Bergstol in second place, Oakley is tied for fourth going into final round of NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship

   If Brian Bergstol was going to win this week’s 46^th National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship, his first order of business might have been to just try to make sure he finished ahead of his Philadelphia Section PGA rival Zac Oakley.

   Well, going into Sunday’s final round, Bergstol, the director of instruction at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, leads Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club, by three shots, which leaves Bergstol in second place just two shots behind leader Domenico Geminiani of Old Corkscrew Golf Course in Estero, Fla.

   The NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship is supported by Srixon, Cleveland Golf, XXIO and Ascis.

   Bergstol, the runnerup in the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship a year ago, carded a solid 4-under-par 68 at the PGA Golf Club’s par-72 Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla. in Saturday’s third round that gave him a 5-under 211 total.

   If not for a remarkable late surge by Geminiani during which he went 5-under over the final four holes, Bergstol might have grabbed the 54-hole lead. The lesson there, though, is that things can change quickly at the Wanamaker Course, so the two shots that separate Bergstol from Geminiani is hardly insurmountable.

   It is something Oakley knows all too well as he had some success over the Wanamaker Course, including a victory last winter in Event No. 3 of the PGA Tournament Series, beating former Philadelphia Section rival Brett Walker, who had moved on from Sunnybrook Golf Club in the offseason a year ago, in a playoff.

   A bogey at the 18^th hole Saturday left Oakley with a 3-under 69 and a 2-under 214 total, three shots behind Bergstol and five behind Geminiani. It dropped Oakley into a tie for fourth place with Danny Lewis of Hollywood Golf Club in Deal, N.J.

   Bergstol overtook Oakley in the final round in August to capture the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at DuPont Country Club, Oakley falling back to third place.

   Bergstol got it going early in the third round Saturday, rattling off birdies at the second, third, sixth and seventh holes. A bogey at the eighth hole slowed Bergstol’s roll a little. He made another birdie at the 11^th hole, but a bogey a 13 dropped him back to 3-under for the round. Bergstol picked up one more birdie, his sixth of the round, at the 16^th hole to get it to the house at 4-under.

   Geminiani opened with a bang when he made an eagle at the par-5 first hole. But a bogey at the ninth hole and a double bogey at 11 was starting to make it look like a round that was nothing special when he arrived at the 15^th tee at 1-over for the day.

   That’s when he proceeded to turn his round into something special. Geminiani made a birdie at the 15^th hole and followed that up with his second eagle of the day at the par-5 16^th. Back-to-back birdies to finish his round at the 17^th and 18^th holes enabled Geminiani to post a 4-under 68 and gave him a 7-under 209 total.

   Andy Svoboda, who works out of the pro shop at Engineers Country Club in Roslyn Harbor, N.Y. on Long Island, had taken a five-shot lead into Saturday’s third round, but struggled to a 5-over 77 and was two shots behind Bergstol in third place with a 3-under 213 total.

   Svoboda has spent time on the PGA Tour and owns three career Korn Ferry Tour victories, so don’t expect him to back down as the best assistant pros in the country battle for the top prize of $12,000 out of a total purse of $50,000 in Sunday’s final round.

   Oakley got off to a solid start with birdies at the first, third, fifth and seventh holes around a bogey at four. Following the birdie at the seventh hole, Oakley put together a string of eight straight pars before a birdie at 16 got him to 4-under for the round. His closing bogey left him with a 3-under 69 and a 2-under 214 total.

   Lewis had grabbed a share of the lead following the opening round with a 3-under 69, but struggled a little with a 3-over 75 in Friday’s second round. A 2-under 70 in Saturday’s third round enabled Lewis to join Oakley in a tie for fourth place at 2-under.

   Sandy Run Country Club’s Trevor Bensel matched par with a 72 that left him in the group tied for 13^th place at 2-over 218.

   Bensel was the medalist in the Philadelphia Section’s qualifier for the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship in September at Heidelberg Country Club. Bergstol and Oakley finished two shots behind Bensel in a tie for second place.

   Bensel finished behind Oakley in a tie for fourth place in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship and Bergstol, Oakley and Bensel will all represent the Philadelphia Section in next spring’s PGA Professional Championship – I still like its old-school moniker, the National Club Pro – at the Twin Warriors Golf Club and Santa Ana Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   Pine Valley Golf Club’s Steve Sanderson signed for a 2-over 74 in Saturday’s third round and was in the group tied for 48^th place at 10-over 226 total.

   Sanderson was joined at that figure by Bensel’s former colleague in the Overbrook Golf Club pro shop, Ashley Grier, who was named the Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year in 2020 while she was sill working at Overbrook.

   Grier, who has moved on to the Yinglings Golf Center in Hagerstown, Md., carded a 3-over 75 to join Sanderson at 10-over.

   Rounding out the Philadelphia Section contingent at the PGA Golf Club was Moselem Springs Golf Club’s Jeff Fick, who posted his second straight 3-over 75 and was in the group tied for 61^st place at 228.