Davis, Knoll capture 16th Better-Ball Championship in playoff
MALVERN, Pa.– Christian Davis of Glenmaura National GC and Alex Knoll of Bethlehem GC birdied the first playoff hole to defeat Chase Duncan of Meadia Heights GC and Dan Walters of Conestoga CC for the 16th Pennsylvania Golf Association Better-Ball Championship on Wednesday at White Manor CC (par 71, 6,868 yards). Davis and Knoll, who started the second round at 1-under par and three shots back of the leaders, finished at 6-under par. Duncan and Walters, who also carded a 6-under-par score of 136, opened the final round as tri-leaders at 4 under."To defeat a bunch of great teams that played in this tournament is a remarkable accomplishment," said Davis, 21, of Scranton, Pa. Added Knoll, 20, of Bethlehem, Pa., "We’re really proud to beat such a great field for a state title." Davis and Knoll are teammates at Davidson University in Davidson, N.C., where Davis is a senior and Knoll is a junior.
Knoll sealed the victory on the first extra hole with a birdie. He knocked a 7-iron from 152 yards to four feet after almost holing out from the fairway. Walters had the first opportunity for a three with a 12-foot birdie chance but it trickled by the top edge.
"My partner had that putt early in the afternoon," said Knoll. "It was a little right to left putt. It was one of those your should always make."
John Sawin and P. Chet Walsh of Philadelphia CC carded a spectacular 6-under-par 65 in the final round to leapfrog into a third-place tie with Adam and Jason Cohan of The ACE Club.
A total of 79 teams competed in the two-day, 36-hole competition.
It was a tale of two sides on the front nine for Davis and Knoll. Knoll went 1-under par for the first five holes to keep his team alive. A score that including a spectacular driving iron to six feet on the difficult and long third hole (par 3, 244 yards). Davis chimed in with birdies on No. 6 (par 5, 556 yards) and No. 7 (par 4, 313 yards) and the duo made the turn at 3-under par for the day. Davis knocked in a 50-foot under-par score on No. 10 (par 4, 430 yards) and both registered birdies on the 11th (par 5, 529 yards). Davis topped the round with a magnificent sand save from the left greenside bunker for birdie on No. 17 (par 5, 553 yards) and another par effort on No. 18 (par 4, 418 yards) after putting the ball behind a tree with his drive.
"You do start to think its destiny," said Davis of his round. "Especially after the ball starts bouncing your way. The team that gets a break or two usually wins these events."
Duncan and Walters made the turn at 1-under-par, but had it as low as 3 under before bogeys on No. 8 (par 3, 160 yards) and No. 9 (par 4, 436 yards) watched them make the turn at 34. Duncan made a birdie on No. 11 and another on No. 15 (par 4, 316 yards), a miraculous lob wedge from the left rough some 50 yards short of the green, that landed three feet away.
"We had the opportunities," said Walters, 20, of Lancaster, Pa. "We just failed to capitalize."
Walters is a senior at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. Duncan, 20, of Lancaster, Pa., is a sophomore at N.C. State.
