Mark Anderson, playing out of the St. Davids Golf Club pro shop, earned his first career Philadelphia Section PGA Rolex Player of the Year points event in dramatic fashion last Monday when he made an eagle in the first hole of a playoff at Concord Country Club to win the Delaware Valley Open.
Anderson had finished in a tie atop the leaderboard with Overbrook Golf Club assistant pro Trevor Bensel and Charles Krueger, out of the Kings Creek Country Club pro shop, each posting a 3-under-par 67.
With a late-day shower bearing down on Concord Township in Delaware County, the trio headed for the tee at Concord’s risk-reward, 520-yard, par-5 18th hole. Anderson, faced with 230 yards into the green for his second shot, drilled a 5-wood to three feet and holed the eagle putt to put a quick end to the playoff.
Anderson got to share the Delaware Valley Open victory with his son Ryan, who was caddying for his father.
Bensel was coming off a solid showing in the PGA Professional Championship a week earlier at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Bensel survived two cuts and played all four rounds at the PGA Golf Club, finishing in a tie for 55th place.
Andrew Turner, who, it appears, has moved to the Berkshire Country Club pro shop, finished alone in fourth place with a 2-under 68. Turner also represented the Philadelphia Section at the PGA Professional Championship, missing the 36-hole cut by four shots.
Hugo Mazzalupi, playing out of the Patriots Glen National Golf Club, was one of the other three Philadelphia Section pros besides Bensel, to play four rounds at the PGA Professional Championship as he finished in a tie for 71st place. Mazzalupi headed a group of eight players tied for fifth place in the Delaware Valley Open as he carded a 1-under 69. The group included five of the Section’s senior pros, Mazzalupi being one of them.
One of those senior pros was the reigning Robert “Skee” Riegel Senior Player of the Year Dave McNabb, the head pro at Applebrook Golf Club. The other senior pros in the group at 1-under included Brian Kelly of Bucknell Golf Club, Dave Quinn of Laurel Creek Country Club and Brendon Post, the associate head coach and director of player development for the University of Delaware’s men’s and women’s programs.
McNabb and Quinn will represent the Philadelphia Section PGA later this month in the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, a PGA Tour Champions major which will be held at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
Billy Stewart, an instructor at Union League Liberty Hill – the new name for The ACE Club, which was recently added to the ever-increasing stable of courses owned by the Union League in the region – was also in the group tied for fifth place. Stewart’s been a little quiet since winning the Philadelphia Section’s Player of the Year honors in 2018. Nice to see him post a solid round.
Rounding out the gang of eight at 1-under were Casey O’Reilly of Sandy Run Country Club and Nicholas Gorman of Llanerch Country Club.
Anderson’s 67 also earned him top honors in the Senior Division with McNabb, Quinn, Mazzalupi, Kelly and Post two shots behind Anderson in a tie for second place with their rounds of 1-under 69.
John Allen of Huntingdon Valley Country Club and Bill Walker of Riverton Country Club finished in a tie for seventh place among the older guys as they each matched par with a 70.
Kelly’s 69 earned him top honors in the Super Senior Division for the 60-and-older set. Bill Sautter, out of the Philadelphia Cricket Club pro shop, was the runnerup with a 1-over 71.
Greg Farrow, the long-time head pro at Deerwood Country Club, and Don DeAngelis, playing out of the Spring Ford Country Club pro shop, finished in a tie for third place, each signing for a 2-over 72.
The Delaware Valley Open was a concurrent event for the Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization (PAO) and Bensel’s 3-under 67 left him alone atop the leaderboard among the assistant pros.
Turner finished a shot behind Bensel in second place with his 68 and Noah Firestone of Galloway National Golf Club took third place as he matched par with a 70.
The Delaware Valley Open was supported by Jack Jolly & Son, Ohana Farm, LLC, Mizuno, Jani-King, Kevin McClellan Golf Sales and Rolex.
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