*Event Photos
*Scorecards
Philadelphia Cricket Club's Mandel tops Open Qualifier at Radley Run
WEST CHESTER, Pa. — If Marc Mandel’s first appearance in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Open Championship is anything like his performance Wednesday, watch out.
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Marc Mandel sinks this 10-footer for
birdie on No. 12 (par 5, 578 yards). |
The Philadelphia Cricket Club member carded a sensational 7-under-par 65 to earn medalist honors in an Open Championship Qualifier at Radley Run CC (par 72, 6,758 yards) Wednesday. Mandel led a field of 126 amateurs and professionals hoping to gain one of 23 available spots in the Championship proper, set for July 20 at Huntingdon Valley CC.
“I made a lot of putts,” the Conshohocken, Pa. resident said. “I hit it pretty close and kept it in play. My goal was to just make pars and get a few putts to drop.”
Signs didn't immediately point toward a subpar score, though. Mandel bogeyed his first hole (No. 1, par 4, 419 yards) thanks to a poor approach shot from 115 yards out. But he quickly recovered by knocking his chip to five feet on No. 2 (par 5, 550 yards) and cleaning up the birdie putt. Mandel, 29, then presented a birdie bonanza on Nos. 6 (par 3, 152 yards), 7 (par 5, 513 yards) and 8 (par 4, 380 yards). He rifled a 9-iron to 15 feet on No. 6. After nearly gaining the No. 7 green in two strokes, Mandel chipped up to 15 feet and sunk a left-to-right breaker. He whacked a wedge 120 yards out of the left rough to 10 feet on No. 8 and watched his downhill left-to-right slider plummet into the cup.
“It got me going,” Mandel, who won the Deeg Sezna Four-Ball last year alongside White Manor CC’s Cameron Liebert, said.
The red figures didn’t stop there. Mandel, who advanced to the Round of 16 in the Association’s Amateur Championship last week, steered his 3-wood 260 yards just right of the putting surface. A delicate downhill chip left Mandel 10 feet from the drain. On No. 15 (par 4, 352 yards), Mandel cleared the water hazard with a GAP wedge from 120 yards. He made a six-footer for birdie to move to 5 under. Mandel further explored a red landscape by posting consecutive birdies on Nos. 17 (par 4, 371 yards) and 18 (par 4, 432 yards). He hammered a pitching wedge 140 yards to five feet on the dogleg right 17th hole. Mandel’s 6-iron traveled 183 yards and camped out 15 feet from the jar on No. 18. He rolled in the right-to-left breaker.
Mandel continues to mark his territory on the amateur map. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur last year and produced a Top 10 finish in the Association’s Middle-Amateur Championship at Laurel Creek CC.
“I’m getting more consistent,” he said. “I’m practicing a lot. Being at (Philadelphia) Cricket Club helps me. I’m close to work and home. I get to play with a lot of good players all of the time. It definitely helps the game.”
A fantastic four-hole birdie barrage boosted Sean Fahey of Overbrook GC into the Championship proper. He carded a 4-under-par 68 to place second.
“I was making a lot of putts,” Fahey, 15, said. “It seemed like [when] everything [was] inside 25-feet, I gave the hole a scare. I wasn’t really driving the ball well. I was just getting it near the green or on the green and getting up-and-down or making a putt. It wasn’t pretty, but it turned out to be good.”
Fahey, who began his round on the back nine, made the turn at a modest 2 under when his flatstick caught fire. The Villanova, Pa. resident smacked a sand wedge 110 yards to 10 feet flag-high on No. 1 (par 4, 419 yards) and executed the left-to-right breaker. He nearly reached the No. 2 (par 5, 550 yards) green in two strokes with a 3-wood. A soft chip stopped 20 feet below the hole, and Fahey converted a right-to-left curler for birdie.
“Luke [Desimone, Fahey’s playing partner] putted right before me, and he was on pretty much the same line as me,” Fahey said.
