MALVERN, Pa. — Don Donatoni received a late birthday present Thursday: the Super-Senior title in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 79th Francis B. Warner Cup (Gross). Donatoni, who turned 65 five days ago to become eligible for the division, posted a 3-over-par 74 at White Manor Country Club (par 71, 6,212 yards) to prevail by two strokes.
“Being a rookie on your home course, I was able to deliver,” Donatoni said. “It’s not a score I was terribly proud of, but it still got the job done. I couldn’t stop Father Time. It’s caught up to me. All in all, I was pretty proud of the way today turned out. It feels great.”
Donatoni’s Super-Senior baptism at White Manor presented a double-edged sword. He was familiar yet unfamiliar, if you will.
“There’s a certain comfort level,” the Malvern, Pa. resident said. “The expectations are high because your fellow competitors expect you to play well. The club’s membership kept reminding me that this is to my advantage. Those kinds of things go through your head when you’re playing. You have to be able to deflect that pressure and realize it’s still a game. I tried hard today to play position golf. As a Super-Senior, I was hitting from tees I never played before at White Manor.”
A veteran in a now foreign land, Donatoni posted four bogeys against a birdie on the day. He missed the No. 5 (par 4, 371 yards) green left with a pitching wedge from 120 yards, left a chip six feet short and failed to save par. Donatoni rebounded with a red figure on the par 5, 506-yard No. 6, powering a 3-wood 260 yards to 50 feet and cozying the eagle try into tap-in territory. Donatoni made a miracle four on No. 8 (par 3, 116 yards). His “worst shot of the day” – a pitching wedge – caught a gust of wind and landed in a bed of sand instead of an adjacent water hazard.
“I hit the rocks in front of the green, and it ricocheted up in the air,” Donatoni said. “It could’ve gone in any direction, but it went in the right-side bunker, which is no picnic. Now you have to get it over that high mound, downhill with water on the other side.” Donatoni held the green with his sand shot and two-putted for bogey.
At that point, Donatoni stood tied with RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve’s Terry Fair and one shot back of Tavistock Country Club’s John Owens, who made the turn at even. Donatoni lost a stroke on the par 5, 500-yard 11th hole. His 40-yard wedge shot didn’t carry enough steam to clear a slope on the green, which resulted in a deflating three-putt. Donatoni gave another one back after blocking a drive right on No. 16 (par 4, 400 yards) and catching the left greenside bunker with his approach.
Both Fair and Owens gradually scaled down the Super-Senior leaderboard, thus bringing Donatoni to the top. Unaware of his position Donatoni felt he needed to press for birdies. His heart sank once his 25-footer for 3 on No. 18 (par 4, 352 yards) stopped short of the jar.
“I figured I had to shoot 1 over to have a chance to win,” he said. “I didn’t feel like I had achieved what I expected to do and what others expected of me. To come in and find out I had won was a relief. I had a lot of wedges into greens, and my wedge play was not sharp. If it had been, I think I could’ve scored better. I had a lot of lengthy putts today. My lag putting was very good.”
Merion Golf Club’s Carl Everett, Fox Hill Country Club’s William Lawler and Talamore Country Club’s Michael Rose, the reigning Super-Senior Player of the Year, posted 6-over-par 77s to share the second place seat.
Francis B. Warner of Philadelphia Cricket Club served as secretary-treasurer for the Golf Association of Philadelphia for 18 years. After his death in 1933, the Association started the Francis B. Warner Cup, an 18-hole stroke play Senior event, as an ongoing tribute in his memory.
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.
Results
Name, Club
Scores
Don Donatoni, White Manor Country Club
74
Carl Everett, Merion Golf Club
77
Michael Rose, Talamore Country Club
77
William Lawler, Fox Hill Country Club
77
David Jordan, Sakima Country Club
79
John Rowe, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
79
Michael Civitello, Chester Valley Golf Club
79
Terry Fair, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
79
Ed Zebrowski, Sea Oaks Golf Club
81
Frank Polizzi, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
81
Jim Robertson, Saucon Valley Country Club
81
John Owens, M.D., Tavistock Country Club
81
Ken Gaskill, Philadelphia Publinks GA
81
Mark Shuman, Whitford Country Club
81
Theodore Beringer, Philadelphia Country Club
81
Thomas O’Rourke, Chester Valley Golf Club
81
Jay Howson, Jr., St. Davids Golf Club
82
Charles F. McClaskey, Back Creek Golf Club
83
Frank Shuman, Lehigh Country Club
83
Fred Jones, Merion Golf Club
83
Jon Mabry, Moorestown Field Club
83
Stephan Whitenack, M.D., Philadelphia Cricket Club
83
Charles Whipple, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
84
Neil McDermott, Llanerch Country Club
84
Art Brosius, Golf Course at Glen Mills
85
Edward Pappas, Rolling Green Golf Club
85
O. Gordon Brewer, Jr., Pine Valley Golf Club
85
Richard Smith, Philadelphia Country Club
85
Rick Bunn, McCall Golf & Country Club
85
George May, Manufacturers Golf & Country Club
86
Herbert Gordon, Doylestown Country Club
86
Naz Gagliardi, Bensalem Township Country Club
86
David Kearney, Lehigh Country Club
87
George McLaughlin, Commonwealth National Golf Club
87
James Haynie, Commonwealth National Golf Club
87
Michael Rowland, Lehigh Country Club
87
Terrence Sawyer, Mercer Oaks Golf Course
87
John Cech, Riverton Country Club
88
Buzz Rothweiler, Honeybrook Golf Club
89
Gregory Gaul, Merion Golf Club
89
Gary Gordon, Philadelphia Cricket Club
91
W. Scott Yard, Whitford Country Club
91
Joel McFadden, Philadelphia Publinks GA
96
John Snyder, Waynesborough Country Club
98
James Zinkand, French Creek Golf Club
WD
WD – withdrawal
