Vassil holds on to take Hemlock Championship
MOOSIC, Pa.- Michael Vassil of the Country Club of Scranton fired an even-par (69-73) 142 under cool, wet conditions to outlast a feisty Glenn Smeraglio of Yardley CC by one stroke to take the second running of the Hemlock Championship at Glenmaura National GC (par 71, 6,554 yards) on Tuesday.
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But it was Vassil who picked up right where he left off after yesterday’s sub-par performance scorching the front nine with birdies on hole Nos. 1 (par 5, 557 yards) 6 (par 5, 516 yards) 7 (par 3, 173 yards) and 9 (par 3, 167 yards). He made the turn at 2-under, extending his lead to four strokes through 27 holes.
"Coming in I knew I had one more mistake to make than everyone else," said the 49-year-old from Dalton, Pa. "I played real solid on the front with four birdies. You really pick up on the field making twos on the par 3s."
But as the rain continued to fall and the temperature began to drop, Vassil saw his lead quickly diminish after his errant tee shot on No. 10 (par 5, 542 yards) went into the right-side hazard. From that point the only thing Vassil could salvage was a double bogey as Smeraglio managed to save par and close the gap by two strokes.
"When we got to the tee, the hardest rain of the day started," Vassil said. " I didn’t take care of winding myself up and I just blocked it into the hazard, and it went in there early so I was way back."
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Vassil’s lead was cut in half yet again after carding a bogey on No. 12 (par 4, 377 yards) while a steady Smeraglio registered his 10th par of the day to bring himself within a stroke of the leader.
"I thought I had a chance," Smeraglio said. "I thought the momentum was beginning to swing there."
"I was really going south in the middle," Vassil said. "But making that bogey putt allowed me to keep the lead and it was something positive to take away from it."
Smeraglio continued his stable play with two more pars before making only his second bogey of the afternoon on No. 15 (par 3, 211 yards).
Meanwhile Vassil quickly capitalized on Smeraglio’s mistake and scored his third birdie of the afternoon on the course’s five par 3s when his hit his 4-iron to 12 feet right of the hole giving him a three stroke lead with three to play.
"Making two’s here is like a shot and a half on most other par 3s," Vassil said. "You get a lot of mileage out of that."
But Vassil would keep things interesting as he managed to just hold onto a one-stroke lead after bogeying No. 17 (par 4, 337 yards) and 18 (par 4, 358 yards) while Smeraglio finished off with a pair of pars.
Vassil three putted No. 18 to finish the day with a 2-over-par 73, edging Smeraglio by one stroke for the tournament.
"That bogey really opened the door so I was kicking myself," he said. "It was still in my hands to two putt. I can’t ever make things easy on myself."
The Hemlock Championship, an event named after the Pennsylvania state tree, is for players ages 45-54 years old.
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Player Name |
Rd 1 |
Rd 2 |
Total |
|
Michael Vassil, Country Club of Scranton |
69 |
73 |
142 |
|
Glenn Smeraglio, Yardley Country Club |
71 |
72 |
143 |
|
Arthur Kania, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club |
77 |
70 |
147 |
|
John Zavada, Elkview Country Club |
71 |
77 |
148 |
|
Drew Panebianco, Talamore at Oak Terrace Country Club |
71 |
79 |
150 |
|
Kenneth Phillips, Lancaster Country Club |
75 |
76 |
151 |
|
Michael Domenick, Phoenixville Country Club |
78 |
73 |
151 |
|
Rich Thon, The Springhaven Club |
78 |
73 |
151 |
|
Anthony Kondracki, Fox Hill Country Club |
80 |
71 |
151 |
|
Thomas Hyland, Moselem Springs Golf Club |
75 |
78 |
153 |
|
Martin Newingham, Latrobe Country Club |
81 |
72 |
153 |
|
Timothy Burns, Country Club of Scranton |
79 |
74 |
153 |
|
Bill Seng, Colonial Country Club |
77 |
77 |
154 |
|
Brian Corbett, Huntsville Golf Club |
76 |
78 |
154 |
|
Edward Knoll, Deer Run Golf Club |
75 |
79 |
154 |
|
Francis Hamm, MD, Country Club of Scranton |
76 |
79 |
155 |
|
Robert Gill, Fox Hill Country Club |
79 |
76 |
155 |
|
Ira Handler, Butler Country Club |
80 |
75 |
155 |
|
Marlin Detweiler, Lancaster Country Club |
79 |
78 |
157 |
|
Mark Leaman, Foxchase Golf Club |
78 |
80 |
158 |
|
Gregory Sheva, North Hills Country Club |
80 |
78 |
158 |
|
Rick Scott, West Shore Country Club |
82 |
78 |
160 |
|
Jim Simmons, Stonewall |
82 |
78 |
160 |
|
J. R. Cattoni, Williamsport Country Club |
82 |
78 |
160 |
|
John Robinson, Commonwealth National Golf Club |
82 |
79 |
161 |
|
Jay Stoner, Deer Run Golf Club |
84 |
78 |
162 |
|
Brian Brant, Butler Country Club |
79 |
85 |
164 |
|
J. Kirk Luntey, Merion Golf Club |
80 |
86 |
166 |
|
George Troutman, Deer Run Golf Club |
83 |
83 |
166 |
|
Chris Terebesi, Chester Valley Golf Club |
84 |
82 |
166 |
|
George Steinmetz, Huntsville Golf Club |
81 |
86 |
167 |
|
Kenneth Ralston, Huntsville Golf Club |
82 |
88 |
170 |
|
Albert Hazzouri, Jr., Country Club of Scranton |
85 |
86 |
171 |
|
Glen McCartney, Berkleigh Country Club |
92 |
90 |
182 |
|
Ed Blechschmidt, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club |
81 |
WD |
WD |
|
Randy Hensinger, Berkleigh Country Club |
87 |
WD |
WD |
|
Matt Froncek, Elkview Country Club |
86 |
WD |
WD |
|
WD-withdrawal |
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