The Deeg Sezna, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s nod
to the importance of mentoring – in golf and in life – was rained out a couple
of weeks ago and it was raining again when the rescheduled event was played
Tuesday at Blue Bell Country Club.
But that didn’t prevent the pair of Bruce Cowgill, the 49-year-old
golf chairman at Whitford Country Club, and 19-year-old clubmate Nicky Marrollo
from matching par with a 71 at the 6,319-yard, par-71 Blue Bell layout in the
select drive/alternate shot competition to capture the title.
Cowgill and Marrollo got off to a great start when Marrollo
bombed his drive on the 331-yard opening hole just 40 yards from the hole.
Cowgill knocked his approach to 14 feet and Marrollo converted the birdie try.
After a bogey at the eighth, the pair was able to make the
turn at 1-under with a birdie at the par-5 ninth. Morrollo’s 5-iron second shot
left Cowgill with 100 yards to the pin and he wedged the approach to two feet.
A double bogey at the 11th left them at
1-over, but they had one more birdie in
their bags at the par-5 17th. Cowgill’s second shot finished in a
greenside bunker and Marrollo blasted it to two feet for an easy tap-in.
“Some of the guys at (Whitford) refer to him as my ‘country
club dad,’ so it’ll be fun to bring this trophy back with us,” Marrollo told
the GAP website.
Deeg Sezna, a recent Vanderbilt graduate with a degree in
economics, was on the sixth day of his new job on the 104th floor of
the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 when the terrorists struck. Davis
Sezna Sr., in conjunction with the Golf
Association of Philadelphia, started the tournament to memorialize his son and
to celebrate the relationship between the older generation and its younger
counterparts in much the same way that Deeg, an avid golfer, mentored his
younger brothers Teddy and Willy.
The rainout of the original date this year forced some teams
to drop out, the golf schedule at this time of the year being crowded as it is.
But this is an event whose meaning transcends golf and was in no way diminished
by a little rainy weather.
Four teams shared second place at 1-over 72, including the
Huntingdon Valley Country Club pair of Sean Seese, a former Saint Joseph’s
standout, and Brett McGrath, Brett Pickon of Commonwealth National and D.J.
Pinciotti, Daniel Pinciotti Jr. of Huntingdon Valley and Ryan Borrmann and
Buddy Hansen IV of host Blue Bell and Jules Quinones.
The mentoring relationship can be older sibling to younger
sibling as it was with Deeg and his younger brothers. Or it can simply be an
adult taking an interest in a fledgling golfer. Or it can be coach and player.
That would be the case for the team that finished alone in
sixth at 2-over 73 in The Deeg Sezna.
Last fall, Episcopal Academy head coach Doug Borgerson of
Huntingdon Valley Country Club watched his only senior, Matt Marino, drop a
birdie putt on the final hole at Gulph Mills Golf Club in the final
mini-tournament of the season to give the Churchmen a one-shot edge on The
Haverford School and their first Inter-Ac League title since 1999.
Kevin Kelly, who captained the Philadelphia Cricket Club to
the BMW Team Match championship, joined with Luke Marvin to capture the
Junior-Junior title as they put together a 2-over 73.
The Spring-Ford Country Club duo of George Steinmetz and
Lucas Steinmetz was the runnerup with a 76.
Owen Brown and Kelly Brown of Coatesville Country Club
captured the Mixed championship with a 5-over 76.
Whitemarsh Valley Country Club’s Peter Oppenheimer and Casey
Oppenheimer, the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour’s girls 16-to-18 Player
of the Year in 2016, took second with a 78.
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