Firestone earns win in Jack Jolly & Son Championship; Oakley puts his name on DeBaufre Trophy

    Noah Firestone, an assistant pro at Galloway National Golf Club, made a par on the first hole of a playoff to defeat Eddie Perrino of the Eagle Rock Resort to capture the title in the Philadelphia Section PGA’s Jack Jolly & Son Championship Monday at Moselem Springs Golf Club in Fleetwood, Berks County.

   Firestone, playing in the first group off, and Perrino, also part of the early wave, each posted a 3-under-par 67 and nobody else in the field was able to match or better that total.

   Firestone was at even-par after making a birdie at the second hole and a bogey at eight when he rattled off three straight birdies at 10, 11 and 12 to get it to 3-under. He made his second bogey of the day at the 14^th hole, but made a birdie at 17 to get it to the clubhouse in 3-under.

   Perrino got it into red figures with back-to-back birdies at the eighth and ninth holes. His lone bogey of the day came at the 10^th hole, but he got it to 3-under with birdies at 13 and 18 on his way to the house.

   “It’s a great feeling to get my first win of the season,” Firestone told the Philadelphia Section PGA website.

   Three of the Section’s top assistant pros, Mike Furey of Saucon Valley Country Club, Brian Bergstol of the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort and Trevor Bensel of Overbrook Golf Club, each posted a 1-under 69 to finish two shots behind the top two in a tie for third place.

   Dave Quinn, one of the Section’s senior standouts, was alone in sixth place as he matched par with a 70.

   Two instructors out of the Bidermann Golf Club pro shop, Zac Oakley and Braden Shattuck, headed a group of six players tied for seventh place as each signed for a 1-over 71.

   Rounding out the group at 1-over were Andrew Turner of Berkshire Country Club, Brian Kelly of Bucknell Golf Club, Terry Hatch of Royal Oaks Golf Course and Jakob Gerney of Trump National Golf Club – Philadelphia.

   Oakley left Moselem Springs with a nice piece of hardware as his 71 enabled him to complete a record-breaking 2021 season that earned him the F. Edward DeBaufre Trophy that goes to the Section pro with the lowest scoring average.

   Oakley was hanging out at or near the top of Philadelphia Section leaderboards all season and his sparkling scoring average of 68.93 over 14 rounds was the best in the history of the DeBaufre Trophy, which dates back to 1964.

   Oakley joined his father Pete Oakley, who won the DeBaufre Trophy in 1980, ’84, ’85 and ’99, as the only father-son duo on the trophy. Pete Oakley was a dominant player in the Philadelphia Section in the 1980s and surprised the golf world – at least the golf world outside the Philadelphia Section PGA – when he won the Senior Open Championship in 2004 at Royal Portrush, the classic layout in Northern Ireland.

   Zac Oakley was the runnerup in the 100^th Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship earlier this month at Applebrook Golf Club and Aronimink Golf Club and will represent the Philadelphia Section in next spring’s PGA Professional Championship at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas.

   Zac Oakley was in the hunt for a top-20 finish in last spring’s PGA Professional Championship, which was held at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The top-20 finishers in the PGA Professional Championship earn a ticket to the PGA Championship, one of the four professional major championships in men’s golf. Zac Oakley struggled a little in the final round, finishing in a tie for 40^th place.

   Perrino’s 67 did get him the top spot in the always competitive senior-division scoring at Moselem Springs. Quinn was the runnerup with his 70 and Kelly and Hatch finished in a tie for third place with their matching 71s.

   Firestone also claimed the top spot in the Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization (PAO) scoring with his 67. Furey, Bergstol and Bensel shared runnerup honors with their 70s.

   Zac Oakley and Bergstol will represent the Philadelphia Section in the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship, which tees off Nov. 11 at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. They earned their spot in that field when they finished in a tie for third place in the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship last month at Cedarbrook Country Club.

   The Philadelphia Section PGA website also noted that PGA Life Member J.R. Delich, at 80 years young, shot his age for the 321^st time. A game for a lifetime indeed.

   In addition to being supported by the title sponsor, the Jack Jolly & Son Championship was supported by Ohana Farm LLC, Jani-King and the PGA Tour.

