Pillar, Bensel will represent Philadelphia Section in Senior PGA Championship after solid showings in Senior PPC

 

   John Pillar, the director of golf at the Country Club at Woodloch Springs, and Frank Bensel, the director of instruction at Galloway National Golf Club at the Jersey Shore, will represent the Philadelphia Section PGA as part of the Corebridge Financial Team in next spring’s Senior PGA Championship after they had solid showings in the Senior PGA Professional Championship, which wrapped up Sunday at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   Pillar, the reigning Robert “Skee” Riegel Senior Player of the Year in the Philly Section, finished among a trio of players tied for 32^nd place at 3-over 291 after four rounds at two PGA Golf Club courses.

   The top 35 finishers in the Senior PPC punched their ticket to the Senior PGA Championship, a major on the PGA Tour Champions which tees off April 16 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., as a part of the Corebridge Financial Team.

   The Senior PGA Championship, an event that pre-dates the birth of the PGA Tour Champions, had been a fixture over the Memorial Day weekend on the senior circuit’s calendar in recent years, but moves to April in the spring of 2026.

   Pillar had earned his trip to the Senior PPC by capturing the title in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship for the fourth time in six years in sweltering weather in the summer at Spring Ford Country Club.

   Pillar got off to a great start in the Senior PPC with a 1-under-par 71 at the PGA Golf Club’s Dye Course. He survived the 36-hole cut with a 3-over 75 at the Wanamaker Course. A 2-over 74 in Saturday’s third round at the Wanamaker Course kept him in the hunt for one of those coveted top-35 spots and he closed with a solid 1-under 71 at the Wanamaker Course to join the trio tied for 32^nd place at 3-over.

   Pretty sure this will be Pillar’s fourth trip to the Senior PGA Championship as part of the Corebridge Financial Team.

   Bensel is new to the Philadelphia Section, but is certainly a familiar face on the national club pro scene.

   A fixture in the Metropolitan Section before moving to Galloway National, this will be Bensel’s fourth trip to the PGA Senior Championship. On three different occasions, Bensel advanced out of the PGA Professional Championship and played in the PGA Championship. He is a three-time winner of the Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

   The 57-year-old Bensel closed with a solid 3-under 69 in windy conditions at the Wanamaker Course to finish among the group tied for 19^th place in the Senior PPC with a 1-over 289 total.

   Bensel had opened with a 1-over 73 at the Dye Course and was comfortably inside the cut line at the halfway mark after posting another 1-over 73 at the Wanamaker Course. Bensel survived the 54-hole cut with a 2-over 74 in Saturday’s third round at the Wanamaker Course before moving into the top 35 with his strong final round.

   Mark Sheftic, the head on instruction at Sunnybrook Golf Club, was the only other member of the Philly Section contingent to survive both cuts and play four rounds at the PGA Golf Club.

   After opening with a 3-over 75 at the Wanamaker Course, Sheftic tallied a 1-over 73 at the Dye Course. A 1-over 73 at the Wanamaker Course in Saturday’s third round enabled Sheftic to survive the 54-hole cut and his final-round 76 at the Wanamaker Course left him among the group tied for 61^st place with a 9-over 297 total.

   Justin Hicks, a former PGA Tour pro who is an instructor at Stonebridge Country Club in the South Florida Section, held on for a one-shot victory over defending champion Alan Morin, an assistant pro at The Club at Ibis, also in the South Florida Section, as Hicks put his name on the Leo Fraser Trophy and pocketed the winner’s check of $31,100 out of a total purse of $350,000.

   Hicks, a senior “rookie” at age 50, teed it up in the PGA Championship at The Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. as part of the Colebridge Financial Team in May after he finished in a tie for ninth place in the PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club.

   After opening with a 2-under 70 at the Wanamaker Course, Hicks added another 2-under 70 at the Dye Course in the second round. A 3-under 69 in Saturday’s third round back at the Wanamaker Course gave Hicks a one-shot advantage over Morin going into the Sunday’s final round.

   It was an edge Hicks would preserve with a final round of 1-under 71 that gave him an 8-under 280 total.

   Hicks followed up a birdie at the second hole with a bogey at three to open his final round and followed up a birdie at 12 with a bogey at 13 that left him at 7-under for the championship. He was rock solid over those final six holes, with a birdie at the 16^th hole and five pars for a closing 71.

   Morin was pretty much right there step for step with Hicks throughout the tournament. Morin opened with a 3-under 69 at the Dye Course and added a 1-under 71 at the Wanamaker Course in the second round to join Hicks at 4-under at the halfway point.

