Yardley CC’s Glenn Smeraglio becomes oldest Joseph H. Patterson Cup winner since Hyndman - The Golf Association of Philadelphia

Aug 14, 2008

Yardley CC’s Glenn Smeraglio becomes oldest Joseph H. Patterson Cup winner since Hyndman

 PAOLI, Pa. – Glenn Smeraglio of Yardley CC finished the 106th Joseph H. Patterson Cup at 5-under-par on Thursday at St. Davids GC (par 70, 6,534 yards) and Waynesborough CC (par 71, 6,990 yards) to become the oldest Joseph H. Patterson Cup champion in 39 years. Smeraglio, 48, carded a 2-under 69 at Waynesborough CC in the morning and a 3-under 67 at St. Davids GC in his second round to become the oldest winner since legendary figure William Hyndman, III, took the 1969 Patterson Cup at age 58.

  “I think we have some of the best players around in the Philadelphia area. I’m just trying to hang with them,” said Smeraglio, who also captured the 1998 Patterson Cup. “We have a lot of young kids at Yardley so I’m used to playing with the young kids. They know how to go low. I think that helps me. 

  “Five under for two rounds is good playing out here. It’s solid. So is it surprising? I don’t know. I don’t think of myself as an older guy until I play with the young guys and they hit it 30 yards by me. You know what, you still have to hit greens, you still have to putt and you still have to get the ball in the hole. I think I do that as well as anyone does.”

  Matthew Mattare of Saucon Valley CC finished a shot behind in second place and Geoffrey Cooper of Laurel Creek CC was third at 2 under.

  The victory also secured Smeraglio his third Silver Cross (2000-01), awarded to the player with the lowest aggregate score in the qualifying rounds of the Amateur Championship and the Patterson Cup.

  Smeraglio opened the fourth and final Major of the Golf Association of Philadelphia season at Waynesborough CC and finished at 2 under despite being a bit sloppy at times. On the front side, he carded red numbers on No. 1 (par 4, 368 yards) with a 9-iron to 15 feet; No. 7 (par 5, 547 yards) with a 125-yard wedge to 15 feet and No. 8 (par 4, 373 yards) with a 52-degree wedge to five feet and recorded one bogey, on No. 6 (par 3, 217 yards), when he pushed his drive right. On the back nine, he was a little back-and-forth. He birdied No. 13 (par 4, 403 yards) with a pitching wedge from 125 yards to 10 feet; bogeyed No. 14 (par 3, 175 yards) when he pulled a 7-iron left; birdied No. 15 (par 5, 554 yards) after a short chip to six feet; and bogeyed the lengthy 17th (par 3, 254 yards) after coming up short of the green.

  Starting his second round on St. Davids GC’s back nine, Smeraglio had a non-descript opening set with a birdie and a bogey. He hit a 5-iron on No. 10 (par 3, 175 yards) into the left bunker and failed to get up-and-down but birdied No. 16 (par 5, 498 yards) from 10 feet to draw even at the turn.

  He then missed short birdie putts on his next two holes before a bolt of lightning, figuratively, struck. “I said to my caddie, I just remembered something about my putting. A little key that I had. I told him I’m going to make putts for the rest of the round. I really did. I putted great the rest of the way in.” Smeraglio would not reveal the key.

  He proceeded to birdie No. 5 (par 4, 426 yards) after knocking an 8-iron from 148 yards to 15 feet despite staring at one of the fastest putts on the golf course, a straight downhill challenge.

  “I gutted it,” said Smeraglio. “It went straight in the hole.”

  He followed that birdie with a 7-iron from 175 yards on the super difficult No. 7 (par 4, 464 yards), the distance was more like 190 considering the uphill, to five feet before making a fantastic pitch-and-putt on No. 8 (par 5, 488 yards) from eight feet to get to 5-under par for the day. 

  “I gained at least a stroke with that birdie on No. 7. I know that is a disaster hole,” said Smeraglio. 

  Mattare, playing a few groups behind Smeraglio, was the first-round leader after carding a 4-under 67 at Waynesborough CC in the morning. 

  In the afternoon, Mattare then stood at 3 under on St. Davids after 15 holes when he rocketed a 3-iron from 219 yards to 15 feet on No. 16 (par 5, 498 yards). His quick downhill eagle try and chance to equal Smeraglio ran eight feet past. His comebacker lipped around the hole.

