Flourtown, Pa. – The 22^nd annual Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic was held on May 29^th at Sunnybrook Golf Club in Plymouth Meeting, PA, on its traditional Tuesday after Memorial Day date. On a warm, humid day, PGA Professional Mark Parson of Harbor Pines Golf Club in Egg Harbor Township, NJ bested a field of 150 players (138 professionals and 12 amateurs) to capture the largest first place check of any PGA Sectional event in the country… $100,000.

The tournament got off to an exciting start as Brett Melton (Radley Run Country Club), who was playing in the first group of the morning wave, posted a 3-under (69). Melton posted four birdies which included a clutch 25 foot birdie on the difficult par-4 18^th hole to help him reach that number.

However when the morning wave came to an end Melton would share the top spot with Corey McAlarney (Squires Golf Club). McAlarney played a near perfect round of golf, posting four birdies along the way, but a bogey, on the long par-3 8^th hole, meant he would finish with an identical score as Melton, 3-under (69).

Three additional players in the morning wave, including a pair of past champions, Andrew Turner (Sunnybrook Golf Club) and Billy Stewart (The ACE Club), along with Michael Little (Lookaway Golf Club) threatened to join the pair at 3-under but ultimately fell one shot short.

Defending champion Turner made the turn at 3-under but a pair of bogeys on holes 12 & 13 proved too difficult to overcome. Like Turner, Little made the turn at 3-under but as Little made his way back to the clubhouse he found trouble on a few holes and his lengthy birdie putt on the 18^th hole fell just short leaving him one shot shy. Stewart, who started his Haverford Classic on the 10^th hole, got off to a slow start with a bogey on his opening hole. Stewart would quickly recover and made the turn at even par. After birdies on holes 1 & 3 Stewart found himself at 2-under but unfortunately he was unable to card any more red numbers after that and finished his round at 2-under-par.

As the tournament turned to the afternoon wave a couple of players made a run at the top of the leaderboard. The first to do so was Jason Calhoun (Univ. of Pennsylvania). Calhoun found himself at 2-under as he played the closing hole. After his tee shot found the left rough, Calhoun managed to hit his approach shot to 20 feet. Unfortunately Calhoun was unable to convert the birdie putt and he finished at 2-under (70). Next to make a run at the leaders was Zac Oakley (Wayneborough Country Club). Starting on back nine, Oakley was 1-over after his opening nine holes but as he made the turn he carded four birdies and found himself at 3-under par as he played the par-4 9^th hole. Unfortunately, a wayward tee shot led to a bogey and Oakley finished with a score of 2-under (70).

One player in afternoon did manage to break free of the logjam at 2-under. Brian Bergstol (Shawnee Inn & Resort) carded three birdies through eight holes and looked primed to surpass Melton and McAlarney for the lead. However, Bergstol’s fourth birdie was cancelled by his lone bogey and he would join the pair at 3-under. With only a few groups remaining on the course in looked as though the tournament was headed for a playoff.

But playing in the tournament’s final paring, Mark Parson (Harbor Pines Golf Club) knew exactly what was in front of him as he made his way around Sunnybrook Golf Club. Parson got off to a hot start with four birdies on his opening eight holes but a bogey on the par-4 9^th dropped Parson to 3-under as he made his way to the back nine. Parson would trade bogeys and birdies on holes 10 & 11 and 13 & 14 respectively to find himself back at 3-under as he played the par-5 16^th hole. After reaching the green in two, Parson left himself a tap in birdie to get back to 4-under as he made his way to the par-3 17^th hole. Parson was able to convert a long 30 foot birdie putt to get himself to 5-under with only one hole to play. On the 18^th hole, Parson’s tee shot found the left rough but he managed to hit his approach shot on the fringe and two putts later Parson was in the clubhouse with a 5-under (67) giving him a two-shot victory.

The victory was Parson’s first Philadelphia PGA points win and it could not have come at a better tournament. With the largest first place prize of any individual event Parson walked away from Sunnybrook and the Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic $100,000 richer.

