Talamore’s Abramski takes Fall Net in scorecard playoff

  LITITZ, Pa. — Five players posted 40 points to top the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s TEE IT FORWARD — Fall Net Championship at Bent Creek Country Club (par 71, 5,722 yards) Monday. An even-par back nine allowed Talamore Country Club’s Bob Abramski to seize victory in a scorecard playoff. He edged Jericho National Golf Club’s Joseph DeAngelis, Philadelphia Publinks GA’s William Erskine, McCall Golf & Country Club’s George Hilley and Old York Road Country Club’s Dennis O’Donnell.

   “It feels great,” a thrilled Abramski, 64, of Fort Washington, Pa., said. “I’ve been playing pretty solid golf for the last month or so, and I like the course a lot. It all kind of came together today.”

  Abramski’s affinity for Arnold Palmer designs contributed to his success Monday.

   “Everything’s in front of you and very playable,” Abramski, a Golf Association of Philadelphia volunteer, said. “The greens were perfect and very true. I loved the speed of them.”

  Abramski played his final three holes in 3 under (net) to state his victorious case. On No. 16 (par 4, 402 yards), knocked a 60-degree wedge 60 yards to five feet for a net birdie. With a tight landing area to work with on the par 4, 258-yard 17th hole, Abramski sent a 4-hybrid to the fairway’s center. He then cranked a pitching wedge 100 yards to 20 feet and two-putted. Abramski closed with a fantastic birdie on No. 18 (par 5, 483 yards), where he drilled an uphill 9-iron 110 yards to 10 feet below the flagstick.

   “My swing was very consistent,” Abramski, who captured the Francis B. Warner Cup (Net) a year ago at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, said. “Playing from the white tees, I had a lot of shots from140 to 170 yards. A lot of those are hybrid shots for me, and I was hitting those well. All I was trying to hit the center of the green. My putter was working well today.”

  DeAngelis, 60, of Langhorne, Pa., hit 15 greens in regulation and only missed one fairway on the day.

   “It was a pretty consistent day,” he said. “I was just trying to hit the fairway. I was taking a little off my driver. The greens were tremendous and really well-maintained. Everything putted true. The breaks were hard to figure out.”

  Fairways favored Hilley as well; he netted 16 on the day.

   “I kept the ball pretty much in play,” Hilley, 72, of Bensalem, Pa., said. “That’s the strength of my game. I’m not real long, but I don’t end up in the rough too much.”

  Erskine played Bent Creek a few times before, and that experience served the Harleysville, Pa. resident well.

   “You didn’t have a bad lie all day,” he said. “You have good lines. You don’t doubt yourself. It was probably the best I played all year.”

  A bogey-bogey finish hurt Erskine’s scorecard. After landing a wedge on the front fringe, he three-putted No. 17. Erskine, 57, steered his drive underneath on the 18th hole. Following a punch-out, he smashed a hybrid 210 yards, but missed the green right.

  O’Donnell, too, struggled heading home. He yanked a pair of drives into the water hazard on No. 17 and didn’t accrue any points. It was the only hole O’Donnell came away empty-handed.

  Nevertheless, the Maple Glen, Pa. resident enjoyed his first GAP event.

   “Playing from the front tees was key because my game gets better when I get closer to the green,” O’Donnell, 54, said. “I thought it was an interesting format. It fit my game.”

  The Fall Net Championship, formerly known as the Second Handicap Tournament, is open to players 18 years of age and older with handicap index less than 36.0. The event began in 1946. The Association adopted the TEE IT FORWARD parameters last year. It also changed the scoring format to net Stableford.

  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 143 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.