ELVERSON, Pa. — The Brewer Cup’s past two champions combined their success savvy to take team gold Tuesday. Bob Beck (2016) and Bert Kosup (2015) filed a 2-under-par 139 to capture the Senior 27-Hole Challenge at a pleasant French Creek Golf Club (par 71, 6,294 yards). | Senior Division scorecards | Super-Senior Division scorecards | History | Photo gallery |
The Senior 27-Hole Challenge, now in its ninth year, features three formats: better-ball of partners, selective drive/alternate shot and team aggregate.
“I think his strength is that he doesn’t have a weakness,” Kosup, 61, of Flemington, N.J., said. “He hit the ball very well today. He hits the ball very far off the tee — 30 yards past me. He’s very consistent and makes being his partner pretty easy.”
“He played real solid today. He made two birdies on the last nine that really helped us out,” Beck, 56, of Allentown, Pa., added. “That took a lot of heat off.”
The Beck and Kosup team sensed the bright lights given their leaderboard status after 18 holes. The two stood at 3 under, one clear of Lancaster Country Club’s Daniel Burton and Kenneth Phillips. Kosup toweled off the team sweat with a five-foot birdie on No. 2 (par 4, 435 yards. He and Beck inked red on the par 5, 495-yard No. 4. Kosup converted a 12-footer; Beck, a Lehigh Country Club member, logged two putts from 15 feet after reaching the green with a 3-hybrid. The par 3, 115-yard No. 6 meshed with Kosup. He banked a pair of three-footers, courtesy of 9-iron set-ups, upon each visit.
“I just figured at that point, if I could keep it under par, and Bob gets it under par or keeps it even, we have a pretty good chance,” Kosup said. “It frees you up a little bit.”
A bogey-free, 2 under in the selective drive/alternate shot portion also afforded a sense of freedom. Beck’s length spearheaded birdies on a pair of par 5s. Following his boomer on No. 11 (484 yards), Kosup, who calls The Ridge at Back Brook home, found the green with a 5-wood, and the team two-putted from 15 feet. Beck drove it into the right greenside bunker on the par 4, 289-yard 15th hole. Kosup splashed into gimme range.
Beck and Kosup met at Saucon Valley Country Club’s Member-Guest (Norborne Berkeley), an event both have participated in for the last decade.
“We both have the same kind of personality,” Kosup said. “We like to have fun. We like to laugh. We want to enjoy golf, but we don’t take it too serious that we get on each other’s nerves. I always enjoy playing against Bob. It’s even more fun to play with him as your partner.”
Super Senior
A month ago, Robin McCool defeated Frank Polizzi, 2&1, for the Super-Senior title in the Brewer Cup presented by Callaway Golf. Following their match, the two chatted in the men’s grill at Overbrook Golf Club and struck up a partnership for the Senior 27-Hole Challenge.
It proved to be a successful one, too. McCool, a Saucon Valley Country Club member, and Polizzi, of Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, carded an even-par 141 to take the event’s Super-Senior (par 71, 5,879 yards) title.
“After we played each other in the Brewer Cup, I was so impressed with his game. [I thought] if I could have him for a partner, that would be marvelous,” McCool, 65, of Bethlehem, Pa., said. “There are certain things I do well. One of them is picking partners.”
“I took maybe half a second to say, ‘Yes,’” Polizzi, 70, of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., added. “Our match was pretty exciting. Robin is such a good player. To have him ask me right away … I was really appreciative. I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks now.”
The McCool and Polizzi team immediately grabbed the division’s top spot thanks to a 3 under in the better-ball portion. On No. 3 (par 3, 122 yards), Polizzi, the reigning Super-Senior titleholder in the GAP Senior Amateur, stopped a pitching wedge at four feet. McCool followed with a six-footer for birdie on the next hole (par 5, 485 yards). He almost holed a knockdown wedge from 100 yards for eagle on the next par 5 (No. 6, 523 yards). Not to be outdone, Polizzi nearly dunked a gap wedge from 101 yards on No. 9 (par 4, 333 yards). He cleaned up a four-footer for birdie.
“It was a very steady day. We held each other up when we needed to,” McCool, who won the Super-Senior title in the Francis B. Warner Cup (Gross) earlier this year, said. “Each of us contributed as far as birdies were concerned.”
“For 27 holes, we never made any double bogeys,” Polizzi added.
The Senior 27-Hole Challenge replaced the Senior Net Championship on the tournament schedule.
