Courtesy of Villanova University

On a beautiful fall afternoon, Huntington Valley Country Club, one of the area’s finest courses, hosted the latest edition of the annual City 6 Championship. With temperatures nearing 60 degrees and the trees showing their vibrant leaves, the Villanova Wildcats concluded the fall portion of their season with a second place finish in the battle of Philadelphia’s top schools. 

The team’s solid play had it right in the mix for the coveted title, but in the end, the Wildcats came up short in a playoff against Temple. 

After the two teams both finished the day 15 over par with cumulative scores of 295, a playoff decided which would be crowned the city’s best. With daylight quickly waning, each team sent its five players back onto the course to play one more hole. 

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, a birdie from freshman Connor Daly and a par from senior captain Lucas Trim would not be enough as juniors Zach Egermayer, Andy Butler and Will Byrne all bogeyed that hole. Temple secured the victory with three pars and a birdie to win the playoff by two strokes. 

Although the finish was certainly disappointing, it was all in all a good day for Villanova. Trim posted the best score of the day for the team, with one over par 71. He was followed by a pair of 73s from Butler and Daly, a 78 from Egermayer, and an 81 from Byrne. As expected, Huntington Valley’s sloped contour and a constant wind made for a tough test. Playing at 6,786 yards, the par 70 golf course challenged the players with severely sloped fairways and greens. 

“Every shot was either above or below your feet,” Byrne said. “Shots looked good, but the ball would end up 40 feet away because the greens are so severely sloped.”

Byrne was not alone in his frustration on the putting surfaces—Egermayer also struggled with the flat stick, three-putting six times. “The reason I struggled was on the greens,” Egermayer said. “Some putts were so fast, some were so slow”. 

Aerated fairways and greens also played a factor in the round. “The aeration cost me at least two shots,” Butler claimed after finishing his round with back-to-back bogies. Despite the difficulties, the Wildcats played a lot of good golf. The team fared particularly well on the par 5 15th hole, where Trim was able to chip in for eagle, and Butler made birdie. 

“I hit a good bunker shot from a tough position,” Butler said, describing the birdie. While the course was new for many of Villanova’s players, Butler was familiar with the task at hand and used his knowledge to his advantage. “It’s a tough track,” Butler explained. “I’ve played here a bunch of times before so I was familiar with the layout. There’s a lot of quirky shots.”

After coming in a tie for second individually, Trim was pleased with his round. 

“I hit the ball solid all day, which was nice,” he noted. 

Freshman standout Connor Daly also had a good day, highlighted by starting his round with back-to-back birdies on the first and second holes. Although slightly disappointed that he could not turn the hot start into an even better score, there is no denying Daly’s strong play. “I hit it pretty solid and played pretty well,” he said. 

Coming in behind Villanova and Temple’s scores of 295 were Drexel (297), Penn (300), St. Joe’s (302) and La Salle (312). Junior Amay Poria from the University of Pennsylvania posted the best individual score of the day, firing an even par 70 to take home medalist honors.  

For the Wildcats, the event marked the end of the fall season. Although they were not able to notch the win, the result certainly offers reason for optimism heading into the championship season in the spring.