On the tempting par 4, 324-yard No. 3, Fahey, an incoming junior at Episcopal Academy, watched his 3-wood hook left and land under a tree. Such a circumstance didn’t stymie Fahey as he drilled his sand 100 yards to three feet. In between clubs on the No. 4 (par 3, 221 yards) tee-box, Fahey elected to hit hybrid. The choice paid off. Fahey canned an uphill 25-footer from a swell left of the hole location.
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| Sean Fahey |
“I had the right read, but I kind of hit it really hard,” he said. “It hit the back of the cup, popped up and just went down in. I was kind of lucky to get that one there.”
Fahey first revealed the red pen on No. 10 (par 4, 343 yards). Another smooth sand wedge sailed 110 yards and settled 20 feet from the flagstick. Fahey drained the right-to-left slider. On the par 3, 171-yard 13th hole, he stuck a 6-iron to three feet. Fahey could’ve ended his bid with a 6 under on the scorecard, but back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 8 (par 4, 380 yards) and 9 (par 4, 360 yards) spoiled the fun. Fahey failed to get up-and-down on the first after spraying his drive into the left tree-line. On the sharp dogleg left 9th hole, he again experienced tree trouble following a 3-wood tee shot.
“It turned out to be directly on the base of a tree,” Fahey said. He would punch out, put a pitching wedge on the green and two-putt from 20 feet.
A grip-tweak gave Fahey more confidence over the putter.
“I got my hands a little looser on the club, and I kind of just let it release,” Fahey said. “That kind of helped me today.”
Fahey is making a habit of performing well in qualifying events. He carded an even-par 71 to place second in an Amateur Championship Qualifier at Meadowlands CC last month. Fahey missed out on match play in the Championship proper by two strokes.
“It kind of feels like I’m just doing well in the qualifiers right now,” Fahey said. “I feel like if I can just get it up and around the green, I’ll be fine.”
At the end of the day, the cut line fell to 74. Wednesday’s event was the second of two Open Championship qualifiers used to determine who will play in the Championship proper. Twenty-four players qualified at an event held yesterday at Riverton CC.
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Qualifiers
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Name,
club
|
Scores
|
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(a) Marc Mandel, Philadelphia Cricket Club
|
65
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|
(a) Sean Fahey, Overbrook Golf Club
|
68
|
|
(a) Michael McDermott, Merion Golf Club
|
70
|
|
George Forster, Radnor Valley Country Club
|
71
|
|
Robby Walizer, Gulph Mills Golf Club
|
71
|
|
(a) Oscar Mestre, Overbrook Golf Club
|
71
|
|
(a) Brian Gillespie, St. Davids Golf Club
|
72
|
|
(a) Ed Chylinski, Chester Valley Golf Club
|
72
|
|
(a) Mark Coassolo, Brookside C.C. of
Allentown
|
72
|
|
Michael Ladden, Whitford Country Club
|
72
|
|
(a) Christopher Lange, Overbrook Golf Club
|
72
|
|
Hugh Reilly, Jr., Huntingdon Valley Country
Club
|
72
|
|
(a) Alex Blickle, LedgeRock Golf Club
|
73
|
|
(a) Greg Matthias, Hartefeld National
|
73
|
|
(a) Oliver White, Manufacturers Golf &
Country Club
|
73
|
|
(a) Blayze DiPasquale, Commonwealth
National Golf Club
|
73
|
|
