Day One results

Saucon Valley CC’s McCool captures inaugural Hemlock Championship

  NORTH COVENTRY, Pa.–It wasn’t easy, but Robin McCool of Saucon Valley CC did just enough to repel the competition and capture the first-ever Hemlock Championship on Tuesday at Bellewood GC (par 71, 6,609 yards). The Hemlock, a new event named after the state tree, is a competition for players ages 45-54 years of age.

  McCool entered the second and final round five shots in front of the field in search of his first Pennsylvania state championship. However, it was a challenging day with the putter for the 54 year old and McCool watched his advantage dwindle to one shot on an early surge from Michael Domenick of Phoenixville CC and a late effort by Richard Thon of The Springhaven Club. In the end, McCool’s second-round 77 equated to a 1-over-par finish for the tournament and placed him two strokes clear of the field.

  Domenick and Thon tied for second at 4-over par. Glenn Smeraglio of Yardley CC placed fifth at 5-over par.

  "It feels great. It’s a great accomplishment to win a state event at any level," said McCool of Bethlehem, Pa. "I’m ecstatic about that.

  "I didn’t play particularly well today, but that’s golf. You have to deal with it."

  McCool carded five bogeys on the front side as the field closed the gap. He three-putted four of those. However, McCool, a tournament veteran, righted the ship with birdies on No. 10 (par 5, 582 yards) and No. 13 (par 4, 335 yards) and closed his round out with a 1-over-par 36.

  "I couldn’t get into any rhythm on the greens," said McCool. "I had a lot of difficult putts that were going up and over and across ridges."

  McCool knocked a gap wedge from 90 yards to three feet on No. 10 to get his groove back. On the treacherous 13^th, he intentionally landed his pitching wedge short of the green and watched it roll to eight feet. He converted a tricky right to left breaker.

  Thon, 50, of Swarthmore, Pa., and Domenick, 50, of Phoenixville, Pa., both had moments.

  Thon recorded five birdies and five bogeys en route to an even-par 71. He was 1-under par at the turn and 2 under after 10 holes before three bogeys in the span of four holes eliminated him from the title hunt.

  Domenick went out in 1-under 35, before a bogey, double-bogey start on the back, quieted his run.

  "If I go home with a piece of glass, my wife will be surprised," stated Thon. "Starting the day I would have taken that. I didn’t collapse. He won it."

  McCool's top finish in a Pennsylvania state event prior to the Hemlock was a third-place showing in the 1998 Amateur at Bent Creek CC. The victory marks a comeback of sorts for McCool. Health issues have plagued him since 2001. That year he successfully battled testicular cancer. In 2003, McCool found himself on the sideline with a pinched nerve in his back and, in 2004, a staph infection shelved him for a period of time.

  McCool is a former New Jersey State Golf Association Middle-Amateur champion and has also recorded victories in both Golf Association of Philadelphia and Arizona State Golf Association events.

Pos	Player Name	Club	Rd 1	Rd 2	Total
1	Robin S. McCool	Saucon Valley CC	67	77	144
T2	Michael Domenick	Phoenixville CC	73	73	146
T2	Rich Thon	The Springhaven Club	75	71	146
4	Glenn Smeraglio	Yardley CC	72	75	147
5	Matt Froncek	Elkview CC	74	75	149
T6	Ed Blechschmidt	Whitemarsh Valley CC	76	74	150
T6	Mark E. Leaman	Foxchase GC	76	74	150
T8	Kenneth A. Phillips	Lancaster CC	79	72	151
T8	Warren Choate	Williamsport CC	77	74	151
T10	John W. Robinson	Commonwealth National GC	78	74	152
T10	Christopher B. Scott	Bucks County CC	81	71	152
T12	Scott Mayne	Hershey CC	78	75	153
T12	George E. Troutman	Village Green Golf Course	76	77	153
14	Ron A. Weaver	Meadia Heights GC	77	77	154
T15	Jim Simmons	Stonewall	77	78	155
T15	Brian Corbett	Huntsville GC	80	75	155
T15	Vince Yost	Cedarbrook CC	75	80	155
T15	Oscar L. Mestre, Jr.	Overbrook GC	78	77	155
T19	Drew Panebianco	Talamore at Oak Terrace CC	77	79	156
T19	Michael J. Vassil	CC of Scranton	83	73	156
T19	Joe Corsi	Totteridge GC	78	78	156
T19	Jeffrey Paige	Penn National GC	77	79	156
T23	Joseph M. Cordaro	Edgewood CC	80	77	157
T23	Ed Short	Carlisle CC	79	78	157
T25	Byron W. Whitman	Philadelphia Publinks Golf Assoc	80	78	158
T25	Bradley Hughes	Stonewall	78	80	158
T25	Michael J. Metz	Fox Hill CC	82	76	158
28	Mark D. Quigley	Lu Lu CC	81	78	159
29	Marlin Detweiler	Lancaster CC	78	83	161
30	Robert Gill	Fox Hill CC	79	83	162
31	Chuck Tait	Hershey Parkview	81	83	164
32	Paul Ringiewicz	Rolling Green GC	84	81	165
33	William D. March	Spring Ford CC	86	81	167
34	Doug Kelley	Spring Hollow Golf Course	84	85	169
35	Charles Kraatz	Talamore at Oak Terrace CC	84	93	177
36	Scott Orr	Reading CC	86	92	178
37	Albert Hazzouri, Jr.	CC of Scranton	91	91	182
38	William Erskine	Philadelphia Publinks GA	86	WD	WD
WD-withdrawal

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