   Morin fell a shot behind Hicks with a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s third round and could only match Hicks’ final round of 1-under 71 to finish a shot behind him in second place with a 7-under 281 total.

   Omar Uresti, the former PGA Tour player from Austin, Texas, was another shot behind Morin in third place with a 6-under 282 total. Uresti opened with a 1-under 71 at the Dye Course and added back-to-back 1-under 71s at the Wanamaker Course in the second and third rounds before closing with a 3-under 69 at the Wanamaker Course.

   I thought the PGA of America had changed a rule that affected Uresti’s status and kept him out of the national club pro events, but apparently that didn’t extend to the Senior PPC.

   There’s always been this undercurrent of resentment toward Uresti among the club pros who consider him still more of a PGA Tour player, although I believe he has earned PGA Life Member status.

   Pretty sure Brian Kelly, a PGA Life Member who was the head pro at Bucknell Golf Club forever, is ineligible for the PGA Professional Championship under the so-called Uresti Rule.

   But the 60-something was at the PGA Golf Club last week representing Titleist Fitwear and the Philly Section and was among a large group of players who just missed the 36-hole cut with a 7-over 151 total.

   Kelly, who was the runnerup to Pillar in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship in June at Spring Ford, matched par in the opening round at the Dye Course with a 72 before struggling to a 79 in the second round at the Wanamaker Course.

   Dave McNabb, the head pro at Applebrook Golf Club, was another Philly Section representative who just missed the cut at 7-over. McNabb opened with a 2-over 74 at the Dye Course before adding a 5-over 77 at the Wanamaker Course in the second round.

   Terry Hertzog, who is working out of the pro shop at Bent Creek Country Club these days, opened with a 2-over 74 at the Dye Course and was in with a chance to survive the 36-hole cut, but a 6-over 78 in the second round at the Wanamaker Course left him two shots shy of the cut line with an 8-over 152 total.

   Rich Steinmetz, the longtime head pro at Spring Ford, also landed in the group at 8-over as he opened with a 6-over 78 at the Wanamaker Course before adding a 2-over 74 at the Dye Course in the second round.

   Rounding out the Philly Section contingent at the PGA Golf Club was Carlisle Country Club’s Steve Swartz, who missed the cut with a 154 total. Swartz opened with a 7-over 79 at the Wanamaker Course before adding a 3-over 75 in the second round at the Dye Course.

   Interesting name popped up at 9-over 153 in Pete Oakley, who was a dominant player in the Philly Section a lifetime ago while based in Delaware and who is now in Palm City, Fla. Oakley stunned the golf world, at least the golf world outside of the Philadelphia area, when he won the Royal & Ancient Senior Open in 2004, a major championship on the senior circuit.

   Oakley opened with a 4-over 76 at the Dye Course, matching his age, and added a 5-over 77 in the second round at the Wanamaker Course.

   Oakley’s son, Zac, is an instructor at Bidermann Golf Course in Delaware and one of the top players in the Philly Section. Zac Oakley was the Philly Section’s Rolex/Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year in 2021.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Malvern Prep's Komancheck takes individual crown, helps Friars get share of team title with EA in PAISAA Championship

 

   Malvern Prep junior Colby Komancheck tamed the Radley Run Country Club layout outside of West Chester with a sparkling 3-under-par 69 Monday to capture the individual title in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) Championship.

   Komancheck’s individual win enabled the Friars to earn a tie in the team chase with Inter-Ac League champion Episcopal Academy, each team landing on 14-over-par 302.

   If you followed the Inter-Ac throughout the fall, a tie between Malvern Prep and EA would not be considered an unusual outcome.

   The two teams finished in a tie for first place in the opener of the six invitationals that comprise the Inter-Ac’s regular season, the Penn Charter Invitational at Huntingdon Valley Country Club.

   In the Malvern Prep Invitational at Waynesborough Country Club, Malvern Prep, EA and The Haverford School finished in a three-way tie for first place. The three teams, all deep and talented, were just that close throughout the regular season before the Churchmen pulled out their first league title since 2016 by a narrow margin.

   Defending champion Haverford School was right there Monday in the PAISAA Championship at Radley Run as the Fords finished just two shots behind the top two with a 304 total.

   The format was the same as a regular-season Inter-Ac invitational with four scores counting from five-man teams. The PAISAA, of course, was 18 holes as opposed to the nine-hole rounds for the Inter-Ac invitationals. Didn’t matter, the outcome was just as close as most of the invitationals were.

   Still, a share of the team title in the PAISAA Championship was a nice consolation prize for Malvern Prep, which came oh-so-close to capturing the Inter-Ac title.