 

 

Orlando's run in U.S. Mid-Amateur at Sankaty Head ends in quarterfinals; Hagestad reaches semifinals

   After storming into the quarterfinals, Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Gregor Orlando ran into a buzzsaw in Nicholas Maccario of Haverhill, Mass. and saw his bid for a U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship halted at Sankaty Head Golf Club in Siasconset, Mass. on Nantucket Island Wednesday.

   Orlando, who won the 2017 BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship at his home course, cruised to a 6 and 4 victory in Wednesday morning’s round of 16 over Hunter Hawkins of Fort Payne, Ala. to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.

   Making the quarterfinals will exempt Orlando into next year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis. Pretty sure Orlando is the first Golf Association of Philadelphia representative to make the quarterfinals in the U.S. Mid-Am since Merion Golf Club’s Michael McDermott did it in 2016 at Stonewall.

   Orlando won the third hole with a par and Hawkins got back to even by taking four with a par. After that, it was all Orlando.

   Orlando won six of the next 10 holes, five of them with birdies, to earn a date in Wednesday afternoon’s quarterfinals. Orlando took the fifth hole with a birdie, eight with birdie, 10 with birdie, 12 with par, 13 with birdie and 14 with a birdie that closed out Hawkins. I’m sure a couple of them were conceded birdies, but still … pretty nice run by Orlando.

   As hot as Orlando was in the morning, the 29-year-old Maccario, the 2020 Massachusetts Golf Association’s Player of the Year, was equally scorching in the afternoon. Orlando never so much as won a hole as Maccario cruised to a 5 and 4 decision to earn a spot in Thursday morning’s semifinals against Mark Costanza of Morristown, N.J.

   Costanza rolled to a 5 and 4 decision over Andrew Bailey of Cleveland in another quarterfinal match.

   Maccario jumped in front of Orlando with wins at the second and third holes. Maccario went back-to-back again at the seventh and eighth holes to go 4-up and finished off Orlando with a birdie at 14.

   For the fourth time in his five U.S. Mid-Amateur starts, Stewart Hagestad, the winner in 2016 at Stonewall, will be a semifinalist after an epic victory over Stephen Behr Jr. of Atlanta in 23 holes in Wednesday morning’s round of 16 and a hard-fought 2-up decision over Christian Sease of Mt. Pleasant, S.C. in the quarterfinals.

   Any of us who got to watch Hagestad’s comeback from 4-down with five holes to play to defeat 2014 champion Scott Harvey in 37 holes on a gorgeous late summer day at Stonewall five years ago can’t help but root for the guy a little.

   The 30-year-old Hagestad of Newport Beach, Calif. ripped off wins at the sixth, seventh and eighth holes to take a 2-up lead on Behr in the round of 16, but Behr answered by taking nine and 10 to square the match. Hagestad picked up a win on the 14^th hole, but Behr evened the match again with a win at 15.

   And it was on. The two halved seven straight holes before Hagestad finally pulled out the win with a par on the 23^rd hole.

   Hagestad’s semifinal opponent will be the seemingly charmed Hayes Brown of Charlotte, N.C. The 32-year-old was the final survivor in a 13-man playoff for the final seven spots in the match-play bracket. Six players remained after the first hole of the playoff with just one more spot up for grabs when Brown made eagle on the par-4 15^th hole at Sankaty Head.

   The 64^th seed then proceeded to rally to stun qualifying medalist Yaroslav Merkulov in the opening round of match play and he hasn’t looked back.

   Brown had an easy day Wednesday, claiming a 4 and 2 verdict over Richard “Skip” Berkmeyer of St. Louis in the round of 16 in the morning and then rolling to a 6 and 4 decision over Colby Harrell of San Antonio, Texas in the afternoon quarterfinals.

   In the 34^th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, being held concurrently at the Berkeley Hall Club’s North Course in Bluffton, S.C., a couple of 25-year-old “rookies,” Aliea Clark, a graduate student at New York University, and Blakesly Brock of Chattanooga, Tenn. will battle it out for the title in the 18-hole final Thursday morning.

   Much like Brown in the men’s Mid-Am, Clark, a native of San Diego who played collegiately at UCLA, survived a 5-for-1 playoff to earn the last spot in the match-play bracket and proceeded to stun the qualifying medalist Jennifer Peng, a pal of Clark’s from their days as junior golfers in the San Diego area.

   Clark cruised to a 4 and 3 victory over veteran Dawn Woodard of Greenville, S.C. in Wednesday morning’s quarterfinals before reaching the final with a 4 and 2 triumph over Amanda Jacobs of Portland, Ore. in the afternoon semifinals.

