Gregor Orlando beats Grant Skyllas to win the Philadelphia Amateur
The 26-year-old native of Erie won, 9 and 8, to win the J. Wood Platt Trophy.
Gregor Orlando is a fast player. In the BMW Philadelphia Amateur championship match Saturday, there were times when members of the gallery would follow his opponent's shot, then look back and see Orlando already into his backswing.
But it was the quality of Orlando's shots that mattered the most on a humid, overcast day at Philadelphia Cricket Club. The 26-year-old native of Erie hit many of those shots to make quick work of Grant Skyllas, defeating him, 9 and 8, to win the J. Wood Platt Trophy.
Orlando, who now calls Philadelphia home and plays out of the Cricket Club, won the first hole of the scheduled 36-hole match and was never caught. He led, 3-up, after the morning 18 and went on a tear in the afternoon, winning seven of the 10 holes played, including a 4-foot par putt to end the match.
"It feels great. I can't tell you how excited I am," he said. "Just being able to be on that trophy with some of the best players in the area, it's really special.
"I was a little nervous [starting out]. I didn't sleep well last night. I think it was just the fact that I wanted to win so bad. I wanted to get out to a quick start because I didn't want to get behind the 8-ball. In match play, you never want to get behind."
It took him little time to get ahead, and he finished the 28 holes in a little more than five hours.
"I'm a pretty quick player," Orlando said. "I don't know. I just like to get up and hit it. If I take too long or take too much time, too many things can go wrong. I just like to be simple."
Orlando went 4-up after 15 holes amid the heaviest rain of the match, but the 30-year-old Skyllas, of LedgeRock Golf Club, drained a 50-foot birdie putt at No. 16 in what could have been a momentum swing. Skyllas also sank a 6-footer for par on 18 to keep the deficit at three.
"I was glad to see that putt on 18 go in," Skyllas said. "You never know what could happen on the second 18. But he lit it up. He didn't hit balls off line at all. You could see it in him, how confident he was when he was getting up to the tee and just ripping it."
Still 3-down after 20, Skyllas had some tough luck with the putter, missing a 3-footer on No. 21, 3-putting the 23rd, and missing putts of 5, 6, and 7 feet on his last three holes. He had had some foot blister problems earlier in the week but refused to use it as an excuse.
"I just didn't have it, but Gregor earned it," he said. "He played phenomenal. Those last nine holes, he didn't make a mistake."
Meanwhile, Orlando made short putts for par - 8 feet at the 24th, 10 feet at the 25th, and 4-footers for par at each of his last two holes.
"There were some great par saves that kept me ahead," he said. "Those were key in just keeping my nerves down and keeping me calm all the way through."
It was a good day for Orlando, who had his 91-year-old grandfather and his parents in from Erie to watch, plus some of his pals from the Cricket Club.
"I absolutely had a blast playing today," he said. "I'm glad it's over, the nerves are gone. I feel great."
@joejulesinq