*FULL VIDEO COVERAGE *Event photos*Scorecards *Silver Cross Award Standings *Patterson Cup history *Silver Cross Award history *William Hyndman, III Player of the Year Standings
Yardley CC’s Glenn Smeraglio becomes oldest
PAOLI, Pa.–Glenn Smeraglio of Yardley CC finished the 106th Joseph H. Patterson Cup at 5-under-par on Thursday at St. Davids GC (par 70, 6,534 yards) and Waynesborough CC (par 71, 6,990 yards) to become the oldest Joseph H. Patterson Cup champion in 39 years. Smeraglio, 48, carded a 2-under 69 at Waynesborough CC in the morning and a 3-under 67 at St. Davids GC in his second round to become the oldest winner since legendary figure William Hyndman, III, took the 1969 Patterson Cup at age 58. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Five under for two rounds is good playing out here. It’s solid. So is it surprising? I don’t know. I don’t think of myself as an older guy until I play with the young guys and they hit it 30 yards by me. You know what, you still have to hit greens, you still have to putt and you still have to get the ball in the hole. I think I do that as well as anyone does."
Matthew Mattare of Saucon Valley CC finished a shot behind in second place and Geoffrey Cooper of Laurel Creek CC was third at 2 under.
The victory also secured Smeraglio his third Silver Cross (2000-01), awarded to the player with the lowest aggregate score in the qualifying rounds of the Amateur Championship and the Patterson Cup.
Smeraglio opened the fourth and final Major of the Golf Association of Philadelphia season at Waynesborough CC and finished at 2 under despite being a bit sloppy at times. On the front side, he carded red numbers on No. 1 (par 4, 368 yards) with a 9-iron to 15 feet; No. 7 (par 5, 547 yards) with a 125-yard wedge to 15 feet and No. 8 (par 4, 373 yards) with a 52-degree wedge to five feet and recorded one bogey, on No. 6 (par 3, 217 yards), when he pushed his drive right. On the back nine, he was a little back-and-forth. He birdied No. 13 (par 4, 403 yards) with a pitching wedge from 125 yards to 10 feet; bogeyed No. 14 (par 3, 175 yards) when he pulled a 7-iron left; birdied No. 15 (par 5, 554 yards) after a short chip to six feet; and bogeyed the lengthy 17th (par 3, 254 yards) after coming up short of the green.
Starting his second round on St. Davids GC’s back nine, Smeraglio had a non-descript opening set with a birdie and a bogey. He hit a 5-iron on No. 10 (par 3, 175 yards) into the left bunker and failed to get up-and-down but birdied No. 16 (par 5, 498 yards) from 10 feet to draw even at the turn.
He then missed short birdie putts on his next two holes before a bolt of lightning, figuratively, struck. "I said to my caddie, I just remembered something about my putting. A little key that I had. I told him I’m going to make putts for the rest of the round. I really did. I putted great the rest of the way in." Smeraglio would not reveal the key.
He proceeded to birdie No. 5 (par 4, 426 yards) after knocking an 8-iron from 148 yards to 15 feet despite staring at one of the fastest putts on the golf course, a straight downhill challenge.
"I gutted it," said Smeraglio. "It went straight in the hole."
He followed that birdie with a 7-iron from 175 yards on the super difficult No. 7 (par 4, 464 yards), the distance was more like 190 considering the uphill, to five feet before making a fantastic pitch-and-putt on No. 8 (par 5, 488 yards) from eight feet to get to 5-under par for the day.
"I gained at least a stroke with that birdie on No. 7. I know that is a disaster hole," said Smeraglio.
Mattare, playing a few groups behind Smeraglio, was the first-round leader after carding a 4-under 67 at Waynesborough CC in the morning.
In the afternoon, Mattare then stood at 3 under on St. Davids after 15 holes when he rocketed a 3-iron from 219 yards to 15 feet on No. 16 (par 5, 498 yards). His quick downhill eagle try and chance to equal Smeraglio ran eight feet past. His comebacker lipped around the hole.
Still, Mattare had life.
A smooth 5-iron on No. 17 (par 3, 182 yards) stopped eight feet short of the hole and he drained the birdie to head to No. 18 (par 4, 392 yards) a shot behind. On the final hole, Mattare ripped a 3-wood on the dog-leg right to 84 yards before playing a smart chip that landed short and rolled to 12 feet right of the hole. Needing the putt, his effort stayed right.
"It was a double breaker. From where I was standing behind the ball it looked right to left, on the other side it looked left to right. I figured it was inside right or right edge and when I got over the putt I said it has to be more than that," said Mattare, 22, of Bethlehem, Pa. "I didn’t trust the original line. I pushed it a little bit and ran it by the edge. I should have just gotten up and hit it."