   Most of the drama occurred on Brock’s side of the bracket. The former Tennessee standout needed 19 holes to get by Clare Connally, a 28-year-old from Chevy Chase, Md. and a weekend looper at Congressional Country Club.

   Brock had a 2-up lead with two holes to play, but Connally wouldn’t go quietly, winning the 17^th and 18^th holes with birdies to send the match to extra holes. Brock, however, finally finished off Connally on the 20^th hole to advance to the semifinals.

   Brock’s semifinal opponent was 2018 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Shannon Johnson of North Easton, Mass., who had survived a battle with 2015 U.S. Women’s Mid-Am champion Lauren Greenlief of Ashburn, Va., 3 and 1, to advance to her meeting with Brock.

   Brock had a comfortable 4-up advantage on Johnson after winning the 10^th hole, but, playing like the champion she is, Johnson came storming back with wins at 13, 15, 16 and 18 to again force Brock to go to overtime. Brock, however, won the 19^th hole with a par to complete her journey to the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am final.

   A third former champion who had reached the quarterfinals, Ina Kim-Schaad of Rhinebeck, N.Y., who captured the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am title two years ago at Forest Highlands Golf Club in Flagstaff, Ariz., was ousted by Jacobs, 1-up, Wednesday morning.

 

Orlando wins two matches, will play for spot in quarterfnals in U.S. Mid-Amateur at Sankaty Head

    Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Gregor Orlando won two matches Tuesday at the Sankaty Head Golf Club in Siasconset, Mass. on Nantucket Island to reach the round of 16 in the 40^th U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.

   Orlando never made it to the first tee for the scheduled start of his first-round match with Jack Smith of Knoxville, Tenn. Monday. The U.S. Mid-Am got behind when there was five-hour delay for fog during the opening round of qualifying Saturday at Sankaty Head.

   Orlando, winner of the 2017 BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship on his home course, won the 13^th hole with a par to go 1-up on Smith, then took the 17^th hole with a birdie to close out a 2 and 1 victory Tuesday morning.

   Orlando, the 2007 PIAA champion as a junior at Erie Cathedral Prep, then grinded out a 1-up victory over Brady Shivers of Seminole, Texas to earn a spot in in the round of 16 Wednesday morning.

   Shivers won the 13^th hole with a birdie to get even with Orlando, but Orlando bounced back to restore his 1-up advantage by winning 14 with a birdie. Shivers battled back to square the match again by taking the 16^th hole with a par, but Orlando won 18 with a par to pull out the victory.

   Orlando will take Hunter Hawkins of Fort Payne, Ala. in the round of 16 Wednesday morning. The winners of Wednesday morning’s matches will play the quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon. The semifinals will be played Thursday morning with the first 18 holes of the scheduled 36-hole final set for Thursday afternoon. The second 18 holes of the final will be played Friday.

   Hawkins reached the round of 16 with a 3 and 1 win over Chad Wilfong of Charlotte, N.C. Wilfong had reached the second round by knocking off Nelson Hargrove, who starred scholastically at The Haverford School and collegiately at Brown, 2-up.

   Wilfong won the 16^th hole to go 2-up with two holes to play against Hargrove, but Hargrove sent the match to the 18^th hole by winning 17 with a birdie. Wilfong, however, took the 18^th hole with a par to close out Hargrove.

   Another former Inter-Ac League standout, Merion Golf Club’s Cole Willcox, who starred scholastically at Malvern Prep and collegiately at Virginia, saw his U.S. Mid-Am bid halted in the opening round in another match that went to the 18^th hole. Willcox suffered a 1-up setback to former Wake Forest assistant coach Dan Walters.

   The match started late Monday and was even through six holes when darkness halted the proceedings. Willcox won the ninth hole to take a 1-up lead, but Walters picked up wins at 12 and 14 to take a 1-up lead. Willcox clawed back to even by winning the 15^th hole, but Walters went back ahead by taking 16 with a bogey and then grinded out halves on the final two holes.

   The day began with a huge upset as Hayes Brown of Charlotte, N.C., the last survivor of a 13-man playoff for the final seven spots in match play, rallied to hand qualifying medalist Yuroslav Merkulov of Rochester, N.Y., 1-up. Merkulov was 2-up through eight holes when darkness fell Monday evening, but Brown, who made eagle on the par-4 15^th hole, the second hole of the playoff, to advance to the match-play bracket, came on strong to knock out Merkulov.