Name |
Club |
Rnd 1 |
Rnd 2 |
Total |
*Davis, Christian / Knoll, Alex |
Glenmaura National GC / Bethlehem GC |
70 |
66 |
136 |
Duncan, Chase / Walters, Dan |
Meadia Heights GC / Philadelphia Publinks GA |
67 |
69 |
136 |
Cohan, Adam / Cohan, Jason |
The ACE Club |
67 |
70 |
137 |
Sawin, John G. / Walsh, P. Chet |
Philadelphia CC |
72 |
65 |
137 |
Bohn, James / Lafoca, Santo |
Bucknell GC / Huntsville GC |
69 |
69 |
138 |
Ferguson, Gregory / Fink Jr., Artie |
Sinking Valley CC |
69 |
69 |
138 |
Gardas, James M. / Williams, Eric W. |
Honesdale GC |
69 |
69 |
138 |
Gagliardi, Paul C. / Hall, Shawn |
Cedarbrook CC / Four Seasons GC |
70 |
69 |
139 |
Fardon, Dave M. / Mattare, Matthew |
Saucon Valley CC |
68 |
72 |
140 |
Apostolico, Anthony M. / Reed, Buddy |
Hartefeld National |
69 |
71 |
140 |
Detweiler, Brandon / Detweiler, Marlin |
Lancaster CC |
71 |
70 |
141 |
Gross, Mike / Hudacek, Stephen |
Glenmaura National GC (1) |
69 |
72 |
141 |
DeNunzio, David / DeNunzio, Ronald |
Latrobe CC |
67 |
75 |
142 |
Moose, Justin / Scott, Justin |
Carradam GC / Churchill Valley CC |
71 |
71 |
142 |
Maude, Tug / Ryder, Nick |
Merion GC / Aronimink GC |
68 |
74 |
142 |
Elias, George / Kondracki, Anthony |
Sand Springs CC / Fox Hill CC |
70 |
72 |
142 |
Arnold, Stephen / Ault, Christopher W. |
Yardley CC / Spring Mill CC |
73 |
69 |
142 |
Fonner, Eric / Polinsky, Paul M. |
Huntingdon Valley CC / Manufacturers G&CC |
72 |
71 |
143 |
Denlinger, Deryl L. / Gemmill, Jud |
Lancaster Host Farm Resort |
71 |
72 |
143 |
Corbett, Brian / Gill, Robert |
Huntsville GC / Fox Hill CC |
73 |
71 |
144 |
Cunningham, Bob / Walton, Steve |
Downingtown CC (2) |
71 |
73 |
144 |
Ascolese, Gerard F. / Sheva, Greg |
North Hills CC |
73 |
72 |
145 |
Daniels, Gary E. / Dowds, III, Charles J. |
Applebrook GC / North Hills CC |
74 |
71 |
145 |
Kinter, Joe / Myers, David |
Indiana CC |
75 |
70 |
145 |
Hutchinson, Mick A. / Short, Ed |
Carlisle CC |
69 |
76 |
145 |
Terebesi, Chris / Umani, Richard E. |
Chester Valley GC / Philadelphia Publinks GA |
71 |
74 |
145 |
Answini, Mark / Mulhern, John |
Fox Hill CC |
73 |
72 |
145 |
Fox, Michael C. / Nilon, Michael J. |
Philadelphia CC (1) |
73 |
72 |
145 |
Borowsky, Larry / Donatoni, Don |
White Manor CC |
73 |
72 |
145 |
Morrow, Craig / Ostrom, T.J. |
Grandview GC |
72 |
73 |
145 |
Harmer, Drew / Thon, Richard |
The Springhaven Club |
73 |
73 |
146 |
Domenick, Michael / O'Sullivan, John |
Phoenixville CC / Chester Valley GC |
70 |
76 |
146 |
Ernst, Jeff / Ulp, Gregory |
CC of Harrisburg |
73 |
73 |
146 |
Gunnison, Kyle / Farrell, Kevin |
Quail Valley CC |
72 |
74 |
146 |
Jones, Charles W. / Volpi III, Dino J. |
Philadelphia Publinks GA / Plymouth CC |
71 |
75 |
146 |
Soares, Tom / Spence Jr., Ben |
Moselem Springs GC / Green Pond GC |
74 |
72 |
146 |
Markward, Del / O'Brien, Patrick C. |
North Hills CC (1) |
72 |
74 |
146 |
Mullins, John / Piersanti, Tom |
Saucon Valley CC / Spring Ford CC |
73 |
73 |
146 |
Brunn, Jr., Art / Hazzouri, Jr., Albert |
Scranton Municiple / CC of Scranton |
73 |
73 |
146 |