   It was a nice gold medal for Komancheck, who has been one of the Inter-Ac’s top players throughout his career at Malvern Prep. Komancheck is the son of Jamie and Kelly Komancheck, the husband-wife team of PGA professionals that runs the pro shop at the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve.

   Komancheck, who qualified for the Boys Junior PGA Championship in the summer at Purdue’s Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind., was very much in contention for the title in last week’s Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac’s individual championship at The 1912 Club, but finished in a tie for third place, two shots behind EA juniors Liam Crowley and Arthur Hampel, who battled it out for the crown in a playoff.

   EA junior Freddy Hartmann, who topped the individual points list during the Inter-Ac’s regular season, finished two shots behind Komancheck in second place with a 1-under 71. Komancheck and Hartmann are the only two players who finished under par at Radley Run.

   Hartmann also had shared third place with Komancheck and Komancheck’s Malvern Prep teammate, senior Davis Conaway, in last week’s Bert Linton at The 1912 Club, the trio landing on 4-over 74.

   Conaway, who will join the program at Richmond at the end of next summer, shared third place Monday at Radley Run with The Haverford School senior duo of Sean Curran, the defending PAISAA individual champion, and Nicky Nemo, each posting a 2-over 74.

   It was the end of a couple of decorated scholastic careers for both Conaway and Curran, who will join the program at Penn in the Ivy League at the end of next summer.

   Conaway grabbed the title in the Bert Linton in dramatic fashion as a freshman at Llanerch Country Club in 2022 and was always a contender in the three Bert Lintons that followed.

   A year ago, Curran completed an unprecedented sweep for an Inter-Ac golfer, topping the points list in the regular season, capturing the title in the Bert Linton at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club and claiming the crown in the PAISAA at Radley Run. Curran will still tee it up in a Haverford School-EA Day dual match, a longstanding tradition in which the two schools square off in all the fall sports. Pretty sure that is next weekend.

   In the summer, Curran defeated his teammate and Merion Golf Club clubmate, Nemo, at Merion’s West Course in the match-play final to capture the title in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship, an event with more than 100 years of golf history.

   Crowley, who defeated his teammate Hampel on the first hole of a playoff last week to capture the title in the Bert Linton, and Hampel again finished tied at Radley Run as they were two of the four players who shared sixth place, each signing for a 5-over 77.

   They were joined at 5-over by another EA teammate, Jimmy Warmkessel, one of the Churchmen’s senior co-captains, and Germantown Academy sophomore Brayden Vargas.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual standings was a group of five players tied for 10^th place at 6-over 78. Included in that group was Will Krietsch, the other senior co-captain for Inter-Ac champion Episcopal Academy, the Haverford School duo of senior William Forman and junior Quinn Gallagher, Penn Charter junior Jack Sheward and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy’s Finn Cooper.

   That meant all five EA players were at 78 or better with Hartmann’s 71 and the 77s tallied by Crowley, Hampel and Warmkessel the counters and Krietsch’s 78 getting tossed.

   Malvern Prep’s counters came from Komancheck’s 69, Conaway’s 74, senior Noah Brand’s 79 and senior Thomas Ploszay’s 80 with senior Pat Duda’s 81 getting thrown out. Conaway, Ploszay and Duda were the captains for a really solid group of Friars this season.

   The Inter-Ac dominated the proceedings in the PAISAA Championship as Germantown Academy finished in fourth place, 13 shots behind Haverford School with a 317 total, Springside Chestnut Hill was fifth with a 326 total and Penn Charter rounded out the top six finishers in sixth with a 340 total.

   A couple of days earlier, Malvern Prep’s Conaway claimed the title in the Inter-Ac Match Play Championship, which was held at Waynesborough, the Friars’ home course.

   The 16-player field included the top 12 finishers from the Inter-Ac’s regular-season points standings and the top four finishers at the Bert Linton who were not among the top 12 during the regular season.

   Two of those four wild cards, Malvern Prep’s Brand and EA’s Warmkessel, joined Conaway and recently crown Bert Linton champion Crowley of EA, in the final four players who competed for the title on the back nine at Waynesborough.

   Conaway inched in front of Crowley by making a birdie at Waynesborough’s tough, 220-yard, par-3 17^th hole and defeated Crowley for the title when they both made par at Waynesborough’s finishing hole.

 

 

 

Streicher's runnerup finish powers North Carolina to five-shot victory in the Landfall Tradition

 

   In what was likely her final performance as a Tar Heel, Megan Streicher, a senior from South Africa and No. 52 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), finished in second place in the individual standings to lead North Carolina to the team crown in the Landfall Tradition, which wrapped up Sunday at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C.