   Brown then rolled to a 5 and 4 decision over Sam Straka of Valdosta, Ga. in Tuesday afternoon’s second round to reach the round of 16.

   Stewart Hagestad of Newport Beach, Calif., who rallied from 4-down with five holes to play to win the U.S. Mid-Am crown five years ago at Stonewall, won a pair of matches Tuesday and the 30-year-old is very much still alive in his bid to add a second U.S. Mid-Am title to his resume.

   Hagestad cruised to a 4 and 2 verdict over Brett Young, the former college hockey player from Bethel Park in western Pennsylvania before rolling to a 5 and 4 decision over 2015 U.S. Mid-Am runnerup Marc Dull of Winter Haven, Fla. in Tuesday afternoon’s second round.

   Hagestad, No. 13 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), will take on Stephen Behr Jr. of Atlanta in Wednesday morning’s round of  16. Behr knocked off Michael Muehr of McLean, Va., 3 and 2, in his second-round match. Muehr won the prestigious Crump Cup at  Pine Valley Golf Club, arguably the second biggest mid-am event besides the U.S. Mid-Am in the county, for the third time earlier this month.

   The headliner on the USGA website was Garrett Rank, the 34-year-old Canadian who is an NHL official. Rank claimed a 2 and 1 victory over Cody Palladino of West Hartford, Conn. in the opening round before advancing to the round of 16 with a convincing 5 and 3 decision over Matthew Galloway of Tampa, Fla. in his second-round match.

   One of Pennsylvania’s top mid-ams, Jimmy Ellis of Venetia, was knocked out in the opening round when he suffered a 3 and 2 setback at the ands of 64-years young Doug Hanzel of Savannah, Ga. Ellis won the 2020 Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Open Championship at Oakmont Country Club and was in the hunt right to the final hole in this summer’s Pennsylvania Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club’s East Course before finishing in a tie for fourth place.

   The U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship is being held concurrently at the Berkeley Hall Club’s North Course in Bluffton, S.C. and it’s down to eight quarterfinalists, three of whom are former champions.

   One of those former winners will be going out in Wednesday’s quarterfinals as the 2018 champion, Shannon Johnson of North Easton, Mass., will be taking on the 2015 champion, Lauren Greenlief of Ashburn, Va.

   Johnson had to get by veteran Tara Joy-Connelly of Vero Beach, Fla., claiming a 1-up victory in the round of 16 Wednesday afternoon. Johnson picked up wins at the 11^th, 13^th and 15^th holes to turn a 1-up deficit into a 2-up advantage. Joy-Connelly sent the match to the 18^th hole by winning the 17^th hole, but Johnson got a half at 18 to pull out the victory.

   Greenlief had to survive a battle with the ageless Ellen Port of St. Louis, a four-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion and three-time U.S. Senior Women’s champion, in Tuesday morning’s second round.

   Greenlief had a comfortable 3-up lead when Port, coming off a run to the final of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur a couple of weeks ago at The Lakewood Club in Point Clear, Ala., rattled off wins at the ninth, 10^th and 12^th holes to get even. Greenlief then got wins at the 13^th and 16^th holes on her way to a hard-fought 2 and 1 victory.

   Greenlief then pulled out a 2-up victory over former Furman standout Jacqueline Bendrick of Mercer Island, Wash. in Tuesday afternoon’s round of 16 to set up the showdown with Johnson.

   Ina Kim-Schaad of Rhinebeck, N.Y., winner of the last U.S. Women’s Mid-Am contested two years ago at Forest Highlands Golf Club in Flagstaff, Ariz., also stayed alive in her bid to repeat.

   After rolling to a 6 and 5 verdict over Andrea Miller of Keswick, Va. in the second round Tuesday morning, Kim-Schaad had her hands full against Lara Tennant of Portland, Ore. Tennant defeated Port in the final at The Lakewood Club earlier this month to claim her third straight U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur crown.

   Kim-Schaad claimed a 4 and 2 decision over Tennant to earn a spot in the quarterfinals opposite Amanda Jacobs of Portland, Ore. Jacobs pulled out a 2-up victory over Lana Weant of Lubbock, Texas in her round-of-16 match Tuesday afternoon.