PGA Member Jeff Fick Wins 2022 Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization Championship
The purpose of the Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization is to prepare Philadelphia PGA assistant professionals for future professional success as PGA Members. The PAO gives assistant professionals the opportunities to prepare themselves for the PGA Playing Ability Test, the PGA’s Professional Golf Management program, the golf business, and future PGA Membership, accomplished through leadership, mentoring, support through education, networking, and tournament competition.
Fick made four birdies and three bogeys on his front nine, and added only one more bogey on No. 10, to finish at even-par on the tricky golf course. The cool temperatures and steady wind made the traditionally short course play even more difficult.
Sandy Run C.C.’s Trevor Bensel, the current PAO Player of the Year race leader, finished three behind Fick at 3-over-par, while Rocco Sgrillo, John F. Byrne G.C., and PAO Chair Keith Clawson, Merion G.C., tied for fourth place at 4-over-par.
The 2022 Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization Championship is supported by Ohana Farm LLC. The Philadelphia PGA Section and its PGA Professionals thank our host, Merion Golf Club, its members, management, host PGA Professionals, and staff, as well as our partners, as the event would not have been possible without their support.
To view the full 2022 PAO Championship leaderboard, click here.
About the Philadelphia PGA Section
The Philadelphia PGA Section, covering eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, is one of 41 geographical managing entities of the PGA of America. This Section manages nearly 900 PGA Members and Associates who are employed at over 590 golf facilities in our region.
Captain Zac Oakley, Bidermann G.C. – In 2021, Oakley earned the Philadelphia PGA Section’s Rolex / The Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year title and captured its F. Edward DeBaufre Trophy, which awards the PGA Professional with the lowest season scoring average for their consistently stellar play, with a 68.93 over 14 rounds, marking the lowest scoring average since the trophy was commissioned in 1964. Oakley made his major championship debut in the 2022 PGA Championship, following his tie for sixth place finish in the 2022 PGA Professional Championship; he again will have a chance to qualify for 2023’s second men’s major championship in the 2023 PGA Professional Championship in New Mexico. While a Section victory has eluded him in 2022, Oakley racked up two-straight wins in the PGA Tournament Series over the winter, won the 2022 Delaware Open, and has accumulated five top-10s in Philadelphia PGA stroke play events.
Trevor Bensel, Sandy Run C.C. – Bensel, the 2022 National Car Rental Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Champion and Philadelphia Tournament Players Division (TPD) Champion, currently leads the Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization (PAO) Player of the Year race, thanks in part to his three PAO wins and three top-three finishes in his other three PAO starts. In the Section’s Player of the Year race, Bensel is currently in the fifth position. He is slated to compete in the 2023 PGA Professional Championship in New Mexico, next April, thanks to his play in the 101st Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship.
Brian Bergstol, Shawnee Inn & G.R. – Bergstol is enjoying a very successful 2022 campaign in Section events, having already been crowned the 2022 Philadelphia PGA Professional Champion at DuPont C.C. and Concord C.C., and earning more Section victories in the 46th Pro-Am for Wishes, and 2022 Henry McQuiston Senior Pro-Junior Pro Championship. As Section Champion, Bergstol will lead his Section peers in the 2023 PGA Professional Championship at Twin Warriors and Santa Ana Pueblo Golf Clubs. Bergstol also took home the $15,000 PGA Professional champion’s check at the inaugural Silvercrest Cup at Gulph Mills G.C. in September. He also qualified for the 46th National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship at PGA G.C. this November through his play in the National Car Rental Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship.
Terry Hertzog – Hertzog had a great start his 2022 golf season, winning the Delaware Valley Open at Rolling Green G.C., an event which also doubled as the first Silvercrest Cup qualifying event of the year. He went on to rack up nine more top 20 finishes in Section events, including a victory at the 2022 A.B. Thorn Memorial Pro-Am at Lancaster C.C. Hertzog also qualified for the 2022 PGA Professional Championship in New Mexico, thanks to his finish in the 2022 Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship. As of this writing, Hertzog is in the third position in the 2022 Philadelphia PGA Robert “Skee” Riegel Senior Player of the Year race.
Eric Kennedy, Overbrook G.C. – Kennedy, currently 12th in the Section’s Rolex / The Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year points standings, earned his first victory of the season at the Section’s annual Pinehurst Pro-Am in North Carolina, and has since finished in the top 10 four more times. He went on to pick up his first senior win at the inaugural Silvercrest Cup at Gulph Mills G.C. Additionally, Kennedy will be competing in the 2022 Senior PGA Professional Championship later this month.
Michael Little, Lookaway G.C. – Little, a past Section Player of the Year and the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Challenge Matches captain, is currently 11th in the 2022 standings, having finished near the top of the leaderboards in the 101st Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship, the GALV Lehigh Valley Open, and the Indian Valley Team Stableford Pro-Am. Little also has nine additional top 20 finishes on his 2022 resume, and will compete in the 2023 PGA Professional Championship in New Mexico.
Hugo Mazzalupi, Linfield National G.C. – Mazzalupi started strong early in his 2022 season, winning the Connelly Cup / Philadelphia PGA Head Professional Championship at North Hills C.C., and has followed that up with five other top 10 performances. He is currently in the eighth position in the Robert “Skee” Riegel Senior Player of the Year race. His play in the 2022 Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship also earned him a playing spot in the 2023 PGA Professional Championship in New Mexico.
Eddie Perrino, C.C. of York – Perrino is currently fifth in the Robert “Skee” Riegel Senior Player of the Year race, and 21st in the Section’s Rolex / The Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year race. Perrino tied for first to take the 2022 Conestoga Classic Senior Division title in June, and has made nine other Senior top 10s this season.
Parks Price, C.C. of York – Price, the 2021 Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic champion, is sixth in the Section’s Rolex / The Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year race, and took home the top prize and Silvercrest Cup qualifying bonus at the 2022 William Hyndman III Memorial Classic at Huntingdon Valley C.C. His game remained consistent throughout the year, with eight top 10 finishes, and another six top 20s.
Steve Sanderson, Pine Valley G.C. – Currently 19th in the Philadelphia PGA Section’s Rolex / The Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year points standings, Sanderson tied for first in the weather-shortened 2022 Philadelphia Pro-Assistant Pro Championship, and earned top 10 finishes in this year’s Tournament Players Division Championship, and Pro-Scratch Championship. He is ninth in the PAO Player of the Year standings, having placed in four top 10s in five events, with his best finish, T2, at the PAO event at Brookside C.C.
Braden Shattuck, Bidermann G.C. – Shattuck currently leads the Section’s Rolex / The Haverford Trust Company Player of the Year race by over 1,200 points, thanks in part to his three Section wins in 2022: the 36th Burlington Classic, Doylestown Open, and the Jack Jolly & Son Championship. Shattuck also leads the low scoring average competition, putting him in line to earn his first F. Edward DeBaufre Trophy, with a current stroke average of 69.06 over 16 rounds. In addition to his victories, Shattuck has recorded eight more top 10s in 2022, and will compete in New Mexico in the 2023 PGA Professional Championship.
Mark Sheftic, Lookaway G.C. – In 2021, the Section honored Sheftic by naming him a Philadelphia PGA Playing Legends, thanks to his consistent play at high levels, including in major championships, PGA Cups, and more. In his 2022 campaign, Sheftic has eight top 10s, with his best finish, a T2, at the William Hyndman III Memorial Classic, which doubled as a Silvercrest Cup qualifier.
