Yardley’s Petrecco wins Warner Cup (Net) in scorecard playoff

 EXTON, Pa. – Ernest Eichenberg, III of Waynesborough CC and Frank Petrecco of Yardley CC both carded respective 2-under-par 70s (net) in Tuesday’s Francis B. Warner Cup (Net) at a sweltering Whitford CC (par 72, 6,288 yards).

  In a match of cards, Petrecco, a longtime GAP competitor, edged Eichenberg, the tournament’s defending champion, to win the 2011 edition. With his primary driver in the shop, Petrecco dusted off an old one and promptly put it in the bag. The last-minute substitute paid off as Petrecco, of Fallsington, Pa., found the fairway early and often.

  “My driver is being re-shafted, so I used a driver from about eight or 10 years ago that was in the basement,” Petrecco, 64, said. “It’s an old, small-head Cobra. I don’t think it’s going back down in the basement when my re-shafted club [a Ping Rapture] comes back.”

  Three frontside birdies allowed Petrecco, a 10 handicapper, to settle into a rhythm. He stuck an 8-iron 130 yards to five-feet on No. 11 (par 4, 336 yards). On the strenuous par 5, 486-yard 12th hole, Petrecco put his approach into the side of left greenside bunker. He then holed a sand wedge for birdie.

  “It was an impossible shot, and it was one of those days,” Petrecco said. “That green slopes so much back-to-front, it just hit perfect and rolled down the hill and went in the hole. If the ball doesn’t go in the hole, it goes off the green. That was kind of a crazy one.”

  Petrecco, who began on the back nine, registered a red figure on the par 4, 368-yard 18th hole. He drilled his 6-iron 140 yards to three feet.

  “On the front nine, the putter worked really well,” he said. “On the back nine, it left me. I think the heat got to me. I didn’t drink enough water. I was melting. But the woods and the irons were working well for me all day.”

  Petrecco’s inward tour was a struggle. He considered the challenging No. 4 (par 5, 545 yards) to be a key point in his round. Petrecco launched his drive into the left-side rough, hacked out of a difficult lie and came up short of the water hazard with a 9-iron. He then pummeled his 7-wood 160 yards to 10-feet behind the back right hole location. Although Petrecco barely missed the par try, he felt things could’ve unraveled significantly had he not been able to locate his tee shot.

  Tuesday’s performance marked a sigh of relief for Petrecco, who’s struggled to find his game so far this season.

  “My handicap was a six to start the year and it’s a 10 now,” Petrecco said. “Yardley’s been playing really tough. The weather’s been bad, and the rough’s been brutal. Nobody’s scoring well. But today, I hit a lot of fairways. It was a really nice day. The course didn’t play easy today.”

  Open to senior male golfers 55 years of age and over, the Warner Cup (Net) is an 18-hole individual net stroke-play event for players with a 7.1 or higher handicap index. Four overall low net prizes are awarded with net prizes in each of three handicap classes determined by course handicap.

  Francis B. Warner of Philadelphia Cricket Club served as secretary-treasurer for the Golf Association of Philadelphia for 18 years. The Francis B. Warner Cup (Net), now in its sixth year, is an ongoing tribute to his memory.