Hertzog's experience helps him capture Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship

   Experience matters in the Philadelphia Section PGA, which was proven again as a patient Terry Hertzog, the head pro at the Country Club of York, carded a 1-under-par 70 at Laurel Creek Country Club in Mount Laurel, N.J. Thursday to win the 96^th Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship, the third time he has captured the Section crown.

   Hertzog is a member of the Philadelphia Section’s remarkable group of senior pros that has to be one of the strongest groups of over-50 types of any Section in the country.

   Hertzog, for instance, had to hold off the reigning Philadelphia Senior PGA champion Dave Quinn of Philmont Country Club to capture the title. Hertzog’s final-round 70 over the 6,545-yard, par-71 Laurel Creek layout gave him a 54-hole total of 2-under 210.

   Quinn was right there at 2-under until he made a bogey at the 16^th to fall back to 1-under. He matched Hertzog’s final round of 1-under 70 to claim runnerup honors at 1-under 211.

   It looked like the whole field was playing for second when LedgeRock Golf Club pro Tony Perla, one of the rising stars in the Section, fired a 7-under 64 at Laurel Creek in Wednesday’s second round to take a commanding five-shot lead into the final round.

   Perla, however, struggled to a final round of 80 to finish tied for fourth at 1-over 213. But it was a valuable learning experience and he does get the consolation prize of being among the 13 players who will represent the Section in the PGA Professional Championship at the Bayonet and Black Horse Courses in Seaside, Calif. next June.

   One of Section’s senior players, Applebrook Golf Club head pro Dave McNabb, nearly won this year’s PGA Professional Championship at the Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore., falling in a playoff to former PGA Tour player Omar Uresti.

   But this day belonged to Hertzog, who joined an illustrious list of pros who have won the Section title at least three times. Entering the final round trailing Perla by seven shots, Hertzog got it to 4-under with birdies at five, 10 and 11. His fast start enabled him to survive late bogeys at 16 and 18 as Laurel Creek’s home stretch played very tough Thursday.

   “It feels really amazing to get this win today,” Hertzog, who played all four rounds in last fall’s Senior PGA Professional Championship, presented by GolfAdvisor and Mercedes-Benz USA, at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course, told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “I honestly didn’t think I had a chance heading into today, but I wanted to put together a good round to qualify for the PGA Professional Championship next June.

   “I played really well early in the day and that helped offset some blemishes late in the day.”

   Defending champion Jordan Gibbs, an assistant pro at Gulph Mills Golf Club, was Perla’s closest pursuer heading into the final round, but faltered a little down the stretch. His final round of 3-over 74 left him alone in third at even-par 212.

   Sharing fourth with Perla at 1-over 213 were another of the Section’s senior stalwarts, Stu Ingraham, the head of instruction at the M Golf Range in Newtown Square, and Spring-Ford Country Club head pro Rich Steinmetz, a member of the club of three-time Section winners that Hertzog joined Thursday. Each carded a 1-under 70 in the final round.

   Ingraham, 57 years young, had already earned a trip to this year’s Senior PGA Professional Championship, presented by Mercedes-Benz USA and supported by GolfAdvisor and John Deere, which tees off Sept. 28 at Desert Mountain’s Cochise and Geronimo Courses in Scottsdale, Ariz. That would mean, by my count, that when he tees it up in the PGA Professional Championship at Bayonet and Black Horse next summer, it will mark the 30^th national PGA event he has played in.

   Billy Stewart, an assistant pro at The ACE Club, Radley Run Country Club assistant pro Brett Melton and Brendon Post, an assistant coach and director of player development for the Delaware men’s and women’s golf programs, finished tied for seventh at 2-over 214.

   Stewart and Melton each carded a final round of 1-over 72. Post, who had grabbed a share of the opening-round lead with a 3-under 68 at Laurel Creek, finished up with a 3-over 74.

   It will be the first appearance in the PGA Professional Championship for Stewart. It won’t be his last.

   Mark Sheftic, the head of instruction at Merion Golf Club, finished tied for 10^th at 4-over 216 with Alex Knoll of Bethlehem Golf Club. Sheftic, who played all four rounds at this summer’s PGA Professional Championship at Sunriver, had a final-round 73 while Knoll posted a 1-over 72.

   Rusty Harbold, from the Philadelphia Cricket Club pro shop, finished tied for 12^th with McNabb at 5-over 217. Harbold had a final-round 75 while McNabb finished up with a 76.

   It appeared from the results that Harbold and McNabb grabbed the final two berths from the Section Championship to Bayonet and Black Horse, although I think it's possible McNabb was exempt after his runnerup finish at Sunriver.

   Quinn, Ingraham and McNabb will represent the Philadelphia Section in both the PGA Senior Professional Championship later this month at Desert Mountain and the PGA Professional Championship next June at Bayonet and Black Horse.

   Because somehow, in the Philadelphia Section, the club pros age like fine wine.