Ardmore, Pa. – The third and final day of the 2016 Match Play Championship was played at Merion Golf Club – West Course on Wednesday, October 19. After two exciting days of golf the field was whittled down from 64 players to just four all looking to capture the season’s final point’s event.

The first semifinal match featured Dave Quinn (Links Golf Club) versus Brendon Post (University of Delaware). Neither player was able to gain an advantage on the other and the match went the full 18 holes before Post was able to put away defending champion Quinn 1-up. The second semifinal match featured 2014 Match Play Champion Corey McAlarney (Sunnybrook Golf Club) and current Philadelphia PGA Professional Champion Jordan Gibbs (Gulph Mills Golf Club). Like the first match, neither player was able to gain a lead and the match went extra holes before McAlarney was able to put away Gibbs on the 19^th hole.

Post’s road featured wins over Gregg Gipp (3&2), Andrew Turner (3&2), Eric Figueroa (5&3), Jakob Gerney (19^th hole) before his win over Quinn in the semifinals. McAlarney had wins over Dave Roberts (6&5), Mike Meisenzhal (1-up), Stu Ingraham (1-up), Trevor Bensel (5&4) before his win over Gibbs gave him a spot in the finals.

After trading pars on the opening hole, McAlarney was able to strike first in the final match with a birdie on the second hole giving him a quick 1-up lead. McAlarney and Post would then trade pars over the next four holes before breaking the trend with a pair of birdies on the par-4 7^th hole. McAlarney would take his 1-up advantage into the driveable par-4 8^th hole and would capitalize on his excellent drive. After his tee shot found the green, McAlarney was able to two-putt for birdie to increase his lead to 2-up through nine holes. The duo would halve the par-4 9^th hole meaning McAlarney would take a 2-up lead into the back nine.

However as they made the turn, Post was able to turn the ship around and won both the 10^th and 11^th holes to get the match back to all square as they headed to the 12^th tee. Unfortunately for Post that was where the streak ended. McAlarney would go on to birdie both the 12^th and 13^th holes to bring his lead back to 2-up. The pair traded pars on the par-4 14^th hole before Post gave it one last charge. Post would win the par-3 15^th hole to put him only 1-down with three holes to play. However, after Post’s tee shot found trouble on the 16^th hole McAlarney would go on to win the hole putting the match dormie as they headed to the par-3 17^th hole. Unable to find the green, Post would go on to concede the hole to McAlarney giving him a 3&1 victory and his second Philadelphia PGA Match Play Championship.

The Section would like to thank the membership and staff at Merion Golf Club, especially host professional Scott Nye, for their hospitality during the week. The Section also thanks event sponsors Omega, the PGA Tour and Greg Norman for their continued support of our tournament program.

Full Tournament Leaderboard