Pillar heats up on his way to a second straight title in Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship

 

   Playing catch-up after a busy month of June on the Philadelphia Section PGA circuit …

   John Pillar, the director of golf at the Country Club at Woodloch Springs, has been one of the dominant players among a talented group of senior golfers in the Philadelphia Section.

   The Section’s reigning Robert “Skee” Riegel Senior Player of the Year, Pillar captured the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship for the second straight time and the fourth time since he turned 50 in brutally hot weather last week at Spring Ford Country Club.

   Pillar set the pace with a 4-under-par 68 Tuesday, the hottest day in the Philadelphia region in more than a decade.

   Pillar opened with the only blemish on his scorecard, a bogey at the first hole. But then he got it going with birdies at the fourth, ninth, 11^th, 12^th and 18^th holes to take a two-shot lead over Bent Creek Country Club’s Terry Hertzog going into Wednesday’s final round.

   It was nearly as hot for Wednesday’s second round, but it didn’t seem to bother Pillar. He made a couple of bogeys at the first and seventh holes and a third bogey at 11 after making a birdie at 10.

   Pillar pulled away as he made four birdies in his final seven holes, one at the 12^th hole and then three straight at 16, 17 and 18 to close out his round. It added up to a 2-under 70 that gave him a 6-under 138 total.

   Brian Kelly, who retired after many years at the Bucknell Golf Club and now represents Titleist Fitwear, finished four shots behind Pillar in second place with a 2-under 142 total.

   “I’m proud of the fact that I finished strong,” Pillar told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “It’s very emotional to win this championship again. It’s my fourth victory in seven years. I don’t take it lightly because the (Philadelphia PGA) Section has a lot of great players.”

   Pillar heads a group of seven players who will represent the Philadelphia Section in the Senior PGA Professional Championship, which tees of Oct. 23 at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   The top 35 finishers at the PGA Golf Club will form the Colebridge Financial Team that will represent senior club pros in next spring’s Senior PGA Championship at The Concession Country Club in Bradenton, Fla. It is the beginning of a three-year run at the highly-regarded Concession layout for the Senior PGA Championship.

   For the first time in recent memory the Senior PGA Championship, a major on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, will not be played on Memorial Day weekend. Next spring’s Senior PGA Championship will tee off April 16 at Concession.

   For the first time in recent memory, none of the Philadelphia Section pros advanced out of last fall’s Senior PGA Professional Championship at the Sunriver Resort in Oregon to this year’s Senior PGA Championship last month at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

   Kelly matched par in the opening round at Spring Ford with a 72 and added a 2-under 70 in the second round to finish at 2-under and earn runnerup honors.

   Stephen Swartz of Carlisle Country Club and Applebrook Golf Club head pro Dave McNabb were another shot behind Kelly in a tie for third place, each landing on 1-under 143.

   Swartz bounced back from an opening round of 2-over 74 with the best round of the day Wednesday, a 3-under 69. McNabb matched par in Wednesday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 1-under 71.

   After opening with a 2-under 70, Hertzog slipped back with a 2-over 74 that left him in a tie for fifth place at even-par 144 with the host club’s head pro, Rich Steinmetz, and Frank Bensel, who has been one of the country’s top club pros for years out of the Metropolitan Section and who has taken up residence in the Philadelphia Section as the director of instruction at Galloway National Golf Club.

   Steinmetz matched par in both rounds with a pair of 72s. After opening with a 2-over 74, Bensel added a 2-under 70 in the second round.

   Hertzog, Steinmetz and Bensel grabbed the last three berths out of the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship to the PGA Senior Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club in October.

   Mark Sheftic, the head of instruction at Sunnybrook Golf Club, added a 1-under 71 in the second round to his opening round of 2-over 74 to finish alone in eighth place with a 1-over 145 total. Sheftic is the first alternate to the Senior PGA Profession Championship.

   The trio of Green Valley Country Club head pro John Cooper, Hugo Mazzalupi of the Radnor Golf Foundation and Brendon Post, the head coach of the men’s program at Delaware, were the second, third and fourth alternates, respectively, as they finished in a tie for ninth place at 2-over 146.

   Cooper matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a 2-over 74. Mazzalupi added a 2-under 70 in the second round to his opening round of 5-over 76. Post matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 2-over 74 in the second round.

