The Central Bucks West golf team captured the program’s first ever District One 3A Tournament team title and will compete in the PIAA 3A Tournament on Monday, Oct. 25, at Heritage Hills Resort in York, Pa. (Team photos provided by CB West golf)
Bob Schilling called it one of his best days on the golf course. Ever.
That’s quite a statement for the veteran Central Bucks West golf coach to make. After all, he’s been around golf since he was a teenager. Few things, according to Schilling, compared to watching his West golf team capture the program’s first ever District One 3A Tournament team title at Turtle Creek Golf Course.
“It was a very close competition, and two of our boys that were at the very end – Alex and Chase Feraco – came in with unbelievably good scores to clinch it for us,” Schilling said. “It was a big thrill for all of us.
“I have been around golf since I was 15-16 years old, and it was probably one of my best days on the golf course, whether it was playing or watching these kids play.”
The Feraco brothers – the last West golfers off the course - knew their performances would determine West’s fate.
“On the scorecard they have the code for the on-line scoring,” Chase Ferraco said. “I don’t like to look at it a lot, but here and there I’ll take a look just to see what we’re doing.
“For the whole time, we were down and just creeping more and more and more. As Alex and I were putting in good scores, we got closer and closer. He was one group ahead of me, and we were getting to the last easy couple of holes. I just saw after the 17th hole we were one or two under (par) through the last five holes.”
“I checked the scores on the ninth tee box because on the eighth hole - that’s when they put in a bunch of scores for previous holes, so I knew were we stood,” Alex Feraco said. “I knew I had to hit a good shot. I hit the green and putted up to three feet. I was really shaking over the putt, but I made it.
“After not qualifying (for states) for the individual, I just thought to myself I could just go out there (on day two of the tournament) and go as low as I possibly could, get the team to states.
Chase shot a 70 and Alex a 71, and the Bucks – with a score of 296 - finished five strokes ahead of second place West Chester Rustin (301).
Schilling as well as Kevin Lydon and John Lee, who had completed the round, had front row seats to the final holes.
“I finished first and I was checking the leaderboard,” Lee said. “Kev (Lydon) actually got a birdie on the last hole, which put us in the lead, so we were winning by one stroke.
“I was looking at Alex and Chase’s score, and I knew they were under par. Basically, if they were just able to finish strong, we would have the win. The whole team that was finished – we watched them finish on the ninth hole, and we just knew when they both did good on the last hole – we knew we got it.”
“We were standing right behind the green,” said Lydon. “It was a little nerveracking, but I knew they would hit some good golf shots, and they did.”
Lydon, the only West player to advance to the state tournament as an individual, gave the Bucks a major boost with his strong finish.
“Kevin Lydon, one of our strongest players, was playing well but not having his best day,” Schilling said. “He happened to birdie the last two holes, and we’re going, ‘Oh wow, that was perfect. Now we’re really in contention.’
“The two Feraco boys played extremely well, and Alex was the first one in, and he finished one under par, which is a great score under any circumstances, but that gave us a little bit of a feeling of relief. Then his young brother, Chase, birdies the 17th hole to go two under par, and at that point, we’re going, ‘We got this.’”
The Bucks – with their team title – achieved a goal they’d set for themselves.
“It was something that we said on our first day getting together – okay, if we put everything together this year we can achieve our goal,” Schilling said. “Sometimes you’re not sure you should make such predictions at the beginning of the year and announce what your goal is, what your dream is, but we decided this group could live up to the expectations without getting too cocky with themselves or anything like that, and they did.
“They worked very hard. They all play incredibly well, and they play a lot of golf during the year, so they prepared for this event for the last four or five months. It was a great day.”
After finishing second last year, anything less than a district title would have been disappointing for a team that has a long history together.
“It means a lot to our team,” Lydon said. “It shows our grit because we were always a good team, but we just feel we outwork every team every year, and it definitely showed because I know all of us on the team practice every day to get better. This was one of our biggest goals.”
“We’ve been playing with each other for a long time,” Lee said. “We first started practicing together, and we wanted to all make the high school team.
“We’ve come so close to winning this tournament every year. It’s the last year for some of us, and we just wanted to finally get it done.
Lydon and Lee both entered day two of the district tournament still in the hunt for an individual berth at states.
“I figured if I played good for myself, I would play good for the team, so I tried to stay in the present and do the best I could all day,” Lydon said. “I wasn’t having my best day, but I grinded it out, birdied the last two holes which helped a lot. I just did everything I could that day even if it wasn’t my best day.”
“That was the same with me,” Lee said. “I obviously didn’t have my best day either, but I knew these tournaments come down to every little stroke.
“Even though I wasn’t having the best day – every small putt or every chip shot, I would try and get close because I know these tournaments can come down to just one stroke, and that one stroke can be big even if you’re not having your best day.”
The district team title came on the heels of an undefeated Suburban One League season.
“We had a very good team,” Schilling said. “We knew going into the season that we were very strong and have been for the last five-six years, but this seemed to be a building process that got a little bit stronger as the years went on.
“We figured we have three or four seniors on the team that have a lot of experience and were well-seasoned in tournament play, so we felt strongly that we could contend, but you never know. It’s only one day – sometimes things don’t go your way, but we were able to really put everything together and accomplish a dream that we had at the beginning of the season that we could win the district championship.”
The Bucks’ season isn’t over. Lydon, Lee, Chase and Alex Feraco will be joined by Abby Lynn on Monday, Oct. 25, at Heritage Hills Resort in York, Pa. (top four scores count to the final scoring). Ryan Quinn is the alternate.
“I look back because we have been playing with each other for a really long time, starting on Bucks Club,” Lee said. “Since we have come this far, we all have the mentality – we got the district championship, but we want that state championship. We’ve come this far, so we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”
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