Douglas, Mark / Slawecki, R. Blake |
Spring Ford CC |
77 |
70 |
147 |
Mayne, Scott / Tait, Chuck |
Hershey Park View |
71 |
76 |
147 |
Coleman, Len W. / Lawler, William P. |
Emanon CC / Fox Hill CC |
73 |
74 |
147 |
Smyrl, William / White, Jr., Anthony J. |
Blue Bell CC |
74 |
73 |
147 |
Dick, Douglas A. / Hancock, Matt |
Chester Valley GC |
74 |
73 |
147 |
Maguire Jr., Alexander A. / Sokol, Brad |
Philadelphia Cricket / Berkleigh CC |
73 |
74 |
147 |
Harrell, Jamie / Mohr, Thomas P. |
Coatesville CC |
75 |
73 |
148 |
Roberts, Ed M. / Yost, Vince |
Old York Road CC / Cedarbrook CC |
75 |
73 |
148 |
Domanish, Michael J. / Vassil, Mike J. |
Scanton Municiple / CC of Scranton |
73 |
75 |
148 |
Bonavoglia, Michael / Cardamone, J.C. |
Elmhurst CC |
72 |
77 |
149 |
Balcavage, Frank P. / Lauver, Nat |
Bellewood GC / Lost Creek GC |
74 |
75 |
149 |
Howe, Craig / Kennedy, John |
Honeybrook GC |
76 |
74 |
150 |
Gast, Corey / Hostetter, Gregg |
Meadia Heights GC |
73 |
77 |
150 |
DiLucia, Dave / Pechin, Kevin |
Downingtown CC |
78 |
72 |
150 |
Mandel, Marc / Price, Jeffrey A. |
White Manor CC (3) |
76 |
74 |
150 |
Kaspar, Christopher / Steffy, Peter |
Lu Lu CC / Foxchase GC |
77 |
73 |
150 |
Howell, Robert / Mackley, Matthew B. |
Range End CC / Dauphin Highlands GC |
76 |
74 |
150 |
Rowe, Ben P. / Wolf, Austin |
Conestoga CC / Bent Creek CC |
74 |
77 |
151 |
Gordon, William / Thomas, Jon A. |
Hartefeld National / Wyncote GC |
77 |
74 |
151 |
Ringiewicz, Paul / Scanlon, Kevin M. |
Rolling Green / Stonewall |
77 |
75 |
152 |
Gardner, Brian M. / Flatley, Thomas |
Philadelphia Publinks GA / Merion GC |
73 |
79 |
152 |
Kornuszko, Kevin / Verticelli, Mario T. |
Spring Mill CC (1) |
79 |
73 |
152 |
Barsky, Sam / Taub, Steve |
White Manor CC (1) |
75 |
78 |
153 |
Kania Jr., Arthur J. / Kania, Stephen |
Overbrook GC |
76 |
77 |
153 |
Cimino, David D / Gardener, Dave |
Blue Bell CC (2) |
74 |
80 |
154 |
Felzer, Murray A. / Peskin, Hal |
White Manor CC (2) |
76 |
79 |
155 |
Abrams, Andrew C. / Rugg, Patrick |
Rolling Green GC (1) |
76 |
79 |
155 |
Blichar, David / Strohl, David |
Blue Ridge CC / Moselem Springs GC |
78 |
77 |
155 |
De Sana, Christopher / Desmond, Graham J. |
Philadelphia Publinks GA |
79 |
77 |
156 |
Kowalski, Jason / Kowalski, Robert C. |
Philadelphia Piblinks GA |
75 |
82 |
157 |
Scarpetta, Steven / Scarpetta, III, Vincent |
Glenmaura National GC |
82 |
75 |
157 |
Flickinger, Brad / Sohns, Tom |
CC of Scranton |
79 |
79 |
158 |
Mairone, Thomas / Stewart, Robert |
McCall Field / Westover GC |
75 |
84 |
159 |
Gross, Shawn P. / Jackson, Bruce |
Bella Vista GC / Golf Tour of Greater Philadelphia |
85 |
76 |
161 |
Pompey, Alexander / Pompey, David J. |
CC of Scranton (1) |
83 |
79 |
162 |
Callaghan, James / Fager, William A. |
Rolling Green GC |
84 |
80 |
164 |
Groff, Kyle / Mason, Brad |
Coatesville CC / Concord CC |
88 |
81 |
169 |
Radick, Lee / Robbins, David |
Spring Mill CC / Huntingdon Valley CC |
87 |
82 |
169 |
Chaudhari, Ashish / Marzolino, Bryan |
Elmhurst CC (1) |
82 |
DQ |
DQ |
*-won in playoff; DQ-disqualification |