Mellon & Miller, Money in the Bank
Malvern, Pa. – The 25th Pennsylvania Better-Ball Championship sponsored by the Allegheny Health Network was contested at the immaculate Chester Valley Golf Club on Monday-Tuesday, May 19-20. Ideal temperatures greeted competitors as they took on the challenging Perry Maxwell/George Fazio layout over two breezy days. For the early part of day two, it looked like a runaway victory for first round leaders Frank Fairman, Punxsutawney Country Club, and Arnie Cutrell, Greensburg Country Club, as they led by one overnight and then proceeded to birdie the first four holes of the final round to separate themselves from the field. Joining them in the final pairing, fellow-competitors Spencer Mellon and Justin Miller, both of Oakmont Country Club, withstood the early birdie barrage and came up with some back nine magic to win the championship with a birdie on the final hole. Spencer Mellon drained a 30-foot downhill putt to secure the hardware.
The strong field featured a staggering 17 teams within four strokes of the lead going into day two. Defending champions Zach Herr, Jericho National Golf Club, and Adam Hofmann, Fox Chapel Golf Club, had the round of the day with a 6-under-par 64 to finish at 5-under-par 135 for the tournament and tie for fourth. Joining Herr and Hofmann were Pennsylvania Better-Ball veterans Eric Williams, Honesdale Country Club and Jimmy Gardas, Country Club of Scranton, who also finished with a 5-under-par 135. Williams and Gardas made the turn at 5-under-par for the championship, but a birdie and a bogey with a lot of burned edges was the best they could do coming in. Golf Association of Philadelphia regulars Glenn Smeraglio and Michael Brown, both of Mercer Oaks, played a solid final round of 4-under-par 66 to join the party at 5-under-par 135 and tie for fourth.
Will Wears, Latrobe Country Club
Nelson Hargrove, Merion Golf Club, and Brandon Matthews, Glenmaura National Golf Club, began the day four behind the leaders. They applied pressure early and often, going out in a blistering 5-under-par 30, but came up just one stroke shy of Mellon and Miller. Will Wears and Cameron Roth, both of Latrobe Country Club, matched Hargrove and Matthews with a 5-under-par 65 in the final round for a second place tying total of 6-under-par 134. Wears came through with clutch birdies on No. 17 (par 4, 396 yards) and No. 18 (par 4, 440 yards) to set the clubhouse lead at 134. Hargrove/Matthews had several good looks at birdies coming in that just wouldn’t drop. Both Wears/Roth and Hargrove/Matthews finished well ahead of the final group and were preparing for a potential playoff until they heard of Mellon’s heroics on the 18th green.
For Mellon and Miller, the day did not start as planned. Both players hit loose tee shots off the first tee that led to a team bogey on No. 1 (par 4, 381 yards), as they watched their fellow-competitors come flying out of the gates. The eventual champs kept their composure and made steady pars on holes two through eight, and then sensed a chance to make something happen to get back in the mix as Fairman/Cutrell all of the sudden couldn’t get off the bogey train. On No. 9 (par 4, 380 yards), Mellon absolutely smoked a drive to just three yards short of the putting surface and was able to get up-and-down to the front hole location for the teams first red figure of the day. The momentum of the group had totally shifted, and the Mellon/Miller duo carded another birdie on the difficult No. 10 (par 3, 217 yards) to draw even with Fairman/Cutrell. Fairman and Cutrell eventually settled for a tie for seventh at 4-under-par 136 with Scott McNeil and Jim Gillespie, both of Philadelphia Publinks GA.
When asked to sum up the day, Miller said, "We got behind the 8-ball a little from the start with the bad bogey on No. 1, then those guys birdie the first four holes. We knew it was unlikely for someone to go really low on this course, so we just tried to stay patient and looked forward to some birdie holes on the back nine. Our shots of the day were on No. 10 where we both hit solid irons, me with a 4-iron and Spence with a 5-iron. I was able to roll in the putt before him there."
After a minor hiccup on No. 12 (par 4, 422 yards) that led to a bogey for Mellon/Miller, the group learned of charges being made by challengers ahead. Spencer Mellon rose to the occasion with a huge eagle-three on the reachable uphill No. 12 (par 5, 495 yards) to force a three-way tie at the top. Mellon and Miller held steady at 6-under-par through 35 holes and had a chance to make a clubhouse birdie for the win. Mellon played his approach to approximately 30 feet behind the hole and was faced with a tricky downhill putt on the slick 18th green. He played about a foot and a half of break and watched as it trickled perfectly into the bottom of the cup for the victory.
"On No. 14, I hit 3-wood in the fairway and then Spence nuked a drive into the wind that carried the creek by about 5 yards. Spencer then hit 5-iron to about 15 feet for the big eagle. Then on No. 18, I pushed my drive a little into the rough and played a 9-iron to about 20 feet putting up the hill," said Miller.
Mellon added, "On No. 18, I hit 2-iron off the tee to 150, then my wedge just flew off the face and went a bit too far, about 30 feet behind the hole. Justin and I agreed that I would just try to nestle it down there for an easy par, so I picked a spot about a foot and a half out that I thought it needed to roll over and it just ended up being a perfect putt and died right in the heart. It was a pretty surreal feeling." Miller commented, "I told him to try and slide it down there for par so I could go after it, but he just rolled it in, which was perfectly fine with me! The golf course was awesome and was in the best shape of any course I've seen this year, and the staff at Chester Valley was great."
Spencer Mellon reacts to making the clinching birdie at 18
A huge thank you goes out to the entire membership and staff at Chester Valley Golf Club. The membership led Volunteer Marshals program was a huge help and contributed to the success of the event. Special recognition to Superintendent Dave Visocan, General Manager Kevin Dwyer, Head Professional Jonathan Doctor, and Caddie Master Chris Kopko for the professionalism and dedication of their staff.