73rd Men’s Coal Scuttle Championship

Glen Oak weathers storm, retains Scuttle title

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — A tropical storm altered format, but it couldn’t altogether change Glen Oak Country Club’s trajectory Sunday in the 73^rd GAP/AGA Men’s Coal Scuttle Championship.

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The Clarks Summit, Pa. venue successfully defended its title in a weather-shortened event at Wyoming Valley Country Club (par 35, 2,982 yards). Glen Oak filed a 10-over-par 438 to defeat Berwick Golf Club by 12 strokes.

The effects of Tropical Storm Ophelia forced GAP officials to shorten the event to 27 holes. Heavy rainfall made the back nine at Wyoming Valley unplayable Sunday.

The Men’s Coal Scuttle Championship is a 36-hole tournament. The low four of five scores count toward the team total.

David Mecca (105), Kyle Williams (110), Luke Fayocavitz (111), James Egan (113) and Eric Montella (114) represented Glen Oak. Mecca, the reigning GAP Middle-Amateur Champion, earned individual medalist honors.

“It puts a cap on my year. I had a really good year, and this solidifies it,” Mecca, 30, of Clarks Summit, Pa., said. “I want to play good golf for my team. I don’t want to say they expect it, but they kind of do. They know what I’m capable of. I want to perform for them.”

“Winning it for the first time last year was super special. To defend is validation for having a strong playing membership,” Williams, 31, of Clarks Summit, Pa., said. “There are a lot of good players in the area, and to win twice in a row means a lot. I think it means a lot to the people back at Glen Oak as well.”

The Glen Oak folk witnessed their troops firsthand in Round One Saturday. Albeit amid persistent rain and wind, remnants of Tropical Storm Ophelia. Glen Oak best weathered the conditions, seizing an eight-stroke lead over Berwick after Round One.

“You knew the weather was going to be bad. It takes a lot of mental strength. Par is a good score on every hole,” Williams said. “Yesterday was tough in that it felt so cold. The ball was traveling a lot shorter, so you had to, if you had 160 yards, then you’re thinking 170. Everything was playing long, and on top of that, the greens were very soft. On pretty much every hole at Glen Oak, the green slopes back to front. The cold and the wet made second shots a lot harder.”

The field needed to blitz Glen Oak to create drama Sunday. Furthermore, it needed to do so in identical conditions. That never transpired. Mecca made sure of it.

He opened with a two-putt birdie on No. 1 (par 5, 475 yards) and followed with a five-foot birdie on No. 3 (par 4, 365 yards). After sneaking a drive under a tree, Mecca hit a gap wedge from 112 yards. He bogeyed the demanding par 3, 193-yard No. 5 after finding the left greenside bunker with a 5-iron.

Mecca’s medalist moment came on No. 8 (par 4, 362 yards). He holed out for eagle with a 9-iron from 142 yards.

“I thought I needed it to go. Nick Werner’s dad was watching, and he was up on the green and yelled back that it went in,” Mecca said. “I didn’t believe him. I went back in the cart and saw that [Country Club of Scranton’s] Frank (Kacvinsky) holed out for eagle on No. 9. He leapfrogged me, then I leapfrogged him. That’s kind of a crazy finish.”

Not so crazy is Glen Oak’s status in the Scuttle landscape. Youth is working in its favor. The team projects five competitors under the age of 40. But behind that youth is dedication and fortitude.

“With the BMW GAP Team Matches in the spring, you need a lot of buy-in. The weather isn’t great early in the year,” Williams said. “On the backend of the year, you can get any sort of weather in Northeastern Pennsylvania. On both sides of the year, we’ve kind of knuckled down to make sure we have the right participation. We’ve been able to figure that out.”

We have young guys who are committed to playing in this event. They’re excited to play in this event,” Mecca added. “We have a nice membership around us, supporting us.”

In advance of the Men’s Coal Scuttle Championship, a group text circulated among the Glen Oak team. “Let’s get out to a lead.”

In advance of next year’s Men’s Coal Scuttle Championship, another text is sure to meet thumbs up emojis.

“Let’s go for a threepeat.”

“We’re going to stay committed to this event. We’re going to try continuing to win it as much we can,” Williams said.

By virtue of its victory, Glen Oak will serve as a Men’s Coal Scuttle host site in 2024.

Established in conjunction with the AGA’s founding in 1951, the Men’s Coal Scuttle Championship is a cornerstone event in which clubs compete against one another to determine regional supremacy.

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 340 Member Clubs and 100,000 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.