Bergstol matches par at tough Wanamaker Course to climb into fourth place in NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship

   Brian Bergstol, an instructor at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, matched par with a 72 at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course and inched into fourth place following the second round of the 46^th National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship Friday in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   Bergstol, winner of the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at DuPont Country Club and Concord Country Club in late August, headed a group of three players from the Philadelphia Section PGA inside the top 15 through 36 holes of the 72-hole stroke-play event with five Philly Section players surviving the 36-hole cut.

   Bergstol, the runnerup in the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship a year ago at the Wanamaker Course, trails 36-hole leader Andy Svoboda of Engineers Country Club in Roslyn Harbor, N.Y. on Long Island by seven shots.

   But Bergstol is only two shots behind a pair of players tied for second place and was one of only four players under par as windy conditions in South Florida have made club selection an adventure and firmed up the tricky putting surfaces on the Wanamaker Course.

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

   Bergstol had opened with a solid 1-under 71 that left him a tie for fifth place following Thursday’s opening round. His even-par round over the par-72 Wanamaker Course layout left him with a 1-under 143 total.

   Bergstol, starting off the 10^th tee, followed up a bogey at the 12^th hole with birdies at 13 and 15 before stumbling with a double bogey at 18 that dropped him back to 1-over for the round. A birdie at the first hole got him back to even, but he gave another shot back with a bogey at six. A birdie at the seventh hole left Bergstol at even for the day.

   One of Bergstol’s chief rivals on the Philadelphia Section circuit, Bidermann Golf Club instructor Zac Oakley, carded a 1-over 73 that landed him in a group of seven players tied for seventh place at 1-over 145.

   Oakley, who matched par with a 72 in Thursday’s opening round, got off to a good start Friday with a birdie at the first hole, but then got on the bogey train with bogeys at three, seven and eight. Birdies at the 10^th and 13^th holes got him back to even for the round, but he closed his round with a bogey at 18 to finish at 1-over for the round.

   Trevor Bensel, an assistant pro at Sandy Run Country Club, moved up the leaderboard with a 1-under 71 in Friday’s second round that enabled him to join the group tied for 14^th place at 2-over 146. Bensel, who had opened with a 3-over 75, offset three bogeys with four birdies.

   Bensel was the winner in the Philadelphia Section qualifier for the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship in September at Heidelberg Country Club, edging Bergstol and Oakley, who finished in a tie for second place, by two shots.

   Oakley finished in third place and Bensel landed in a tie for fourth behind Bergstol in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at DuPont and Concord. The talented trio will also be representing the Philadelphia Section in next spring’s PGA Professional Championship at the Twin Warriors Golf Club and the Santa Ana Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

   Oakley finished in a tie for sixth place in last spring’s PGA Professional Championship at the Omni Barton Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas to earn a trip to the PGA Championship, one of professional golf’s four major championships, at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

   Svoboda put together a sparkling five-birdie, no-bogey 5-under 67 in Friday’s second round to surge to a five-shot lead at the halfway point of the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship with an 8-under 136 total.

   Svoboda, who had opened with a 3-under 69, started off the 10^th tee and made birdies at the 13^th and 16^th holes on the Wanamaker Course’s incoming nine. He then added birdies on the first, fifth and seventh holes on the front nine to complete his 5-under round.

   One of Svoboda’s rivals in Metropolitan Section filled with talented players, Westchester Country Club’s Mike Bollo Jr., was tied for second place with Domenico Geminiani of Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Estero, Fla., both landing on 3-under 141, five shots behind Svoboda.

   Bollo offset two bogeys with five birdies while adding a 3-under 69 to his opening-round 72. Geminiani, who had opened with a 2-over 74, matched Svoboda’s five-birdie, no-bogey 5-under 67 to get his share of second place.

   Two other representatives of the Philadelphia Section, Pine Valley Golf Club’s Steve Sanderson and Moselem Springs Golf Club’s Jeff Fick, battled to survive the 36-hole cut, which fell at 9-over 153.

   Sanderson carded a second straight 4-under 76 for an 8-over 152 total. Fick made the cut on the number as he added a 3-over 75 to his opening-round 78.

   Also surviving the cut was former Overbrook Golf Club assistant pro Ashley Grier, who has moved on to the Yinglings Golf Center in Hagerstown, Md. Grier, winner of the PGA of America’s Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year award in 2020 while she was still working in the Overbrook pro shop, added a 5-over 77 in Friday’s second round to her opening-round 74 for a 7-over 151 total that left her in the group tied for 48^th place.

   Rounding out the Philadelphia Section contingent at the PGA Golf Club were Andrew Turner of Berkshire Country Club and Rocco Sgrillo of Philadelphia’s John F. Byrne Golf Course, both of whom missed the cut.

   Turner shaved four shots off his opening-round 80 with a 4-under 76 in Friday’s second round for a 156 total. Sgrillo struggled to an 83 Friday after opening with a 79 as he finished with a 162 total.