Philadelphiia Cricket Club repeats as winner of GAP's 100th Team Championship

   After Conrad Von Borsig had been ousted in the semifinals of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Stonewall a few weeks ago in a hard-fought 1-up victory for eventual champion Jeremy Wall, Von Borsig talked about wanting to continue to compete at a high level in local golf circles.

    And if you’re trying to maintain a competitive edge on the golf course, there is no better place to be a member than Von Borsig’s home course, Philadelphia Cricket Club.

   “We have 25 to 30 guys who are really good players,” Von Borsig said that day at Stonewall. “We all work on our games all winter. Everybody points to the (BMW) Team Matches. And our club championship is really tough to win. It might be as tough to win as (the Philadelphia Amateur).”

   The Cricket Club’s depth was on display once again Wednesday as it captured the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 100^th Team Championship, holding off LuLu Country Club in a summit meeting at Bent Creek Country Club in Lititz. It was the second straight title in the event for the Cricket Club and the fourth time since 2013 it has been crowned the team champion.

    The Cricket Club’s top entry in the BMW GAP Team Matches was denied a spot in the Playoff for the title by a strong LuLu entry, but such is the Cricket Club’s deep stable of talent that its second team won its division and represented the club in the Playoff.

   Von Borsig piled up three points in his afternoon singles matches as the Cricket Club matched LuLu’s 16.5 points to maintain the three-point edge it had built in the morning alternate-shot foursome matches. The eight-man teams competed in foursome matches in the morning followed by singles matches in the afternoon.

   The Cricket Club finished with 26 points, three more than LuLu’s 23. Huntingdon Valley Country Club, which emerged as the champion in the BMW Team Match Playoff this spring, finished third with 14 points and Commonwealth National Golf Club was fourth with nine points.

   Von Borsig teamed with reigning Cricket Club club champion Matt Kocent, who captained the team at Bent Creek, in the morning as they picked up two-and-a-half points for the cause.

   The Cricket Club came out of the morning foursomes with 9.5 points, followed by LuLu with 6.5 points, Huntingdon Valley with 4.5 points and Commonwealth National with 3.5 points.

   Rounding out the Cricket Club roster were Sean Sementz, Robert Walizer, John Brennan, Scott Storck, Ryan Gelrod and Dan Feeney.

   “This is a huge accomplishment for Cricket,” Kocent told the GAP website. “It just shows how many great players we have at our club and it means a lot to bring it home.”

   Huntingdon Valley owns 13 wins in the 100-year history of the Team Championship, but none since 2004. LuLu captured its first title in 2017, but has been unable to get by the Cricket Club for a second one. Commonwealth National took Team Championship honors in 2009 and 2014.

Cooper heats up at Medford Village to capture title in Jack Jolly/Golf Pride Championship

   Pine Valley Golf Club’s Tom Cooper birdied half the holes at Medford Village Country Club in Medford, N.J. Monday to cruise to a three-shot victory in the Philadelphia Section PGA’s Jack Jolly/Golf Pride Championship.

   Cooper had four birdies against a bogey on the outgoing nine at the 6,687-yard, par-72 Medford Village layout and added five more birdies against a lone bogey on the incoming nine for a 7-under-par 65 that gave him the victory in the Philadelphia Section PGA’s fourth Haverford Trust points event on the schedule.

   “I’ve been hitting the ball really well the past couple weeks,” Cooper told the Philadelphia Section PGA website. “I made an important putt on the par-4 second hole and carried that momentum for the rest of the round.”

   Cooper finished three shots ahead of three players who posted solid 4-under 68 totals.

   Merion Golf Club’s head of instruction Mark Sheftic, one of the Philadelphia Section’s top players, was the early leader in the clubhouse as he made four birdies on Medford Village’s front nine before cooling off in posting a 68.

   Michael Little, an assistant pro at Lookaway Golf Club, got hot late in his round with four birdies on the back nine, going back-to-back at the 17^th and 18^th holes to finish his round, as he joined Sheftic at 4-under.

   Doug Delaney of Union League National Golf Club also got hot on the back nine at Medford Village, making four birdies in a five-hole stretch to complete the trio tied for second at 68.

Dave Quinn of Laurel Creek Country Club finished alone in fifth place with a 3-under 69 that also earned him top honors in the senior division.

   Radley Run Country Club assistant pro Brett Melton, the Philadelphia Section’s Omega Player of the Year in 2017, headed a group of five players tied for sixth at 2-under 70.

   Joining Melton in the tie for sixth at 2-under were John Appleget, the teaching pro at The Shore Club, Bob Lennon of Wilmington Country Club, Hugo Mazzalupi of Patriots Glen National Golf Club and Jordan Shuey of West Shore Country Club.

   Appleget, Lennon and Mazzalupi shared second place in the senior division, a shot behind Quinn.

Joe Kogelman of the GolfTEC store in Moorestown, N.J., Dave Pagett, the head pro at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, and Mike Tobiason of Deerfield Golf Club shared 11^th place in the overall scoring as each landed on 1-under 71.

