Brooksiders, Bent Creek’s Riva take Four-Man Team title

June 21, 2018

MOHNTON, Pa. — Teamwork made the dream work in a Four-Man Team debut Thursday at LedgeRock Golf Club (par 72, 6,375 yards).

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   Brookside CC of Allentown’s Carlos Fullerton, Max Harrington, Adam Sutovich partnered with Bent Creek Country Club’s Richard Riva to win the overall title in the 24th rendition of the Four-Man Team. Their 13-under total of 131 got the job done in a two-best balls of four, stroke-play format.

   The champs, playing in the second group out, posted the early mark for all their fellow competitors to contemplate in the afternoon. Their number never left the top of the leaderboard despite a late charge from the last group on the course, Bob Arthur of Tavistock Country Club, Thomas Hyland of Little Mill Country Club, Bryan Marvin of Old York Country Club and James Muller of Manufacturers’ Golf & Country Club, who finished a single stroke back at 132.

   It was 13 birdies on the card that made the winning difference for Fullerton, Harrington, Riva and Sutovich. No eagles were jarred, but neither were any bogey blemishes.

   The gross scores looked pretty nice, too. Fullerton and Sutovich both fired rounds of 1-under 71, including a 2-under front nine for Fullerton. Riva got in the house with a 2-over 74, while Harrington finished at 6-over 78.

   The first red digit arrived immediately on No. 1 (par 4, 365 yards). Fullerton found a left fairway bunker with his driver but stuck a gap wedge approach to five feet and holed it to start the round off under par. Another came soon after on No. 3 (par 4, 320 yards) in result of a Sutovich birdie bomb from 30 feet after a simple flip wedge approach. They’d go on to make the turn at a healthy 6 under.

   “We were happy for a moment there, but then I told the guys that we need to just try and improve on that score on the back. That’s pretty much what we ended up doing,” said Fullerton.

   In fact, they’d go on to one up their front nine going -7 on the back. Ultimately, two holes in particular propelled them to a strong finish.

   On No. 11 (par 4, 390 yards), Riva blasted a drive right that stayed in bounds by inches. He took relief from the cart path and punched out to the greenside bunker. His sand shot checked up on the green and trickled in for a crucial 3. Fullerton dropped a 10 footer on top of Riva’s ball to double up.

   The par 5, 525-yard 13th hosted not one, not two, but three birdies. After Harrington and Sutovich converted on up-and-down birdies, Fullerton putted last and barely missed on a 15-foot eagle attempt but tapped in for 4.

   LedgeRock’s finisher (par 5, 559 yards) hosted their signature moment. Fullerton decided to lay up so his teammates could go for it in two. Fullerton then put an 8-iron approach from 160 out to 10 feet. A Patrick Reed-like fist pump followed suit. That putt went on to be the deciding stroke.

   “I was doing that [fist pump] either way,” said Fullerton.

   The chemistry and strategy on display Thursday was a sight to see: constant talking, discussing shots, order of play, etc. If you’d have said the foursome were professional best ballers, you’d be rather convincing. The irony is all players in the group had little to no experience in the format prior.

   “We had the same order on every tee, that was our lucky mojo today,” said Riva, a Saint Joseph’s University junior. “Strategy wise, when someone had a comfortable par putt while someone also had a birdie look, we’d send the par putt off first. If we sank it, the birdie putt could be an aggressive one. That was pretty much our scoring strategy.”

   “I’d say we’re all pretty good players, so we weren’t afraid to hit drivers around the whole course, which definitely helped us. There were only two holes today where someone was out of the hole which was key. We weren’t scared of bogeys really all day,” said Fullerton.

   The three Brookside CC of Allentown members, with the obvious club connection, called Riva the ringer to round out the winning foursome. After all, Riva’s game has been in form as of late, qualifying for U.S. Open Sectionals at Glenmaura National Golf Club.

   “Those guys all know each other really well from Brookside, but I’m here because Max is my roommate at St. Joe’s. We know each other really well, but don’t get to play as much golf together as we should,” said Riva, 20.

   “I play for the [Saint Joseph’s] club team. [Richard] lives all the way out in Lancaster, so it’s hard for us to play that much, but glad we did today,” said Harrington, 19, of Emmaus, Pa.

   Additionally, Sutovich and Riva both played in the Pennsylvania State Amateur last year, so they’ve crossed paths. Fullerton, a fifth-year senior at Penn State University, first met his teammate this morning.

   “We were talking about it at Brookside, discussing the Four-Man team itself. That part was easy, forming the 1-2-3 pairing to start. But then adding [Richard] was the perfect addition,” said Fullerton, 22, also of Emmaus, Pa.

  When asked what a group trophy would mean to them, the three Brookside members pointed directly back to their club.

  “We may be a smaller club, but we’ve got some really good [playing talent],” said Sutovich, 22, of Breinigsville, Pa. “It’s going to be great to bring home a trophy back to Brookside.”

   “You know what, maybe I’ll have to get myself a junior membership to join you guys at Brookside,” said Riva.

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