Frank Bianco, Frankie B. Golf Schools at
Groffs Farm
|
73
|
|
Neil Maurer, Bayside Resort
|
73
|
|
(a) Peter Moran, Edgmont Country Club
|
73
|
|
(a) Douglas Zelner, Coatesville Country
Club
|
73
|
|
*(a) Matthew Crescenzo, Philmont Country
Club
|
74
|
|
*(a) Chris Orlando, Downingtown Country
Club
|
74
|
|
*(a) Christopher Fuga, Phoenixville Country
Club
|
74
|
| |
|
Alternates (in order)
|
|
*(a) Connor McNicholas, Commonwealth
National Golf Club
|
74
|
|
*(a) Joseph Kogelman, St. Davids Golf Club
|
74
|
|
*(a) John Brennan, Spring Ford Country Club
|
74
|
|
*(a) Joseph Fabrizio, Jr., Aronimink Golf
Club
|
74
|
| |
|
Failed to qualify
|
|
*(a) Michael Davis, Merion Golf Club
|
74
|
|
*Michael Sullivan, Manufacturers Golf &
Country Club
|
74
|
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(a) Jeffrey Griest, Waynesborough Country
Club
|
75
|
|
(a) James Braunsberg, Blue Bell Country
Club
|
75
|
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Steve Cutler, Radley Run Country Club
|
75
|
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(a) John Fasy, Wilmington Country Club
|
75
|
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(a) Jacob Pilarski, Concord Country Club
|
75
|
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(a) Bob Truskey, Jr., Radley Run Country
Club
|
75
|
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Michael Little, Rolling Green Golf Club
|
75
|
|
Brian Keiser, Aronimink Golf Club
|
75
|
|
(a) Steven Walczak, Wilmington Country Club
|
75
|
|
(a) James Gillespie, Wedgwood Country Club
|
76
|
|
(a) Doug Marcincin, Northampton Country
Club
|
76
|
|
Michael Sokalski, Philmont Country Club
|
76
|
|
(a) Jeff Klagholz, Rolling Green Golf Club
|
76
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(a) James Bea, Spring Mill Country Club
|
76
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Barry Dear, Links Golf Club
|
76
|
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(a) Patrick Ross, Glenmaura National Golf
Club
|
76
|
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(a) Scott McNeil, Philadelphia Publinks GA
|
76
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|
(a) Dan Bernard, Aronimink Golf Club
|
77
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|
John Cooper, Jr., Green Valley Country Club
|
77
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Tom Gilbert, Gulph Mills Golf Club
|
77
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Hugo Mazzalupi, Philadelphia Cricket Club
|
77
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(a) John Donnelly, Concord Country Club
|
77
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Rick Flesher, Unaffiliated
|
77
|
|
(a) James Kelly, Wildwood Golf &
Country Club
|
77
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(a) Gary Schoeman, Stonewall
|
77
|
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(a) Sam Pancoast, Radley Run Country Club
|
77
|
|
(a) Kevin Melnick, Jr., Plymouth Country
Club
|
77
|
|
(a) Jimmy Wolfe, Bellewood Golf Club
|
78
|
|
(a) Russell Hartung, Doylestown Country
Club
|
78
|
|
(a) Bobby Svigals, Radnor Valley Country
Club
|
78
|
|
(a) Regan Papariello, White Manor Country
Club
|
78
|
|
(a) Tim Freeh, Back Creek Golf Club
|
78
|
|
(a) Edward McCrossen, Jr., Whitemarsh
Valley Country Club
|
78
|
