Manufacturers’ Golf & Country Club returns to the GAP Major spotlight Aug. 4-5 when it welcomes the 119th Joseph H. Patterson Cup presented by Provident Bank.
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The Fort Washington, Pa. venue previously hosted the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship in 2011. Founded in 1925, Manufacturers’, an illustrious William Flynn design, only holds three Patterson Cups to its credit. It served as the lone host site in 1983 and 1990. Blaise Giroso won both editions. In 1948, Manufacturers’ shared duties with Whitemarsh Valley Country Club. Former Walker Cupper and GAP Hall of Famer James B. McHale, Jr. triumphed that year.
The Joseph H. Patterson Cup is GAP’s premier stroke-play championship and the final Major of the 2021 tournament season. It is a two-day, 36-hole event.
Provident Bank is the presenting sponsor.
Loch Nairn Golf Club’s Zachary Barbin enters as defending champion. He captured last year’s edition, shortened to 18 holes due to Hurricane Isaias, in a four-hole aggregate playoff. Barbin (15 strokes) defeated 2017 BMW Philadelphia Amateur Champion Gregor Orlando (17) and three-time Patterson Cup winner Jeff Osberg (16) at The 1912 Club.
“I’m really excited for another opportunity to defend a GAP Major like I did in the (BMW) Philadelphia Amateur. It’s a cool experience,” Barbin, 22, of Elkton, Md., said. “It’s surreal being on property and thinking, ‘I actually won this last year.’ It’s going to be a fun event.”
Barbin, as mentioned, also won the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship a year ago at Lancaster Country Club. A semifinalist in this year’s affair at Cedarbrook Country Club, Barbin fell two wins shy of retaining his Amateur title. Now the recent Liberty University graduate is looking to become the first back-to-back Patterson Cup winner since Brandon Matthews (2012-13), the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Player of the Year.
“I feel like my game’s trending in the right direction. I feel like I have a lot of positives coming out of the Pennsylvania Amateur at Merion (Golf Club),” Barbin said. “I think my game is good enough to be competitive and possibly defend my title again.”
Barbin only set foot on Manufacturers’ property once: as an adolescent in a Parent/Child event.
“My grandfather (Harry) and my dad (Andy) actually belonged there when my dad was growing up. My dad knows it really well,” he said. “When we found out the Patterson Cup was at Manufacturers’, we were all pretty excited.”
Barbin tees off at 12:55 p.m. alongside Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Michael Carr and Chambersburg Country Club’s William Smith.
In addition to Barbin, other former Patterson Cup titleholders in the field include Michael R. Brown, Jr. of LuLu Country Club (2018), Peter Bradbeer of Merion Golf Club (2017), Andrew Mason of Huntingdon Valley Country Club (2011), Jamie Slonis of Tavistock (2001), Greg O’Connor of Bellewood Country Club (2000) and Brad McFadden of Overbrook Golf Club (1992).
The Joseph H. Patterson Cup also serves as the final two rounds of the Silver Cross Award., which is presented to the player with the lowest aggregate score in the qualifying rounds of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship and the Patterson Cup. The aforementioned Bradbeer leads Barbin’s brother Austin, also a Loch Nairn member, by three strokes. Bradbeer won the Silver Cross Award in 2017.
The second oldest Championship in GAP, the Joseph H. Patterson Cup memorializes a man who fostered the game in its infancy. Joseph Henry Patterson, a Philadelphia Cricket Club member, competed in the first out-of-town match played by a team of Philadelphians. Friends of Patterson donated the Cup, designed by J.E. Caldwell & Co., to the Association in 1900.
Both the public and media are welcome to attend.
Live scoring will be available on the GAP website. GAP also will provide Joseph H. Patterson Cup updates via its social media outlets. Follow @GAofPhilly on Twitter and Instagram. Use the #PattersonCup hashtag when posting.
Provident Bank
Provident Bank, a community-oriented financial institution offering “Commitment you can count on” since 1839, is the wholly owned subsidiary of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS), which reported assets of $12.92 billion as of Dec. 31, 2020. With $9.84 billion in deposits, Provident Bank provides a comprehensive suite of financial products and services through its network of branches throughout northern and central New Jersey, as well as Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania and Queens County in New York. The Bank also provides fiduciary and wealth management services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Beacon Trust Company and insurance services through its wholly owned subsidiary, SB One Insurance Agency, Inc. For more information about Provident Bank, visit www.providentbank.com or join the conversations on Facebook (ProvidentBank) and Twitter (@ProvidentBank).
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 300 Member Clubs and 80,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
