A talented blend of youth and experience boosted Commonwealth National Golf Club to victory in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 95th Team Championship June 23 at Trump National Golf Club — Philadelphia.
It posted 23 points to defeat Philadelphia Cricket Club (19), Overbrook Golf Club (16.5) and Philmont Country Club (13.5) and to secure its second title. Commonwealth National also won in 2009 at LedgeRock Golf Club.
“It’s always one of the best days of the year,” Brett Diakon, Commonwealth National’s team captain, said. “I got to talk to some guys I didn’t know before the day. It always brings together a good mix of people, and the competition is spectacular as always. Fortunately for Commonwealth, I’d like to say the older, experienced guys pulled through for us, even though it was the younger kids who probably carried the burden of some of the tougher matches.”
In the morning at Trump National, Diakon and Scott McLaughlin did pull through indeed by rattling off three points during the foursomes portion. Collegiates Dan Furman and Kyle Martin also posted the same total to lead Commonwealth to eight points overall before the break. During the singles segment, four of its players, including team newcomers Matt Cocco and Michael Johnson, earned three points apiece to secure a second Team Championship title.
“I knew we had a pretty stacked team, so it was going to be tough to make the line-up. Once I got the call from Brett, I was pretty excited to play,” Cocco, 22, of Chruchville, Pa., said. “We have a lot of guys who are up at the club all the time, so it lets us pick and choose. We’re used to playing match play against each other. We get a lot of good simulations of what those kind of matches are going to be like.”
“We always look at it as we’re looking for the best competition within the club, which is why it doesn’t matter how old these guys are,” Diakon, 35, of Perkasie, Pa., added. “We all try to get together and play. What Commonwealth has always done is support the Junior program and give it the resources to succeed. That Junior member hopefully becomes a member for a long time.”
| FOURSOMES (morning) | |||
| Commonwealth National GC | Pts | Overbrook GC | Pts |
| Michael Johnson/Matt Teesdale | 1 | Greg Jarmas/Chris Lange | 3 |
| Dan Furman/Kyle Martin | 3 | Chris Lange, Jr./Michael Rogers | 1.5 |
| Mike Moffat/Matt Cocco | 1 | Sean Fahey/Mac Ryan | 0 |
| Scott McLaughlin/Brett Diakon | 3 | Michael Kania/Oscar Mestre | 0 |
| Total | 8 | Total | 4.5 |
| Philadelphia Cricket Club | Pts | Philmont CC | Pts |
| Jack Wallace/Marc Mandel | 0 | Evan Galbreath/John Simone | 2 |
| John Brennan/Ryan Gelrod | 1.5 | Matt Crescenzo/Joe Perese | 0 |
| Joe April/Scott Storck | 2 | Scott Landsberg/Louis Kelly, Jr. | 3 |
| G. Patrick Dougherty/Kevin Kelly | 1.5 | Robert Galbreath, Jr./Len Pearson | 1.5 |
| Total | 5 | Total | 6.5 |
| SINGLES (afternoon) | |||
| Commonwealth National GC | Pts | Overbrook GC | Pts |
| Matt Teesdale | 0.5 | Chris Lange, Jr. | 2 |
| Michael Johnson | 3 | Michael Kania | 1.5 |
| Kyle Martin | 1 | Ray Thompson | 3 |
| Matt Cocco | 3 | Brad McFadden | 1 |
| Dan Furman | 0 | Sean Fahey | 1 |
| Mike Moffat | 3 | Greg Jarmas | 2 |
| Scott McLaughlin | 3 | Chris Lange | 1.5 |
| Brett Diakon | 1.5 | Oscar Mestre | 0 |
| SINGLES | 15 | SINGLES | 12 |
| FOURSOMES | 8 | FOURSOMES | 4.5 |
| TOTAL | 23 | TOTAL | 16.5 |
| Philadelphia Cricket Club | Pts | Philmont CC | Pts |
| Jack Wallace | 1.5 | Matt Crescenzo | 2 |
| Ryan Gelrod | 1.5 | Evan Galbreath | 0 |
| Joe April | 2 | John Simone | 0 |
| John Brennan | 2 | Scott Landsberg | 0 |
| Marc Mandel | 3 | Robert Galbeath, Jr. | 2 |
| Scott Storck | 0 | Joe Perese | 1 |
| Kevin Kelly | 1 | Len Pearson | 0.5 |
| G. Pat Dougherty | 3 | Louis Kelly, Jr. | 1.5 |
| SINGLES | 14 | SINGLES | 7 |
| FOURSOMES | 5 | FOURSOMES | 6.5 |
| TOTAL | 19 | TOTAL | 13.5 |
