53rd Four-Ball Stroke Play Championship

No objection: O’Brien, McMonagle win at 1912 Club

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. — The verdict is in. “Team Law Firm” wins the 53rd Four-Ball Stroke Play Championship at The 1912 Club (par 70, 6,476 yards).

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Sean McMonagle and Kevin O’Brien, trial attorneys for Stampone O’Brien Dilsheimer Holloway, carded a 7-under-par 63 to prevail by a stroke. Burlington Country Club’s Joshua Feldschneider and the host club’s Mark Farley and Matt Teesdale shared runner-up honors at 6 under.

“I was joking with somebody that I’m usually the best lawyer and golfer who’s around, but I’m not sure that’s even true at my own law firm. It certainly wasn’t today,” O’Brien, 39, of Philadelphia, Pa., said. “Sean and I were joking that if we were ever to play in a lawyer better-ball event, then we would definitely win. We had a blast playing together today. His game is really sharp.”

“We made a pretty good pair in our first tournament together,” McMonagle, 41, of Merchantville, N.J., added.

McMonagle and O’Brien, both trial attorneys who handle catastrophic personal injury cases, met at Widener University Law School; both graduated in 2011. The two quickly found common ground in golf. McMonagle and O’Brien crossed paths in GAP events for two decades.

However, a partnership on the course didn’t crystalize until one in the courtroom did. McMonagle joined the law firm Stampone O’Brien Dilsheimer Holloway at the outset of 2024. He and O’Brien exchange multiple phone calls daily, a departure from the check-in texts or occasional courtroom sightings.

“We do the same type of work. He was looking to make a change at the beginning of this year. I said, ‘You’ve got to come work with us.’ It’s been awesome,” O’Brien, a Cedarbrook Country Club member, said. “Sean’s a great lawyer. He’s a better lawyer than he is a golfer, so it was a natural connection for us. We’re thrilled to have him at our firm, and it was an awesome day today, getting to spend time with him, too.”

McMonagle birdied 60 percent of The 1912 Club’s par 3s Thursday. What’s even more impressive is that two of those three birdies were of the chip-in variety. After sailing No. 4 (par 3, 200 yards), McMonagle, a Tavistock Country Club member, masterfully exited a mashy lie. It trickled down the slope and found the bottom of the cup. On No. 14 (par 3, 188 yards), McMonagle again inadvertently cleared the green. His flop shot from 20 yards met the same fate — center cut, bottom of the cup.

“Sean chips it better than he putts it. I say that because he chipped in twice for 2s on par 3s, from impossible spots,” O’Brien said. “If you got it up-and-down 50 percent of the time, it would’ve been good.”

The par 3, 154-yard No. 7 was more conventional for McMonagle: a wedge to eight feet for birdie. True to 1912 Club form, however, McMonagle nearly walked away with a chip-in eagle on No. 6 (par 5, 581 yards). His wedge from 60 yards hit the flagstick and fell an inch from the hole. He cleaned up the birdie putt.  

Upon cross examination of the team’s scorecard, O’Brien approached the bench with three birdies. A gap wedge from 70 yards set up conversions on Nos. 5 (par 4, 451 yards) and 8 (par 4, 438 yards), respectively. O’Brien issued the team’s closing argument on No. 17 (par 4, 477 yards), but without consultation. He faced a friendly, flat lie, 140 yards from the hole location.

“I had pitching wedge because I thought it was into the wind. I’m standing over the golf ball,” O’Brien said. “I had someone from my office sending me a text message about something that needs to be done. Sean pulled me off [the shot] and said, ‘The wind just switched.’ It actually did. I literally was over the shot. I took one less club there.”

Good thing he did. O’Brien’s gap wedge took one bounce and stopped eight feet below the flagstick. He executed the birdie putt.

“It was cool because I knew the putt mattered. I knew we had to get to 7 under,” he said.

“Neither one of us was out of the hole today. One of us stepped and made birdie or par for the other one,” McMonagle added.

True to trade, McMonagle and O’Brien talked through shots Thursday. Persuasion and conviction. Necessary in the courtroom, evident on the golf course.

“[Team Law Firm is] McMonagle & O’Brien. His name would definitely come first in terms of who played better,” O’Brien said. “He made four birdies and one bogey. It was cool to watch.”

Attorneys at law, champions of the Four-Ball.

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 110,000 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.