Butler, Hart head Drexel contingent that comes out for GAP Elite Series No. 1 at North Hills

    The name of Drexel men’s golf coach Ben Feld can often be found on Golf Association of Philadelphia leaderboards.

  When GAP decided to stage a couple of events for college-age players with few competitive opportunities due to the coronavirus pandemic, I’m sure Feld encouraged his guys to make the most of the chance to play some golf in a tournament setting.

   So it probably wasn’t a huge surprise that Drexel accounted for half of the top-10 finishers in GAP’s Elite Series No. 1, held in drizzly conditions Monday at North Hills Country Club.

  Two of the three co-medalists, Alex Butler and Liam Hart, were Dragons with Butler being awarded the top spot in a scorecard tiebreaker.

   Butler, an East Norriton resident and a junior on St. Joseph Prep’s 2014 PIAA Class AAA championship team, and Hart, the 2017 PIAA Class AAA champion as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep, were joined at the top of the leaderboard by Tim Cooper, a former Central Dauphin standout, each carding a 2-over-par 73 over the 6,509-yard, par-71 North Hills layout. Butler is in his fifth year at Drexel and Hart is a freshman.

   The event was open to men and women ages 18 to 24 and, while many players in the field were on a current college roster, the field was not limited to college players.

   Butler, in his final year of a five-year finance program at Drexel, was just happy to get out and compete.

   “It was fun,” Butler, who plays out of LuLu Country Club, told the GAP website. “I’m glad Liam and I were able to get up to the top of the leaderboard. I just wanted to compete and get a good round in. It’s been tough to find competition. I’m glad I was to come out here.”

   After a birdie at the first hole, Butler struggled a little on the outgoing nine at North Hills, making bogeys at the second and fourth holes and a double bogey at five. But he righted the ship on the back nine, making birdies at the 10^th and 12^th holes. Despite a bogey at the 16^th hole, he still posted a 1-under 35 on the incoming nine.

   Tyler McGarry of Pittston finished alone in fourth place with a 3-over 74. Looks like McGarry played some college golf at Misericordia, although he’s not on the current roster.

   Drexel junior Angelo Giantsopolous, a native of Canada, shared fifth place with Nicholas Vecilio, a Northwestern Lehigh product whose senior season at Delaware was cut short by the pandemic last spring, each registering a 4-over 75. Vecillio captured the Berks County Golf Association (BCGA) Match Play Championship in the summer at Reading Country Club.

   Cabrini junior Gerald Haftman finished in a tie for seventh place with Caleb Ryan, a three-time PIAA qualifier during a standout scholastic career representing Norristown, each signing for a 5-over 76. Ryan recently defeated younger brother Josh, whose senior season this fall was wiped out by the pandemic, in the final of the club championship at Jeffersonville Golf Club.

   Two more Drexel players, sophomore Ben Pochet, a two-time District One Class AAA champion at Spring-Ford, and freshman Andrew Wallace, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Harriton, finished ninth and 10^th, respectively, Pochet carding a 78 and Wallace checking in with a 79.

   One woman took advantage of GAP’s Elite Series opportunity, Tim Cooper’s sister, Allison Cooper-Wix, who carded a solid 1-over 73. Cooper-Wix was a four-time PIAA qualifier during an outstanding scholastic career at Central Dauphin.

   Elite Series No. 2 will be played Tuesday at Saucon Valley Country Club’s Weyhill course.