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LITITZ, Pa. – It wasn’t just any Team Championship. It was the 100th Team Championship. This title “meant a little more than others.”
As its done many times as of late, Philadelphia Cricket Club shined when the spotlight was the brightest. The Cricketeers, the event’s defending champions, claimed their fourth Team Championship title with a convincing win in the event’s centennial playing Wednesday at Bent Creek Country Club (par 71, 6,612 yards).
Cricket finished with 26 points overall, bettering Lu Lu Country Club’s 23, Huntingdon Valley Country Club’s 14, and Commonwealth National Golf Club’s 9.
The Team Championship features eight-man teams playing an alternate shot format in the morning, with singles matches in the afternoon.
Defending Cricket club champion Matt Kocent got the nod as team captain.
“We brought back the same team as last year, besides myself substituting for Frank Petrash,” said Kocent, 25, of Bala Cynwyd, Pa. “The chemistry is amazing. [Conrad Von Borsig] and I played in the Pennsylvania Four-Ball Championship, so we’re good friends. We had [Robby Walizer] and [John Brennan] who are two stallions for our lineup. Then you have [Sean Semenetz] and [Dan Feeney] who enjoy a cocktail or two out on the course so they pair up great. [Scott Storck] and [Ryan Gelrod] are two grinders that just rounded out our team well.”
In the morning alternate-shot portion played in foursomes, Cricket garnered a strong 9.5 points. Lu Lu sat in second after the morning wave with 6.5 points, while HVCC collected 4.5 and Commonwealth grabbed 3.5. All of Cricket’s teams secured a minimum of 2 points.
Then came the singles portion to decide the trophy’s fate. Lu Lu came on strong in the afternoon with 16.5 points, but Cricket matched that performance. Von Borsig collected 3 points in his matches to lead the way.
“This is a huge accomplishment for Cricket. It just shows how many great players we have at our club, and it means a lot to bring it home,” said Kocent, who won the club championship last July.
Cricket has four Team Championships win overall (2013, 2015, 2018). Huntingdon Valley has claimed 13 overall titles, with the last coming in 2004. After earning their first Team Championship win in 2017, Lu Lu was back in the fold after missing last year’s championship proper. Commonwealth holds two titles (2009, 2014) to their name.
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 274 Full Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey and Delaware. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