   The Landfall has become one of the major events on the Division I women’s golf calendar at the end of the fall portion of the wraparound season.

   It’s the first time I’ve noticed the Scoreboard powered by clippd rankings appear and North Carolina, at No. 24, beat several teams ahead of it in the rankings and did so in impressive fashion, the Tar Heels’ 7-under 857 total five shorts clear of No. 20 Central Florida.

   Adding to the intrigue in the case of Streicher was her performance earlier this month in an LPGA Q-Series Second Stage tournament. Streicher finished in a tie for eighth place with a 9-under 279 total at the Plantation Golf & Country Club in Venice, Fla.

   That earned Streicher a spot in the Q-Series Final Stage, which tees off Dec. 4 at Magnolia Grove Golf Course in Mobile, Ala.

   Streicher would be forced to give up her amateur status just to compete in the Q-Series Final Stage. There was a time when you could qualify for the LPGA Tour, but defer the start of your pro career until after the conclusion of the spring season.

   I’ve said this a few times in this blog, but it bears repeating. You’re trying to recruit women with the talent to make it to the LPGA Tour. If she makes it a little ahead of schedule, you congratulate her, tell her you’ll be her biggest fan and move on.

   North Carolina, one of several Atlantic Coast Conference powers in the field, opened the Landfall by matching par with a 288 over the 6,106-yard, par-72 Country Club of Landfall layout, seized control of the tournament with a 4-under 284 in Saturday’s second round and then held on with a solid 3-under 285 in Sunday’s final round.

   North Carolina failed to advance to last spring’s NCAA Championship at the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. as a three seed in the Norman Regional.

   Streicher was her typically solid self, opening with a 2-under 70, contributing a 4-under 68 to the Tar Heels’ solid second-round showing and matching par in the final round with a 72 for a 6-under 210 total. Her runnerup finish matched her career best at North Carolina.

   Such is the level of talent at the Division I level that Streicher was seven shots behind the individual winner, Kent State’s Veronika Kedronova, a junior from the Czech Republic who rewrote the Golden Flashes’ record book with a spectacular 13-under 203 total.

   It was the second win of the fall for Kedronova as she captured the individual title in the inaugural Canadian Collegiate, which was shortened to 36 holes by weather, before she headed to Singapore to represent Czechia in the World Amateur Team Championship.

   After opening with a 3-under 69, Kedronova left the rest of the field choking on her dust with a sizzling 7-under 65 in Saturday’s second round before closing with another 3-under 69.

   UCF, a Big 12 representative, was right on the heels of the Tar Heels throughout the weekend in Wilmington, as the Knights opened with a 1-over 289, added a 2-under 286 in Saturday’s second round and closed with a 1-under 287 that left them five shots behind North Carolina with a 2-under 862 total.

   North Carolina and UCF were the only two teams to finish under par over the challenging Country Club of Landfall layout.

   UCF failed to advance to last spring’s NCAA Championship at La Costa as a six seed in the Charlottesville Regional.

   The Knights had two of the three players tied for third place in the individual standings at 5-under 211 in Pimpisa “Sandwich” Sisutham, their veteran senior from Thailand, and Mila Jurine, a sophomore from France.

    Backing up Streicher for North Carolina was the third member of that trio tied for third at 5-under, a shot behind Streicher, in Marie Prats-Rigual, a sophomore from France.

   After opening with a 2-over 74, Sisutham posted a 4-under 68 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 3-under 69. Jurine matched par in the opening round with a 72, added a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round and matched Sisutham’s final round of 3-under 69.

   Prats-Rigual opened with a 1-under 71, matched par in Saturday’s second round with a 72 and was the low Tar Heel in the final round with a sparkling 4-under 68.

   Another ACC power, Wake Forest, No. 4 in the Scoreboard rankings, closed with a solid 4-under 284 to finish five shots behind UCF in third place with a 3-over 867 total.

   The Demon Deacons had opened with a 2-over 290 before adding a 5-over 293 in Saturday’s second round.

   Wake Forest took a full head of steam into last spring’s NCAA Championship after capturing the team title in the Lubbock Regional, but the Demon Deacons failed to earn a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa.

   Wake Forest was led by graduate student Morgan Ketchum, who came home to Winston-Salem for her final year of eligibility after being a standout at Virginia Tech. Ketchum finished in a tie for sixth place in the individual standings at 4-under 212 in the Landfall with Houston’s Moa Moa Svedenskiold, a senior from Sweden, and Indiana’s Madison Dabagia, a senior from Fort Wayne, Ind.

