Overbrook Golf Club assistant pro Trevor Bensel birdied the 18th hole at Lookaway Golf Club Monday to complete a 5-under-par 67 and capture the Philadelphia Players Championship by a shot over five other players.
It was the first individual victory of the 2021 season for Bensel on the Philadelphia Section PGA circuit, but he’s been playing well all season long. He finished a shot behind the three players who shared the title in the rain-shortened Conestoga Classic, teamed with Brian Bergstol, the talented assistant pro at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, to win the Spring Pro-Pro and teamed with James Furness to capture the Pro-Scratch Championship.
Bensel will represent the Philadelphia Section in next spring’s PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. after finishing in eighth place in the 100th Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship earlier this month at Applebrook Golf Club and Aronimink Golf Club.
Got a chance to watch Bensel play most of his final round in last month’s Pennsylvania Golf Association Open Championship at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course, where he finished in a tie for third place.
Bensel started slowly at Lookaway as he birdied the third hole and then made a bogey at seven, the only blemish on his scorecard, to fall back to even-par for the round. But he rattled off birdies at the eighth, ninth, 11th and 13th holes to get it to 4-under. Bemsel’s birdie at the last separated him from the large group that was forced to settle for a tie for second place.
“I hit the ball great all day,” Bensel told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “I was fortunate to have a couple of tap-in birdies. My putter has been pretty cold all year, so it was nice to get a few to drop today.”
One of those five players tied for second place was Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club who has been a constant presence at or near the top of Philadelphia Section leaderboards all season.
Oakley will join Bensel as part of the Philadelphia Section contingent teeing it up in the PGA Professional Championship after his runnerup finish in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at Applebrook and Aronimink. Oakley will also represent the Philadelphia Section in the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship in November, also being held at the PGA Golf Club, after he finished in a tie for third place in the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship at Cedarbrook Country Club last month.
Mark Sheftic, an instructor at Lookaway, also landed in the group tied for second place at 4-under. Also in the group was Bensel’s boss in the Overbrook pro shop, head pro Eric Kennedy. Rounding out the group tied for second place were Brian Kelly of Bucknell Golf Club and Berkshire Country Club assistant pro Andrew Turner. Kelly was coming off a tie for second place in last week’s Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship at Huntsville Golf Club.
Spring Ford Country Club head pro Rich Steinmetz, Matt Episcopo of Pine Valley Golf Club and Rusty Harbold, out of the Philadelphia Cricket Club pro shop, finished in a tie for seventh place, each registering a 3-under 69.
Brett Walker, an assistant pro at Sunnybrook Golf Club, headed a group of five players who rounded out the top 10 as they finished in a tie for 10th place, each posting a 2-under 70. Walker was coming off a victory in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at Applebrook and Aronimink, which also earned him a berth in next spring’s PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club.
Like Oakley, Walker will also be in the field at PGA Golf Club for the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship in November after Walker captured the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship last month at Cedarbrook.
Joining Walker at 2-under were Braden Shattuck, Oakley’s fellow instructor in the Bidermann pro shop, Dave Quinn, another of the Section’s standout seniors who plays out of Laurel Creek Country Club, Michael Rushin of Bear Trap Dunes and Mike Tobiason of Deerfield Golf Club.
Kelly’s 4-under 68 gave him a two-shot edge on Quinn for the top spot in the Senior division. Applebrook head pro Dave McNabb, coming off a victory in last week’s Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship, and Eddie Perrino of the Eagle Rock Resort, shared third place among the seniors, each signing for a 1-under 71.
Eric Williams of Glenmaura National Golf Club won low-amateur honors for the second year in a row with a 3-over 75.
The Philadelphia Players Championship, a Rolex PGA Player of the Year points event, was the brainchild of Lookaway head pro Mike Little and Lookaway member Scott Hutchinson, the event’s main sponsor who, along with Karen Hutchinson, are two of the Philadelphia Section’s biggest supporters throughout the year.
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