Four-Man Team

Champions repeat in Four-Man Team at Whitford

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EXTON, Pa. — Carlos Fullerton, Max Harrington, Richard Riva and Adam Sutovich became the first quartet to win consecutive GAP Four-Man Team titles Tuesday.

The unabashed upstarts carded an 11-under-par 133 to claim the event’s 30^th edition at a sunny Whitford Country Club (par 72, 6,391 yards). Fullerton, Harrington, Riva and Sutovich prevailed by two strokes over Coatesville Country Club’s David Kimbley, Flourtown Country Club’s David Shields and Philadephia Publinks GA’s Robert Amen and Michael Quinn. The team also won a year ago at LedgeRock Golf Club.

The Four-Man Team scoring format is two best balls of four.

“I was looking at [the event’s history] this morning. It’s very cool [to be the first back-to-back winners],” Fullerton, 23, of Emmaus, Pa., said. “We were just hoping [Harrington and Riva] could play. Adam and I had other options lined up, but we were definitely hoping they would be back. That was the priority.”

Summer internships limit golf for Harrington and Riva, respectively, these days. Fortunately — for title defense sake, the incoming Saint Joseph’s University seniors worked Whitford into the schedule.

Riva made good on the rare day off, too. He holed gap wedge from 123 yards for eagle on No. 3 (par 4, 401 yards).

“It was one of those shots where right when you hit it, you know it’s going to be good,” Riva, 21, of Manayunk, Pa., said. “It landed 20 feet short and rolled in. It was fun to see that. There were a lot of hi-fives. I hurt my hip jumping into Adam. I was fine.”

“Riva’s hole-out definitely sparked us,” Sutovich, 23, of Breinigsville, Pa., added.

Sure did. For an encore, Riva issued a 15-footer for birdie on the next hole (par 5, 553 yards). The team doubled down in red on the par 3, 111-yard No. 6. Harrington, a Moselem Springs Golf Club member, “walked in” a 40-footer following a gap wedge off the tee. Sutovich’s sand wedge stopped 15 feet from the flagstick. He executed the ensuing birdie try. Sutovich, who works for a mortgage company, knocked a pitching wedge 138 yards to 10 feet for birdie on No. 7 (par 4, 366 yards). Riva finished what he started on the front nine, completing a two-putt birdie on No. 9 (par 5, 487 yards) following an 8-iron from 175 yards.

The defending champions continued to capitalize on Whitford’s par 5s. Fullerton, who earned his master’s degree in accounting from Penn State University this year, two putted from 25 feet on No. 12 (493 yards) after reaching the green with a hybrid from 238 yards. He, Sutovich and Riva all converted birdies on the gettable 16^th hole (520 yards): two from greenside bunkers and the latter from the front of the putting surface.

“The greens rolled great, so we knew if we had good looks, then we could knock them in,” Fullerton said. “Last year was more about playing aggressive and going after every pin. This year, a lot of the par saves were just as important as the birdies. We had a lot of holes where we could have easily scared bogey. There weren’t many holes were all of us were in good positions in the fairway.”

“This course played a little different than LedgeRock,” Sutovich said. “You can bomb driver there and hit a couple of different irons into the greens. Here at Whitford, it’s a little more strategical golf. You have to think about your shot. We came through.”

Fullerton and Sutovich hail from Brookside Country Club of Allentown, where Harrington is also a member. The trio crossed paths on the club’s driving range a year ago and decided to join forces for the Four-Man Team.

“We were looking for a fourth guy. Max said my roommate [Riva] plays on the golf team [at Saint Joseph’s University],” Fullerton said. “It was a no-brainer.”

“I was really happy to see my team play well today,” Harrington, 20, of Manayunk, Pa., said. “I told them at the beginning that they would have to carry me, and they did.”

Symmetry also made for smooth sailing Tuesday. The team implemented the same teeing order: Harrington, Riva, Sutovich and Fullerton.

The same lineup may not be available for a threepeat. Fullerton intends to relocate to Dallas, Texas in the winter to pursue an accounting career.

“It’ll be hard to get all four of us together next year, but you never know,” Riva, a Bent Creek Country Club member, said.

“If it’s for a threepeat, then I’m going to check the schedule,” Fullerton added.

GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 274 Full Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey and Delaware. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.