  Still, Mattare had life.

  A smooth 5-iron on No. 17 (par 3, 182 yards) stopped eight feet short of the hole and he drained the birdie to head to No. 18 (par 4, 392 yards) a shot behind. On the final hole, Mattare ripped a 3-wood on the dog-leg right to 84 yards before playing a smart chip that landed short and rolled to 12 feet right of the hole. Needing the putt, his effort stayed right.

  “It was a double breaker. From where I was standing behind the ball it looked right to left, on the other side it looked left to right. I figured it was inside right or right edge and when I got over the putt I said it has to be more than that,” said Mattare, 22, of Bethlehem, Pa. “I didn’t trust the original line. I pushed it a little bit and ran it by the edge. I should have just gotten up and hit it.”

  Smeraglio’s Silver Cross victory came with a 279 total. He finished six shots clear of Michael McDermott of Merion GC, last year’s winner, and Cole Willcox of Philadelphia CC.

  The Patterson Cup field consisted of 115 players.

  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 136 Member Clubs and 56,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. The purpose of the Association is simple: To promote, protect and preserve the game of golf in the region.

NameClubRd. 1Rd. 2Total
Glenn SmeraglioYardley Country Club69WC67St.136
Matthew MattareSaucon Valley Country Club67WC70St.137
Geoffrey CooperLaurel Creek Country Club72WC67St.139
John BrennanSpring Ford Country Club73WC68St.141
David WestWhitford Country Club71St.70WC141
Christopher ReedmanMakefield Highlands Golf Club70WC72St.142
Michael McDermottMerion Golf Club70WC72St.142
Daniel CharenYardley Country Club69St.73WC142
Robert Galbreath, Jr.Huntingdon Valley Country Club73WC70St.143
Andy AchenbachRiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve69WC74St.143
Rand MendezFieldstone Golf Club68St.75WC143
Brian CreghanPlymouth Country Club74St.70WC144
Cole WillcoxPhiladelphia Country Club71St.73WC144
James DonnellyMerion Golf Club75WC70St.145
James KiesermanTalamore Country Club73WC72St.145
Ryan GelrodCommonwealth National Golf Club74WC71St.145
Dan Pinciotti, Jr.Huntingdon Valley Country Club75WC70St.145
Stephen SeidenConcord Country Club67St.78WC145
Stephen DresselSt. Davids Golf Club73WC73St.146
Jeff OsbergBrandywine Country Club76WC70St.146
Vince BoyleJC Melrose Country Club72St.74WC146
G. Patrick DoughertyTalamore Country Club75WC72St.147
Vinny AlessiPenn Oaks Golf Club71WC76St.147
Ben BershadHopewell Valley Golf Club74WC73St.147
Tucker KochRiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve73WC74St.147
David LiottaWhitemarsh Valley Country Club72St.75WC147
Sean LeonardTavistock Country Club67St.80WC147
Robert RobertsonSunnybrook Golf Club72St.75WC147
Warren TaylorYardley Country Club70St.77WC147
Douglas ZelnerSpring Ford Country Club76WC72St.148
Jamie SlonisTavistock Country Club77WC71St.148
James Kania, Jr.Overbrook Golf Club75WC73St.148
Nathan SutherlandGolden Oaks Golf Club77WC71St.148
Raymond ThompsonOverbrook Golf Club68St.80WC148
Brian GillespieSt. Davids Golf Club73St.75WC148
Chris EsbenshadeFive Ponds Golf Club77WC72St.149
Michael BrownPhiladelphia Publinks GA75WC74St.149
Mike DannerLu Lu Country Club71St.78WC149
Brian RothausPhilmont Country Club73St.76WC149
Robert SavareseSand Barrens Golf Club73St.76WC149
Travis GahmanPhiladelphia Publinks GA77St.72WC149
Andrew LawsonHershey’s Mill Golf Club76WC74St.150
Kevin Melnick, Jr.Plymouth Country Club73St.77WC150
Michael O’KeefeLittle Mill Country Club78WC73St.151
Jeffrey GriestWaynesborough Country Club77WC74St.151
