Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pa. – The 2017 edition of the Shawnee Open was played at the historic Shawnee Inn & Resort. The Shawnee Open has been in existence since 1912, although not always run by the Philadelphia PGA. This year’s edition of the Shawnee Open was the 12^th event in the race for the Omega Player of the Year presented by the Haverford Trust Company and was originally scheduled to be played as a 36-hole tournament. However, persistent rains ultimately shortened the tournament to an 18-hole event which still allowed the Section to crown a champion.

Playing early in the first round, past champion of the Shawnee Open Mark Sheftic (Merion Golf Club) set the pace. Sheftic played bogey-free carding five birdies along the way to post an impressive 5-under (67) and quickly positioned himself at the top of the leaderboard.

Not far behind Sheftic, Mike Furey (Mahoning Valley Country Club) also found some magic in the tournament’s opening round. Furey was able to overcome a bogey on the final hole of his outward nine by carding four birdies as he made his way back to the clubhouse. Those four birdies combined with two birdies on his opening nine holes got Furey to the 5-under (67) number allowing him to join Sheftic at the top of the leaderboard.

Unfortunately for both Sheftic and Furey there was another player in the field who played a near perfect round of golf. Brett Melton (Radley Run Country Club) was playing in his first Shawnee Open but his performance was that of a seasoned veteran. Melton made the turn at 1-under par but that is when things got exciting. Melton added five additional birdies on consecutive holes (12-16) and finished the opening round with a score of 6-under (66).

Although the tournament was shaping for an exciting day two finish, the work done by Melton in the tournament’s opening round ultimately allowed him to capture his second Philadelphia PGA title (Pro-Am for Wishes). The win also vaulted Melton into the top spot on the Omega Player of the Year leaderboard with only the Match Play Championship left to determine this year’s player of the year.

Although Stu Ingraham (M Golf Range) came up just short in the tournament’s main division after finishing at 4-under (68) he did manage to walk away with a two-shot victory over John Pillar (Country Club of Woodloch Springs) in the tournament senior division, further increasing his lead in the Robert “Skee” Riegel Senior Player of the Year race.

The Shawnee Open was the fourth and final event to feature a super senior division. The super senior division was sponsored by Jani-King and only Philadelphia PGA Professionals age 65 or older are eligible. Finishing in first place in the super senior division was Gary Hardin (Northampton Country Club) who finished at 2-over (74) one shot ahead of Bill Sautter (Philadelphia Cricket Club).

The Section would like to thank the staff of the Shawnee Inn and Resort for their support of the event as well as our event sponsor Golf Cart Specialties.

 1   Brett Melton       Radley Run CC              35-31--66 -6  
 T2  Mark Sheftic       Merion GC                  34-33--67 -5  
 T2  Mike Furey         Mahoning Valley CC         35-32--67 -5  
 4   Stu Ingraham       M Golf Range               35-33--68 -4  
 5   Zac Oakley         Heritage Shores GC         33-36--69 -3  
 T6  Brian Bergstol     Shawnee Inn and GR         36-34--70 -2  
 T6  Kevin Edwards      Olde Homestead GC          35-35--70 -2  
 T6  John Pillar        CC at Woodloch Springs     32-38--70 -2  
 T6  Kevin Kraft        Bumble Bee Hollow          35-35--70 -2  
 T10 Michael Little     Lookaway GC                35-36--71 -1  
 T10 Rick LeBeau        Gulph Mills GC             33-38--71 -1  
 T12 Scott Reilly       Philadelphia CC            34-38--72 E   
 T12 Don Allan          Burlington CC              36-36--72 E   
 T14 John Spina         Philadelphia Cricket Club  35-38--73 +1  
 T14 John Allen         Huntingdon Valley CC       36-37--73 +1  
 T14 Eric Kennedy       Overbrook GC               35-38--73 +1  
 T14 Jeff Fick          Chapel Hill GC             37-36--73 +1  
 T14 Blake Hinckley (a)                            38-35--73 +1  
 T14 Jordan Gibbs       Gulph Mills GC             38-35--73 +1  
 T14 Pat Butkus         Overbrook GC               37-36--73 +1  
 T14 Rich Steinmetz     Spring Ford CC             34-39--73 +1  
 T14 Joe Kogelman       GolfTEC Moorestown         35-38--73 +1  
 T23 Dave Quinn         Philmont CC                34-40--74 +2  
 T23 Gary Hardin        Northampton CC             34-40--74 +2  
 T23 John Roche         CC at Woodloch Springs     39-35--74 +2  
 T23 Vincent Kabaso     Cleveland Golf             39-35--74 +2  
 T27 Bill Sautter       Philadelphia Cricket Club  37-38--75 +3  
 T27 Dustin McCormick   Glen Brook GC              41-34--75 +3  
 T27 Evan Mitchell      Spring Mill CC             38-37--75 +3  
 T30 Harvey Williams    Philly PGA                 34-42--76 +4  
 T30 Don DeAngelis      Center Square GC           38-38--76 +4  
 T32 George Forster     Radnor Valley CC           38-39--77 +5  
 T32 Hugh Reilly        Twining Valley GC          36-41--77 +5  
 T32 Bill Smith         Mahoning Valley CC         39-38--77 +5  
 T32 Bob Lennon         Wilmington CC              37-40--77 +5  
 T36 Frank Palumbo      Rolling Green GC           39-39--78 +6  
 T36 Tony Shields       ACE Club                   38-40--78 +6  
 T38 Anthony Napoletano GolfTEC-KoP                41-38--79 +7  
 T38 Paul Galczyk       Westover CC                42-37--79 +7  
 40  Chris Atkins       Riverton CC                40-40--80 +8  
 41  Dave Fields        Brookside CC               41-41--82 +10 
 42  Andrew Pierson     Camden County GA           40-43--83 +11 
 43  Patrick Spang      Manor Valley CC            40-44--84 +12 
 44  Kevin Shaw         Philly PGA                 48-39--87 +15