Bethlehem, Pa. – Each season a pair of meetings bookend the Philadelphia PGA season and on Monday, October 29 the Section held its annual Fall Meeting signaling the unofficial end to the 2018 season. This year’s Fall Meeting was held at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, Pa. and brought together more than 200 Philadelphia PGA professionals. Section meetings allow leadership to discuss the business of the Philadelphia PGA as well as to publically recognize Section professionals for their accomplishments.

The meeting was highlighted by presentations from each of the Section’s Executive Committee members recapping the all facets of Section operations. Additionally, the Section also formally recognized the three newest members of the Philadelphia PGA Hall of Fame; Tom Carpus, Pete Micklewright, and Herb Jewson. With the announcement coming in late September this was the first time for these individuals to be introduced in front of their peers. Previous Hall of Fame Press Release.

The meeting also featured presentations from several of the Section’s Fall Meeting sponsors; Cobra/Puma Golf, Signature Golf, Golf Cart Services, Open Rounds, and the Section newest partner the SVS Wealth Management Team at Morgan Stanley. Finally Dr. Wang of the Rothman Institute spoke on the best practices for preventing and treating golf related injuries.

The Section also recognized several players for the year-long performances by handing out the Player of the Year awards. Leading the way on the Omega Player of Year presented by The Haverford Trust Company points list was newly crowned Section Champion Billy Stewart (The ACE Club). Stewart’s season included several top-10 finishes culminating with his first Section Championship. He also won the Philadelphia Open all leading to his first Player of the Year title. Stewart finished ahead of a couple of past player of the champions in Brett Melton (Radley Run Country Club) and Dave Quinn (Philmont Country Club) who finished second and third respectively.

On the senior side, Dave McNabb (Applebrook Golf Club) was awarded the Robert “Skee” Riegel Senior Player of the Year, his first senior player of the year title. It also marked the first time in seven years that a new name was atop the senior player of the year leaderboard. McNabb had multiple senior wins but none was bigger than his first Senior Section Championship title in August. Also by virtue of his finish at the Senior PGA Professional Championship, McNabb qualified for the 2019 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club next May. Rounding out the senior player of the year awards were Dave Quinn (Philmont Country Club) and George Forster (Radnor Valley Country Club).

In the newly created Super Senior Player of the Year points list, George Forster (Radnor Valley Country Club) was crowned its inaugural champion. Finishing in second place was Greg Farrow (Deerwood Country Club) while Don DeAngelis (Center Square Golf Club) rounded out the podium.

The Section’s Howard “Ike” Turner Most Improved Player went to Michael Wheeler (Whitford Country Club) who improved more than 100 spots from his 2017 finish on the Omega Player of the Year presented by The Haverford Trust Company points list. Wheeler also lowered his scoring average by more than four shots finishing with a scoring average of 74.86 during the 2018 season.

At the conclusion of the meeting 68 two person teams made their way to beautiful Saucon Valley Country Club for the Fall Meeting Pro-Pro Scramble. With the size of the field teams were split between Saucon Valley’s Old and Grace courses where they competed in separate events. Leading the way on the Old Course was the pair of Brian Bergstol (Shawnee Inn & Resort) and Joe Kogelman (GolfTEC – Moorestown) who posted a 9-under (62) to win by one shot. On the Grace Course it was the team of Michael Caldwell (Bidermann GC) and Keith Clawson (Bidermann GC) who took home the top spot after posting a 12-under (60).

Fall Meeting Pro-Pro Scramble