A sophomore statement, a past champions parade and a tie highlighted Week One of the 122nd BMW GAP Team Matches.
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LuLu Country Club 2 (1–0), in Division AA for the second year, issued an imposing 45.5–8.5 win over DuPont Country Club (0–1). Its first team brethren (1–0), the 2021 BMW GAP Team Matches titleholders, prevailed over Llanerch Country Club (0–1), 31.5–22.5.
Defending champion Huntingdon Valley Country Club (1–0) started its title defense on the right foot. It defeated Tavistock Country Club (0–1), 40–14. Huntingdon Valley’s predecessors in Team Matches prosperity, 2022 winner Philadelphia Cricket Club 1 (1–0), decimated Saucon Valley Country Club (0–1), 44.5–9.5.
As for the tie, look to a pair of former Team Matches champions. Overbrook Golf Club (0–0–1) and Whitemarsh Valley Country Club (0–0–1) dueled to a 27–27 draw in Section 2. Overbrook holds seven titles overall (1948-50, 1981, 1986, 1988, 2014), Whitemarsh Valley three (1941-42, 1947).
Division AA is the top tier of the BMW GAP Team Matches.
“We have 15 guys in the running who are sort of on the fence for the last few spots on the first team and a bunch of spots on the second team. Obviously everybody’s willing to do whatever is best, but deep down, you’d like to play for the first team,” Jim Sullivan, Jr., who heads LuLu’s captains committee for both its first and second teams, said. “So, to not be discouraged by being on the second team and taking it as a challenge is the right attitude. It’s the attitude you want. It’s the attitude those guys had.”
The No. 1 spots set the Week One tone for LuLu Country Club 1. Daniel Charen, playing at DuPont, and Matthew Crescenzo both swept their respective singles matches.
“It was a great performance up and down the line,” Sullivan, 49, of Glenside, Pa., said.
More of the same will be necessary next week when LuLu Country Club 2 opposes fellow unbeaten Aronimink Golf Club (1–0). Aronimink, seeking its first Playoff appearance in nearly a decade, knocked off Merion Golf Club (0–1), a Playoff participant the past two years, 30–24.
“Aronimink is a difficult golf course to go to. I’m not sure how many of our guys have played there much,” Sullivan said. “I expect it to be a significant challenge. We feel like we’ll be competitive, but Aronimink is certainly a very good team.”
The same can be said about LuLu Country Club 1. It exited a notoriously difficult Llanerch with a 4.5-point advantage. Playing in the No. 1 spot on the road, Michael R. Brown, Jr., a three-time William Hyndman, III Player of the Year (2010, 2018, 2022), earned 2.5 singles points and swept the better-ball portion alongside Aaron Fricke. LuLu newcomer Matthew Barnes, the 2021 Washington Metropolitan Amateur Champion, grabbed singles sweep at home. He and Sullivan accrued three better-ball points.
“From the conversations I had, he was our best player yesterday. He was tremendous,” Sullivan said.
LuLu Country Club 1 opposes The 1912 Club (0–1) in Week Two.
“Job well done” is cliché but apropos for Huntingdon Valley, which holds a record 34 titles. An overall strong performance from each of the team’s 12 members substantiates a 36-point triumph over Tavistock.
“We like to feel that we have a pretty good home advantage, but always playing strong on the road is needed. Our team did well on the road,” Andrew Mason, Huntingdon Valley’s captain, said.
Roster retention is key to Huntingdon Valley’s Playoff programming. It lost only one team member — Conor McGrath — from a year ago.
“The motivation stems from the history and what [the Team Matches] mean to the club. When people play, it is on our mind,” Mason, 35, of Conshohocken, Pa., said. “We have a tough section in that every team is good. There isn’t a weak team. [Week Two opponent] Philadelphia Cricket 2 is a strong, good team, good guys. We’ll see who we send on the road.”
Philadelphia Cricket Club 2 (0–1) will look to heal from a 45–9 loss at the hands of Glenmaura National Golf Club (1–0) in Week One. Philadelphia Cricket 1, on the other hand, appears to be soaring into Week Two thanks to a 35-point margin of victory over Saucon Valley.
“It was a good win. You’re always unsure about how everyone is feeling starting the season, so I was glad to see we picked up where we left off last season,” Conrad Von Borsig, Philadelphia Cricket Club 1 captain, said. “It was good to see everybody getting some wins.”
Like LuLu Country Club 2, Philadelphia Cricket Club 1 didn’t leave any match empty-handed. It will need to replicate, to some degree, a point raid in Week Two against Overbrook, fresh off its stalemate with Whitemarsh Valley.
“A tie is a pretty rare thing with 54 points available,” Von Borsig, 37, of Fort Washington, Pa., said. “Overbrook is a tough place to play, so we’re trying to send folks there who know the golf course.”
In his weekly email to the team, Von Borsig, in between lines reflecting his characteristic affability, will impart a few messages. Expect each week to get harder. Become more focused, knock more rust off and prepare for challenges given the strength of schedule.
Sounds like advice for all walks of BMW GAP Team Matches life after Week One.
BMW GAP Team Matches
The genesis of GAP’s founding in 1897, the BMW GAP Team Matches started with Belmont Golf Association (Aronimink Golf Club today), Merion Cricket Club, Philadelphia Country Club and Philadelphia Cricket fielding a first and second team with six players per side. Merion Cricket’s top squad earned the traditional winner’s wooden plaque. First known as the Interclub Team Matches, the event changed to the Suburban League Matches in 1915 before adopting its current moniker in 1997. BMW has served as the event’s presenting sponsor since 2015. The BMW GAP Team Matches has been contested annually since 1897, save World War II (1943-45), a severe ice storm (1994) and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020).
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.
