Zerfass claims individual crown, leads Villanova to team title in Big 5 Championship at The 1912 Club

 

   Matt Zerfass, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a scholastic standout at Emmaus, began his college career at Saint Joseph’s before heading down Lancaster Avenue to the Main Line to join the program at Villanova.

   So, Zerfass, a senior, has seen this Big 5 thing from a couple of different angles.

   Thursday at The 1912 Club in Plymouth Meeting, Zerfass got a look at the unofficial group of six Philadelphia Division I colleges from the top of the heap as he carded a 1-under-par 69 in chilly, blustery conditions on the William Flynn design to capture the individual title in the Big 5 Championship.

   Zerfass’ solid showing in difficult conditions also helped Villanova, a Big East representative, capture the team crown in the one-day shootout by a shot over Drexel with Temple and La Salle another four shots behind the Dragons in a tie for third place.

   The Big 5 Championship was originally scheduled for last week at Union League Liberty Hill, but an all-day rain Oct. 30^th forced the tournament to be postponed. Schedules being what they are, Union League Liberty Hill couldn’t accommodate a new date, so the Big 5 Championship was moved to The 1912 Club, basically the home course for Temple and the home base for the Owls’ head coach Brian Quinn.

   The Philadelphia area being blessed as it is with so many great courses, a switch to The 1912 Club was hardly a downgrade. I got my first look at The 1912 Club – for years known as Plymouth Country Club – for the Bert Linton Invitational for the Inter-Ac League’s individual championship a couple of weeks ago and it was in great shape.

   Zerfass led the way for Villanova as the Wildcats put together a team total of 13-over 293 over the 6,951-yard, par-70 1912 Club layout. It was Villanova’ first team title since they won the Wildcat Spring Invitational as the host at LuLu Country Club in April of 2024.

   “It worked out perfectly,” head coach James Wilkes told the Villanova website. “I mean, Matt (Zerfass) got his first win and the team wins it, I couldn’t be happier.”

   Zerfass, who represented St. Joe’s in what was then known as the City 6 Championship two years ago at Sunnybrook Golf Club, had a burst of three birdies in a four-hole stretch, at the fifth, seventh and eighth holes, on The 1912 Club’s outgoing nine to get it to 3-under for his round.

   Bogeys at the 10^th and 15^th holes dropped Zerfass back to 1-under, but that was good enough in the chilly temperatures and gusty winds while contending with the always tricky Flynn green complexes to get the job done.

   Drexel sophomore Thomas Young, a Center Valley native, matched par with a 70 to earn runnerup honors in the individual standings.

   Young led the way as Drexel, a Coastal Athletic Association representative, finished a shot behind Villanova in second place with a 14-over 294 total.

   Temple, an American Athletic Conference representative, and La Salle, an Atlantic 10 Conference representative, finished another four shots behind Drexel in a tie for third place, each landing on 18-over 298.

   The Owls were led by Jake Naese, a graduate student from Bradenton, Fla. who finished among a group of four players who finished in a tie for third place at 2-over 72.

   Leading the way for an improved La Salle team was Payton Hawke, a sophomore from Canada who was also in the group tied for third place at 2-over.

   St. Joe’s, one of La Salle’s A-10 rivals, finished five shots behind the Explorers and Temple in fifth place with a 903 total.

   Leading the way for the Hawks was junior Noah Moelter, who finished in a tie for sixth place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Central Bucks South in 2022 and was also part of the quartet tied for third place at 2-over.

   Penn, out of the Ivy League, captured the Big 5 team title a year ago at Aronimink Golf Club. The Quakers finished four shots behind St. Joe’s in sixth place with a 907 total.

   Penn was led by Max Fonseca, a junior from Miami, Fla. who finished among a group of five players tied for 10^th place at 5-over 75.

   Backing up Zerfass for Villanova was Vibhav Alokam, a sophomore from Ypsilanti, Mich. who shared seventh place in the individual standings with St. Joe’s senior Christian Matt, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during an outstanding scholastic career at Wissahickon, each posting a 3-over 73.

   Ryan “Coop” Pamer, a senior from Hudson, Ohio, gave Villanova a third top-10 finisher as he landed among the quintet tied for 10^th place at 5-over in defense of the individual title he won a year ago at Aronimink.

   Pamer was coming off a solid tie for sixth place while leading the Wildcats to seventh place in the team standings in the Nassau Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Oct. 21^st at Nassau Country Club on Long Island in Glen Cove, N.Y. Pamer finished with a 6-over 216 total at Nassau.

   It was a solid fall campaign for Villanova as the seventh-place finish at Nassau broke a streak of four straight top-five finishes.

   Brockton English, a graduate student from Shelby Township, Mich. who transferred to Villanova from Drexel for his final year of eligibility, tallied a 6-over 76 to finish among the group tied for 15^th place for the Wildcats.

   Rounding out the Villanova lineup was Ian Love, a sophomore from Chicago, Ill. who finished alone in 28^th place with an 81.

   It was mostly a five-score-format, although it appears teams did have an option to bring a sixth player.