   Kevin Edwards of Olde Homestead Golf Club was the fifth alternate after he finished in a tie for 12^th place with Dave Quinn of Laurel Creek Country Club and Chris Krueger of Kings Creek Country Club, each landing on 3-over 147.

   Edwards added a 2-over 74 in the second round to his opening round of 1-over 73. Quinn matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a 3-over 75. Krueger opened with a 1-under 71 before adding a 4-over 76 in the second round.

   Bill Sautter of Philadelphia Cricket Club posted a pair of 2-over 74s to finish at the top of the leaderboard in the Super Senior division with a 4-over 148 total.

   Henry Williams of Glen Oak Country Club finished a shot behind Sautter to end up in second place among the Super Seniors as he added a 3-over 75 in the second round to his opening round of 2-over 74 for a 5-over 149 total.

   The Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship was supported by The Golf Channel, Ohana Farm LLC and the PGA Tour.

   Riley Wheeldon, an assistant pro in the Aronimink Golf Club pro shop, captured the title in The Hutch, which was shortened by storms June 18^th at Berkshire Country Club in Reading.

   Wheeldon was 5-under through 12 holes when play was halted and captured the title in The Hutch, which brings together a 33-player field and is hosted by Scott and Karen Hutchinson, major supporters of the Philadelphia Section and PGA of America REACH Foundation, the Section’s charitable arm.

   The Hutchinsons also sponsor the Philadelphia Players Championship on the Philadelphia Section PGA calendar at Lookaway Golf Club.

   Wheeldon started off the eighth tee and immediately made a birdie on that hole. He made three straight birdies at the 11^th, 12^th and 13^th holes and added another at 18 as a storm forced play to be halted after 12 holes.

   Laurel Creek’s Quinn, one of the Section’s talented senior players, was the runnerup as he was 3-under when play was stopped for the day. Mike Caldwell of DuPont Country Club, was another shot behind Quinn in third place at 2-under.

   Wheeldon also teamed with amateur partner Jack Crowley to capture top honors in the pro-am competition with a 6-under total. Crowley wrapped up a solid scholastic career at Episcopal Academy in the fall of 2023.

   The Hutch was also supported by Holderness & Bourne.

   Two days earlier, Brett Walker, playing out of the pro shop at Chester Valley Golf Club, went low with a 7-under 63 at Conestoga Country Club to capture the title in the Conestoga Classic June 16^th.

   Walker returned to the Philadelphia Section last summer and promptly captured one of the Section’s biggest jewels when he won the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at Rolling Green Golf Club, the second time he has claimed that prestigious title.

   Walker opened his round at Conestoga with an eagle at the par-5 first hole and was off to the races. He added birdies at the third, 10^th and 12^th holes before the lone blemish on his scorecard, a bogey at 13. Walker bounced back with birdies at the 14^th, 15^th and 17^th holes to complete his sizzling round.

   The talented trio of Braden Shattuck, the head of instruction at Rolling Green who is the three-time reigning Rolex/Haverford Trust Philadelphia Section Player of the Year, Anthony Sebastianelli, Shatuck’s colleague in the Rolling Green pro shop, and Kyle Early of Waynesborough Country Club finished in a tie for second place, each signing for a 5-under 65 that left them two shots behind Walker.

   The Conestoga Classic was a Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Philadelphia PGA Player of the Year points event.

   Brian Bergstol, the head of instruction at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, headed a group of five players who finished in a tie for fifth place at 4-under 66.

   Bergstol represented the Philadelphia Section in the PGA Championship at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. as part of the Colebridge Financial Team. Bergstol earned his spot on the Colebridge Financial Team with a solid tie for third place in the PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. in April.

   Joining Bergstol at 4-under were the veteran Quinn of Laurel Creek, Alex Knoll, an instructor at Glen Brook Golf Club, Zach Barbin, an assistant pro at Chesapeake Bay Golf Club, and Michael Rushin of Bear Trap Dunes.

   Early and Sebastianelli shared the top spot in the concurrent Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization (PAO) event with their 5-under 65s.

   Bergstol, Knoll and Barbin finished in a tie for third place in the PAO field with their 4-under 66s.

   Quinn topped the field in the Senior division with his 4-under 66.

   Pillar and Sheftic finished a shot behind Quinn in the Senior division in a tie for second place as each tallied ia 3-under 67.

   Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Sautter finished at the top of the Super Senior leaderboard with an even-par 70. Wayne Phillips of Lehigh Country Club was the runnerup, a shot behind Sautter with a 1-over 71.

   The Philadelphia Section’s Central Counties Chapter also held a concurrent event at Conestoga with Bergstol and Knoll sharing first place with their 4-under 66s.

   Honeybrook Golf Club’s Jennifer Cully and Green Valley Country Club’s Brittany Weddell finished in a tie for first place in the Women’s division as each registered a 9-over 79.

   The Conestoga Classic was supported by Cobra Puma Golf, Ohana Farm LLC and the PGA Tour.

   Tavistock Country Club head pro Mike Meisenzahl and Michael Strain of Concord Country Club shared the top spot in the Philadelphia Section’s Connelly Cup Head Pro Championship June 9^th as each tallied a 2-under 70 at Medford Village Country Club.

   The event is named for long-time Huntingdon Valley Country Club head pro Jack Connelly, who is a past president of the Philadelphia Section and of the PGA of America.

   Andy Hewitt of Cripple Creek Golf & Country Club, Michael Little of Clubhouse 54, Bob Hennefer of Laurel Creek and Anthony Hoffman of the John F. Byrne Golf Course finished in a tie for third place as each carded a 1-under 71 and ended up a shot behind Meisenzahl and Strain.

   Green Valley’s Cooper finished at the top of the leaderboard in the Senior division with a 2-over 74.

   Applebrook’s McNabb and George Frake of the Moorestown Field Club finished in a tie for second place, each ending up two shots behind Cooper with a 4-over 76.

   The month of June teed off with a Rolex/Haverford Trust Player of the Year points event June 1^st and 2^nd with the 39^th playing of the Burlington Classic, a popular event on the Philly Section calendar presented by WSFS Bank at Burlington Country Club in Westampton, N.J.

   Sebastianelli, the talented assistant pro working out of the Rolling Green clubhouse, defeated the Radnor Golf Foundation’s Hugo Mazzalupi in a playoff to capture the Burlington Classic title after they had both finished with 4-under 135 total.

   Sebastianelli, who put together a nice hot streak last summer, had opened with a 3-under 67 that left him two shots behind Sheftic, Sunnybrook’s head of instruction.

   Sebastianelli, who had lost in a playoff in the Burlington Classic two years ago, then added a solid 2-under 68 in the second round to get it to 5-under.

   Mazzalupi was kicking off what would be a stretch of some solid play throughout June and opened with a 4-under 66 that left him a shot behind Sheftic. He added a 1-under 69 in the second round to join Sebastianelli at 5-under.

   A par by Sebastianelli on the first hole of the playoff gave him the title when Mazzalupi made a bogey.

   Terry Hatch of Royal Oaks Golf Course added a sparkling 5-under 65 to his opening round of 1-over 71 as he finished in third place, a shot behind Sebastianelli and Mazzalupi in third place with a 4-under 136 total.

   Mazzalupi did prevail in a contentious Senior division as his 5-under total gave him a one-shot edge over Hatch.

   Sheftic had led the entire field with his opening round of 5-under 65. He fell back with a 2-over 72, but his 3-under 137 total was good enough to give him a third-place finish in the Senior division, a shot behind Hatch.

   The Cricket Club’s Sautter was just starting to get heated up has he finished at the top of the leaderboard in the Super Senior division by three shots with a 7-over 147 total. After opening with a 6-over 76, Sautter added a solid 1-over 71 in the second round.

   Lehigh’s Phillips and Greg Farrow, the ageless head pro at Deerwood Country Club, finished in a tie for second place among the Super Seniors at 10-over 150.

   Phillips posted a pair of 5-over 75s while Farrow opened with a 2-over 72 before adding an 8-over 78 in the second round.

   Corey Katzen, a Burlington member who is a perennial contender for the Marotto Medal, the amateur competition at the Burlington Classic, cruised to a six-shot victory with a 2-over 142 total.

   After opening with a 4-over 74, Katzen went low with a sparkling 2-under 68 in the second round for a 2-over 142 total.

   Kyle Raudenbush and Pete D’Angelo shared runnerup honors as each landed on 8-over 148.

   Raudenbush matched Katzen’s opening round 4-over 74 and added another 74 in the second round. D’Angelo had a two-shot edge on Katzen and Raudenbush after opening with a 2-over 72 before adding a 76 in the second round to join Raudenbush at 8-over.