DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. — Tournament victories aren’t foreign to Huntingdon Valley Country Club’s Andrew Mason. The reigning William Hyndman, III Player of the Year recently captured the GAP Open Championship and Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Amateur Championship, making it two years and counting. On Monday, he added another win to his burgeoning treasure chest, but this one shines a bit differently than the rest.
Mason joined clubmate Conor McGrath to take the Deeg Sezna Four-Ball at Applecross Country Club (par 72, 6,301 yards). The two carded a 4-under-par 68 to edge Christopher Crawford of Spring Mill Country Club and Bill Henaghan of Pilgrim’s Oak Golf Course by a stroke.
“It’s really awesome,” McGrath, 12, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., said. “This is the first GAP tournament that I’ve won. I couldn’t have done it without Andrew. He helped me a lot. It was an honor to play with him.”
“I couldn’t have played with two better young kids, the McGraths [Connor and his brother Liam] and obviously a great pal Will [Weihenmayer, Jr., who played in the same group],” Mason, 23, said. “We just had a blast out there. Connor and Liam both played great.”
The Deeg Sezna Four-Ball is a salute to mentors. In that vein, Weihenmayer helps both Connor and Liam with golf tournament participation. He offered to sign both boys up for Tuesday’s event and asked Mason to enlist as well. The Huntingdon Valley, Pa. resident happily obliged.
“Connor’s great. He plays the game a lot better than I did at that age,” Mason said. “He was my go-to guy.”
When Mason needed help studying greens, he paged McGrath, an incoming seventh grader at Bryn Athan Church School. That call-and-response proved critical on No. 18 (par 5, 497 yards). Mason and McGrath stood at 3 under — tied with clubhouse leaders Crawford and Henaghan. After a sizeable drive, Mason powered a 6-iron 186 yards to 13 feet above the flagstick. He then consulted McGrath for a read on the ensuing eagle try. Mason then cozied the putt to two feet and tapped-in for a triumphant 4.
“On the last hole, I kind of blew up,” McGrath said. “I was really down and discouraged that I really wasn’t helping him. But then when he asked me to read the putt, it gave me confidence, thinking I shouldn’t be as hard on myself as I was.”
Throughout their Applecross journey, Mason picked McGrath’s brain frequently. He relied on the youngster to close the team’s outward tour with three straight birdies. Mason smacked a sand wedge 95 yards to four feet on No. 7 (par 4, 355 yards); a 9-iron 147 yards to 20 feet on No. 8 (par 4, 413 yards) and a 2-iron 245 yards to 20 feet for a two-putt birdie on No. 9 (par 5, 512 yards).
The team ran into its first speed bump on No. 11 (par 3, 143 yards). Mason put an 8-iron into the left greenside bunker, McGrath a 7-iron into the right greenside bunker. Both couldn’t execute sand saves. Mason recovered the lost stroke with a birdie on the par 5, 547-yard 15th hole. He rocketed a 2-iron 240 yards to the right of the putting surface and stopped a chip at three feet. Mason followed a similar formula on No. 15 (par 5, 500 yards) for birdie. His 2-iron came up short of the green, but Mason nestled a chip to four feet. The team fell into a tie atop the leaderboard following a bogey on No. 17(par 4, 392 yards). Both Mason and McGrath missed the green with respective 6-iron approaches.
They both belong to player-rich Huntingdon Valley, but Mason and McGrath never played a round of golf together until Tuesday. More 18-hole adventures — and victories perhaps — now await the two.
“I’ll play as much as he offers to have me,” Mason said.
“Every day you’re free and I’m free,” McGrath added.
The Deeg Sezna Four-Ball celebrates the mentorship of the older generation for its younger counterparts. It is named in honor of Davis “Deeg” Sezna, Jr. of Hartefeld National, who lost his life on Sept. 11, 2001 in the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.
Deeg, an avid golfer long a mentor to his younger brothers Teddy and Willy, and a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University with a degree in economics, was in his sixth day of work on the 104th floor of the South Tower when the terrorists struck.
To memorialize his name, GAP and his father Davis Sezna, Sr. established the Deeg Sezna Four-Ball, pairing a junior player and an older amateur in a better ball competition, with a minimum age difference of 10 years and the stipulation that the younger player be 21 or younger.
The goal is to give experienced golfers quality time with the next generation, and vice versa. The age range is 10 to 72.
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.
Gross results
Name, club
Score
Andrew Mason/Conor McGrath, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
68
Christopher Crawford/Bill Henaghan, Spring Mill Country Club/Pilgrim’s Oak Golf Course
69
Anthony Villari/Kevin Kramarski, Riverton Country Club
70
J.J. Berenato/Jack St. Amour, Llanerch Country Club
70
Michael McDermott/Thomas Gravina, Jr., Merion Golf Club/Aronimink Golf Club
71
Liam McGrath/William Weihenmayer, Jr., Huntingdon Valley Country Club
71
Alex Acciani/Michael Rose, Talamore Country Club
72
Joe Tigani/Neal Levitsky, Fieldstone Golf Club/Wilmington Country Club
73
Liam McAnally/Ron Corkum, Applecross Country Club
73
Jack McClatchy/Jeff St. Amour, Jr., Jeffersonville Golf Club/Llanerch Country Club
75
Kevin Levitsky/Ronald Abrams, Wilmington Country Club/Brandywine Country Club
76
R.J. Wren/Christopher Terebesi, Applecross Country Club/Honeybrook Golf Club
76
Kyle Allan/Bill Fagan, Phoenixville Country Club/St. Davids Golf Club
77
Ron Dirienzi/Nolan Dirienzi, Rolling Green Golf Club
78
C.J. Van Ostenbridge/Dan Van Ostenbridge, Spring Ford Country Club
79
Peter Dissinger/J. Kirk Luntey, Merion Golf Club
79
Mark Hagel/William Hagel, McCall Golf & Country Club
80
Ken Jones/Jim Kramarski, Riverton Country Club
82
Net results
Name, club
Score
Anthony Villari/Kevin Kramarski, Riverton Country Club
65
J.J. Berenato/Jack St. Amour, Llanerch Country Club
65
Liam McGrath/William Weihenmayer, Jr., Huntingdon Valley Country Club
66
Jack McClatchy/Jeff St. Amour, Jr., Jeffersonville Golf Club/Llanerch Country Club
66
Michael McDermott/Thomas Gravina, Jr., Merion Golf Club/Aronimink Golf Club
68
Joe Tigani/Neal Levitsky, Fieldstone Golf Club/Wilmington Country Club
68
Liam McAnally/Ron Corkum, Applecross Country Club
68
Alex Acciani/Michael Rose, Talamore Country Club
69
Kevin Levitsky/Ronald Abrams, Wilmington Country Club/Brandywine Country Club
69
Kyle Allan/Bill Fagan, Phoenixville Country Club/St. Davids Golf Club
69
Ron Dirienzi/Nolan Dirienzi, Rolling Green Golf Club
69
Andrew Mason/Conor McGrath, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
71
C.J. Van Ostenbridge/Dan Van Ostenbridge, Spring Ford Country Club
72
Peter Dissinger/J. Kirk Luntey, Merion Golf Club
73
R.J. Wren/Christopher Terebesi, Applecross Country Club/Honeybrook Golf Club
74
Ken Jones/Jim Kramarski, Riverton Country Club
77