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 151 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 | |
| Senior | |
| Name, club | R1-R2-R3–Total |
| Bob Beck/Bert Kosup, Lehigh CC/The Ridge at Back Brook | 34-34-71–139 |
| Kenneth Phillips/Daniel Burton, Lancaster CC | 33-36-74–143 |
| Robert Wagner/John LeBoeuf, Merion GC/Philadelphia CC | 34-37-74–145 |
| Jim Yenser/David West, Raven’s Claw GC/Whitford CC | 34-37-75–146 |
| Bob Majczan/James Prendergast, Lookaway GC/Bellewood CC | 35-41-70–146 |
| Alan Wagenschnur/Buddy Reed, Wild Quail G&CC | 35-37-74–146 |
| Alan Van Horn/Duke Delcher, Commonwealth National GC/Sandy Run CC | 35-39-72–146 |
| John Alterman/John Nottage, Commonwealth National GC | 36-36-74–146 |
| Jack O’Hara/Vince Yost, Cedarbrook CC | 37-39-70–146 |
| Charles Dowds, III/Mark Szilagyi, Applebrook GC/Brookside CC | 32-41-74–147 |
| Ray Pyontek/Gregory Buliga, Mercer Oaks GC/Yardley CC | 33-38-76–147 |
| Gary E. Daniels/Michael Rose, Applebrook GC/Talamore CC | 34-38-75–147 |
| Buck Jones/Michael Nilon, Philadelphia Publinks GA/Philadelphia CC | 33-38-77–148 |
| Bill Burkavage/John Voigt, CC of Scranton | 36-39-73–148 |
| J. Kirk Luntey/Donald Dissinger, Merion GC | 32-42-76–150 |
| Robert Amen/Michael Quinn, Philadelphia Publinks GA | 35-43-72–150 |
| Charles Johnson/Joseph DeAngelis, Jericho National GC | 36-41-75–152 |
| Luke Wozniak/Ted Wiedemann, Fieldstone GC | 37-42-74–153 |
| Gary Yeager/Dan Farragut, Philadelphia Cricket Club | 34-38-82–154 |
| Mark Mazzie/Richard Mennies, French Creek GC | 36-39-79–154 |
| John Kaskey/Jeff Klein, White Manor CC/Talamore CC | 39-40-76–155 |
| Tim Simmons/John Gonsior, Limekiln GC | 37-39-81–157 |
| Rick Gaydos/John Willadsen, Sakima CC | 39-40-78–157 |
| Tom Coffey, Sr./Thomas Schaible, Chester Valley GC | 36-42-80–158 |
| Joseph Viscuso/Peter Torras, Kennett Square G&CC | 33-40-87–160 |
| James Gannon/Michael Connor, Whitemarsh Valley CC | 38-49-84–171 |
| Brian Stringari/Bob Dimmerman, Galloway National GC/Stonewall | 39-41-91–171 |
| Tom Madden/James Cronin, Fieldstone GC | 41-43-87–171 |
| Brian Jasperse/Ronald White, Jericho National GC | 41-41-94–176 |
| Super Senior | |
| Name, club | R1-R2-R3–Total |
| Frank Polizzi/Robin McCool, Whitemarsh Valley CC/Saucon Valley CC | 32-38-71–141 |
| Craig Scott/David Brookreson, Great Bear GC/Huntingdon Valley CC | 34-39-73–146 |
| Edward Pappas/Robert Billings, Rolling Green GC | 35-40-71–146 |
| Don Donatoni/Steve Tagert, White Manor CC/Spring Ford CC | 34-38-75–147 |
| Thomas Mallouk/Michael Anton, Lookaway GC | 34-39-75–148 |
| Donald Ashley/Richard Smith, Philadelphia CC | 35-40-83–158 |
| Thomas O’Rourke/Robert Angelucci, Chester Valley GC/Union League GC at Torresdale | 39-41-79–159 |
| Fred Olt/Bernard Kelly, Little Mill CC | 38-40-86–164 |
| David Kearney/Gerald Barr, Lehigh CC | 37-39-89–165 |
| John Broadbent/Ed Kocher, LedgeRock GC | 38-46-85–169 |
| Bill Tierney/Neil McDermott, Llanerch CC | 37-42-91–170 |
| Mark Bradley/David Penske, Aronimink GC | 39-42-89–170 |
| Rick Ames/Gary Ames, Philadelphia Publinks GA/Bala GC | 41-42-87–170 |