   Backing up Young for Drexel was junior Jake Haberstumpf, a scholastic standout at Bethlehem’s Freedom High who joined Temple’s Naese, St. Joe’s Moelter and La Salle’s Hawke in the quartet tied for third place at 2-over.

   Seniors Kevin Lydon, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Central Bucks West in 2021, and Caleb Taylor of Woodbine, Mich. finished in the group tied for 15^th place for the Dragons as each recorded a 6-over 76.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup was junior John Keba, who starred scholastically at Allentown Central Catholic and finished in a tie for 24^th place with a 79.

   Lydon, who earned a trip to the U.S. Amateur in August at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, and Taylor shared low-Dragon honors, finishing among the group tied for 12^th place at 3-over 216 to lead Drexel to fifth in the team standings in the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate at the Kilmarlic Golf Club in Powell’s Point, N.C. in the Outer Banks.

   I did manage to sneak in a post on the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate last week, which had a field that also included La Salle and Saint Joseph’s.

   Backing up Naese for Temple was Mason Tome, a sophomore from West Palm Beach, Fla. who finished alone in ninth place with a 4-over 75.

   Junior Ben Saggers, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at Bishop Shanahan in 2021, gave the Owls a third top-10 finisher as he finished among the quintet tied for 10^th place at 5-over.

   William Jun, a sophomore from Jupiter, Fla., finished among the trio tied for 20^th place for Temple with a 7-over 77.

   Junior Drew Clark, a Kennett Square resident who was a scholastic standout at Archmere Academy, finished in a tie for 26^th place for the Owls with an 80.

   Rounding out the Temple contingent was Nicholas Pisarski, a freshman from Orlando, Fla. who finished in the group tied for 29^th place with an 82.

   Pisarski was coming off the first top-10 finish of his young career as he ended up in a tie for eighth place with a 5-over 149 total to help Temple place fourth in the team standings in the Lehigh Invitational, which wrapped up Oct. 26^th at Saucon Valley Country Club.

   It was the highest finish of the fall campaign for the Owls before their tie for third in the Big 5 Championship.

   Naese, Jun and Tome finished among the group tied for 11^th place in the Lehigh Invitational, each landing on 6-over 150.

   Backing up Hawke for La Salle were Gavin Dosch, a junior from Draper, Utah, and Kyle Kirsik, a freshman from Melbourne, Fla., both of whom ended up in the quintet tied for 10^th place at 5-over.

   Armand Loscalzo, a senior from Mount Pleasant, S.C., finished in the group tied for 15^th place with a 6-over 76 for the Explorers.

   Rounding out the La Salle lineup was graduate student Jackson Debusschere, who helped Strath Haven capture the District One Class AAA team crown as a junior in 2019. Debusschere, coming home for his final year of eligibility after playing with Cornell in the Ivy League, finished among the trio tied for 20^th place with a 7-over 77.

   Loscalzo was the low Explorer in the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate, finishing in the group tied for 16^th place with a 4-over 217 total at Kilmarlic and helping La Salle finish seventh in the team standings.

   Three of the four remaining players in the Saint Joseph’s lineup at The 1912 Club were products of Catholic League power La Salle.

   Junior Tyler Leyden, who finished in a tie for 10^th place in the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at La Salle in 2022, backed up Moelter and Matt in the Big 5 Championship as he finished alone in 23^rd place with an 8-over 78.

   Junior Kevin Lafond, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at La Salle in 2020, posted an 80 to finish in a tie for 26^th place for the Hawks.

   The other member of St. Joe’s trio of former La Salle standouts, freshman Ian Natale, and sophomore Adam Fluehr, who finished in a tie for second place in the District One Class AAA Championship as a senior at Springfield Montco in 2023, rounded out the lineup for the Hawks at The 1912 Club as they finished in the group tied for 29^th place, each signing for an 82.

   Saint Joseph’s was coming off a 15^th-place finish in the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate. The Hawks were led at Kilmarlic by George Williamson, Jr., a freshman from Sykesville, Md. who finished in a tie for 37^th place with a 10-over 223 total.

   Backing up Fonseca for Penn was Arjun Caprihan, a freshman from Short Hills, N.J. who finished in the group tied for 15^th place with a 6-over 76.

   Ryan Chang, a sophomore from Brookline, Mass., finished among the trio tied for 20^th place with a 7-over 77 for the Quakers.

   Hayden Adams, a junior from Lexington, Ky., finished in a tie for 24^th place for Penn with a 9-over 79.

   Rounding out the Penn lineup were Wesley Hu, a sophomore from Suwanee, Ga., and Kayden Wang, a freshman from San Diego, Calif., as they finished in the group tied for 29^th place, each carding an 82.

   It had been a month since Penn’s last outing, the Quakers finishing in 11^th place with a 44-over 908 total against a top-notch field in the Hamptons Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Oct. 6^th at the Maidstone Club on Long Island in East Hampton, N.Y.

   Wang led the way for Penn at Maidstone as he finished in a tie for 29^th place with a 6-over 222 total.