23rd Stroke Play Championship

Scranton’s Mecca wins in playoff at Elmhurst

MOSCOW, Pa. — Nothing is different about Dave Mecca the golfer since his 2023 victory in the GAP Middle-Championship in 2023. Steady and stoic. Mettle for miles.

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There is something different about Dave Mecca the person. A softer heart for the soft-spoken. He and his wife Nicole welcomed a baby, Olivia, in September 2024.

“My wife took off today to watch her. It feels good to have that support,” Mecca, 32, of Clarks Summit, Pa., said. “They’re following me. Last week, they were rooting me on a lot [in the Pennsylvania Golf Association Amateur Championship]. Playing against those college kids was tough, especially with how hot it was.”

Mecca found the right fuel Monday at Elmhurst Country Club (par 72, 6,687 yards). He and fellow Country Club of Scranton member Frank Kacvinsky finished regulation tied at 1-under-par 71 in the 23rd Stroke Play Championship. Kacvinsky was unavailable for a sudden-death playoff, thereby declaring Mecca the victor.

“I started the round playing very well, and I didn’t have any birdies to show for it. I really felt like I was hitting some great shots, and I was just missing birdies,” Mecca, who won the Stroke Play Championship in 2023, said. “This course typically plays firm. It lived up to its reputation.”

Mecca lived up to his reputation, too. He did snag a birdie on No. 8 (par 4, 367 yards), where he hit a gap wedge 125 yards to eight feet. He moved to 2 under following a conversion on No. 10 (par 5, 477 yards). Mecca, following a monstrous drive downwind, faced a yardage of 157 for his second shot. He grabbed a 9-iron, and a gust of wind grabbed his golf ball. A tailspin from the front of the green. Mecca left his eagle attempt 12 feet short. The ensuing birdie try collided with a ball mark and collapsed into the cup.

A reversal of putter fortune on the next hole (par 5, 550 yards) as Mecca totaled three putts from 30 feet for bogey. Another error occurred on No. 17 (par 4, 357 yards). Mecca’s drive found the fescue. A punch shot put Mecca short of the putting surface. A paltry chip put Mecca eight feet from the flagstick. A poor putt put a bogey on the card.

Now tied with Kacvinsky, who played in the day’s first group, Mecca needed heroics on Elmhurst’s closer (par 4, 406 yards). He delivered. Mecca saw his 54-degree from 96 yards land 12 feet left of the flagstick and swirl to two feet. A birdie and a tip of his 125^th BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship hat; Mecca qualified as the No. 4 seed and fell in the Round of 32 to Matthew Homer, 2&1, at Aronimink Golf Club in June.

Mecca finished sixth in the aforementioned Pennsylvania Amateur at Huntsville. He didn’t touch a golf club for the next four days. Work and family need a well-rested and ready Mecca these days.

“No golf after work anymore. I get an hour for my lunch break,” Mecca said. “I’ve been playing here and there on the weekends, but it’s mostly just tournament golf. Luckily, we’ve taken less family vacations this year because it’s tougher with the baby to go away for days. It’s given me more vacation days for golf tournaments. Next year, if we start going on vacations, I’m going to have to dial it back.”

Senior & Super-Senior
Redemption came for Bill Ianieri Monday.

A year ago, the Jack Frost National Golf Club member fell in a playoff to Art Brunn, Jr. at Country Club of Scranton. He didn’t required overtime at Elmhurst (par 72, 6,233 yards).

Ianieri carded a 3-over-par 75 to capture the event’s Senior Division.

“It wasn’t pretty, but it worked,” Ianieri, 56, of Weatherly, Pa., said. “I had some nice par saves. That’s about it. Winning is always good. My game has been hit and miss. Hit and find it really. All in all, it’s been pretty good. Today happened to be OK.”

Scranton Canoe Club’s Jerry Dougherty defeated Elkview Country Club’s Mike Heck and Pocono Farms Country Club’s Tim Holland in a sudden-death playoff to win the event’s Super-Senior Division (par 72, 5,460 yards).

“What I do want to say is it’s a great win for me. Timmy and Mike have won a lot of tournaments. To be able to beat those guys … they are talented players who have been around a long time and have won a lot of three-days and big events,” Dougherty said.  

The 18^th hole at Elmhurst (par 4, 286 yards) is forever in Dougherty’s good graces. He birdied it in regulation to even secure a spot in the playoff. Dougherty hit a 52-degree wedge 109 yards to six feet.

“The guy I was playing with, John Tolerico, looked at the scores and said, ‘Jerry, if you birdie this, you might win,’” Dougherty, 67, of South Abington Township, Pa., said. “I hadn’t been looking at the scores. I said, ‘OK, let’s give it a shot.’”

How about Dougherty’s approach on No. 18, the first playoff hole? Now that’s a golf shot. His 56-degree wedge from 89 yards nearly plummeted for eagle. A tap-in birdie thereafter meant victory, his first on the GAP/AGA circuit.

Dougherty joined Scranton Canoe Club in 1987. Eight years later, doctors discovered cancer in his left foot.

“They were in there trying to repair what they thought was plantar fasciitis, and they found a tumor in soft tissue. They ended up having to take my left foot off, and I had to go through chemotherapy. It’s been a long journey,” Dougherty said. “It took me a couple of years to get going again. Some days are good. Some days are bad. But we all have issues one way or the other. Mine happens to be the foot most of the time.”

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.