Commonwealth National caps Team Qualifier at The ACE Club

 LAFAYETTE HILL, Pa. — Commonwealth National Golf Club, led by a pair of subpar scores from youngsters Kyle Martin and Matthew Teesdale, topped Tuesday’s Team Championship Qualifier at The ACE Club (par 72, 7,003 yards). Martin finished with a 3-under-par 69, Teesdale a 5-under-par 67 to earn individual medalist honors.

  Joining Commonwealth National in the Championship proper are Philadelphia Cricket Club, Tavistock Country Club and defending champion Overbrook Golf Club. The Team Championship will be held July 2 at Overbrook.

   “I kept the ball in play and didn’t make any mistakes,” Teesdale, 21, of Maple Glen, Pa., said.

  Teesdale’s first hole paved his path to the medalist platform. Starting on the back nine, he holed a 162-yard 6-iron shot for eagle from the No. 10 (par 4, 448 yards) fairway.

   “It was a blind approach shot,” Teesdale, an incoming junior at Temple University, said. “I knew it was right at it. I looked in the cup and there it was.”

  After a bogey on No. 12 (par 3, 211 yards), Teesdale responded with a birdie on the par 4, 431-yard 13th hole. He launched a pitching wedge 148 yards out of the fescue to 10 feet. Teesdale capped his outward tour with a birdie on No. 18 (par 5, 563 yards), powering a 6-iron 211 yards onto the green and two-putting.

  Teesdale’s game stayed sharp as he fired three consecutive birdies to begin his venture in. On No. 2 (par 4, 448 yards), he hit a gap wedge 93 yards to eight feet and drained the left-to-right breaker. Teesdale nearly reached the No. 3 (par 5, 570 yards) green in two strokes, nestled a chip to eight feet and converted the red figure putt. Teesdale stopped a 6-iron six feet right of the No. 4 (par 5, 525 yards) flagstick. The 6-iron continued to sizzle on No. 9 (par 5, 525 yards); he hammered it 183 yards to the back fringe and two-putted for birdie. Even a double bogey on the par 4, 418-yard No. 7 couldn’t dampen Teesdale’s day.

  Commonwealth National will make its second consecutive appearance in the Championship proper. Its first and only title came in 2009 with a victory at LedgeRock Golf Club.

   “It’s kind of been ups and downs for us. Hopefully, we’ll get back on the right track,” Teesdale, one of the Association’s Players to Watch in 2012, said.

  Anchored by a 3-under-par 69 from Robert Savarese, Jr., Philadelphia Cricket Club erased a 54-year absence from the Team Championship.

   “I’m very proud,” Savarese, 46, of Lafayette Hill, Pa., said. “Having the team that we have … there are so many good players, and having those guys as teammates is inspiring to play well.”

  Savarese capped his ACE session with a birdie trio. On No. 16 (par 5, 536 yards), his drive arrived safely at its intended destination — between the fairway and nearby bunkering. Savarese laid up with a 9-iron, guided a wedge onto the green and tapped in a three-footer for birdie. A conservative club selection on the par 4, 389-yard 17th hole favored Savarese. He used a hybrid for his tee shot and hit an 8-iron 166 yards to five feet. On No. 18 (par 5, 563 yards), Savarese powered a 4-iron 249 yards into the front left bunker, splashed out to three feet and swept in the birdie putt.

  Prior to the flurry finish, Savarese fired a birdie on No. 12 (par 3, 211 yards) after slapping a soft 9-iron 135 yards to six feet. He lost a stroke on the par 4, 416-yard 15th hole thanks to a drive that darted into the right hazard.

  Savarese made the turn with a modest even par score. He knocked a lob wedge 73 yards and snaked in a 35-footer for birdie on No. 7 (par 4, 418 yards). On the strenuous par 5, 525-yard No. 9, he two-putted from 10 feet following a crisp 177-yard 6-iron shot. A pair of three-putt bogeys negated those red figures, though. The first occurred on No. 5 (par 4, 370 yards) from 35 feet uphill, the second on No. 8 (par 4, 373 yards) from 60 feet above the flagstick.

  With a sick child at home, sleep was hard to come by last night. He arrived at The ACE Club less than a half hour before his tee time and loosened up briefly on the practice tee. He didn’t hit a single practice putt.

   “Maybe that helped me,” Savarese said.

  Teesdale’s stellar round spoiled a 4-under-par 68 posted by Michael Tash of Tavistock Country Club in the morning.

   “I drove it as good as I’ve driven it in a long time. I didn’t miss a fairway,” Tash, 50, of Thorofare, N.J., said. “I had one of those rounds where every time I got over the ball, it was a good yardage for the clubs I had.”

  Starting on the back nine, Tash ended his outward tour with a birdie on No. 18, whacking a wedge 108 yards to four feet. That putt avenged a three-putt bogey on the par 4, 431-yard 13th hole. Tash stayed steady with distance control. He hit a wedge 100 yards to six feet on No. 3 (par 5, 570 yards) and executed the birdie putt. A 6-iron tee shot on No. 4 (169 yards) stopped 15 feet from the hole location. Tash again capitalized on the birdie opportunity. He fired back-to-back birdies on Nos. 8 (par 4, 373 yards) and 9 (par 5, 525 yards) thanks to 100-yard wedge shots to six and 15 feet, respectively.

  Individually, Tash isn’t a stranger to GAP success. He is a three-time Patterson Cup Champion (1997, 2002 and 2004), two-time Silver Cross Award winner (1997, 2004), the 2003 Amateur Champion and the 1994 Middle-Amateur Champion. However, a shoulder injury six years ago derailed Tash’s competitive golf career.

   “I was playing and practicing so much for a long period of time that when I hurt my shoulder, I kind of saw the other side of golf,” Tash said. “I just went out to play with the guys and have fun. I enjoyed that part of it so much that I haven’t had a lot of interest in playing in tournaments. I don’t have the time to put in to play. If I practice a lot, my shoulder bothers me. If I can’t put 100 percent into it, a lot of times I don’t play.”

  Tash isn’t targeting a full-fledged return to the competitive circuit. His next competitive round will take place June 19 when the Golf Association of Philadelphia administers a U.S. Senior Open Qualifier at Laurel Creek Country Club. Tash also anticipates representing Tavistock in the Team Championship.

   “We try to put our best foot forward. The next step in this process is the most fun,” he said.

  The Team Championship Qualifier determines what four member clubs will compete in the Team Championship. Participants must field at least six players to be eligible. The low four scores of each team make up the qualifying total. In the event of a tie, the sixth player’s score is used.

  The Championship proper features eight-man teams playing an alternate shot format in the morning, with singles matches in the afternoon.

  Overbrook holds a record-33 Team Championship titles.

  Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 145 Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.