SPRINGFIELD, Pa. – Classmates, friends and Torresdale-Frankford CC members James DeLuca and Christian Holt played golf together for five straight days to prepare for the 25th Francis X. Hussey Memorial.
The practice paid off as the duo carded a 1-under-par 70 at Rolling Green GC (par 71, 6,514 yards) to win Monday’s event.
| Joe Hussey (center), father of the tournament’s namesake, presents Torresdale-Frankford CC’s James DeLuca (left) and Christian Holt with the Junior Division plaques. |
“It just feels good to be a part of the whole tournament. Winning tops it off,”DeLuca said. “It’s a great accomplishment.”
“It feels awesome. It’s a great feeling,” Holt added. “It was a tough round.”
The Holy Ghost Prep seniors avoided trouble and relied on consistency throughout the day.
“We both stayed in it. We left ourselves opportunities to score, and most of the time we did,” DeLuca, of Langhorne, Pa., said. “We just played real solid all day.”
“When he was putting for par, I was putting for birdie, and when I was putting for par, he was putting for birdie,” Holt, of Northeast Philadelphia, Pa., added.
The Torresdale-Frankford team’s scorecard revealed a 3 under entering the par 5, 501-yard 17th hole. However, both players registered double bogeys, thanks to poor second shots. DeLuca hooked his 3-wood into the right-side trees and tried to punch out with a 7-iron, but he went over the green. He returned to the putting surface and two-putted. Holt, meanwhile, found the fairway bunker and blasted out with a 6-iron. He then chunked his wedge from 100 yards out and watched his 10-footer for par slide past the cup.
DeLuca, 16, carded three of his team’s four birdies. He striped his drive into the No. 5 (par 4, 375 yards) fairway, and with 150 yards left, he stuck his 9-iron to two-feet and cleaned up the birdie putt. On No. 7 (par 5, 503 yards), he knocked his wedge 30 yards and rolled in a downhill five-footer for birdie. DeLuca’s “interesting” birdie occured on No. 13 (par 4, 395 yards). He drilled his 4-iron 195 yards, and the rest is red figure history.
| Overbrook GC’s Matt Grubb & Jake McGlone Junior-Junior Division Champions |
“It was just a little left, and we thought it was going to go over (the green),” DeLuca said. “It hit the bank, kicked hard right and trickled down the hill to seven feet. It was kind of a downhill putt, and I just put it in.”
Holt, 17, fired a birdie on the par 3, 163-yard 16th hole after his 6-iron stopped four feet from the flagstick. The 17th hole hiccup could’ve put the team’s victory in jeopardy. Mike Davis and Jim Davis of Merion GC, playing in the final group of the day, carried an even par score into the 18th hole. However, both players missed identical 12-footers for birdie, thus securing the Torresdale-Frankford team’s victory.
Overbrook GC’s Matt Grubb and Jake McGlone carded a 43 to top the Junior-Junior Division. Julia Curley of Philadelphia CC and Jamie Susanin of Overbrook GC logged an 11-over-par 82 to head the Junior Girls’ Division. Jackie Rogowicz and John Buliga of Yardley CC carded a 78 to triumph in the Junior Boys/Junior Girls Division.
| Junior Boys (18 holes) | |
| Name, club | Score |
| James DeLuca/Christian Holt, Torresdale-Frankford CC | 70 |
| Paul Schimpff/Eric Slawter, Rolling Green GC/St. Davids GC | 71 |
| Jim Allen/Michael Davis, Edgmont CC/Merion GC | 71 |
| Daniel Furman/Jonathan Liu, Commonwealth National GC | 72 |
| R. Morgan Dougherty/Christopher Rotelli, Huntingdon Valley CC | 73 |
| Vince Boyle/Luke Liddell, Torresdale-Frankford CC | 74 |
| Evan Galbreath/John Leighton, Philmont CC/Huntingdon Valley CC | 75 |
| Zach Arsenault/Drew Guarino, Little Mill CC | 76 |
| Alex Dupre/Sean Fahey, Rolling Green GC/Overbrook GC | 77 |
| Reilly Erhardt/Todd Smith, Trenton CC | 77 |
| Jack Gregor/Joseph Rueter, Jr., Huntingdon Valley CC/Torresdale-Frankford CC | 78 |
| Sam Gallen/W. Evan Thornton, Berkshire CC | 78 |
| Gregory Devine/Connor Eichman, Llanerch CC | 78 |
| Billy Finneran/Brock Kovach, LedgeRock GC/Berkshire CC | 78 |
| Blaise Giroso/Kevin Hosey, Fieldstone GC/DuPont CC | 79 |
| C.J. Dunton/Dutch Markward, Commonwealth National GC/North Hills CC | 79 |
| Matthew Bastian, Jr./Quinn Dolan, Rolling Green GC | 80 |
| Nick Palumbo/Andrew Willner, White Manor CC | 80 |
| Magnus Sims/Scott Susanin, Overbrook GC | 81 |
| Jesse Hunsicker/Rishab Kumar, Talamore CC/Blue Bell CC | 81 |
| Robert Firth, Jr./Brian Fischer, Commonwealth National GC | 83 |
| Mike O’Connor/Adam Stefanowicz, III, Huntingdon Valley CC | 85 |
| Nolan Dirienzi/Brian Todaro, Rolling Green GC | 85 |
| Alex Green/Nicholas Hussey, Skippack at Evansburg State Park/Lu Lu CC | 91 |
| Jack Farris/Jack Quirk, Huntingdon Valley CC | 94 |
| Junior-Junior Boys (9-holes) | Score |
| Matt Grubb/Jake McGlone, Overbrook GC | 42 |
| Chris Ferguson/Cole Swiger, North Hills CC/Huntingdon Valley CC | 43 |
| Matt Davis/Tom Gravina, Jr., Aronimink GC | 44 |
| Phil Held, Jr./Mark Lunney, Jr., Whitemarsh Valley CC/Sandy Run CC | 45 |
| Christian Ritondo/R.J. Wren, Yardley CC/Honeybrook GC | 46 |
| Trey Fallows/Ben Litt, Moorestown Field Club/Riverton CC | 47 |
| Ryan Brennan/Andrew Panzo, Rolling Green GC/Aronimink GC | 47 |
| Jack McAleese/Max Siegfried, Aronimink GC/Philadelphia CC | 52 |
| Patrick Clearkin/Hugh Farris, Old York Road CC/Huntingdon Valley CC | 53 |
| Junior Boys/Junior Girls (18 holes) | Score |
| John Buliga/Jackie Rogowicz, Yardley CC | 78 |
| Daniel Gavrushenko/Paloma Santiago, Unaffiliated/Mary’s Girls | 92 |
| Junior Girls (18 holes) | Score |
| Julia Curley/Jamie Susanin, Philadelphia CC/Overbrook GC | 82 |
