Phoenixville's Member-Guest produces a heartfelt endingTo honor a member who lost his life to leukemia, Phoenixville Country Club attached Christopher Fuga’s name to its annual Member Guest Classic. The new moniker yielded a storybook ending. Christopher’s father Mark, using his son’s clubs, teamed with cousin Guy Giampietro to win the event in dramatic fashion. In a sudden-death playoff, he converted a 14-footer to extend hopes, an 18-incher to secure victory. “It was really exciting — not a dry eye in the place,” Mark, 54, of Phoenixville, Pa., said. The Christopher Fuga Memorial Member Guest Classic, held July 15-16, is a handicap event that features five flights, all named after sports’ teams that Christopher represented. The winner of each flight is then tossed into a sudden-death playoff to determine an overall champion. Fuga and Giampietro gained a spot in the final dance by taking the Pottstown Spartans flight in overtime. During the overall playoff, which features a selective drive/alternate shot format, Fuga eliminated two teams with a thrilling putt on No. 1. “I sank some 15-foot, sidehill-bending putt that had no business going in,” Mark said. “It was thundering — kind of took a moment out of ‘The Natural’ when [Roy] Hobbs was batting and the thunder. I dropped this putt and everybody let out a roar. It was pretty exciting.” On No. 2, a downhill par 3, the Fuga and Giampietro team, receiving a stroke based on their combined handicaps, missed the green, as did their opponents. Mark then knocked a chip to 12 feet. The team of Chris Caba and Jon Petrakis, as well as Ken Large and Steve Valyo, failed to save par. Giampietro’s net birdie chance stopped 15 inches from the hole. An “angelic” tap-in followed. “It was surreal,” Mark said. “We were packing clubs and taking shoes off [thinking we were out of contention]. They came looking for us and said, ‘You’re in a playoff.’ Putts were short. Shots went awry. It was an act of God – an act of Chris [people were saying].” “It was a very special weekend, and the day itself was very magical,” Giampietro, 49, of Columbus, N.J., added. “Here we are thinking that we’re done. The next thing I know we’re in a playoff. It was crazy. There is no doubt in my mind that Christopher was on that golf course with us. We weren’t playing like we deserved to win. It was like a Disney movie. You couldn’t have written the script any better.” Giampietro and Mark Fuga have competed in Phoenixville’s Member-Guest for the last decade. They won their flight on two occasions but “never really sniffed the final” until this year’s triumph. “I’m very proud that I could take part in getting his dad’s name on the plaque that’s going to hang in that clubhouse,” Giampietro said. “Christopher had a very special spot in my life. We were extremely close. I felt like it was an honor that I could be a part of [the win] with Mark.” All of the event’s proceeds were donated: $5,000 to Temple’s Bone Marrow Transplant Program, $1,000 to Coker College, Christopher’s alma mater, and $1,000 to the Ginger English Memorial Fund. A frequent Golf Association of Philadelphia competitor and semifinalist in the 2015 BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship, Christopher Fuga died Oct. 30, 2015 due to complications in his fight against leukemia. He was 24.
Golf Association of Philadelphia
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A Walk Through Time
GAP is the oldest state or regional golf association in the country. It started courtesy of a friendly competition � the Team Matches � and has grown into the preeminent golf association in the country. Along the way, golf history has been made.
