Harbold heads Philly Section contingent at Assistant PGA Professional Championship with a 74

   Rusty Harbold, playing out of the Philadelphia Cricket Club pro shop, headed the Philadelphia Section PGA contingent in the opening round of the 43^rd National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship, which teed off Thursday at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   The 37-year-old Harbold carded a 2-over-par 74 over the Wanamaker Course layout and is among the group tied for 39^th place. The field for the Assistant PGA Professional Championship, which is supported by Srixon/Cleveland Golf/XXIO, Golf Advisor and John Deere, will be cut to the low 70 and ties following Friday’s second round.

   Harbold was one of two players who shared low Philly Section honors last year at the PGA Golf Club as he finished in a tie for 30^th place at 4-over 292. He got off to a tough start Thursday, making a double bogey at the first hole.

   Harbold made a birdie at the fourth hole and a bogey at the seventh hole to make the turn at 2-over. A birdie at the 12^th hole and a bogey at the 17^th hole left Harbold at 2-over.

   The lead after the opening round belongs to Zach Johnson and no, not that Zach Johnson. This Zach Johnson works at the Davis Rock Golf Course outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. and he opened with a sparkling 5-under 67 to take a one-shot lead over Matt Rachey, an assistant coach at Minnesota, where he was a standout player.

   The 36-year-old Johnson started on the back nine at the Wanamaker Course and proceeded to light up the incoming nine with birdies at the 10^th, 12^th, 15^th and 16^th holes for a 4-under 32. Following the birdie at 16, Johnson rattled off nine straight pars before a birdie at the eighth hole got him to 5-under for the round.

   Alex Beach, the Westchester Country Club assistant who captured the PGA Professional Championship last spring at Belfair in Bluffton, S.C., headed a group of three players tied for third place, each posting a 3-under 69 that was a shot behind Rachey. Beach was joined at 3-under by Pat Steffes out of Burlingame Country Club in Hillsborough, Calif. and Colin Van Es, a former Seton Hall standout who works at Providence Golf Club in Davenport, Fla.

   Among the group tied for sixth place at 2-under 70 was Tony Perla, who is working out of the Canoe Brook Country Club pro shop in Summit, N.J. Perla worked in the pro shop at the Cricket Club and, I believe, was briefly the head pro at LedgeRock Golf Club.

   In doing some Google searches for this post, I noticed that Perla’s dad, Tony Perla Jr., died at age 75 in September. I remember Tony Perla Jr. when he briefly worked in the pro shop at Merion Golf Club, pretty sure his stint there coincided with the 1971 U.S. Open. I remember him as a nice guy and a very good player with a powerful golf swing.

   Looks like Tony Perla is doing his dad proud in the golf business.

   Also from the Philadelphia Section, Chris Filling, out of the pro shop at Seaview, was among the group tied for 51^st place at 3-over 75. Mike Furey, out of the pro shop at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, was a shot behind Filling in the group tied for 64^th place with a 4-over 76. Lookaway Golf Club’s Mike Little was another shot behind Furey in the group tied for 77^th place at 5-over 77.

   It was a disappointing day for Overbrook Golf Club’s Trevor Bensel, who captured the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship, hosted by Dick Smith Sr., at Chester Valley Golf Club with a 6-under 134 in August. Bensel struggled to an 81 Thursday and was among the group tied for 121^st place.

   Also in the group tied for 39^th place at 2-over 74 along with Harbold was Josh Rackley, the former Gulph Mills Golf Club assistant pro who moved on to Tam O’Shanter Country Club in Glen Head, N.Y. on Long Island. Rackley finished third in last year’s Assistant PGA Professional Championship.

   Rackley, who turned 30 earlier this month, was the runnerup to Temple’s Brandon Matthews, but claimed the low-pro prize in the 2015 Philadelphia Open at the Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course. Rackley also hit the jackpot earlier in 2015 when he captured the Haverford Philadelphia PGA Championship in a playoff at Sunnybrook Golf Club and its whopping $100,000 first-place check, the biggest prize offered in any Section tournament in the country.