Matthew PesciYardley Country Club75WC76St.151
Bill MurrayMerchantville Country Club76St.75WC151
Scott KleeIndian Valley Country Club75St.76WC151
Peter Barron IIIStone Harbor Golf Club75St.76WC151
Robert DziakSpring Ford Country Club74St.77WC151
Jack WallaceBurlington Country Club73St.78WC151
Mark SzilagyiBrookside Country Club80WC72St.152
Adam CohanTalamore Country Club72WC80St.152
Jeff DellaFrancoConcord Country Club75WC77St.152
Andrew ZoellerWaynesborough Country Club79WC73St.152
Drew PanebiancoTalamore Country Club73St.79WC152
Christopher LangeOverbrook Golf Club77St.75WC152
Keith MattTalamore Country Club78WC75St.153
Stephen McIntyreHoneybrook Golf Club81WC72St.153
Jason CohanTalamore Country Club80WC73St.153
Zach SmithDoylestown Country Club76WC77St.153
Thomas GramignaTavistock Country Club70St.83WC153
Michael MoffatCommonwealth National Golf Club77St.76WC153
Robert de RojasRiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve79WC75St.154
Oscar Mestre, Jr.Overbrook Golf Club79WC75St.154
Todd VonderheidHuntsville Golf Club74WC80St.154
Michael VassilCountry Club of Scranton82WC72St.154
Matt DietrichWhitford Country Club78WC76St.154
Warren SmithCavaliers Country Club76St.78WC154
Joe BernardRiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve79WC76St.155
Douglas GregorHuntingdon Valley Country Club79St.76WC155
Mark PetersonPhiladelphia Cricket Club72St.83WC155
Oscar NeubauerSaucon Valley Country Club78St.77WC155
Mike McCombGreate Bay Country Club80WC76St.156
Burton McHughSunnybrook Golf Club77WC79St.156
Paul RogowiczYardley Country Club84WC72St.156
Eric SchmehlMoorestown Field Club76St.80WC156
Beau GuarinoBurlington Country Club78St.78WC156
Mark CoassoloBrookside C.C. of Allentown75St.81WC156
P. Chet WalshPhiladelphia Country Club79St.77WC156
Brad McFaddenOverbrook Golf Club78St.78WC156
Scott MorrisDoylestown Country Club76St.80WC156
Joe DeVito, Jr.Sand Barrens Golf Club77St.79WC156
Michael DomenickPhoenixville Country Club80WC77St.157
Mark WachterPenn Oaks Golf Club76WC81St.157
William BelloMetedeconk National Golf Club83WC74St.157
Cory SiegfriedPhiladelphia Country Club80WC77St.157
R. Blake SlaweckiSpring Ford Country Club81WC76St.157
Keith EvansRunning Deer Golf Club78St.79WC157
Brian RashleyMarriott Seaview Resort80St.77WC157
Louis GioviMercer Oaks Golf Course77St.81WC158
Steve Ransom, Jr.Wildwood Golf & Country Club78St.80WC158
Bo MaguireBrookside Country Club76St.82WC158
Santo LafocaHuntsville Golf Club75St.83WC158
Martin HaydenOverbrook Golf Club82WC77St.159
Roc IreyCedarbrook Country Club85WC74St.159
Greg O’ConnorHuntingdon Valley Country Club82St.77WC159
Drew GarisNorth Hills Country Club81WC79St.160
Mark KoskoMarriott Seaview Resort77WC83St.160
Scott StorckPhiladelphia Cricket Club76St.84WC160
Jon ThomasInniscrone Golf Club75St.85WC160
Richard MarabellaWhitemarsh Valley Country Club86St.76WC162
Chip CulpPhiladelphia Cricket Club81WC82St.163
Christopher TerebesiChester Valley Golf Club82WC81St.163
Kevin IgnatukPenn Oaks Golf Club82WC82St.164
Christopher KasparLu Lu Country Club82St.82WC164
Mark WalkushManufacturers Golf & Country Club86St.78WC164
Matt KaelinLittle Mill Country Club83WC82St.165
William HoeseLinks Golf Club78St.88WC166
Ted KerschnerOverbrook Golf Club89WC78St.167
Garrett ConwayBurlington Country Club79St.89WC168
Greg VerdeSpring Ford Country Club88WC81St.169
Michael BodenFrench Creek Golf Club80St.89WC169
John InmanCherry Valley Country Club85St.86WC171
Tom BorselloFieldstone Golf Club81WCWDSt.WD
St.-St. Davids GC; WC-Waynesborough CC
WD-withdrawal

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