Brown and Erickson Take Senior Match Play at Radnor Valley

Scorecards

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Neither David Brown nor Don Erickson, III, had been to Radnor Valley Country Club before this week, but for each golfer, there was something oddly familiar about the layout. And it’s those little edges that are needed to win an event with the state’s best golfers, as Brown and Erickson found out on their way to wins in the Senior and Super-Senior divisions of the 14th Pennsylvania Men’s Senior Match Play Championship, presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. 

For Brown, Radnor Valley reminded him of Champion Lakes Golf Club, where he played for many years, giving him a needed boost of confidence in his last two matches which both went down to the wire. And for Erickson, he noticed in researching the course prior to the event that architect X.B. Hassenplug had worked on RVCC. Hassenplug also shaped 12 of the holes at DuBois Country Club, where Erickson grew up playing golf.

“Both here and Champion Lakes had really severe greens and a similar green speed,” said Brown, now a two-time winner of the event as he also won in 2017 at Lebanon Country Club. 

Brown’s run to the title was significantly easier in Monday’s first two matches than what he faced on Tuesday. In the opening two rounds, Brown, of St. Clair Country Club, played just 12 holes in each match before advancing. But that script flipped in Tuesday’s semifinal against Richard Berglund. It was a tight match throughout, with Brown clinging to a 2 up lead with three holes to play before Oakmont Country Club’s Berglund rallied to square the match and force extra holes. 

On the first playoff hole (No. 1 at RVCC), Brown was 102 yards away for his approach shot and flushed it to about two feet from the hole, where he was able to convert the birdie and win the match.

“I still had to putt it,” Brown said. “I had to hit it firm for it to go in there.”

With that, Brown advanced to face off with Jeff Frazier of Carlisle Country Club, who knocked off Sean Knapp in the semifinals. 

Frazier and Brown battled all afternoon with neither golfer up more than one hole until the par-3 16th, where the championship was effectively decided. Frazier nearly aced the hole, with his tee shot hitting the pin and spinning off to about five feet away. Brown, who was 1 up going into that hole, had about 15 feet for his birdie putt. 

But in an unexpected turn of events, Brown sank the birdie putt while Frazier couldn’t convert his, putting Brown up two with as many holes to play, and he was able to close out the championship with a halve on the 17th. 

“Those were two really hard matches today,” said Brown. “I just squeaked through both of them and they could’ve each gone either way.”

For Erickson, a runner-up in the Senior division to Chip Lutz in 2012, it was a chance to even the score against two-time defending champion Don Donatoni, who topped him in the semifinals in the 2018 edition of the event.

“I got my revenge this time,” said Erickson. “I played pretty solid all day. In the final match, I only had one really bad hole.”

Donatoni birdied the opening hole for a 1 up lead and after some back and forth action between the competitors, the match was all square heading to the 11th, when Erickson took his first lead of the match, one he would not relinquish. And it came in style, courtesy of a chip-in for birdie. 

“I was pin high to the right and was fortunate to be able to make that one,” said Erickson. 

From there, he was able to hold on for the 2 up victory, using his pseudo-home course knowledge despite being hundreds of miles from home. 

He cited the familiarity with Hassenplug’s work from DuBois as an advantage for him throughout the week.

“There were very similar characteristics on the greens with here and DuBois,” said Erickson. “I had the feel for some of the big breaks on these greens because of that.”

The Pennsylvania Golf Association would like to thank the staff and membership of Radnor Valley Country Club for the hospitality in hosting the championship. Thanks as well to DICK’S Sporting Goods for sponsorship of the event.