The Bidermann Golf Club pro shop, where Zac Oakley and Braden Shattuck book appointments for lessons, continues to account for top finishes on the Philadelphia Section PGA circuit.
Friday it was Oakley claiming a victory in the Doylestown Open, prevailing in a playoff with veteran Rich Steinmetz, the head pro at Spring Ford Country Club, and Brian Bergstol, the talented instructor at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, after all three registered a 4-under-par 68 at Doylestown Country Club.
Shattuck, who finished a shot out of the playoff at Doylestown, finishing alone in fourth place with a 3-under 69, had won the previous Philadelphia Section Rolex Player of the Year Points event, the two-day GALV Lehigh Valley Open, which wrapped up July 20th at Northampton Country Club in Easton. Shattuck also won in a playoff, beating Sunnybrook Golf Club’s talented assistant pro Brett Walker and amateur Zach Juhasz, the reigning two-time club champion at Northampton, after all three landed on 9-under 135.
At Doylestown, Oakley surged into contention with a pair of eagles, one at the par-5 14th hole and another with a 2 at the par-4 16th.
Steinmetz had six birdies to offset two bogeys, making birdies at the 16th and 18th holes. Bergstol looked like a winner when he rattled off fourth straight birdies at the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth holes to get it to 4-under for his round. He stumbled with a double bogey at the 15th hole, but got it back to 4-under with birdies at 16 and 18.
Oakley won on the first hole of the playoff with a two-putt birdie after reaching the putting surface in two at Doylestown’s risk-reward par-5 18th hole.
The Overbrook Golf Club pro shop was well-represented as Ashley Grier, the Section’s top female player, and fellow assistant pro Trevor Bensel, finished in a tie for fifth place, each signing for a 2-under 70.
Earlier in the week, Grier finished in fifth place in the LPGA Professionals National Championship, presented by Voice Caddie, at the Kingsmill Resort’s River Course in Williamsburg, Va. That high finish earned Grier a ticket to next year’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, an LPGA Tour major championship, at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.
It will be the fourth trip to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for Grier, the 2020 Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year. Grier missed the cut in this year’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June at the Atlanta Athletic Club, bouncing back from an opening-round 87 with a solid 72.
Sunnybrook’s Walker, who represented the Philadelphia Section in the PGA Championship at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island on the South Carolina coast in May, headed a group of six players tied for seventh place at even-par 72, two shots behind Grier and Bensel.
Walker earned his trip to Kiawah Island by finishing in a tie for eighth place in the PGA Professional Championship, held in April at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Oakley and Bensel survived two cuts and played four rounds in the PGA Professional Championship, although neither finished among the top 20 who qualify for the PGA Championship.
Joining Walker in the tie for seventh place at Doylestown were Billy Stewart, an instructor at Union League Liberty Hill who was coming off a tie for third place in the Philadelphia Open at the Country Club of York, ageless Radnor Valley Country Club head pro George Forster, Alex Knoll, an instructor at Glen Brook Golf Club and the reigning two-time winner of the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship, John Allen of The 1912 Club and Terry Hatch of Royal Oaks Golf Course.
Forster, Allen and Hatch shared top honors in the Senior division. Forster also topped the Super Senior scoring with Deerwood Country Club head pro Greg Farrow finishing second with a 3-over 75. The Philadelphia Section release on the Doylestown Open gave the Super Senior victory to Spring Ford’s Don DeAngelis, who carded a 4-over 76. I suspect there’s some displacement in the overlapping Senior and Super Senior divisions.
The concurrent Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization (PAO) event also was decided in the playoff with Oakley getting the nod over Bergstol. Shattuck took third place, Grier and Bensel were tied for fourth and Knoll and Walker were tied for sixth.
Ryan Rigby of the host course won the Amateur division with a 77, a shot better than Rolling Green Golf Club’s Gerald Haftmann and Blue Bell Country Club’s Buddy Hansen, a former La Salle High standout who is senior on head coach Brian Quinn’s Temple roster.
The Doylestown Open was supported by Doylestown Country Club, Jani-King and Ohana Farm LLC.
In the Lehigh Valley Open, Shattuck, who starred scholastically at Sun Valley, ripped off five birdies on Northampton’s back nine in the second round in a closing 5-under 31 that enabled him to fire a sparkling 6-under 66 and join Walker and Juhasz at 9-under 135.
