Vassil rides local knowledge to lead field
MOOSIC, Pa.- Michael Vassil of the Country Club of Scranton is the first-round leader of the Hemlock Championship after firing a 2-under-par 69 at Glenmaura National GC (par 71, 6,554 yards) on Monday. The second running of the Hemlock Championship, an event named after the Pennsylvania state tree, is for players ages 45-54 years old.
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"There’s a lot of room to hit to if you don’t think too much about where not to hit it," said the 49-year-old from Dalton, Pa. "The fairways are pretty generous and the ball wasn’t running so if you hit them the ball stayed."
Vassil, an information technology manager for Met Life, flirted with birdies early and often missing a couple putts within 10 feet before draining a downhill eight-footer for birdie on No. 5 (par 4, 430 yards).
But on the very next hole (No. 6 – par 5, 516 yards), Vassil found out how difficult the rough could be as he struggled to get to the green and ended up registering his first bogey of the round.
"[The rough] was so thick I couldn’t even advance the ball to the green," he said.
However, he recovered quickly carding birdies on Nos. 7 (par 3, 173 yards), 10 (par 5, 542 yards), 13 (par 4, 387 yards) and 16 (par 4, 412 yards) to lead the field by two strokes after the first round of play.
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Glenn Smeraglio of Yardley CC, John Zavada of Elkview CC and Drew Panebianco of Talamore at Oak Terrace CC, each carded even-par 71s to finish tied for second place.
"The fairways I thought were very generous," said Smeraglio. "Although, it was a mud-fest out there at times."
He added, "I made my three and four-footers for par but I don’t think it was easy out there."
Unlike Vassil, Panebianco had better luck with the thick rough. On No. 14 (par 5, 543 yards) he managed to escape its grasp just off the fairway and make a 25-footer for birdie.
"That kind of got me back on track," said Panebianco after he went 3-over par through the first four holes on the backside.
The final round of this 36-hole championship begins Tuesday at 7:30 a.m.
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Name |
Out |
In |
Total |
|
Michael Vassil, Country Club of Scranton |
35 |
34 |
69 |
|
Drew Panebianco, Talamore at Oak Terrace Country Club |
34 |
37 |
71 |
|
Glenn Smeraglio, Yardley Country Club |
34 |
37 |
71 |
|
John Zavada, Elkview Country Club |
36 |
35 |
71 |
|
Edward Knoll, Deer Run Golf Club |
36 |
39 |
75 |
|
Kenneth Phillips, Lancaster Country Club |
36 |
39 |
75 |
|
Thomas Hyland, Moselem Springs Golf Club |
37 |
38 |
75 |
|
Brian Corbett, Huntsville Golf Club |
37 |
39 |
76 |
|
Francis Hamm, MD, Country Club of Scranton |
39 |
37 |
76 |
|
Arthur Kania, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club |
38 |
39 |
77 |
|
Bill Seng, Colonial Country Club |
36 |
41 |
77 |
|
Mark Leaman, Foxchase Golf Club |
37 |
41 |
78 |
|
Michael Domenick, Phoenixville Country Club |
36 |
42 |
78 |
|
Rich Thon, The Springhaven Club |
38 |
40 |
78 |
|
Brian Brant, Butler Country Club |
37 |
42 |
79 |
|
Marlin Detweiler, Lancaster Country Club |
39 |
40 |
79 |
|
Robert Gill, Fox Hill Country Club |
36 |
43 |
79 |
|
Timothy Burns, Country Club of Scranton |
39 |
40 |
79 |
|
Anthony Kondracki, Fox Hill Country Club |
41 |
39 |
80 |
|
Gregory Sheva, North Hills Country Club |
39 |
41 |
80 |
|
Ira Handler, Butler Country Club |
39 |
41 |
80 |
|
J. Kirk Luntey, Merion Golf Club |
40 |
40 |
80 |
|
Ed Blechschmidt, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club |
42 |
39 |
81 |
|
George Steinmetz, Huntsville Golf Club |
38 |
43 |
81 |
|
Martin Newingham, Latrobe Country Club |
41 |
40 |
81 |
|
J. R. Cattoni, Williamsport Country Club |
42 |
40 |
82 |
|
Jim Simmons, Stonewall |
41 |
41 |
82 |
|
John Robinson, Commonwealth National Golf Club |
41 |
41 |
82 |
|
Kenneth Ralston, Huntsville Golf Club |
41 |
41 |
82 |
|
Rick Scott, West Shore Country Club |
38 |
44 |
82 |
|
George Troutman, Deer Run Golf Club |
41 |
42 |
83 |
|
Chris Terebesi, Chester Valley Golf Club |
41 |
43 |
84 |
|
Jay Stoner, Deer Run Golf Club |
40 |
44 |
84 |
|
Albert Hazzouri, Jr., Country Club of Scranton |
41 |
44 |
85 |
|
Matt Froncek, Elkview Country Club |
42 |
44 |
86 |
|
Randy Hensinger, Berkleigh Country Club |
43 |
44 |
87 |
|
Glen McCartney, Berkleigh Country Club |
50 |
42 |
92 |
|
David Strohl, Moselem Springs Golf Club |
WD |
WD |
WD |
|
Warren Choate, Williamsport Country Club |
WD |
WD |
WD |
|
Gerald Coyne, Glenmaura National Golf Club |
WD |
WD |
WD |
|
Christopher Scott, Bucks County Golf Club |
WD |
WD |
WD |
|
Chuck Kraatz, Talamore at Oak Terrace Country Club |
WD |
WD |
WD |
|
David Kluger, Fox Hill Country Club |
WD |
WD |
WD |
|
Joe Corsi, Totteridge Golf Club |
WD |
WD |
WD |
|
Paul Ringiewicz, Rolling Green Golf Club |
WD |
WD |
WD |
|
Scott Mayne, Hershey Country Club |
WD |
WD |
WD |
|
WD-withdrawal |
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