23rd Deeg Sezna: North Hills

Four teams take titles

GLENSIDE, Pa. – Bob Bechtold and Nick Belgrade are frequent playing partners. As clubmates, BMW GAP Team Matches partners and friends, they sharpen one another’s skills at Fieldstone Golf Club.

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At the 23rd Deeg Sezna at North Hills Country Club Tuesday, the pair’s team chemistry shined bright. Their score of 4-under-par 67 earned them the first place crystals in the Junior Boys’ division (par 71, 6,003 yards). 

“It’s exciting to play with him and be in contention,” Bechtold, 54, of Kennett Square Pa., said. “It’s always nice to compete, [but]  to win something with him means a lot.”

“It’s very satisfying for me,” Belgrade, 18, of Wilmington, Del., said. “It’s a lot of fun to win with Bobby, but I’ve just been waiting to get it done. I’ve contended in a lot of these, but I’ve never gotten the job done in a GAP tournament, so it feels very good.”

The event’s format is selective drive, alternate shot.

In a shotgun start, the group began their round on No. 6 (par 4, 376 yards). Complimentary play styles and distance control contributed to the team’s success. Together, the pair registered 16 greens in regulation. 

The side settled into the round with four straight pars. They collected birdies on Nos. 10 (par 4, 320 yards) and No. 11 (par 3, 160 yards) to get into red figures early. On the former, Bechtold chipped a 60-degree wedge from 10 yards to an inch after his partner’s drive. Belgrade kept momentum going on No. 11 when he steered a 9-iron to tap-in range. 

Bechtold and Belgrade grabbed another pair of birdies coming in. On No. 1 (par 4, 330 yards) Belgrade’s drive landed five yards short of the green. Bechtold chipped up with his 60-degree and Belgrade finished the job from eight feet. On No. 2 (par 5, 502 yards), the pair repeated the sequence except that Bechtold’s chip settled to four feet this time. 

“He’s really gotten good over these last couple of years.” Bechtold said. “[I’m trying to get] him to learn to control his game and control the distance. He hits it a long way.”

“There aren’t really a whole lot of kids [at Fieldstone], so Bobby was really great in including me, playing with me and sharpening me up,” Belgrade, an incoming freshman at the University of Mississippi, said. 

Their partnership continues. The duo have already made plans to defend their title next year.

Junior-Junior Division

The father/son home-club duo of Geoff and Grant Cooper of North Hills Country Club headlined the event’s Junior-Junior Division (par 71, 5,483 yards) with a team score of 2-over-par 73. They finished 10 shots clear of the field.

“It [feels] good,” Grant, 13, of Erdenheim, Pa., and a rising seventh grader at Springfield Township Middle School, said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever won.”

Geoff credits Grant with today’s win. In his last year of Junior-Junior eligibility, he jarred a 20-foot putt for eagle on No. 10 (par 4, 240 yards) after his dad teed off with a 3-iron. 

“Grant did all the heavy lifting out there. He made all the important putts,” Geoff, 48, of Erdenheim, Pa., said. “I made a couple short putts, but for the most part it was Grant’s show.” 

The pair began playing together in GAP’s Parent/Child Younger five years ago. In the team’s first start together, they finished second in the event’s Junior-Junior Father/Son Division. Due to the appealing format, both the Parent/Child and the Deeg Sezna are circled on the Cooper’s calendar every year.

“I love golf and the chance to not just play events, but to play normally at North Hills with my son,” Geoff said. “As long as he likes it, I’ll continue to do it. It’s super rewarding and fun to be with your son on the golf course.”

Geoff is a competitive example for his son. He’s played in two U.S. Mid-Ams (2022, 2012) and finished third in the 2008 Joseph H. Patterson Cup.

Mixed Division 

In the Mixed Division (par 71, 5,483 yards) co-champions Corinne McReynolds and Matt Dietrich of Whitford Country Club matched Larry and Mina Benedetto of Concord Country Club. Both teams carded 2-over-par 73s. 