Juhasz, who starred scholastically at Bethlehem’s Freedom High, had grabbed the lead following a scintillating 6-under 66 of his own in the opening round. Juhasz had seven birdies to offset a lone bogey on his home course to take a one-shot lead over Knoll and the rest of the Philadelphia Section pros.
Got a chance to watch Juhasz play a little in the final round of the Pennsylvania Amateur at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course last week. He was in contention through two rounds before fading into a tie for 20th place with a final-round 79, but it was a pretty solid showing.
Juhasz hardly played badly in the second round, closing with a 3-under 69, he just got caught by two of the more talented players in the Philadelphia Section.
Walker had opened with an efficient four-birdie, no-bogey 4-under 68 and overcame a couple of bogeys in the final round with seven birdies in a 5-under 67 that landed him in the playoff with a 9-under 135 total.
The playoff was contested on Northampton’s drivable, 315-yard, par-4 18th hole and Shattuck and Walker each made birdie while Juhasz fell out of contention with a par.
Heading back to the 18th tee for the second hole of the playoff, Shattuck and Walker both drove it on the green. Shattuck’s eagle try just missed and his tap-in birdie gave him the GALV title after Walker missed a four-footer for birdie that would have extended the playoff.
“I liked the course a lot,” Shattuck told the Philadelphia Section website, concerning the Northampton layout. “I loved the greens, which reminded me of Concord Country Club’s greens where I grew up playing. I love a golf course like this that provides a variety of shot options.
“This week, I didn’t hit my driver very well, but hit a lot of irons, even on the par-5s, and still made birdies.”
Shattuck and Oakley had shared the title earlier with Bergstol when the Conestoga Classic at Conestoga Valley Country Club was shortened by an afternoon thunderstorm June 14th. Shattuck also owns a win in the Burlington Classic at Burlington Country Club and Oakley finished in a tie for second right behind his colleague in the Bidermann pro shop in that one June 7th.
Knoll was alone in fourth place, two shots behind the trio involved in the playoff at Northampton as he added a 70 to his opening-round 67 for a 7-under 137 total.
John Pillar, the director of golf at the Country Club at Woodloch Springs, and Mike Furey of Saucon Valley Country Club shared fifth place, each landing on 6-under 138. Pillar, the reigning two-time winner of the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship, added a 70 to his opening round of 4-under 68. Furey opened with a 71, but came on strong with a 5-under 67 in the second round.
Oakley also finished strong, posting a 6-under 66 in the second round after opening with a 73 as he shared seventh place with another amateur, Tucker Sandercock of Bethlehem at 5-under 139. Sandercock added a 70 to his opening-round 69.
Spring Ford’s Steinmetz and Overbrook’s Grier headed a group of four players tied for ninth place at 4-under 140. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Steinmetz registered a 4-under 68. Grier added a 3-under 69 to her opening-round 71.
Rounding out the quartet at 140 were Mark Sheftic, the head of instruction at Lookaway Golf Club, and a third amateur, John Dichter of Allentown. Sheftic and Dichter each carded a pair of 2-under 70s.
Pillar’s 6-under 138 total gave him top honors in the Senior division.
Eddie Perrino of Eagle Rock Resort and Dave McNabb, the head pro at Applebrook Golf Club, finished in a tie for second place, each ending up at 3-under 141. Perrino added a 3-under 69 to his opening-round 72 while McNabb opened with a 4-under 68 before backing off in the second round with a 73.
Concord head pro Mike Moses was another four shots behind Perrino and McNabb in fourth place among the seniors as he added a 1-under 71 to his opening-round 74 to finish with a 1-over 145 total.
Brian Kelly of Bucknell Golf Club finished atop the Super Senior division with a 2-over 146 total as matched par in the final round with a 72 after opening with a 74. Rick Fleisher of Lehigh Country Club was the runnerup, a shot behind Kelly at 3-over 147. Fleisher matched par in the opening round with a 72 before closing with a 75.
While Juhasz lost in the playoff for the overall title, he was an easy winner of the Amateur division, finishing four shots clear of Sandercock, the runnerup.
The GALV Lehigh Valley Open was supported by the Golf Association of Lehigh Valley, Jani-King and the PGA Tour.
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