As always the members of the Philadelphia PGA would like to thank Mr. George Connell and the Haverford Trust Company as well as the membership of Sunnybrook Golf Club for their tremendous support of this event.

For more information, visit www.philadelphia.pga.com or follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Paoli, Pa. – The 2018 edition of the Club Car, LLC / Golf Cars Inc. Pro-Official Championship was played Wednesday, May 9 at Waynesborough Country Club. After what seemed like a never ending winter, the nearly 40 teams that gathered at the Chester County golf course were treated to a near perfect spring afternoon. The Pro-Official features one PGA Professional partnered with an officer from his or her facility. The two-person teams compete in a net four-ball competition (better ball of partners).

As scores from the event began to get posted, one team proved too much for the rest of the field. The duo of PGA Professional Dave McNabb and his partner Joe Waterman of Applebrook Golf Club carded a course blistering score of 11-under-par (60) to finish two shots clear of the field and secure their victory at the Club Car LLC / Golf Cars Inc. Pro-Official Championship. The team was led by McNabb who posted a flawless 8-under-par (63) on his own golf ball. However, Waterman netted birdies when the team needed them most helping the pair to walk away with the win. As the winners Applebrook Golf Club will host the perpetual Pro-Official Championship trophy at their facility for the next year and will also receive the use of a utility vehicle from Club Car LLC and Golf Cars Inc. during the 2019 season.

Finishing two shots behind in solo second place was the team from Philadelphia Country Club featuring PGA Professional Scott Reilly and his partner Jim Black. As a team, Reilly and Black carded eleven birdies but a couple of early bogeys proved too much to overcome and the pair ultimately turned in a score of 9-under-par (62).

Taking home the third place prize was a team from Whitford Country Club led by Assistant PGA Professional Matt DiEleuterio along with his partner Todd Cottingham. The pair posted an impressive six birdies and one eagle on the par-4 16^th hole en route to a net score of 8-under-par (63). Their score of 8-under-par solidified their top three finish helping them to avoid the logjam of teams that finished at 7-under-par.

Once again the Philadelphia PGA thanks our generous tournament sponsors Club Car LLC. and Golf Cars Inc. Through their support the Pro-Official Championship continues to remain as one of the premiere events on the Philadelphia PGA calendar year in and year out.

The Delaware Valley Open on Monday, May 14 is next event on the Philadelphia PGA tournament calendar. The DVO will be played at Concord Country Club and will feature a field of over 120 Philadelphia PGA members and apprentices. As always you can find complete Philadelphia PGA tournament information online at philadelphia.pga.com/tournaments.

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York, Pa. – On Monday, May 7, the Philadelphia PGA traveled to our western border and the Country Club of York for the annual Spring Pro-Pro Championship. The Pro-Pro brings together two PGA Professionals partnered in a four-ball competition (Better of ball of partners). The forty-three teams that competed in the Spring Pro-Pro Championship were treated to a first-class facility and top notch weather.

Playing early in the day the team of Shawn Hall and Brett Melton, both of Radley Run Country Club posted an impressive score of 8-under-par (64). The duo carded eight birdies on the day, including six on their back nine. With the course playing tough it looked as though that may be the number to beat.

However, playing late in the day, the pair of Bob Hennefer and Curtis Kirkpatrick, both of Indian Spring Country Club caught fire late in the day en route to a one shot victory. Hennefer and Kirkpatrick made the turn at 3-under-par which included a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole. As they made their way back to the clubhouse, Hennefer and Kirkpatrick posted six more birdies including birdies on five of the final six holes and three straight to end their round. Their 9-under-par (63) was good enough to edge the field by one shot.

Rounding out the podium was a pair of teams who finished at 7-under-par (65). The first team to get to that number was John Allen and Dan Marz both of Huntingdon Valley Country Club. Allen and Marz posted five birdies and one eagle, on the par-4 thirteenth, to get to 7-under-par. They were joined at 7-under-par by the team of Stu Ingraham (M Golf Range) and Joe Kogelman (GolfTEC – Moorestown) who posted seven birdies through fourteen holes. But their charge at the leaders ended there as they were unable to card any additional birdies.

