Kelly's Pro-Am for Wishes victory sets the stage for big stretch of Philadelphia PGA events

    There is no shortage of talent in the Philadelphia Section PGA. And as good as its young players are, the senior contingent likes to remind the youngsters every now and again that experience matters, too.

   Brian Kelly of Bucknell Golf Club did just that when he rallied on the second day of the Pro-Am for Wishes Aug. 16 at Penn Oaks Golf Club where Chester and Delaware counties meet to get into a playoff and then made a par on the first extra hole to capture the championship.

   Yeah, I’m a little late getting to this, but it’s been a busy time for golf lately and besides, it gives me a chance to set the stage for an absolutely monstrous three-week stretch on the Philadelphia Section schedule beginning Monday when the 100^th – nice round number, that – Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship tees off at Aronimink Golf Club, the Donald Ross masterpiece that will host the 2026 PGA Championship, and Applebrook Golf Club.

   Kelly carded a 1-over-par 72 in the opening round Aug. 15^th over the tough Penn Oaks layout and trailed co-leaders Brian Bergstol, an instructor at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, and Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club, by three shots.

   Kelly made an early bogey at the fifth hole in the second round, but was flawless the rest of the way. He made four birdies on the final 12 holes at seven, nine, 16 and 18 to fire a sparkling 3-under 68 and post a 2-under 140 total

   Oakley, who has been solid all year long on the Philadelphia Section circuit, and Bergstol opened with matching 2-under 69s. Oakley birdied the 18^th hole to complete an even-par 71 and Bergstol made a par at the last to match par with a 71 as both caught Kelly at 2-under 140.

   Kelly got it up and down for par on the first extra hole, the par-4 first hole at Penn Oaks, to claim the title in the Pro-Am for Wishes, which benefited Make-A-Wish in Philadelphia, Delaware and the Susquehanna Valley.

   Chris Krueger of Kings Creek Country Club matched Kelly’s final-round 68 after opening with a 73 as he was the only other player to finish under par for two rounds at 1-under 141, just a shot out of the playoff.

   Alex Knoll, an instructor at Glen Brook Golf Club, headed a group of four players tied for fifth place at even-par 142 as he too closed with a 2-under 68 after opening with a 74. Knoll will be the two-time defending champion when the Section championship is contested for the 100^th time next week at Aronimink and Applebrook. He has certainly saved his best stuff for the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship the last two years.

   Two more members of the Philadelphia Section’s outstanding senior contingent, John Cooper of Green Valley Country Club and Hugo Mazzalupi of Patriots Glen National Golf Club, were part of the quartet at even-par 142. Cooper and Mazzalupi had identical splits as each added a 72 to an opening round of 1-under 70.

   Rounding out the group at 142 was Mike Tobiason of Deerfield Golf Club as he bounced back from an opening-round 73 with a 2-under 69.

   Two more of the Philadelphia Section’s senior standouts, Laurel Creek Country Club’s Dave Quinn, who represented the Section in both the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. and in the U.S. Senior Open at Omaha Country Club in Omaha, Neb., and Stu Ingraham, an instructor at the M Golf Range & Learning Center in Newtown Square, headed a group of five players tied for ninth place at 2-over 144.

   Quinn added a 1-under 70 to his opening-round 74 while Ingraham matched par in the opening round with a 71 before adding a 2-over 73.

   The Overbrook Golf Club pro shop was represented by both head pro Eric Kennedy and his talented assistant, Trevor Bensel, in the quintet at 143. Kennedy matched par in the opening round with a 71 before adding a 73 in the final round.

   Got a chance to watch Bensel in action in the final round of the Pennsylvania Open at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s classic Wissahickon Course the week before the Pro-Am for Wishes when he finished in a tie for third place. He is an effortlessly good player. Bensel closed with a 1-under 70 at Penn Oaks after opening with a 74.

   Rounding out the group at 143 was Mike Furey out of the Saucon Valley Country Club pro shop. Furey matched par in the final round with a 71 after opening with a 73.

   Speaking of talented Overbrook assistants, Ashley Grier, coming off her victory in the inaugural Women’s Philadelphia PGA Championship at Kennett Square Golf & Country Club, headed a group of three players tied for 14^th place at 3-over 145. Grier, the 2020 Women’s PGA Player of the Year, added a 72 to her opening-round 73.

   Rounding out the trio at 145 were another member of the Philadelphia Section’s senior contingent, Applebrook Golf Club head pro Dave McNabb, and Oakley’s talented colleague in the Bidermann pro shop, Braden Shattuck.

   McNabb was coming off a victory in the Skee Riegel Senior Open, which he captured with a 4-under 66 at Radnor Valley Country Club Aug. 5 (another event I just never got to in this busy month of golf). McNabb matched par with a 71 at Penn Oaks in the final round after opening with a 74.

   Shattuck, who has been the hottest player on the Philadelphia Section circuit this summer, added a 73 to his opening-round 72.

   Kelly’s 2-under 140 total also gave him the top spot on the Senior Division leaderboard. Cooper and Mazzalupi shared second place at even-par 142, Quinn and Ingraham were tied for fourth at 2-over 144 and McNabb was alone in sixth at 3-over 145.

   The Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship is always the biggest event on the Section’s calendar and this year will be a celebration of 100 years on the club pro scene in this golf-rich region. The top finishers in the Philadelphia Section championship, as always, will earn berths in the PGA Professional Championship next spring at the Omni Barton Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas.

   The 54-hole Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship will tee off Monday with half the field at Aronimink and the other half at Applebrook. Players will switch courses for Tuesday’s second round. The field will be cut after 36 holes with the survivors finishing up at Aronimink, which hosted the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship in 2018.

   Less than a week later, Sept. 7, the day after Labor Day, the rescheduled Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic will be staged at its traditional home, Sunnybrook Golf Club. The Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic offers a jackpot $100,000 to the winner, the largest prize of any PGA Section event in the country.

   The Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic was traditionally played on the Tuesday after Memorial Day. It was postponed to the day after Labor Day in the coronavirus pandemic summer of 2020, but ultimately was cancelled, one of many golf events that were casualties of the pandemic. Again scheduled for the day after Memorial Day this year, it was again rescheduled for the day after Labor Day.

   With that big prize – it can be life-changing for a club pro -- up for grabs, the Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic never fails to bring the drama.

   That talented group of senior standouts will then convene Sept. 14 at Huntsville Golf Club for the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship with John Pillar, the director of golf at the Country Club at Woodloch Springs, going for his third straight victory in the event.

   The top finishers in the Philadelphia Senior PGA Professional Championship will advance to the Senior PGA Professional Championship, which will be held in October at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.