Tavistock’s Matthias Goes Low to Win Conestoga Classic
Lancaster, Pa. – On a beautiful early summer day, the Philadelphia PGA traveled into Amish Country and Lancaster County for the 2018 edition of the Conestoga Classic. Even with the heavy rains that came through overnight the golf course was in near perfect condition.
Playing in the tournament’s first pairing, 2017 Conestoga Classic runner-up Brian Bergstol (Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort) posted the tournament’s first under par score with a 2-under (68). Bergstol carded three birdies and two bogeys on his outward nine to make the turn at 1-under. As he played his way back to the clubhouse Bergstol carded two additional birdies and one bogey to post his second 1-under split en route to his 2-under overall number.
With the rest of the field to play, Bergstol needed to watch the leaderboard to see if his number was good enough for a win. However as group after group finished it looked as though the closest anyone would get would be even par. The first player to post an even par score was Alex Knoll (Bethlehem Country Club). Knoll had two birdies and two bogeys on his round to finish at even par. The next to join Knoll at that number was Rich Steinmetz (Spring Ford Country Club). Although Steinmetz had four birdies on his day, his four bogeys would ultimately bring him back to even par. The final player to finish at even par was Dustin McCormick (Glen Brook Country Club). McCormick got off to a fast start with birdies on his first three holes but that is where his luck ran out. McCormick went on to post a bogey on his ninth hole as well as a double bogey on the par-4 12th hole to join the players at even par.
However a player in the tournament’s next to last group had his own plan. Greg Matthias (Tavistock Country Club) played a near perfect round of golf as he made his way around the 6400 yards long golf course. Matthias carded four birdies through his first nine holes to make the turn at 4-under. Matthias quickly added a fifth birdie on the par-5 10th to get to 5-under par. Matthias’ lone bogey came at the par-4 13th hole but he quickly recovered to post two additional birdies on holes 14 and 16 respectively giving him a final score of 6-under (64) and his first Philadelphia PGA points win.
“I felt really good coming into today’s tournament,” said Matthias. “I need to thank my head professional Pat Butkus for helping me out with my posture and putting leading into the round. I had a couple of early birdies and that gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the day. This is my first Section win and it feels great to join the long list of tournament winners in the Philadelphia Section. I also have to thank Robert Leeman and the membership and staff of Conestoga Country Club for their support of this event.”
Leading the way in the tournament’s senior division was a trio of players who all finished with scores of 1-over (71). John Allen (Huntingdon Valley Country Club), Rob Shuey (Colonial Golf Club), and Terry Hertzog (Country Club of York) shared the top spot and will split the first place points in today’s event.
The Conestoga Classic also featured a super senior division. Finishing in the top spot in the super senior division was Don DeAngelis (Center Square Golf Club). DeAngelis carded a 1-under (69) to finish three shots clear of division runner-up George Forster (Radnor Valley Country Club). Rounding out the top three was Bill Sautter (Philadelphia Cricket Club) who finished with a score of 3-over (73).
Matthias also took the top spot in the Philadelphia Assistants’ Organization (PAO) event which was taking place at the same time. Matthias once again finished four shots clear of tournament runner-up Brian Bergstol.
The Section would like to thank the members and staff of Conestoga Country Club for hosting our event as well as our tournament sponsors, Jani-King, Golf Max and the PGA Tour.
The Philadelphia PGA will return to action on Tuesday, July 3 at Applebrook Golf Club for the Connelly Cup – Head Professional Championship.