24th Deeg Sezna: Radley Run

Four teams take titles

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Andrew Achenbach is heading into his 26th year as Radnor High School’s golf coach. Despite not playing much himself, he annually plays in The Deeg Sezna with one of his players. 

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In the event’s 24th edition at Radley Run Country Club Monday, he found a fruitful partnership with junior counterpart Sebastian Leone. The Radnor Valley Country Club duo’s bogey-free, 7-under-par 65 earned them the event’s Junior Boys’ (par 72, 6,020 yards) title.

The team’s score sets a new tournament record since the event changed formats from four-ball to selective drive, alternate shot in 2013.

“We played in the event three years ago when it was here and we played well. We made a double on the last hole to lose by one in the gross division,” Leone, 15, of Wayne, Pa., said. “Ever since then we wanted to come back and team up.” 

This year, the team dynamic was the right fit. Each player settled into his role and completed the task. 

“My driver felt good all day and then he hit some really good approaches. [It] made it pretty easy for me on the greens,” Leone, a sophomore at Radnor High School, said. 

Starting on Radley’s third hole (par 4, 288 yards), the side went out in two under 34. A birdie bonanza, highlighted by a trio of red figures, followed. 

On No. 14 (par 4, 327 yards), the team selected Leone’s 3-wood tee shot leaving Achenbach with a 110-yard approach. Achenbach flighted a gap wedge to two feet. On the next (No. 15 (par 4, 304 yards), an errant tee shot from Leone settled near No. 16 tee. Despite the misstep, Achenbach was able to attack the flag from 40 yards leaving his partner with a three-footer. The last of the dream sequence occurred on No. 16 (par 5, 515 yards). Achenbach’s 3-wood approach from 270 landed in the left rough greenside. Leone chopped out from 47 yards to five feet. 

“I’ve taken a lot from him,” Leone said. “He’s a great tournament golfer, he had a great junior career and a great amateur career and I take a lot from that, especially being able to play with a high-caliber player like himself.” 

“I think what’s cool is I’ve played in probably 20 of these. I knew Deeg and I knew his dad really well, so the creation of the tournament is fantastic,” Achenbach, a sixth grade science teacher, said. “For this kind of format, to see the different guys I’ve known for a lot of years come out and play, whether it’s with their sons, or buddies, or kids or whatever it may be, it’s really a cool thing.” 

Mixed Gross

Father/daughter combo John and Rylee Delaney of Running Deer Golf Club took the top spot in the Mixed division (par 72, 5,333 yards) after carding a 3-under-par 69. They were the only team within the division to manage an under-par score. 

“In the beginning, I was hitting the shots and Rylee was trying to execute them. We had to change up our game plan,” John, 44 of Franklinville, N.J., said. “Rylee got the ball in the middle of the fairway every single time. I had to hit the second shot and Rilee had to make the putt.” 

The Deeg is the last tournament the pair will play in for a while. Rylee is off to Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C. in the fall. 

The pair started on No. 9 (par 4, 304 yards) and held steady through Radley’s back nine at level par. The aforementioned game plan switch resulted in four birdies on the front. 

On No. 2 (par 5, 418 yards), the team took Rylee’s tee shot. Her dad then rifled a 5-iron approach from 217 yards to just short of the green. Rylee hit the ensuing chip to three feet. On No. 4 (par 3, 147 yards), John lifted a pitching wedge to two feet for a Rylee tap in. 

On No. 6 (par 3, 140) Rylee canned a 15-footer after John’s 52-degree from the tee. On No. 7 (par 5, 418 yards), Rylee stopped another greenside chip three feet away after her dad’s 5-iron approach from 176 yards landed right of the green.

“I learned to take my time and not just walk up and hit it,” Rylee, 18, of Franklinville, N.J., said. 

“She’s been playing since she was 7, and she’s the best player in my eyes,” John said.

Junior-Junior Division

Hershey Country Club’s father/son duo of Scott and Jordan Lumbatis took the crown in the Junior-Junior division (par 72, 5,333 yards) with a 6-over-par 78. 

“The first one we played was here and this has been one of [Jordan’s] favorite courses, so we were excited it was here again,” Scott, 42 of Palmyra, Pa., said. “We bogeyed the first two holes and then on 17 (par 4, 295 yards), I hit one pretty good (9-iron) and Jordan said. ‘Let’s get started here and get rid of that bogey.’ And then he made a 15-footer down the hill.” 

The teammates play together weekly and sharpen their game for annual appearances in GAP’s Parent/Child events and The Deeg. Monday marks their first GAP tournament win. 

“I thought we played good,” Jordan, 10 of Palmyra, Pa., said. “He picked me up when I hit some bad shots. The course was great. It was a lot of fun.” 

“He doesn’t have many nerves on short putts,” Scott said. “Whenever I leave him with something still hanging there, he always makes it. I watch him do it when he plays individual tournaments too.”

Junior Girls’ Gross

Eve Ramos of GAP Youth on Course and a First Tee – Greater Philadelphia student was nominated to play in the event by a First Tee coach. She teamed up with First Tee – Greater Philadelphia Advisory Board Member Stephanie Hunt of Whitemarsh Valley Country Club. The teammates, who met one another for the first time Monday, took the Junior Girls’ title with a 97.

“I thought we did really well. It was kind of challenging I think because we both never played here before. A lot of it was kind of hard to figure out, but I’m still really happy with how we did,” Ramos, 17, of Roxborough, Pa., said. “I thought we had really good teamwork.” 

The team agreed that a shared encouragement coupled with a ham-and-egg playing style kept the group moving forward. Hunt hit the drives, and Ramos’ short game was dialed in. 

“Eve has a very positive attitude, and I commend her for playing with someone she doesn’t know. It’s not easy,” Hunt 40, of Whitemarsh Township, Pa., said. “This is a great event. If it gives more females an opportunity to get out and play, I always support it.” 

“Coming out and doing these events are so much fun especially when there’s other women there,” Ramos said. “It’s so great to play with older women who give me advice and tell me how to do stuff that isn’t just with golf but also outside of golf.”

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 and 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 140,000 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.