   Ketchum, one of the many players who honed their skills on the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour, opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 2-over 74 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 3-under 68.

   SMU, in its second season in the ACC and No. 29 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished three shots behind Wake Forest in fourth place with a 6-over 870 total. The Mustangs grabbed the lead following a solid opening round of 1-under 287 and added a 1-over 289 in Saturday’s second round before falling back a little with a 6-over 294 in the final round.

   SMU failed to advance to the NCAA Championship at La Costa last spring as a six seed in the Columbus Regional.

   The Mustangs were led by Emily Odwin, a senior from Barbados who finished alone in ninth place in the individual standings with a 3-under 213 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Odwin added a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round and finished up with a 1-under 71.

   Like North Carolina’s Streicher, Odwin faces a decision on whether to relinquish her amateur status and tee it up in the Final Stage of LPGA Q-Series in Alabama in December after she finished in a tie for 29^th place in the Second Stage qualifier with a 4-under total at Plantation in Venice, Fla. earlier this month.

   Reigning Southeastern Conference champion South Carolina, No. 16 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished two shots behind SMU in fifth place in the Landfall with an 8-over 872 total. After opening with a solid 1-over 289, the Gamecocks struggled in Saturday’s second round with an 11-over 299 before bouncing back with a 4-under 284 in the final round.

   South Carolina rolled into the NCAA Championship at La Costa last spring on the strength of a team win in the Charlottesville Regional, a veteran group of Gamecocks coming up two frustrating shots short of a spot in the match-play bracket.

   ACC power Duke, No. 14 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished a shot behind South Carolina in sixth place in the 18-team field with a 9-over 873 total. The Blue Devils opened with a 7-over 295 and matched par in the second round with a 288 before closing with a 2-over 290.

   Duke was unable to advance to the NCAA Championship at La Costa last spring as a five seed at the Norman Regional.

   Duke was led at Landfall by Katie Li, the talented junior from Basking Ridge, N.J. who finished alone in 12^th place in the individual standings with a 1-under 215 total. Li matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a solid 2-under 70.

   The lowest score recorded by a Dookie at the Landfall, however, belonged to freshman Avery McCrery, the freshman from Wilmington, Del. who starred at the Tower Hill School before completing her scholastic career at the IGL Academy, an on-line arm of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).

   McCrery, competing as an individual, earned her first collegiate top-10 finish as she ended up in a tie for 10^th place with Maryland’s Jurapa Janthamunee, a senior from Thailand, each carding a 2-under 214 total.

   McCrery matched par in the opening and final rounds with 72s around a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round. Needless to say, McCrery will be competing for a spot in Duke’s starting lineup when the wraparound 2025-2026 college season resumes in January.

   Backing up Streicher and Prats-Rigual for North Carolina was Helen Yeung, a sophomore from Clarksville, Md. who finished among the group tied for 25^th place in the individual standings with a 3-over 219 total. Yeung was the picture of consistency for the Tar Heels, rattling off three straight 1-over 73s.

   Reagan Southerland, a junior from Atlanta, Ga., finished in the group tied for 35^th place with a 6-over 222 for the Tar Heels. Southerland contributed a solid 1-under 71 to North Carolina’s second-round surge after opening with a 4-over 76 before closing with a 3-over 75.

   Rounding out the North Carolina lineup was Grace Ridenour, a freshman from Cary, N.C. who ended up in the group tied for 48^th place with an 8-over 224 total. Ridenour finished strong, matching par in the final round with a 72. She had opened with a 2-over 74 before adding a 78 in Saturday’s second round.

   Ridenour was joined in the group tied at 8-over by teammate Ing Iadpluem, a junior from Thailand who was competing as an individual. Iadpluem opened with a solid 2-under 70, struggled in Saturday’s second round with an 80 and closed with a 2-over 74.

   Houston’s Svedenskiold closed with a sparkling 4-under 68 to join the group tied for sixth place at 4-under. She had opened with a 2-under 70 before adding a 2-over 74 in Saturday’s second round.

   Indiana’s Dabagia rounded out the trio tied at 4-under that included Svedenskiold and Wake Forest’s Ketchum as Dabagia sandwiched a 2-over 74 in Saturday’s second round with a pair of 3-under 69s.

   Maryland’s Janthamunee joined Duke’s McCrery in the tie for 10^th place at 2-under as Janthamunee opened with a 3-under 69 and struggled a little with a 2-over 74 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a solid 1-under 71. It was third straight top-10 finish of the fall season for Janthamunee.