Smeraglio’s Silver Cross victory came with a 279 total. He finished six shots clear of Michael McDermott of Merion GC, last year’s winner, and Cole Willcox of Philadelphia CC.
The Patterson Cup field consisted of 115 players.
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Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 136 Member Clubs and 56,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. The purpose of the Association is simple: To promote, protect and preserve the game of golf in the region.
Name Club Rd. 1 Rd. 2 Total Glenn Smeraglio Yardley Country Club 69 WC 67 St. 136 Matthew Mattare Saucon Valley Country Club 67 WC 70 St. 137 Geoffrey Cooper Laurel Creek Country Club 72 WC 67 St. 139 John Brennan Spring Ford Country Club 73 WC 68 St. 141 David West Whitford Country Club 71 St. 70 WC 141 Christopher Reedman Makefield Highlands Golf Club 70 WC 72 St. 142 Michael McDermott Merion Golf Club 70 WC 72 St. 142 Daniel Charen Yardley Country Club 69 St. 73 WC 142 Robert Galbreath, Jr. Huntingdon Valley Country Club 73 WC 70 St. 143 Andy Achenbach RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve 69 WC 74 St. 143 Rand Mendez Fieldstone Golf Club 68 St. 75 WC 143 Brian Creghan Plymouth Country Club 74 St. 70 WC 144 Cole Willcox Philadelphia Country Club 71 St. 73 WC 144 James Donnelly Merion Golf Club 75 WC 70 St. 145 James Kieserman Talamore Country Club 73 WC 72 St. 145 Ryan Gelrod Commonwealth National Golf Club 74 WC 71 St. 145 Dan Pinciotti, Jr. Huntingdon Valley Country Club 75 WC 70 St. 145 Stephen Seiden Concord Country Club 67 St. 78 WC 145 Stephen Dressel St. Davids Golf Club 73 WC 73 St. 146 Jeff Osberg Brandywine Country Club 76 WC 70 St. 146 Vince Boyle JC Melrose Country Club 72 St. 74 WC 146 G. Patrick Dougherty Talamore Country Club 75 WC 72 St. 147 Vinny Alessi Penn Oaks Golf Club 71 WC 76 St. 147 Ben Bershad Hopewell Valley Golf Club 74 WC 73 St. 147 Tucker Koch RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve 73 WC 74 St. 147 David Liotta Whitemarsh Valley Country Club 72 St. 75 WC 147 Sean Leonard Tavistock Country Club 67 St. 80 WC 147 Robert Robertson Sunnybrook Golf Club 72 St. 75 WC 147 Warren Taylor Yardley Country Club 70 St. 77 WC 147 Douglas Zelner Spring Ford Country Club 76 WC 72 St. 148 Jamie Slonis Tavistock Country Club 77 WC 71 St. 148 James Kania, Jr. Overbrook Golf Club 75 WC 73 St. 148 Nathan Sutherland Golden Oaks Golf Club 77 WC 71 St. 148 Raymond Thompson Overbrook Golf Club 68 St. 80 WC 148 Brian Gillespie St. Davids Golf Club 73 St. 75 WC 148 Chris Esbenshade Five Ponds Golf Club 77 WC 72 St. 149 Michael Brown Philadelphia Publinks GA 75 WC 74 St. 149 Mike Danner Lu Lu Country Club 71 St. 78 WC 149 Brian Rothaus Philmont Country Club 73 St. 76 WC 149 Robert Savarese Sand Barrens Golf Club 73 St. 76 WC 149 Travis Gahman Philadelphia Publinks GA 77 St. 72 WC 149 Andrew Lawson Hershey's Mill Golf Club 76 WC 74 St. 150 Kevin Melnick, Jr. Plymouth Country Club 73 St. 77 WC 150 Michael O'Keefe Little Mill Country Club 78 WC 73 St. 151 Jeffrey Griest Waynesborough Country Club 77 WC 74 St. 151 Matthew Pesci Yardley Country Club 75 WC 76 St. 151 Bill Murray Merchantville Country Club 76 St. 75 WC 151 Scott Klee Indian Valley Country Club 75 St. 76 WC 151 Peter Barron III Stone Harbor Golf Club 75 St. 76 WC 151 Robert Dziak Spring Ford Country Club 74 St. 77 WC 151 Jack Wallace Burlington Country Club 73 St. 78 WC 151 Mark Szilagyi Brookside Country Club 80 WC 72 St. 152 Adam Cohan Talamore Country Club 72 WC 80 