Glenn Smeraglio medaled en route to the No. 1 Senior seed.

#BrewerCup: Smeraglio snags Senior medal,
McCool tops Super-Senior bracket

  SPRING HOUSE, Pa.- All Glenn Smeraglio needs, in pursuit of the career Golf Association of Philadelphia Senior Grand Slam, is two Major titles. The first being a Frank H. Chapman Cup victory. The second, a widely-coveted Brewer Cup victory.

  A 3-under-par 68 ignited the start of that quest Monday at Old York Road Country Club (par 71, 6,395 yards). Smeraglio’s low round of the day earned him medalist honors in the 11th Brewer Cup’s stroke-play qualifying round.

   “It would be such an honor to win Mr. [O. Gordon Brewer, Jr.’s] event. He’s such a legend,” said Smeraglio, 58, of Newtown, Pa. “I’d really like to get one.”

  His title run begins tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. versus No. 16 seed Doug Fedoryshyn of Concord Country Club, who earned the last Round-of-16 berth in a 6-for-5 playoff.

  The Lu Lu Country Club member bettered 65 Senior hopefuls to take the top spot. The day’s cut line stopped at 5-over-par 76.

  On Smeraglio’s front nine, Old York Road’s back, he got one birdie to fall. After a bogey on the par 4, 410-yard 13th, Smeraglio hit a 9-iron to eight feet on No. 14 (par 3, 154 yards) and rolled it in for his first of four red figures on the day. Smeraglio would go on to make the turn at even par.

  A stretch of three birdies in his last five got Smeraglio to the magic number. On No. 5 (par 3, 199 yards), Smeraglio placed a 5-iron to 12 feet and drained it. The next birdie arrived on No. 7 (par 4, 402 yards) after a blasted 3-wood led to a 130-yard 9-iron approach that slid down the backslope to six feet before getting that look to go.

  The par 5, 525-yard 9th hosted birdie No. 4. Smeraglio got up-and-down from just short of the left bunker to settle at 3 under.

   “I hit 16 greens today. It was overall a very good, solid round and I was very fortunate,” he said.

  Smeraglio, the two-time reigning Senior Silver Cross Winner, has been dealing with a left knee injury over the past six months. Cortisone shots and limping have been more common than not this season.

   “It’s been a frustrating six months for sure,” said Smeraglio, who took home this year’s Francis B. Warner Cup (Gross) at Concord Country Club. “The shots have helped me get some drive back into that knee. I didn’t know it was as hurt as it was. Before I couldn’t do much, and I was flinching during my swing, but now I can use those muscles again. I’ll have to get it replaced eventually but it’s been progressively better.”

  Injury or not, Smeraglio is now the man to beat with the No. 1 seed.

Super-Senior Division

  The Saucon Valley Country Club member sprinted out of the gates with birdies on Nos. 2 (par 4, 325 yards) and 3 (par 3, 140 yards).

  On No. 2, McCool hit a 3-wood to the end of the fairway and jammed a 9-iron from 120 yards to four feet. He would birdie No. 3 as a result of a smooth 8-iron to seven feet.

  After birdieing No. 9 (par 5, 470 yards) to get to 2-under-par, McCool gave bogeyed No. 10 (par 4, 399 yards) after his drive plugged into the hazard off the tee. But he bounced back after making a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 11 (par 4, 366 yards).

  “I didn’t have very high expectations coming into today,” said McCool, 67 of Center Valley, Pa. “I played in Saucon’s Buck Cup (Stroke Play Championship) over the weekend, which is from the tips, which was just brutal. I hit the ball really well. I had to resign myself to hitting it solid and in play because I struggled with the length. I took a little something from that into today.”

  McCool’s golf game has changed quite a bit throughout the last few years. Two back surgeries and 10 screws later, McCool committed to changing his shot shaping from primarily a draw to a fade.

  McCool said it has made a difference on his back because he doesn’t have to go after the ball as hard as he used to.

  “I’ve made a change to hit all fades,” said McCool. “ I changed all of my clubs on purpose and got bigger grips. That makes it easier for me to play and some golf courses are so easy because they move well for someone who hits a fade. The greens are so difficult here so you have to be in the fairways to be able to try to get the ball close to the greens.”

  McCool is the only person to win the Brewer Cup as both a Senior (2010, 2013) and a Super-Senior (2016) since the tournament’s inception in 2008. It’s a tournament that always holds a special spot in McCool’s heart.

  “I was on the GAP Executive Committee and the Championship Committee when the Brewer Cup was created,” said McCool. “We wanted to honor Mr. Brewer’s great contributions and accomplishments in the game. To play in a tournament that is named in his honor is important for me to do. It is always something that I look forward to.”

  The top-seeded McCool will face Thomas Mallouk of Lookaway Golf Club at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

NOTE: Frank Rutan, IV of Philadelphia Cricket Club, a former GAP President, aced the par 3, 154-yard 14th hole with an 8-iron.

  The Brewer Cup is named in honor of O. Gordon Brewer, Jr., the former president of Pine Valley Golf Club. He is a two-time U.S. Senior Amateur Champion and veteran of 42 USGA Championships. He’s captured two Golf Association of Philadelphia Amateur Championship titles (1967, 1976), a GAP Senior Amateur Championship crown (1997) and a Senior Player of the Year (1997) as well as countless invitational titles. Seven years ago he was recognized for his contributions to the game with the USGA’s Bob Jones Award.

Golf Association of Philadelphia
  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 151 Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.