“We do a lot of tournaments together, and they’re usually net tournaments and we never win,” Mina, 17, of West Chester, Pa., said. “It feels nice to actually get a win.”

“It’s a fun experience,” McReynolds, 16, of Wayne, Pa., said. “It’s nice to meet new people, and I’ve never played with Mr. Dietrich before, so that was a nice experience. 

Larry introduced his daughter Mina to the game at a young age. Now, they compete alongside one another in mixed events. 

“I’ve been playing with him forever. We do mixed member-member at our club as well,” Mina, 17, of West Chester, Pa., said. “I guess we’d say we have good teamwork sometimes.” 

The father/daughter familiarity aided the pair throughout Tuesday’s round.

The group started on No. 12 (par 5, 479 yards) and carded two birdies on their opening six holes. On No. 15 (par 5, 439 yards) Mina’s approach landed in the front-right greenside bunker. Larry splashed out to three feet, setting Mina up for an easy birdie. On No. 17 (par 4, 350 yards) Mina steered a 54-degree from 75 yards to four feet.

The side found two more birdies on their back nine, which began on No. 4 (par 5, 490 yards). On No. 5 (par 4, 363 yards) Mina hit a 54-degree from 70 yards to four feet again. On No. 10 (par 4, 240) Mina drove the green with a 3-wood. The pair clocked two putts from 15 feet. 

“I love playing with my daughter. I’d play with her every day if I could get her out there,” Larry said. 

Both Mina and Larry are experienced competitors. Mina, a rising senior, plays on the golf team at Rustin High School and has won two Philadelphia Junior Tour events. Larry is the the 2017 Marston Cup champion and was a part of the victorious 2009 Four-Man Team. He also serves as captain of Concord’s BMW GAP Team Matches team.

McReynolds and Dietrich are family friends. A conversation between Dietrich and Andrew McReynolds, Corinne’s dad, led to the team’s formation.

After finding their footing on the first nine, which started on No. 4 (par 5, 490 yards), the team was poised for success coming in. 

“We struggled a bit in the beginning. Most of our bogeys were three putts where we just didn’t have good second putts,” McReynolds, a rising junior at Conestoga High School, said. “By the end, we pulled it together and started making birdies.” 

The side carded three birdies to be exact on their way to the title. On No. 16 (par 4, 317 yards) Dietrich drove the green. McReynolds lagged the 20-footer to tap-in range for a no-stress three. On No. 18 (par 4, 270 yards) Dietrich lifted a 60-degree wedge from 88 yards to eight feet. The team’s final red figure came on No. 1 (par 4, 300 yards) after Corinne’s 60-degree wedge from 10 yards stopped three feet away. 

Both Dietrich and McReynolds learned from one another in their first time competing with one another. 

“It’s fun to watch people at their level,” Dietrich, 51, of Downingtown, Pa., said. “It’s just fairways and greens and she’s a solid player, where I tend to be overly aggressive.”

“I learned that you don’t really need to be perfect,” McReynolds said. “ You can be aggressive as long as you can recover from your miss.”

The Deeg Sezna celebrates the mentorship of the older generation for its younger counterparts. It is named in honor of Davis “Deeg” Sezna, Jr. of Hartefeld National, who lost his life on Sept. 11, 2001 in the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.

Deeg, an avid golfer long a mentor to his younger brothers Teddy and Willy, and a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University with a degree in economics, was in his sixth day of work on the 104th floor of the South Tower when the terrorists struck.

To memorialize his name, the Golf Association of Philadelphia and his father, Davis Sezna, Sr., established the Deeg Sezna, pairing a junior player and an older amateur in a better ball competition, with a minimum age difference of 10 years and the stipulation that the younger player be 21 or younger. The goal is to give experienced golfers quality time with the next generation, and vice versa.

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 organization’s 345 Member Clubs and 130,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.