Daniels, Rose claim Senior 27-Hole Challenge at Green Valley

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 LAFAYETTE HILL, Pa. — Gary E. Daniels and Michael Rose wanted to get together for a round of golf this year. The Senior 27-Hole Challenge presented a perfect opportunity to do so, and the two made the most of their time on the links. Daniels, of Applebrook Golf Club, and Rose, of Talamore Country Club, carded a 3-over-par 146 to win the tournament’s 7th edition at a gorgeous Green Valley Country Club (par 71, 6,370 yards) Monday.

  Merion Golf Club’s Donald Dissinger and J. Kirk Luntey, and the team of Donald Ashley of Philadelphia Country Club and Michael Domenick of Phoenixville Country Club, finished a shot back at 147.

  “We have so much fun playing together, so I said I’ll go back [to the Senior Division] and see if I can help,” Rose, the 2012 Super-Senior Player of the Year, said. “We had a great time, even with the craziness that happened at the end. We laughed our way through it.”

  The aforementioned craziness unfolded in the aggregate portion, the event’s final leg. On the par 5, 516-yard No. 7, Daniels came up 15 yards short of the green with his second shot. He then thinned a wedge over the surface and double-hit his next shot. Daniels walked away with a triple bogey. On No. 9 (par 4, 379 yards), Rose hit a masterful 7-iron 165 yards to six feet. It wasn’t his golf ball, however. Rose walked away with a double bogey after sending an 8-iron from 165 yards into the right greenside bunker.

  “We thought that we had blown it,” Rose, 67, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa. said.

  “I thought you might have pulled a muscle,” Daniels, 60, of Berwyn, Pa., added.

  A pair of birdies earlier in the aggregate leg softened the finishing sting. Daniels eased a wedge to six feet on No. 3 (par 5, 510 yards). Rose drilled a 6-iron from 160 yards on No. 6 (par 4, 379 yards) that ripped out of the cup. He then converted a sidehill six-footer. Birdies in the event’s better-ball portion also stood out as highlights for the Daniels and Rose team. The former chipped in on No. 6 (par 4, 379 yards) and launching a 7-iron into a bed of heavy grass short right of the green. Rose knocked a wedge 119 yards to 10 feet on No. 7.

  Success in the Senior 27-Hole Challenge isn’t new to both players. Daniels teamed with Charles Dowds, III to win in 2009. A year ago, Rose and Charles McClaskey claimed the Super-Senior title at Bala Golf Club.

  “To give away five shots on the last three holes and win is nice,” Rose said.

  “We had 26 great holes of golf,” Daniels added.

Super Senior
  Longtime friends and GAP stalwarts Don Donatoni and Carl Everett filed a 5-over-par 148 to claim the Super-Senior (par 71, 5,987 yards) title. The two also won the event’s inaugural edition in 2008.

  “You couldn’t beat the weather conditions, and the golf course was in good shape,” Donatoni, 66, of Malvern, Pa., said. “We were hitting the ball really well from tee to green, and we just couldn’t make a putt in the first 18 holes. We missed a good eight, 10 makeable birdies. Then Carl came out and birdied the first hole [in the aggregate portion], and I thought maybe that will turn us around a little bit.”

  It sure did. Everett hit an 8-iron 124 yards to six feet for birdie on No. 1 (par 4, 356 yards). On the par 5, 480-yard No. 7, Donatoni powered a 5-wood 219 yards to the middle of the green and nearly canned the eagle attempt. He points to a par save three holes prior as a key to the team’s success. After flying a 7-iron into the back bunker on No. 4 (par 3, 143 yards), Donatoni splashed out to three feet and saved par. A double bogey courtesy of Everett on the final hole (No. 9, par 4, 359 yards) threatened the team’s clubhouse comfort. He tugged a drive into the tree-line, landed a 4-hybrid 50 yards short and bladed a wedge over the green. A poor chip and two-putt made Everett feel like he let Donatoni down.

  “I was so perturbed with myself it was hard to bear down and finish the hole,” Everett, 67, of Havertown, Pa., said. “I was really concerned that I cost us.”   Donatoni cranked a gap wedge 95 yards to six feet for birdie on No. 9 to ease his partner’s pain a bit.

  The Senior 27-Hole Challenge replaced the Senior Net Championship on the tournament schedule in 2008. An event for players 55 years of age and older, the Senior 27-Hole Challenge is a gross event consisting of three nine-hole stipulated rounds in three different formats: four-ball stoke play, aggregate and selective drive — alternate shot. The tournament is open to seniors with a USGA Handicap Index of 12.0 or lower. Super Seniors must have a USGA Handicap Index of 12.0 or less.

Golf Association of Philadelphia
  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.