2026 Sigel Match Play Day 3 Recap

CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. – After a tremendous week of competition at the Country Club of Scranton, David Mecca, a member at the club and the No. 11 seed, emerged from the 16-man bracket to win the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s (PAGA) 23^rd R. Jay Sigel Amateur Match Play Championship. Mecca earned two victories on Wednesday, 5 & 4 over No. 2 seed Ben Cooley (Huntingdon Valley Country Club) in the semifinals and then a dramatic 20-hole match against former Sigel champion and No. 4 seed Joshua Ryan (The 1912 Club) in the finals.

"It was a grind trying to get through, this is a lot of golf for me,” said Mecca. “I was just trying to fight and react to whatever my opponent did. I got kind of lucky with some good breaks early and was trying to hang on for as long as I could.”

Ryan, who was the Sigel champion back in 2020 and was looking to become just the fourth player ever to win multiple Sigel titles, bested No. 1 seed Timothy Peters (Toftrees Golf Resort) in Wednesday morning’s match, 4 & 3 to book his spot in the finals. 

Mecca won holes No. 2 and 4 to go 2-up, but Ryan won hole 5 to shrink Mecca’s lead to 1-up. It stayed that way until the 11^th, which Mecca won to go back to 2-up, and added another on 13 to go 3-up. Ryan rallied and rattled off wins on 14, 16, and 17 to head to the 18^th hole all-square.

"I continued with struggling off the tee," said Ryan. "But I was able to get the ball in the hole. I struggled early and Dave was pretty stable and played consistent. I got going on that par-five 14th and was able to make some pars that made him have to make some putts down the stretch to extend it. 17 was a beast today and I hit a full 3-iron, about a 245 shot, hit it to 20 feet and tried to put that pressure back on him.”

Both Ryan and Mecca birdied the par-five 18^th to remain tied and force some bonus golf beginning on the par-four 10^th hole.

“I saw him go over the green and I know that that's dead, so I wanted to try to fly it back but I played safe and went to the front of the green. And he made an unbelievable putt to get up-and-down there, the second time he went up-and-down from over that green on me. I didn't have a difficult putt back up the hill there, I know what it did, but with all the pressure and everything you never know."

Mecca was able to make that pressure-packed par putt to extend play to the 11^th hole. Ryan was able to par the 11th, but Mecca was able to conjure some magic of his own on a hole that was set up a little differently than he usually sees on his home course.

“The 11th had a treacherous pin that we typically don't see in everyday play,” said Mecca. “I hit a 120-yard 9-iron to 15 feet behind the hole, just a manufactured chip shot to take all the spin off it. And I had that putt earlier, so I knew exactly what it did, and I just tried to tap it as much as I could. It's just a hard putt and it might have gone 10 feet by, it might have rolled off the green, but it rolled in the cup.”

Mecca’s birdie gave him the 2026 R. Jay Sigel Amateur Match Play Championship, the first PAGA title of his career.

“This is my biggest win, it's awesome,” said Mecca. “I don't know how many of these I have left or how many I'll play in the future, so it's good to win them when I'm playing my best golf. I feel that the past two or three years have been my best golf and I just can't believe it.”  

“I had plenty of opportunities and you can't really ask for much more than to have a chance,” said Ryan. “But to birdie and then lose to an eagle on the 20th hole, that's how you want to lose. I was just happy to make some putts down the stretch."

Complete results from the 23^rd R. Jay Sigel Amateur Match Play Championship can be found here: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/12181842767793663686

The next championship on the schedule for the PAGA is the 8^th Parent-Child and 17^th Father-Son Championship at Westmoreland Country Club, scheduled for July 13-14.

The Pennsylvania Golf Association would like to thank the staff and membership of the Country Club of Scranton for the hospitality shown during this week’s Championship. Additional thanks go to DICK’S Sporting Goods for sponsorship of the event as the title sponsor of the PAGA.