A tranquil Chester County oasis, Applebrook Golf Club serves as the stage for the 120th Open Championship July 16-17. GAP’s third Major of the season returns to Applebrook for the first time since it last hosted in 2014. Commonwealth National Golf Club’s Matt Teesdale took the title that year with back-to-back rounds of 3-under-par 68.
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The Open is a two-day, 36-hole stroke-play event. A field of 149 players (112 amateurs, 37 professionals) will be cut to the low 60 and ties after Round One. The GAP Open Championship is a William Hyndman, III Player of the Year event.
“It’s an awesome opportunity to showcase our club and for the players to get to play Applebrook,” Applebrook’s golf professional Dave McNabb, 57, of Newark, Del., said. “We pride ourselves on top-notch conditioning and hosting premiere events when we do host. Obviously, the Philly Open fits right into that bill with the long history and tradition of that tournament.”
The property has gone from pasture to prestige.
The original Applebrook Farm was deeded to Robert Williams in 1680 by William Penn. The property changed ownership throughout the next several hundred years until Applebrook Associates was founded in June 1999. In October of that same year, the club’s board of governors came together and enlisted renowned architect Gil Hanse to create the Mainline masterpiece that is Applebrook Golf Club.
“For an event like this the plan is to get things firm, fast, sporty and championship level. Generally for our membership we keep it at that level of conditioning,” Jared Viarengo, 52, of West Chester, Pa., and Applebrook’s Director of Grounds & Club Operations said. “Essentially the goal is to get the course as challenging and fun to play and firm enough that you can play a variety of shots out there.”
In addition to the aforementioned 2014 Open, the Gil Hanse layout played host to the 2023 Philadelphia PGA Section’s Silvercrest Cup, 2019 Joseph H. Patterson Cup and the 2007 Philadelphia Amateur Championship. The site hosted another Patterson Cup in 2002 when the event was contested at two sites. Aronimink Golf Club served as co-host that year.
“It’s a good test of golf from the standpoint that the golf course conditioning is usually second to none meaning we can get that thing to play firm and fast,” McNabb, who started at Applebrook in 2010, said. “[Last season] we added probably a couple hundred yards which gets us right around 7,000 yards. In particular, some of the holes on the back nine play significantly different.
“We held the Philly Open in 2014. I remember the day. There were some storms that came in later in the day and the wind was blowing like crazy. The golf course was firm. I think it’s going to be a great test for some of the best players in the area.”
Last year, Lookaway Golf Club hosted the Open. Braden Shattuck, Rolling Green Golf Club’s Director of Instruction, carded rounds of 68 and 66 to finish two shots clear of low amateur Campbell Wolf of USGA/GAP GC and to earn his first Open title.
Shattuck tees off at 12 p.m. off No. 10 alongside amateurs Zach Mueller of Five Ponds Golf Club and Billy McCrossan of Applebrook.
The last amateur to win the Open was John Brennan of Philadelphia Cricket Club. He did so at his home club (Wissahickon) in 2022 with rounds of 72 and 67. He is the first amateur from Cricket to win the event in its 120-year history. Brennan’s victory marked the 22nd time an amateur has won the Open Championship.
R. Jay Sigel, a GAP Hall of Famer, holds the most Open titles at six. Each time, he won as an amateur. The trophy’s namesake, John J. McDermott, won the Open on three occasions (1910-11, 1913). McDermott, at the age of 19, became the first American-born golfer to win the U.S. Open Championship. To this day, McDermott remains the youngest player to win the event and is generally considered to be one of the world’s top players between 1910 and 1914.
Open Championship participants include professionals who are members in good standing of the Philadelphia PGA Section, head professionals of GAP Member Clubs, assistant professionals of Member Clubs who are active members of the New Jersey Section PGA and male amateurs who are members of GAP Member Clubs and carry a GAP/USGA Handicap Index of 5.0 or less.
The low professional receives $8,000.
In 2017, GAP changed the event’s format. Previously, participants played 36 holes in a one-day competition. Now, the event features two 18-hole rounds across two days.
Past champions in the field include: Shattuck (2023), Brennan (2022), Michael Little of Lookaway Golf Club (2020), Billy Stewart of The ACE Club, presently Union League Liberty Hill (2018), Matthew Mattare of Saucon Valley Country Club (2017) and Rich Steinmetz of Spring Ford Country Club (2009).
“We are excited to take the Open back to Applebrook,” GAP Director of Competitions Kirby Martin said. “The layout is challenging, well-conditioned and requires players to hit a variety of shots to score well. It’s a true test of championship golf and always produces a deserving champion.”
Connect with the Open Championship via GAP’s social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube).
Public and media are welcome to attend. Live scoring will be available at www.gapgolf.org. Any media inquiries should be directed to Martin D. Emeno, Jr., GAP Director of Operations, at 610-687-2340 ext. 0027 or via email at memeno@gapgolf.org.
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 organization’s 345 Member Clubs and 110,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