St. 152 Jeff DellaFranco Concord Country Club 75 WC 77 St. 152 Andrew Zoeller Waynesborough Country Club 79 WC 73 St. 152 Drew Panebianco Talamore Country Club 73 St. 79 WC 152 Christopher Lange Overbrook Golf Club 77 St. 75 WC 152 Keith Matt Talamore Country Club 78 WC 75 St. 153 Stephen McIntyre Honeybrook Golf Club 81 WC 72 St. 153 Jason Cohan Talamore Country Club 80 WC 73 St. 153 Zach Smith Doylestown Country Club 76 WC 77 St. 153 Thomas Gramigna Tavistock Country Club 70 St. 83 WC 153 Michael Moffat Commonwealth National Golf Club 77 St. 76 WC 153 Robert de Rojas RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve 79 WC 75 St. 154 Oscar Mestre, Jr. Overbrook Golf Club 79 WC 75 St. 154 Todd Vonderheid Huntsville Golf Club 74 WC 80 St. 154 Michael Vassil Country Club of Scranton 82 WC 72 St. 154 Matt Dietrich Whitford Country Club 78 WC 76 St. 154 Warren Smith Cavaliers Country Club 76 St. 78 WC 154 Joe Bernard RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve 79 WC 76 St. 155 Douglas Gregor Huntingdon Valley Country Club 79 St. 76 WC 155 Mark Peterson Philadelphia Cricket Club 72 St. 83 WC 155 Oscar Neubauer Saucon Valley Country Club 78 St. 77 WC 155 Mike McComb Greate Bay Country Club 80 WC 76 St. 156 Burton McHugh Sunnybrook Golf Club 77 WC 79 St. 156 Paul Rogowicz Yardley Country Club 84 WC 72 St. 156 Eric Schmehl Moorestown Field Club 76 St. 80 WC 156 Beau Guarino Burlington Country Club 78 St. 78 WC 156 Mark Coassolo Brookside C.C. of Allentown 75 St. 81 WC 156 P. Chet Walsh Philadelphia Country Club 79 St. 77 WC 156 Brad McFadden Overbrook Golf Club 78 St. 78 WC 156 Scott Morris Doylestown Country Club 76 St. 80 WC 156 Joe DeVito, Jr. Sand Barrens Golf Club 77 St. 79 WC 156 Michael Domenick Phoenixville Country Club 80 WC 77 St. 157 Mark Wachter Penn Oaks Golf Club 76 WC 81 St. 157 William Bello Metedeconk National Golf Club 83 WC 74 St. 157 Cory Siegfried Philadelphia Country Club 80 WC 77 St. 157 R. Blake Slawecki Spring Ford Country Club 81 WC 76 St. 157 Keith Evans Running Deer Golf Club 78 St. 79 WC 157 Brian Rashley Marriott Seaview Resort 80 St. 77 WC 157 Louis Giovi Mercer Oaks Golf Course 77 St. 81 WC 158 Steve Ransom, Jr. Wildwood Golf & Country Club 78 St. 80 WC 158 Bo Maguire Brookside Country Club 76 St. 82 WC 158 Santo Lafoca Huntsville Golf Club 75 St. 83 WC 158 Martin Hayden Overbrook Golf Club 82 WC 77 St. 159 Roc Irey Cedarbrook Country Club 85 WC 74 St. 159 Greg O'Connor Huntingdon Valley Country Club 82 St. 77 WC 159 Drew Garis North Hills Country Club 81 WC 79 St. 160 Mark Kosko Marriott Seaview Resort 77 WC 83 St. 160 Scott Storck Philadelphia Cricket Club 76 St. 84 WC 160 Jon Thomas Inniscrone Golf Club 75 St. 85 WC 160 Richard Marabella Whitemarsh Valley Country Club 86 St. 76 WC 162 Chip Culp Philadelphia Cricket Club 81 WC 82 St. 163 Christopher Terebesi Chester Valley Golf Club 82 WC 81 St. 163 Kevin Ignatuk Penn Oaks Golf Club 82 WC 82 St. 164 Christopher Kaspar Lu Lu Country Club 82 St. 82 WC 164 Mark Walkush Manufacturers Golf & Country Club 86 St. 78 WC 164 Matt Kaelin Little Mill Country Club 83 WC 82 St. 165 William Hoese Links Golf Club 78 St. 88 WC 166 Ted Kerschner Overbrook Golf Club 89 WC 78 St. 167 Garrett Conway Burlington Country Club 79 St. 89 WC 168 Greg Verde Spring Ford Country Club 88 WC 81 St. 169 Michael Boden French Creek Golf Club 80 St. 89 WC 169 John Inman Cherry Valley Country Club 85 St. 86 WC 171 Tom Borsello Fieldstone Golf Club 81 WC WD St. WD St.-St. Davids GC; WC-Waynesborough CC WD-withdrawal