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Ed Gibson, Makefield Highlands Golf Club
|
78
|
|
(a) David Liotta, Whitemarsh Valley Country
Club
|
78
|
|
(a) Tucker Koch, RiverCrest Golf Club &
Preserve
|
79
|
|
(a) Dewey Burke, Gulph Mills Golf Club
|
79
|
|
(a) Richard Marabella, Whitemarsh Valley
Country Club
|
79
|
|
(a) Ryan O'Donnell, Rolling Green Golf Club
|
79
|
|
(a) Will Holt, Kennett Square Golf &
Country Club
|
79
|
|
(a) Joshua Krumholz, Moselem Springs Golf
Club
|
79
|
|
(a) Brandon Hartranft, Bent Creek Country
Club
|
80
|
|
(a) Cameron Liebert, White Manor Country
Club
|
80
|
|
(a) Robert Acciardo, Whitford Country Club
|
80
|
|
(a) Zachary Melnick, Plymouth Country Club
|
80
|
|
(a) Ted Brennan, Philadelphia Country Club
|
80
|
|
(a) Byron Whitman, Golden Oaks Golf Club
|
80
|
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Michael Paukovits, Stonewall
|
80
|
|
(a) Gerald Bowes, Jr., Whitemarsh Valley
Country Club
|
80
|
|
(a) Michael Meiswich, Penn Oaks Golf Club
|
80
|
|
(a) Michael Boden, Aronimink Golf Club
|
80
|
|
Jeffery Herb, Edgmont Country Club
|
80
|
|
(a) Joshua Isler, Chester Valley Golf Club
|
81
|
|
(a) Alan Lazzarino, Loch Nairn Golf Club
|
81
|
|
Eric Figueroa, McCall Golf & Country
Club
|
81
|
|
(a) Mike Hartsough, Edgmont Country Club
|
81
|
|
(a) Tim McNerney, Philadelphia Publinks GA
|
81
|
|
(a) Chris Hunger, Wedgwood Country Club
|
81
|
|
(a) Ari Flaisher, Philadelphia Publinks GA
|
81
|
|
(a) Luke Desimone, Concord Country Club
|
81
|
|
Wesley Hollis, Meadowbrook GC
|
81
|
|
(a) Lynn Kilduff, Huntsville Golf Club
|
81
|
|
(a) Michael O'Keefe, Hidden Creek Golf Club
|
81
|
|
Robert Agresti, Aronimink Golf Club
|
82
|
|
(a) Anthony List Jr., Llanerch Country Club
|
82
|
|
(a) Matt Krass, Radley Run Country Club
|
82
|
|
(a) William Breskman, Rolling Green Golf
Club
|
83
|
|
(a) Shawn Lavin, Philadelphia Publinks GA
|
83
|
|
(a) Joseph Budash, Philadelphia Cricket
Club
|
84
|
|
(a) Connor Eichman, Llanerch Country Club
|
84
|
|
(a) Danny Myers, French Creek Golf Club
|
84
|
|
(a) David Barnett, White Clay Creek Country
Club
|
84
|
|
(a) Evan Galbreath, Philmont Country Club
|
84
|
|
(a) Philip Petroll, Penn Oaks Golf Club
|
84
|
|
(a) Matthew Rubino, Phoenixville Country
Club
|
84
|
|
(a) Griffin Drury, Bellewood Golf Club
|
85
|
|
(a) Vincent Sirianni, Whitemarsh Valley
Country Club
|
85
|
|
(a) Michael Hodges, The Springhaven Club
|
86
|
|
(a) Joseph Dulka, Jr., Hartefeld National
|
86
|
|
(a) Brian Palm, PineCrest Country Club
|
87
|
|
(a) Kenny Engel, Jr., Bensalem Township
Country Club
|
87
|
|
(a) Alex Kane, Radley Run Country Club
|
87
|
|
(a) George Connell, Jr., Gulph Mills Golf
Club
|
93
|
|
(a) Joseph Greenwald, RiverCrest Golf Club
& Preserve
|
95
|
|
Patrick Coyner, Country Club of York
|
WD
|
|
(a) Gary Daniels, Saucon Valley Country
Club
|
NS
|
|
(a) Robert Pina, Chester Valley Golf Club
|
WD
|
|
(a) Jordan Claffey, Makefield Highlands
Golf Club
|
WD
|
|
(a) Tom Borsello, White Clay Creek Country
Club
|
WD
|
|
(a) Brandon Matthews, Fox Hill Country Club
|
WD
|
|
Anthony Malizia, Gulph Mills Golf Club
|
WD
|
|
(a) Santo Lafoca, Huntsville Golf Club
|
NS
|
| |
|
(a)-amateur
|
|
*-determined in playoff
|
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NS-no show; WD-withdrawal
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