The Section thanks the membership and staff of the Country Club of York for their generous support as well as our tournament sponsors, Ahead, Evolve Golf, Destination Kohler and the PGA Tour. Through their support the Spring Pro-Pro Championship has been a staple event on the Philadelphia PGA tournament calendar.

The Philadelphia PGA will be back in action Wednesday, May 9 at Waynesborough Country Club for the annual Club Car LLC / Golf Cars Inc. Pro-Official Championship. For more information on the Philadelphia PGA and our tournament program visit www.phillypga.com or you can find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @PhiladelphiaPGA.

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Phoenixville, Pa. – The second points event on the Philadelphia PGA calendar, The TaylorMade Classic, was played on Monday, April 30 at RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve. The event featured nearly 120 players and was a combined event with the Section’s Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization (PAO).

Although the calendar read April 30, Mother Nature had other ideas as temperatures remained relatively cool and brisk winds plagued the players throughout the day. Early in the tournament it looked like the number to reach would be even par (71). The first player to post that number was 2016 Philadelphia PGA Player of the Year Michael Little (Lookaway Golf Club). After a benign front nine, Little traded two birdies and two bogeys on his inward nine, including a birdie on the par-4 18^th hole to finish as the first player at par or better.

Little was quickly joined by Billy Stewart (The ACE Club) who after three bogeys through his first nine holes managed to play blemish-free adding multiple birdies along the way to get back to even par.

However, one player in the field had his eyes set on his first tournament victory. Kevin Nicholson (White Manor Country Club) played a near perfect round enabling him to overcome the difficult conditions the wind presented the rest of the field. Nicholson posted one eagle and four birdies against only two bogeys, to finish at 4-under-par (67) and the first player to post red figures. As the leader in the clubhouse Nicholson would need to wait more than two hours to see if his number would be good enough.

As group after group finish it looked as though no one would come within four shots of Nicholson, however John Appleget (The Shore Club) had a great round going. Through ten holes Appleget was 2-under-par but an untimely double-bogey on the par-4 15^th derailed Applget’s chances for a win but he did manage a birdie on the closing hole to finish at 1-under-par (70) and a solo second place finish.

In the tournament’s final group, Bob Hennefer (Indian Spring Golf Course) managed to get his score to 2-under-par through seventeen holes but a double bogey on his final hole ultimately dropped him into a third place tie at even par (71).

With no other players in the field managing to shoot under par Nicholson earned his first Philadelphia PGA individual points win of his career.

“Competing in one the best playing Sections in the country I am at a loss for words with this win, said Nicholson. I have a put in a lot of hard work to start this season and it seemed to all come together today. It means so much to me to be included in the list of professionals that have won a Philadelphia PGA tournament. I want to thank our tournament sponsor TaylorMade and Mike Zupi and Jay Junkin as well as Jamie Komancheck and the entire staff and membership of RiverCrest Golf Club and Preserve for hosting us today.”

The victory for Nicolson was twice as nice as he also took home top honors in the PAO TaylorMade Classic event. Nicholson finished four shots clear of second place finishers Michael Little (Lookaway Golf Club) and Billy Stewart (The ACE Club) who ended the day at even par (71).

Leading the way in the tournament’s senior division was John Appleget (The Shore Club). Appleget carded a 1-under-par (70) to finish two-shots ahead of both Dave McNabb (Applebrook Golf Club) and Stu Ingraham (M Golf Range) who both finished at 1-over-par (72).

The Section would like to thank our tournament sponsors TaylorMade Golf and our Section representatives Mike Zupi and Jay Junkin as well as the PGA Tour for supporting today’s event.

The next event on the Philadelphia PGA tournament calendar is the Spring Pro-Pro Championship which will be played on Monday, May 7 at the Country Club of York.

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