10 feet at Doylestown’s 517-yard, par-5 finishing hole. He lagged his eagle try to tap-in range to complete a 2-under-par 70 that gave him a 36-hole total of 6-under 138.
“This is a tournament I always wanted to win,” the 36-year-old Little told the GAP website. “I always highlighted this one on the schedule. A lot of great players have won this event. I do get some to work on my game with a great staff supporting me. All the hard wo work over the years has paid off today. I want to thank my swing coach Mark Sheftic and my putting coach Mike Dynda.
“I also want to thank my father (Bill). I was pretty athletic growing up. I was very good at baseball when I was young. I knew there was a sport out there for me. He’s the one that really taught me the game of golf. He took me out one Sunday afternoon and I really fell in love with it.”
Little had grabbed the lead at the end of Monday’s opening round by posting a 4-under 68 over the 6,572-yard, par-72 Doylestown layout. I don’t think he was surprised in the least to be challenged Tuesday by Alex Knoll, the 35-year-old instructor at Glen Brook Golf Club who captured the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship for the second year in a row last month at Bent Creek Country Club and the Country Club of York.
Little, who earned $2,000 for his Philadelphia Open victory, won twice on the Philadelphia Section PGA circuit in August and finished in a tie for fifth place in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship behind Knoll. Little and Knoll will represent the Philadelphia Section in next spring’s PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Knoll, who represented the Philadelphia Section PGA in the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco in August, contributed to the drama that played out on Doylestown’s final hole.
Knoll sent a 3-wood into the green from 231 yards away, his ball coming to rest in a collection area to the right of the green. His chip for eagle did a legitimate 360-degree tour of the cup and spun out. Caught the video GAP put out on Knoll’s chip and the ball was halfway down. Very cruel.
Knoll’s birdie at the final hole gave him a 4-under 68, one of best rounds of the day. Combined with his opening-round 71, it gave Knoll a 5-under 139 total and earned him runnerup honors, a shot behind Little.
Another 68 recorded Tuesday came from the region’s top mid-amateur golfer, 36-year-old Jeff Osberg, whose victory in last week’s GAP Middle-Amateur Championship at LedgeRock Golf Club enabled him to complete the career GAP grand slam.
Osberg, who plays out of Pine Valley Golf Club, got the fireworks show at the 18th hole started when he bombed a 3-wood from 261 yards away to eight feet and promptly drained the eagle putt. Osberg had matched par in the opening round with a 72 and his 68 left him in a tie for third place with fellow mid-am Andrew Mason, who represents Huntingdon Valley Country Club, at 4-under 140.
Between them, Osberg and Mason own four Philly Open titles. Osberg won the title for the first time in 2016 and was the defending champion this week at Doylestown following his second win a year ago at Huntingdon Valley. Mason won back-to-back Philadelphia Open crowns in 2011 and 2012.
Mason had the halfway lead last week in the GAP Middle-Amateur at LedgRock. He added a 3-under 69 to his opening-round 71 at Doylestown to share third place with Osberg at 4-under 140.
Another of the Philadelphia Section PGA’s top performers, Bidermann Golf Club instructor Zac Oakley, finished a shot behind Osberg and Mason in fifth place at 3-under 141. Oakley, who had opened with a 71, closed with a 2-under 70.
A colleague of Oakley’s in the Bidermann pro shop, Braden Shattuck, closed with a 3-under 69 after matching par in the opening round with a 72 to finish in a tie for sixth place with amateurs Connor McNicholas of The 1912 Club and Troy Vannucci of Little Mill Country Club at 2-under 142.
McNicholas carded a second straight 71 while Vannucci shaved two shots off an opening-round 72 with a 2-under 70.
The low round of the day was authored by Doylestown Country Club’s own Travis Deibert, who fired a 5-under 67 on his home course to finish among seven players tied for sixth place at 1-under 143. Deibert had opened with a 4-over 76.
Deibert’s Philadelphia Section PGA colleagues who joined him at 143 were Overbrook Golf Club assistant pro Trevor Bensel, the director of golf at the Country Club at Woodloch Springs John Pillar Sr., and Steve Swartz of West Shore Country Club.
Bensel and Swartz both added a 1-under 71 to an opening-round 72 while Pillar, the reigning two-time Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship winner, added a 2-under 70 to his opening-round 73.
LuLu Country Club’s Michael R. Brown Jr., who captured the Pennsylvania Amateur title this summer at Lookaway, headed a trio of amateurs in the group at 1-under. Brown added a 1-over 73 to his opening-round 70.
The other two amateurs at 143 were Whitemarsh Valley Country Club’s Will Davenport and Five Ponds Golf Club’s Jalen Griffin. Davenport fell back after an opening-round 69 with a 2-over 74. Griffin had opened with a 74, but came on strong with a 3-under 69.
By the way, Sheftic, the head of instruction at Merion Golf Club, isn’t a bad player when he isn’t busy helping guys like Little improve his swing. Sheftic fired a 1-under 71 in Monday’s opening round before struggling to a 77 in Tuesday’s final round, but his 4-over 148 total was still good enough to finish among the group tied for 27th place.
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