| Herbert Gordon/Andrew Sivak, Doylestown CC | 39-41-91–171 |
| Net | |
| Senior | |
| Name, club | R1-R2-R3–Total |
| Charles Johnson/Joseph DeAngelis, Jericho National GC | 31-37-65–133 |
| Jack O’Hara/Vince Yost, Cedarbrook CC | 34-36-63–133 |
| Gary Yeager/Dan Farragut, Philadelphia Cricket Club | 29-35-73–137 |
| Mark Mazzie/Richard Mennies, French Creek GC | 31-36-70–137 |
| Bob Beck/Bert Kosup, Lehigh CC/The Ridge at Back Brook | 33-34-70–137 |
| Bob Majczan/James Prendergast, Lookaway GC/Bellewood CC | 32-40-66–138 |
| Alan Wagenschnur/Buddy Reed, Wild Quail G&CC | 33-35-70–138 |
| Bill Burkavage/John Voigt, CC of Scranton | 34-36-69–139 |
| Robert Wagner/John LeBoeuf, Merion GC/Philadelphia CC | 32-36-72–140 |
| Kenneth Phillips/Daniel Burton, Lancaster CC | 33-35-72–140 |
| Buck Jones/Michael Nilon, Philadelphia Publinks GA/Philadelphia CC | 32-36-73–141 |
| Gary E. Daniels/Michael Rose, Applebrook GC/Talamore CC | 33-37-72–142 |
| Alan Van Horn/Duke Delcher, Commonwealth National GC/Sandy Run CC | 34-38-70–142 |
| Luke Wozniak/Ted Wiedemann, Fieldstone GC | 34-40-68–142 |
| John Alterman/John Nottage, Commonwealth National GC | 35-35-72–142 |
| Joseph Viscuso/Peter Torras, Kennett Square G&CC | 29-36-78–143 |
| Charles Dowds, III/Mark Szilagyi, Applebrook GC/Brookside CC | 31-40-72–143 |
| Ray Pyontek/Gregory Buliga, Mercer Oaks GC/Yardley CC | 32-37-74–143 |
| John Kaskey/Jeff Klein, White Manor CC/Talamore CC | 35-38-70–143 |
| J. Kirk Luntey/Donald Dissinger, Merion GC | 31-41-73–145 |
| Tom Coffey, Sr./Thomas Schaible, Chester Valley GC | 32-40-73–145 |
| Jim Yenser/David West, Ravens’ Claw GC/Whitford CC | 34-37-75–146 |
| Rick Gaydos/John Willadsen, Sakima CC | 36-38-72–146 |
| Robert Amen/Michael Quinn, Philadelphia Publinks GA | 34-43-71–148 |
| Brian Stringari/Bob Dimmerman, Galloway National GC/Stonewall | 33-37-79–149 |
| James Gannon/Michael Connor, Whitemarsh Valley CC | 33-45-72–150 |
| Brian Jasperse/Ronald White, Jericho National GC | 35-36-81–152 |
| Tim Simmons/John Gonsior, Limekiln GC | 36-38-78–152 |
| Tom Madden/James Cronin, Fieldstone GC | 36-39-77–152 |
| Super Senior | |
| Name, club | R1-R2-R3–Total |
| Edward Pappas/Robert Billings, Rolling Green GC | 33-38-67–138 |
| Thomas Mallouk/Michael Anton, Lookaway GC | 32-37-70–139 |
| Frank Polizzi/Robin McCool, Whitemarsh Valley CC/Saucon Valley CC | 32-38-70–140 |
| Don Donatoni/Steve Tagert, White Manor CC/Spring Ford CC | 32-37-72–141 |
| Craig Scott/David Brookreson, Great Bear GC/Huntingdon Valley CC | 34-38-70–142 |
| Thomas O’Rourke/Robert Angelucci, Chester Valley GC/Union League GC at Torresdale | 34-38-71–143 |
| Fred Olt/Bernard Kelly, Little Mill CC | 33-36-76–145 |
| Donald Ashley/Richard Smith, Philadelphia CC | 32-38-77–147 |
| David Kearney/Gerald Barr, Lehigh CC | 33-35-79–147 |
| John Broadbent/Ed Kocher, LedgeRock GC | 33-42-74–149 |
| Mark Bradley/David Penske, Aronimink GC | 35-38-79–152 |
| Rick Ames/Gary Ames, Philadelphia Publinks GA/Bala GC | 37-38-77–152 |
| Herbert Gordon/Andrew Sivak, Doylestown CC | 35-37-81–153 |
| Bill Tierney/Neil McDermott, Llanerch CC | 33-39-83–155 |
