Willcox, Christine share Sezna title with Heidler, Custer

 AVONDALE, Pa.- Cole Willcox, who carded a ridiculous 8-under-par 64 on his own ball, paired with Bill Christine of Philadelphia Cricket Club to share the Deeg Sezna Four-Ball title with Michael Heidler and Rick Custer, both out of Spring Ford CC, at Hartefeld National (par 72, 6,336 yards) Tuesday. Each squad fired matching 9-under-par 63s to top the 136-player field.

  “The big man helped me,” said a sarcastic Christine of Willcox’s stunning play. “I felt like I was Jerry Lewis out there and he was Dean Martin.”

  Willcox, who plays out of Philadelphia CC, carded six birdies and an eagle on the par 4, 15^th hole (352 yards) after chipping in from 60 yards out. But Christine, a long-time caddie, contributed on the final hole with a birdie to give the pair a share of the title with Custer and Heidler.

  “Bill threw in that birdie on the last hole for us which was big,” said Willcox, 20, of Christine’s final putt.

  “I kind of feel good about myself,” said Christine of his birdie. “Hey, it beats carrying the bag.”

  Custer, 54, of Royersford, Pa., birdied three of the first five holes and Heidler, 20, of Gilbertsville, Pa., came through with an eagle-birdie finish on the front side to bring the team to 6-under-par through nine holes. They made three more birdies on the back to finish at 9-under-par with Willcox and Christine.

  “It was just a solid round of golf for us today,” said Custer after he shot 70 on his own ball while his partner chimed in with a 4-under-par 68. “It was a good time.”

  The pair’s eagle came when Heidler knocked rescue from about 200 yards out just short of the green in the right rough. From there Heidler’s chip landed softly onto the green and rolling in for a 3.

  “It just trickled in for us,” said Custer of Heidler’s eagle chip. “I had made birdie there as well so we were OK.”

  Although happy with their play, Heidler still felt as if his side could have made a little more noise with the flatstick.

  “It was a lot of fun but I still think we could have gone lower,” said Heidler of their score. “We missed a couple birdie putts coming in.”

  “It’s great to win, especially since this is our last year,” Christine said. “Cole is a great guy to play with and his father is a great man that I’ve known for a long time.”

  Added Christine, “That’s what this tournament is all about.”

  Douglas and Jack Gregor, an uncle/nephew team from Huntingdon Valley CC, shot a 3-under-par 69 to top the Junior-Junior division of the event by six strokes.

  The duo rode some timely putting and five birdies to win their flight.

  “Jack had a big par putt on our last hole to save our round,” said Doug of his nephew’s 15-footer to save par on the 9^th hole (par 3, 183 yards).

  “It was a lot of fun,” said Jack, a 12-year-old from North Wales, Pa.

  “Anytime I can play with my family, which I loving doing, it’s great,” commented Douglas. “Hopefully we can continue to do this in the future.”

  The tournament, celebrating the mentorship of the older generation for its younger counterparts, is named in honor of Davis “Deeg” Sezna, Jr., who lost his life on Sept. 11, 2001 in the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.

  Deeg, an avid golfer long a mentor to his younger brothers Teddy and Willy, and a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University with a degree in economics, was in his sixth day of work on the 104^th floor of the South Tower when the terrorists struck.

  To memorialize his name, GAP and his father, Davis Sezna, Sr., established the Deeg Sezna Four-Ball, pairing a junior player and an older amateur in a better ball competition, with a minimum age difference of 10 years and the stipulation that the younger player be 21 or younger.

  The goal is to give experienced golfers quality time with the next generation, and vice versa. The age range was 10 to 72.

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  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.

Gross
Overall
Christine, Bill / Willcox, Cole, Philadelphia CC, 63
Heidler, Michael/Custer, Rick, Spring Ford CC, 63

Junior-Junior Flight
Gregor, Douglas /Gregor,Jack Huntingdon Valley CC, 69

Championship Flight (Combined course handicap 0-7)
Schmehl, Eric / Mabry, Jon, Moorestown Field Club, 67
Bernard, Daniel / Bernard, Charles, RiverCrest GC & Reserve, 67

First Flight (Combined course handicap 8-15)
Koch, Tucker / Meyers, Kurt, RiverCrest GC & Preserve, 68

Second Flight (Combined course handicap 16 & up)
Beer, Thomas / Smith, Todd, Trenton CC, 71

Net
Overall
Ferino, Frank /Clark, Hayes, Lookaway GC, 58

Junior-Junior Flight
Dirienzi, Ron/Dirienzi, Nolan, Rolling Green GC, 61

Championship Flight (Combined course handicap 0-7)
Fasy, John / Gordon, William, Wilmington CC, 64

First Flight (Combined course handicap 8-15)
Braunsberg, James / Harris, Mitch, Blue Bell CC, 63
Harmer, Andrew / Goan, Colin, The Springhaven Club/Medford Village, 63

Second Flight (Combined course handicap 16 & up)
Van Ostenbridge, Mitch / Van Ostenbridge, Dan, Spring Ford CC, 62