Sandy Run CC squad take Four-Man Team title

PITTSGROVE, N.J. – Joseph Kinsman, Jim Muehlbronner, Michael Shoup and Dave Chenard of Sandy Run CC played spectacular team golf under clear blue skies to card a 5-under-par 139 (gross) Thursday to win the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 13^th Four-Man Team competition at Running Deer GC (par 72, 6,370 yards).

  The squad, who were one of the six Sandy Run CC teams that participated in the event, was anchored by Kinsman who carded six birdies an route to an even par 72.

  But Kinsman almost hurt his team even before they began when he was nearly late for their tee time that would have resulted in a two-stroke penalty.

  “I got here on the number and was changing my shoes as I got to the first tee,” said Kinsman. “Then I laced [my drive] down the middle. It was the best drive I hit all day.”

  “If four guys shoot even par on the day, that doesn’t help you,” said Muehlbronner. “You just have to make birdies to win.”

  Apparently the team had yet another chance to make birdie on the final hole (No. 18, par 4, 418 yards) to pad their lead.

  “If Dave [Chenard] doesn’t jack a three-footer on No. 18, we’re two less,” said Kinsman, as he ribbed his teammate for the short missed putt.

  It was a day for Sandy Run CC as the club was well represented with Jerry Donofrio, Tom Mastroni, John DiMarzio and Thomas Mercaldo finishing tied for second place with Thomas Fordham, Jon Mabry, Mike Brunswick and Steve Wells of Moorestown Field Club.

  “We started really bad early with two bogeys,” said Donofrio, who was also on the same team that won the event in 1999 and 2003. “But then we just started hitting some quality shots, that’s all. You can’t say it was a boring round, really.”

  Lawrence Kelly, James O’Brien, Steven Becker and Yong Choe of Whitford CC took home low net honors with a 121.

  The event’s format was two best gross and two best net scores, with handicaps set at 90 percent of individual course handicaps.

  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 135 Member Clubs and 60,000 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.