39th Francis X. Hussey Memorial: Rolling Green

Kalderemtzis and Berry birdie first playoff hole to win

SPRINGFIELD, Pa. – After waiting for more than 90 minutes, Anestis Kalderemtzis had enough.

| Scoring portal | History | Photo Gallery |

Waiting for any groups with a chance to join the impending playoff to finish, he and partner Cole Berry waited anxiously as impending weather darkened the skies. 

As the sky turned black and the rain pelted, Kalderemtzis brought his ray of sunshine. A 30-footer on the first playoff hole to secure victory for him and Berry in the 39th Francis X. Hussey Memorial Monday at Rolling Green Golf Club (par 71, 6,446 yards).

The duo defeated White Manor Country Club’s Logan Turner and The 1912 Club’s Patrick Manion with a birdie three on No. 1 (par 4, 389 yards).

Kalderemtzis pierced his 7-iron from 159 yards through the right-to-left downpour to 30 feet. Berry, who had a par putt on a similar line, showed him the way home. His partner took advantage.

“We’ve been longtime competitors in this event and just haven’t got the job done,” Kalderemtzis, 17, of Glen Mills, Pa., said. “To be able to secure the victory with Cole, someone I have known for a long time is special. The weather was super hot and then super wet. What a great finish it was.”

“We started out strong,” Berry, of Overbrook Golf Club, said. “Having the momentum in the right direction is helpful. We both didn’t necessarily play our best but for us we were able to feed off each other. We had each other’s backs when we needed it. It is a solid day when you are 9 under as a team in 19 holes with no bogeys.”

The best-ball 63 matches the tournament record set in 2005 by Cole Willcox and Jason Bernstein, matched by Michael Davis and Mac Selverian in 2011.

“When we teed off we saw our good friends Luca Kleinschmidt and Eddie Gebhardt finish at 7 under, so we knew that we needed to get to at least 8 under,” Berry, 16, of West Chester, Pa., said. “We both had looks on our last hole to get to 9 under to avoid the playoff but couldn’t convert. We knew we needed one of them but it didn’t work out. We just needed to wait it out. Usually matching a tournament record gets you a stress-free win. Not today.”

The Berry and Kalderemtzis duo is one of happenstance. The pair happened to be sitting together during lunches while in sixth grade at Stetson Middle School in West Chester, Pa. At the time, Kalderemtzis didn’t know what golf was. Berry introduced him to the game and they started to play together at Penn Oaks Golf Club, Kalderemtzis current home. Berry used to be a member there.

“Cole really helped me get into the game,” Kalderemtzis said. “He pushed me to be the player that I am today. We spent a lot of time together battling it out against each other. Fast forward to now where we are both captains of the golf team at West Chester Rustin High School. We have a big year ahead of us with a lot of golf to play.”

Kalderemtzis and Berry are rising seniors. While their junior careers might be coming to a close within the calendar year. It’s clear they will have a memory for a lifetime. All because of sitting at the same lunchtable. Fate always works its magic.

“Getting a win with your best friend, how much better could it get?” Kalderemtzis said.

“Being able to see Anestis’ development over the last couple of years has been amazing,” Berry said. “We have great chemistry between us. Coming down the stretch we felt the nerves but our bond helped us. What an awesome feeling to win.”

Ryan Comly of Llanerch Country Club and Bobby Stefanski of Overbrook Golf Club claimed the Junior-Junior Boys’ Division (par 35, 2,338 yards) with a nine-hole score of 34.

Nicolette Bottos and Anna Rufo of the host club teamed up to take the Junior Girls’ Division (par 71, 4,989 yards). The duo carded a 73.

Francis X. Hussey, the tournament’s namesake, was a Junior member at Rolling Green. He suffered from congenital heart disease and died in December 1983 while undergoing major heart surgery. He was 13 years old when he died. Francis was a student in the Haverford Township school system, an avid sports fan and an active junior member at Rolling Green. His courage in the face of his illness was a great inspiration to all who knew him.

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