Vassil holds on to take Hemlock Championship

  MOOSIC, Pa.- Michael Vassil of the Country Club of Scranton fired an even-par (69-73) 142 under cool, wet conditions to outlast a feisty Glenn Smeraglio of Yardley CC by one stroke to take the second running of the Hemlock Championship at Glenmaura National GC (par 71, 6,554 yards) on Tuesday.

Michael Vassil

  Arthur Kania, Jr. of Overbrook GC carded a 1-under-par 70, the only sub-par round of the second day, to finish in third place with a 5-over-par (77-70) 147. John Zavada of Elkview CC and Drew Panebianco of Talamore at Oak Terrace CC finished in fourth and fifth place respectively.

  But it was Vassil who picked up right where he left off after yesterday’s sub-par performance scorching the front nine with birdies on hole Nos. 1 (par 5, 557 yards) 6 (par 5, 516 yards) 7 (par 3, 173 yards) and 9 (par 3, 167 yards). He made the turn at 2-under, extending his lead to four strokes through 27 holes.

  "Coming in I knew I had one more mistake to make than everyone else," said the 49-year-old from Dalton, Pa. "I played real solid on the front with four birdies. You really pick up on the field making twos on the par 3s."

  But as the rain continued to fall and the temperature began to drop, Vassil saw his lead quickly diminish after his errant tee shot on No. 10 (par 5, 542 yards) went into the right-side hazard. From that point the only thing Vassil could salvage was a double bogey as Smeraglio managed to save par and close the gap by two strokes.

  "When we got to the tee, the hardest rain of the day started," Vassil said. " I didn’t take care of winding myself up and I just blocked it into the hazard, and it went in there early so I was way back."

Glenn Smeraglio

  He added, "I made a double on that and it kind of unnerves you a bit."

  Vassil’s lead was cut in half yet again after carding a bogey on No. 12 (par 4, 377 yards) while a steady Smeraglio registered his 10^th par of the day to bring himself within a stroke of the leader.

  "I thought I had a chance," Smeraglio said. "I thought the momentum was beginning to swing there."

  "I was really going south in the middle," Vassil said. "But making that bogey putt allowed me to keep the lead and it was something positive to take away from it."

  Smeraglio continued his stable play with two more pars before making only his second bogey of the afternoon on No. 15 (par 3, 211 yards).

  Meanwhile Vassil quickly capitalized on Smeraglio’s mistake and scored his third birdie of the afternoon on the course’s five par 3s when his hit his 4-iron to 12 feet right of the hole giving him a three stroke lead with three to play.

  "Making two’s here is like a shot and a half on most other par 3s," Vassil said. "You get a lot of mileage out of that."

  But Vassil would keep things interesting as he managed to just hold onto a one-stroke lead after bogeying No. 17 (par 4, 337 yards) and 18 (par 4, 358 yards) while Smeraglio finished off with a pair of pars.

  Vassil three putted No. 18 to finish the day with a 2-over-par 73, edging Smeraglio by one stroke for the tournament.

  "That bogey really opened the door so I was kicking myself," he said. "It was still in my hands to two putt. I can’t ever make things easy on myself."

  The Hemlock Championship, an event named after the Pennsylvania state tree, is for players ages 45-54 years old.

 

Player Name	Rd 1	Rd 2	Total
Michael Vassil, Country Club of Scranton	69	73	142
Glenn Smeraglio, Yardley Country Club	71	72	143
Arthur Kania, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club	77	70	147
John Zavada, Elkview Country Club	71	77	148
Drew Panebianco, Talamore at Oak Terrace Country Club	71	79	150
Kenneth Phillips, Lancaster Country Club	75	76	151
Michael Domenick, Phoenixville Country Club	78	73	151
Rich Thon, The Springhaven Club	78	73	151
Anthony Kondracki, Fox Hill Country Club	80	71	151
Thomas Hyland, Moselem Springs Golf Club	75	78	153
Martin Newingham, Latrobe Country Club	81	72	153
Timothy Burns, Country Club of Scranton	79	74	153
Bill Seng, Colonial Country Club	77	77	154
Brian Corbett, Huntsville Golf Club	76	78	154
Edward Knoll, Deer Run Golf Club	75	79	154
Francis Hamm, MD, Country Club of Scranton	76	79	155
Robert Gill, Fox Hill Country Club	79	76	155
Ira Handler, Butler Country Club	80	75	155
Marlin Detweiler, Lancaster Country Club	79	78	157
Mark Leaman, Foxchase Golf Club	78	80	158
Gregory Sheva, North Hills Country Club	80	78	158
Rick Scott, West Shore Country Club	82	78	160
Jim Simmons, Stonewall	82	78	160
J. R. Cattoni, Williamsport Country Club	82	78	160
John Robinson, Commonwealth National Golf Club	82	79	161
Jay Stoner, Deer Run Golf Club	84	78	162
Brian Brant, Butler Country Club	79	85	164
J. Kirk Luntey, Merion Golf Club	80	86	166
George Troutman, Deer Run Golf Club	83	83	166
Chris Terebesi, Chester Valley Golf Club	84	82	166
George Steinmetz, Huntsville Golf Club	81	86	167
Kenneth Ralston, Huntsville Golf Club	82	88	170
Albert Hazzouri, Jr., Country Club of Scranton	85	86	171
Glen McCartney, Berkleigh Country Club	92	90	182
Ed Blechschmidt, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club	81	WD	WD
Randy Hensinger, Berkleigh Country Club	87	WD	WD
Matt Froncek, Elkview Country Club	86	WD	WD
WD-withdrawal

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