NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Grieving through golf made Matt Cocco the player he is today. He made the sport an emotional outlet after his father’s death during his junior year of high school. The Commonwealth National Golf Club member played and practiced daily and earned a golf scholarship to Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Ga.
Cocco showed how far he’s come — in both life and golf — Monday; he carded a 1-over-par 71 to earn medalist honors in a Golf Association of Philadelphia Amateur Championship Qualifier at Torresdale-Frankford Country Club (par 70, 6,249 yards).
Cocco led a field of 71 players vying for one of 21 qualifying positions and ties available for the Championship proper, set for June 9-11 & 14 at White Manor Country Club.
At the end of the day, the cut line held at 79.
“He [my dad] was one of my biggest influences in golf,” Cocco, 22, of Churchville, Pa, said. “After he passed away, I used the game to kind of get away from everything. I’d go out on my own and practice every day. It kind of snowballed after that. I started getting good quick.”
Cocco demonstrated just how good his game is right now through a creative yet conservative strategy at Torresdale-Frankford.
“I was really comfortable from the fairway hitting into the greens,” he said. “If you’re in the rough here, you’re going to start thinking about your approach shot because if you’re going to land it short and have it bounce up, some of the greens are pretty heavy back to front, so you really don’t want to go long.”
Cocco’s outward tour included three circles (birdies) and four squares (bogeys). He hit a 7-iron 163 yards to five feet for birdie on No. 2 (par 4, 375 yards). However, a poor drive on the next hole (par 4, 394 yards) put Cocco behind a tree, prompted a punch-out and produced a bogey. He also bogeyed No. 4 (par 3, 171 yards) after missing the green with a 5-iron. Cocco patched those wounds with a birdie on No. 5 (par 4, 317 yards), where he whacked a wedge 110 yards to nine feet. On the par 4, 416-yard No. 7, however, Cocco landed his approach short of the green. He played his uphill pitch at a check, but it didn’t respond accordingly. He missed the downhill comebacker to save par.
Cocco cited the next hole (par 4, 440 yards) as a key point in the round. Facing a bad lie on a downslope behind the green, Cocco played out sideways, only to see his golf ball cling to the right fringe. He rammed in a 30-footer for a wild 4.
“That par on No. 8 kept me even-keeled for the back nine because that could have went south really quickly,” he said. “That definitely kept me in it.”
On the par 4, 330-yard 12th hole, Cocco nearly holed a 9-iron from 138 yards for eagle. He converted a kick-in birdie to move to even. Cocco also carded a birdie on No. 16 (par 5, 560 yards) after knocking a gap wedge 115 yards to six feet. He missed a four-footer for 2 on No. 17 (par 3, 207 yards) following a smooth 5-iron. Mental frustration led to mistake on the next hole (par 4, 395 yards). Cocco drove it out-of-bounds and finished with a double bogey.
Cocco, a senior at Armstrong Atlantic State, usually can’t participate in qualifiers for the GAP Amateur Championship because of school obligations. By advancing into the Championship proper Monday, he is on the competitive radar and hoping to break out this summer.
“I’d like to consider myself one of the better players in the area, even though I really haven’t the résumé to show that,” Cocco said. “I’m really excited to prove myself and get people to notice me a little bit.”
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 150 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.
Qualifiers
Name, club
Scores
Matt Cocco, Commonwealth National Golf Club
71
Sam Soeth, White Manor Country Club
72
Tyler Sokolis, Commonwealth National Golf Club
72
Christopher Reedman, Makefield Highlands Golf Club
74
Jack Wallace, Philadelphia Cricket Club
74
Russell Hill, Old York CC at Chesterfield
74
J.T. Twomey, Jericho National Golf Club
75
James Austin, Five Ponds Golf Club
75
Scott Storck, Philadelphia Cricket Club
76
Alex Kane, Radley Run Country Club
77
Edward Kelly, Jr., Old York Road Country Club
77
Evan Galbreath, Philmont Country Club
77
David Guertler, Laurel Creek Country Club
77
Thomas Gramigna, Tavistock Country Club
78
Daniel Feeney, Philadelphia Cricket Club
78
Rob Rowe, Bent Creek Country Club
78
Daniel Pinciotti, Jr., Huntingdon Valley Country Club
79
Mark Wachter, DuPont Country Club
79
Jamie Slonis, Tavistock Country Club
79
Thomas Lewis, Doylestown Country Club
79
Eric Slawter, St. Davids Golf Club
79
Bill Jeremiah, Bidermann Golf Club
79
Joseph Markmann, Talamore Country Club
79
Failed to qualify
Jeffrey Angelucci, Torresdale-Frankford Country Club
80
Patrick Knott, Merion Golf Club
80
Daniel Myers, French Creek Golf Club
81
Daniel Mahoney, Lu Lu Country Club
81
Luke Liddell, Torresdale-Frankford Country Club
81
Ryan Walker, St. Davids Golf Club
81
Daniel Furman, Commonwealth National Golf Club
81
Andrew Dietz, Laurel Creek Country Club
81
Luke McKeogh, Commonwealth National Golf Club
81
Kevin Delaney, Five Ponds Golf Club
81
Robert Good, Merion Golf Club
81
Jake van Arkel, Merion Golf Club
81
Kenneth Matt, Commonwealth National Golf Club
82
Brian Dempster, Mercer Oaks Golf Course
82
Adam Puskar, Middletown Country Club
82
Phillip Villari, Jr., Riverton Country Club
82
Stephen Freda, Sand Barrens Golf Club
82
John Venne, Laurel Creek Country Club
82
Ryan Orcutt, Philadelphia Publinks GA
82
Jack Russell, Philadelphia Cricket Club
82
Patrick O’Brien, North Hills Country Club
83
Scott Forrester, JC Melrose Country Club
83
Kyle Allan, Phoenixville Country Club
83
Scott Young, Overbrook Golf Club
83
Sean Ebert, Commonwealth National Golf Club
83
William Bello, Metedeconk National Golf Club
83
Robert Galbreath, Jr., Philmont Country Club
83
Michael Rogers, Overbrook Golf Club
83
Alexander Cameron, Rolling Green Golf Club
84
Jeff St. Amour, Llanerch Country Club
84
Andrew Carber, Talamore Country Club
84
Mike Lam, Yardley Country Club
85
Brendan Hallinan, Applebrook Golf Club
85
Timothy Anderson, Commonwealth National Golf Club
85
Mark Kosko, Sea Oaks Golf Club
85
George Jiruska, Lu Lu Country Club
86
Matthew Bastian, Jr., Rolling Green Golf Club
86
David Sim, Applecross Country Club
87
Jonathan Kruse, Bala Golf Club
87
Dan Farragut, Philadelphia Cricket Club
87
Steve Weaver, Lu Lu Country Club
88
Gary Quinn, Jr., White Manor Country Club
88
Otis Baker, Gulph Mills Golf Club
91
Dan Clark, Old York Road Country Club
91
Jeff Kiczek, Rolling Green Golf Club
93
Robert Galbreath,, Sr., Huntingdon Valley Country Club
107
Kevin Conners, Jr., Whitford Country Club
WD
Jack St. Amour, Llanerch Country Club
WD
Arthur Kania, Jr., Merion Golf Club
WD
Jack Gregor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
WD
Jimmy Davis, Merion Golf Club
NS
Philip Damico, Five Ponds Golf Club
WD
WD – withdrawal; NS – no show
