32nd Senior Four-Ball Day 2 Recap

Scores

LIGONIER, Pa. – Low scores were there for the taking during the second round of the 32^nd Pennsylvania Golf Association (PAGA) Senior Four-Ball Championship, as a pair of teams that were not in first place after Monday’s action leapfrogged the leaders to claim championships at Ligonier Country Club. In the Senior Division (ages 55-64) it was the duo of Douglas Hallman and Todd Mostoller from Colonial Golf & Tennis Club firing a six-under-par 64 to win by a single stroke while the Super-Senior Division (65+) featured JR Cattoni (Williamsport Country Club) and Ben Cook (Bucknell Golf Club) shooting a four-under 66, the lowest round of the day, to win top honors. 

Hallman and Mostoller, who entered the final round just a single stroke behind round one leaders Dan Brown (Allegheny CC) and Bob Crnjarich (Manada GC), supported each other well and avoided any trouble on the front nine. Hallman birdied hole No. 1 while Mostoller added birdies on 5, 7, and 8. On the back nine, Hallman caught fire with birdies on 10 and 14 while both golfers birdied 15. Both also finished with a bogey on 18—but they had built enough of a cushion to secure their victory with a two-day total of 130 (-10). 

“It was good and solid between the both of us and we were both in the low 70’s on both days,” recalled the pair of Hallman and Mostoller. “It was a good mix of birdies and pars and we just grind everyday. It’s what we do and it makes us really good partners with the back-and-forth. We’re used to playing with the young guys at our home club and they hit it a lot farther than us, so they put us in position where we have to grind to compete – and it helped us today for sure.” 

Brown and Crnjarich gave the winners a challenge, falling short by just a stroke at the end of the championship. They followed up yesterday’s five-under 65 with a four-under 66 in the final round, with Crnjarich carding birdies on holes No. 8 and 16 while Brown did so on 2, 5, and 11. 

The third place team of Arnie Cutrell (Greensburg CC) and Bill Rosemeyer (Butler CC) boasted the lowest round of the entire Championship with an eight-under 62 on Tuesday to finish with a two-day total of 134 (-6) thanks to seven birdies from Cutrell and two from Rosemeyer. 

Three teams finished tied for fourth place and finished the tourney with totals of 139 (-1), including  The Oakmont Country Club duo of Paul Mazeski and Rod Piatt, James Hughes (CC of Harrisburg) and William Smith (LedgeRock GC), and Chambersburg Country Club’s David Eubanks and John Lowder. 

The Super-Senior Division champion duo of Cattoni and Cook carried over their momentum from the last few holes on Monday to start off Tuesday with some qualify golf, as Cattoni birdied hole No. 7 and Cook added birdies on 8, 9, and 12. The duo went bogey-free in the final round and finished four strokes clear of the nearest competition. 

“I guess we just kind of found our stride,” said Cattoni and Cook. “It was do or die, and we decided to “do”. We were both a little rocky from the start yesterday where a lot of little things just slowed us down like the weather or delayed tee times, where you get ready to go but you don’t go. We demonstrated that it wasn’t good for us, but by the back nine on Monday we started playing and carried it through. 

The round one leaders in the division, Pittsburgh Field Club’s Bob Thomas and Jim Wallisch, had a four-stroke lead entering the day but ran into some trouble, finishing with a four-over 74 to finish in a three-way tie for runner-up honors at even-par 140 for the championship. 

Also earning runner-up honors with an even-par 140 for the week was Lancaster Country Club’s Marlin Detweiler and Ron Weaver as well as Bob Allshouse and David DeNezza from Hannastown Golf Club. 

Next up on the PAGA schedule is the final qualifier for the 31^st Mid-Amateur Championship – in the West Region – at Nemacolin Country Club on Wednesday, Sept. 4. Following that is the 20^th Art Wall Jr. Memorial, scheduled to begin on Monday, Sept. 9. 

The Pennsylvania Golf Association would like to thank the staff and membership of Ligonier Country Club for the hospitality shown during this week’s championship. Additional thanks, as always, go to DICK’S Sporting Goods for sponsorship of the event.