The 121st Open Championship returns to Bidermann Golf Course for the first time in 50 years.
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The whimsical Wilmington, Del. venue will welcome a field of 139 (99 amateurs, 40 professionals) come July 16-17. Bidermann previously hosted the Open Championship in 1975. The late R. Jay Sigel, a charter member of the GAP Hall of Fame and arguably one of the greatest amateurs in the history of golf, won by a record 12 strokes that year. Sigel, an Aronimink Golf Club icon, also holds the record for most Open titles with six (1975, 1977-78, 1980, 1986-87).
The Open Championship is a two-day, 36-hole stroke-play event with a cut to the low 60 and ties after Round One. It is a William Hyndman, III Player of the Year event.
“The field can expect an immaculately conditioned golf course. Our team does such an amazing job of bringing this place to life, day in and day out,” Patrick Michener, Bidermann’s superintendent since 2019, said. “It is a proverbial field of dreams out here, so we’re excited to get GAP back and host the Philadelphia Open for the first time in 50 years.”
Michener, who oversees a staff of 25 in season, started as an assistant superintendent at Bidermann from 2006-10. He then spent two years at Aronimink Golf Club before becoming the superintendent at Country Club of York (2012-18).
The forecast may be working against Michener and his maintenance team. With this year’s Philadelphia Open comes a chance of rain.
“We’re seeing a true Mid-Atlantic summer on golf courses, which we haven’t seen in a few years,” Michener, 41, of Chadds Ford, Pa., said. “Conditions are going to be a little bit softer than we would like, but we have some great plans to keep the field excited and to make those golf course conditions as good as we can possibly have them.”
Colin Smith is one of three Bidermann members in the Open Championship field. Head professional Anthony Malizia and assistant professional Zac Oakley are also competing.
“It is a proverbial field of dreams out here.”
Smith joined Bidermann in 2018. He recently gained the Round of 16 in the R. Jay Sigel Match Play Championship at Rolling Green Golf Club. Smith fell to Mark Miller of Philadelphia Cricket Club, the 2007 Philadelphia Open Champion, 2&1.
“I think everybody will have a high player experience. We’re looking forward to a good, well-conditioned golf course,” Smith, 36, of West Chester, Pa., said. “I know [GAP Director of Competitions] Kirby (Martin) and our Superintendent Pat Michener were picking out some very likely tough hole locations. Course conditions will depend on what type of weather we have between now and then. I can tell you the staff here is highly motivated to provide us with the best possible golf course rain or shine. The consistency that Pat and his team bring to our golf experience on a daily basis sets the standard in our area, especially for a small club.”
Open Championship participants, courtesy of Malizia and his staff, will be provided with a detailed yardage book
“There are a lot of notes in there about where the top of the hills are and where some of the slopes are. So, I think utilizing that yardage book, if you weren’t able to schedule a practice round, could really benefit you on some of those holes,” Smith said. “It was reviewed by our Golf Committee, and I think it’ll be really helpful to a lot of people, especially if it’s their first time there.”
Bidermann initially operated as the nine-hole private course of Henry Francis du Pont at his home estate of Winterthur. The club’s only member, du Pont hired architect Devereux Emmet to build a course on his property. In 1963, George Weymouth, du Pont’s cousin, believed in a need for a small, intimate club devoted solely to golf. He approached du Pont, who possessed enough land to complete a 15-hole course, but not enough for a full 18-hole course complete with locker rooms and dining facilities. So, du Pont turned to his cousin, close friend and avid golfer Emily du Pont, who provided the remaining property to complete the course and surrounding facility.
Architect Dick Wilson designed the course on a 300-acre site. Wilson, an understudy of William Flynn and Howard Toomey, was considered one of the best architects of the post-World War II era. He designed 74 golf courses, including Cog Hill Golf & Country Club’s Dubsdread Course in Lemont, Ill. and Pine Tree Golf Club in Boynton Beach, Fla., a course that Ben Hogan once called “the best I have ever seen.”
The winner of the Open Championship is awarded the John J. McDermott Trophy. McDermott won the Open on three occasions (1910-11, 1913). At the age of 19, he became the first American-born golfer to win the U.S. Open Championship (1911). He is one of five individuals to win the U.S. Open in addition to the Philadelphia Open. That list includes 1921 U.S. Open Champion Jim Barnes (1917), 1925 U.S. Open Champion Willie Macfarlane (1921), 1927 U.S. Open Champion Tommy Armour (1928) and 1928 U.S. Open Champion Johnny Farrell (1925, 1927).
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 hold a GAP/USGA Handicap Index of 5.0 or less.
The low professional receives $8,000.
Amateur Jon Rusk of LuLu Country Club will not return to defend his title.
Past champions in the field include: Braden Shattuck of Rolling Green Golf Club (2023), John Brennan of Philadelphia Cricket Club (2022), Michael Little of Clubhouse 54 (2020), Billy Stewart of Union League Liberty Hill (2018), Miller (2007) and David Quinn of Laurel Creek Country Club (2006).
Connect with the Open Championship via GAP’s social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X 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.
Open Championship
The Philadelphia Open is the third oldest championship of its kind in the country, behind only the U.S. Open and Western Open. It formed at the behest of the best – professionals that is. “Professional golfers in and around Philadelphia have some cause for satisfaction in that their claims to official recognition have at last been acknowledged. The Golf Association of Philadelphia announces a tournament for the pros to be held over the links of the Philadelphia Cricket Club at Wissahickon Heights Oct. 23-24,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 1903. GAP Magazine profiled the Philadelphia Open in its Summer 2024 issue.
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 125,000 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.
