Lancaster Country Club to host
91st Chuck Deardorff Memorial Open

  The 91st Chuck Deardorff Memorial Open Championship conducted by the Pennsylvania Golf Association visits Lancaster CC in Lancaster, Pa., on Aug. 13-15 where defending champion Kyle Davis of Kennett Square, Pa., looks to become the first repeat winner since John Weitzel of Hershey GC did so in 1955-56.

  The 122-player field, split at 65 amateurs and 57 professionals, competes over 36 holes with the low 40 players and ties advancing to the third and final round. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. each day. The purse is $50,000 with the winner to receive $10,000.

Conrad Von Borsig of Concord CC congratulates Kyle Davis of Inniscrone GC after his victory in last year's Open Championship.

  The Open recently visited the William S. Flynn-designed course in 2002. That year Terry Hertzog, a former LCC assistant and then head professional at Gulph Mills GC defeated John Mazza, a professional from Montour Heights GC, in a playoff for the title. Last year, no extra time was needed, as Davis blitzed a strong field at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (Mystic Rock Course) by four stokes to become the first amateur to capture the State Open title since R. Jay Sigel did so in 1990 at Rolling Green GC.

  Mr. Deardorff, for whom the event was renamed this year, was a long-time member and great friend of many at Lancaster CC and will be long-loved and remembered in the community for his activities on the golf course as well as for the 30 years he spent in his practice as a general surgeon before retiring in 1998.

  Mr. Deardorff came to Lancaster in 1968 as a veteran of the Vietnam War, having served as a captain in the U.S. Army with the 7th MASH unit in Cu Chi and the 24th Evacuation Hospital in Long Binh. He was named chairman of the surgical department at St. Joseph’s Hospital in 1981 and was a past president of the Lancaster City and County Medical Societies while practicing as a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and as a member of the Pennsylvania Association of Thoracic Surgery. He passed away in 2005.

  The Open Championship dates back to 1912. No events were contested in 1917-18 due to World War I or from 1943-45 because of World War II. R. Jay Sigel of Aronimink GC holds the record for the most Open titles won with four (1974, 1978, 1983, 1990).

  Competing this week at Lancaster CC is three-time winner Bob Ford, the head professional at Oakmont CC, who won Open’s in 1977, 1981 and 1993. Other past champions in the field include Jeff Daniels (2001), an amateur from Harrisburg, Pa.; Terry Hatch (1999), a professional from Pottsville, Pa.; two-time winner Hertzog (2000-02), the head professional at Bent Creek CC; Stu Ingraham (1998), the head professional at Overbrook GC; Brian Kelly (1987), the head professional at Bucknell GC; Mazza, the 1996 champion; Mike Moses (1992), the head professional at Concord CC; Paul Ogelsby (1994), a teaching professional at Merion GC; Ryan Sikora (2004), a professional from Greensburg, Pa., and Roy Vucinich (1984), a professional out of Moon Township, Pa.

  Lancaster CC was founded on April 16,1900. The Old Course (Meadowcreek/Dogwood), used for the championship, measures 6,828 yards and plays to a par 70.

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