   Radnor Valley Country Club head pro George Forster took top honors in the super-senior division as he matched par with a 72. Bill Sautter of the Philadelphia Cricket Club and Don DeAngelis of Spring-Ford Country Club shared second place, a shot behind Forster at 1-over 73.

Fullerton, Sutovich, Harrington, Riva repeat in GAP's Four-Man Team Championship

   Richard Riva was available when three players needed a fourth to tee it up in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Four-Man Team Championship a year ago at LedgeRock Golf Club.

   And the quartet of Carlos Fullerton, Adam Sutovich, Max Harrington and Riva won the title. The question was whether they could get the old gang back together again for one more go. And they did. And they won the title again, this time Tuesday at Whitford Country Club.

   Riva was coming off a solid junior season with the Saint Joseph’s golf team this year. Harrington, Riva’s fellow St. Joe’s student and roommate in Manayunk, had recruited Riva a year ago to fill out a foursome along with Harrington’s fellow Brookside Country Club of Allentown pals Fullerton and Sutovich.

   And just like a year ago, when it all clicked, they could tell it was meant to be again when Riva’s gap wedge from 123 yards away found the hole for an eagle at the 401-yard, par-4 third hole at the 6,391-yard, par-72 Whitford layout.

   Riva’s hole-out eagle set the stage for an 11-under 133 total in the two-best-balls-of-foursome format and a two-shot victory. Riva and Harrington had to do some schedule shuffling with their summer internships, but they made it to the first tee and the team remained undefeated in this championship.

   “It was one of those shots where right when you hit it, you know it’s going to be good,” Riva, who starred scholastically at Lancaster Catholic and plays out of Bent Creek Country Club, told the GAP website of his approach to the third hole. “It landed 20 feet short and rolled in. It was fun to see that. There were a lot of high-fives. I hurt my hip jumping into Adam. I was fine.”

   The 21-year-old Riva dropped a 15-footer for birdie on the next hole, the 553-yard, par-5 fourth hole. But, much like last year, it wasn’t all Riva. It was a team effort.

   The 20-year-old Harrington walked in a 40-foot birdie putt at the 111-yard, par-3 sixth hole while the 23-year-old Sutovich of Breiningsville converted his birdie try from 15 feet after hitting the green with a sand wedge. Sutovich hit a pitching wedge to 10 feet at the seventh and converted the birdie try.

   Riva capped a sterling outgoing nine with a two-putt birdie at the 487-yard, par-5 ninth hole that he reached in two by bombing an 8-iron from 175 yards.

   Fullerton, a 23-year-old Emmaus resident who also plays out of Moselem Springs Golf Club, reached the par-5 12^th in two with a hybrid from 232 yards away and two-putted for birdie. Fullerton, Sutovich and Riva all were in the neighborhood of the par-5 16^th in two and each made birdie. It was that kind of day – for the second year in a row.

   The foursome of Robert Amen and Mike Quinn of the Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association, David Kimbley of Coatesville Country Club and David Shields of Flourtown Country Club earned runnerup honors with a 9-under 135 total, two shots behind the repeat winners.

   The Running Dear Golf Club trio of Thomas Alestock, Stephen Barry and Joey Russo was joined by Joseph Russo of Laurel Creek Country Club and finished third at 8-under 136.

   Four teams shared fourth place at 7-under 137, including Rob Johnson and Matthew Scriff of the Steel Club, Joe Corcoran of Five Ponds Golf Club and Kyle Pritchard of Olde Homestead Golf Club; the Concord Country Club foursome of Jim Allen, Larry Benedetto, Doug Fedoryshyn and Cabot Williams; Bob Arthur of Tavistock Country Club, Thomas Hyland of Little Mill Country Club, Bryan Marvin of Old York Road Country Club and James Muller of Manufacturers Golf & Country Club; and the Whitemarsh Valley Country Club duo of Richard Atcavage and Will Davenport, who captured the GAP Middle-Amateur title this  spring at Rolling Green Golf Club, Ronald Battaglia of The 1912 Club and Dan Farragut of Cedarbrook Country Club.

   Atcavage, Davenport, Battaglia and Farragut captured low-net honors with a 17-under 127 total.

   Alone in eighth place at 3-under 141 in the gross scoring was the Riverton Country Club foursome of Matthew Ade, R.J. Cummings, David Gall and Ben Litt.

Another quartet that had previously won this championship – Jason Barkley of Moselem Springs, Mark Coassolo of Brookside Allentown, Shawn Levin of Rolling Green and Peter Moran of host Whitford – headed a group of three teams tied for ninth at 2-under 142.

   The Honeybrook Golf Club trio of Greg Bender, Jason Castaldi and Richard Umani and Stephen Murta of Radley Run Country Club and the Schuylkill Country Club foursome of Nick Hand, Luke Morgan, Stephen Rice and Ian Schollenberger also landed on 142 and were tied for ninth.

   Bruce Cowgill, Matt Dietrich, Nicky Marrollo and William Penney Jr. of host Whitford used their local knowledge to finish alone in 12^th place at 1-under 143.