Tom Borsello (left) and Michael Domenick
MIDDLETOWN, Del. (June 8, 2011) –
Four teams filed a 4-under-par 67 to finish tied
atop Wednesday’s Senior Four-Ball
Stroke Play at Back Creek GC (par 71, 6,287
yards).
In a scorecard playoff, Tom
Borsello of White Clay Creek CC and Michael
Domenick of Phoenixville CC prevailed thanks to
a birdie on No. 17 (par 3, 163 yards). They
edged the teams of Don Donatoni of White
Manor CC and Michael Rose of Meadowlands
CC, Jay Howson, Jr. of St. Davids GC and
Charles McClaskey of Back Creek GC, and
Arthur Jacoby of Commonwealth National GC
and Alan Van Horn of Lu Lu CC. The
Association uses the USGA-recommended
method of scorecard tiebreaking.
Borsello, of Wilmington, Del.,
became available to compete in
Wednesday’s event thanks to a
scheduling change, so he made a string of
phone calls before landing Domenick, of
Phoenixville, Pa., for a playing partner. The
two share similar playing styles, which created
natural cohesion on the golf course.
“He and I play the
same kind of game,” Domenick, 56, said.
“He hits it a little farther than I do. We
play it straight and try to keep it in play. We
stayed together pretty much.”
“We both had our
moments of greatness and some
despair,” Borsello, 57, said. “We
kind of ham-and-egged it when we had to. We
didn’t drop a shot, which was
important. He was a good fit. He’s a
great guy to play with.”
Borsello, who captured the
Warner Cup (Gross) a month ago at Lu Lu CC,
carded three birdies for the team. He smacked
a sand wedge 80 yards to three feet on No. 7
(par 4, 366 yards). He knocked a 9-iron 135
yards to 18-feet flagstick-high on No. 10 (par
4, 405 yards).
“I got lucky and snuck
it in,” he said. “The putt was kind
of right-to-left at the beginning, and it
flattened probably the last 13 feet of the hole.
It luckily stayed on its line.”
After Domenick nearly aced
the par 3, 163-yard 17th hole with a 5-hybrid
into the wind, Borsello stopped his 5-iron at
18-feet and drained the downhill right-to-left
breaker. Domenick, however, did start the
team’s red figure engine. On the
shortish par 5, 505-yard 5th hole, he lofted his
54-degree wedge 85 yards to 15 feet and
drained the left-to-right breaker.
“It was one of those
putts you figure you’re not going to
make, so you just hit it, and it went in. That
kind of got us started,” Domenick said.
Borsello and Domenick, a pair
of relative newcomers to the
Association’s Senior circuit, have known
one another for years. They’ve
competed in tri-state tournaments and
honorary events together. Domenick was glad
Borsello dialed his number when it came time to
find a teammate.
“I wasn’t going
to travel down here unless somebody maybe
called me to play for once,” Domenick
said. “I’m always the guy who
calls.”
Donatoni, of Malvern, Pa., hit 15
greens in regulation en route to a sensational
round.
“He could’ve
shot 64 or 63 on his own ball,” Rose,
64, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., said. “If
he had a really hot putting round, it would
have been all over. I’m happy that he
brings me along to play. We’re a good
team, and we have fun.”
“I had a great playing
partner,” Donatoni, 63, added.
“He helped me read the greens out here.
This was a battle of attrition. The weather
was draining. The wind was difficult
today.”
Donatoni’s flatstick
caught fire on No. 5. The 2008 Chapman Cup
(Gross) Champion pummeled his 4-iron 192
yards to 25-feet and ran his eagle effort into
tap-in territory. Donatoni stopped a 58-degree
wedge at eight feet on No. 7 (par 4, 366
yards) and watched the uphill left-to-right
breaker drop inside the left edge of the cup. A
routine two-putt on No. 11 occurred following
an 180-yard 5-iron set-up. Trying to overcome
a relentless wind on No. 16 (par 5, 480 yards),
Donatoni flushed his 3-wood 235 yards into the
bunker. A spectacular 58-degree wedge exit
from 30 yards out bounced to within inches of
the jar.
“That was my best
shot of the day. I knew it was going to be
close,” Donatoni, who captured the
Senior Division in the 2010 Tournament of
Champions, said.
Rose provided a crucial par save
on No. 6 (par 4, 319 yards) that kept the
team’s scorecard bogey-free. After
popping his drive, Rose witnessed his 9-iron
come out fat and fly 100 yards. However, a
sound chip shot stopped six feet shy, and Rose
deposited the par putt. Donatoni and Rose, as
well as Carl Everett of Merion GC and Neil
McDermott of Llanerch CC, are the reigning
Senior Four-Man Team titleholders.
Two of the
Association’s most dominant Super-
Seniors joined forces to scorch Back Creek.
Howson, the 2009 Super-Senior Player of the
Year, and McClaskey, the 2011 Super-Senior
Player of the Year, submitted a bogey-free
scorecard that also featured four red marks.
“Charlie’s
putting was key for us,” Howson said.
“We zigged-and-
zagged pretty good,” McClaskey added.
McClaskey, the current
Super-Senior Player of the Year leader,
powered his 5-iron 198 yards on No. 5 and
cozied a 30-footer close to the cup.
Howson’s smooth wedge from 110 yards
out landed seven-feet from the flagstick on
No. 7 (par 4, 366 yards). McClaskey, 72, of
Elkton, Md., put his 4-iron into the right
greenside bunker on No. 11 (par 5, 470 yards),
but a spectacular sand shot stopped eight
inches from the drain. He slapped a sand
wedge 100 yards to 12-feet on No. 13 (par 4,
407 yards) and cleaned up the birdie putt.
Howson and McClaskey hold
a remarkable 14 Senior titles between the two.
Adding another piece of hardware to the
mantle, however, wasn’t necessarily
what mattered most.
We had fun, and that was the
goal,” Howson, 73, of Malvern, Pa.,
said. “Wining would have been a
bonus.”
Jacoby, 63, of Wynocte, Pa.,
and Van Horn, who started on the back nine,
birdied three of their first four holes to
generate momentum. On No. 10 (par 4, 405
yards), Van Horn, 61, of Ambler, Pa., launched
his 28-degree rescue 168 yards to 30-feet and
executed a left-to-right breaker from behind
the hole location. His sand wedge sailed 87
yards and settled three inches from the jar on
No. 11 (par 5, 470 yards). Van Horn’s
flatstick stayed as hot as the weather when
he arrived at No. 13 (par 4, 407 yards). He hit
his 8-iron 142 yards to 15-feet. Jacoby and
Van Horn experience a bump in the road on No.
18 (par 4, 414 yards). They both dumped their
approaches into the greenside bunker and
failed to get up-and-down. Jacoby, the
Association’s1975 Amateur Champion,
recovered the lost stroke by striking his 7-iron
to three feet on No. 2 (par 3, 168 yards). Both
he and Van Horn reached the No. 5. green in
two strokes and two-putted for birdie.
“We play in at least
four or five events a year together,”
Van Horn said. “We’ve known
each other since we were 18, 20 years old.
He’s a former GAP Amateur Champion. I
try to play with him as often as I can.”
View results for Philadelphia Senior Four-Ball