NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Drue Nicholas dreamt about it. A lot. Every time he woke up, a smile crossed his face. The image of holding the J. Wood Platt Amateur Trophy residing in his conscience.
That slumber turned reality on Friday when Nicholas defeated Patrick Isztwan of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, 5&4, for the 125th BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship at Aronimink Golf Club (par 70, 7,254 yards).
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Nicholas is the first Galloway National Golf Club member to earn an Amateur title.
“I don’t know if I can put into words how much I wanted to win this tournament,” said Nicholas, winner of the 2022 Joseph H. Patterson Cup. “My [Drexel University] roommates are probably sick of me talking about it. I’ve had dreams about winning this tournament and I wake up the next day so [upset because] I think I won and I didn’t. Now I can finally say I did it. It’s pretty awesome.”
Nicholas is the 25th player to win both the Amateur Championship and Patterson Cup, GAP’s two cornerstone events. The Patterson Cup is the Association’s stroke-play championship. The last to turn the feat: Zach Barbin of Loch Nairn Golf Club. Barbin won both titles in 2020. Nicholas is also the first Dragon to soar atop the Amateur pedestal. He graduated from Drexel with a degree in finance Thursday morning.
“The stars aligned. GAP is so strong these days that you can’t just come out here and wing it,” said Nicholas, 22, of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. “This one means a lot more than the Patterson Cup. I missed stroke play for two years in a row. I haven’t performed well in GAP [since that win]. [People were saying] I was just this good college player that wasn’t that competitive over the last few years. This is definitely validation.”
In the two Amateurs prior, the only two Nicholas has competed in, he missed qualifying for match play.
This year, he emphatically changed the equation. He birdied his final hole, No. 9 at Aronimink, in 36-hole qualifying Monday to secure his match-play spot by a stroke.
Isztwan suffered a bit of déjà vu. He made the 2023 Amateur Final at Huntingdon Valley, but fell, 7&6, to Michael Crowley of Briarwood Golf Club. Crowley led from the start of that match: 3-up after 18 holes and 6-up after 27 holes.
This year, Isztwan, who graduated from the University of Richmond in May holding a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in finance, started strong. He won Nos. 7 (par 4, 419 yards) and 8 (par 3, 240 yards) with pars and maintained that advantage until No. 16 (par 5, 556 yards). The problem was he had chances to extend that lead on a few occasions but didn’t.
“It definitely felt I was in control of most of the holes, but his short game is so good I knew he was going to hang around all day,” said Isztwan, 21, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa.
The match turned on No. 16 when Nicholas dropped a floaty flop shot to inches for a conceded birdie. Isztwan failed to get up-and-down from the left front bunker for a four. Coincidently, or maybe not so much, Nicholas on No. 13 fairway called in Rob Callaghan, a Galloway National caddie and friend, to hoof his bag. Nicholas was carrying his own up until that point. The dividends were almost immediate. Starting on No. 16, he won seven of the next nine holes.
On No. 17 (par 3, 240 yards), a poor Isztwan drive and a Nicholas 3-iron that stopped 35-feet right of the flag drew the match even. Nicholas had honors on the hole to apply some pressure.
The two stood tied after 18 holes.
Nicholas, who found only four of 12 fairways, headed to the range for an emergency session.
He returned in a better place. Not perfect. But better.
“I just had to stay on top of the ball a little more. I was getting a little loose with my swing. I had a lot of moving parts,” said Nicholas about what he found on the range. “I stopped hinging my wrist at the top. I had to keep the club face more square. I had to rely a lot more on mechanics.”
Concurrently, Isztwan’s driving and putting hit an icy patch on a pleasant day.
Nicholas lofted a 9-iron from 142 yards to six feet on No. 19 (No. 1, par 4, 434 yards) for a birdie to grab a lead he never relinquished.
That started a stretch of three straight wins (birdie, par, bogey). Another victory on No. 23 (No. 5, par 3, 173 yards) with a par preceded a Nicholas tracer on No. 24 (No. 6, par 4, 313 yards). He drove the green and had a 12-footer right of the flag for eagle. That putt missed but the birdie extended the lead to 5-up.
After 27 holes, he extended the advantage to 6-up. Isztwan took holes Nos. 29-30 but Nicholas closed the match with a par on No. 32 (No. 14, par 3, 205 yards).
“It was an awesome week and so much fun to go around this place seven times,” said Isztwan. “It was definitely not the second round I was looking for today. I ran out of gas, a little bit of mental fatigue and wasn’t able to get myself out of a funk.”
Nicholas’ graduation festivities may have been tabled last night, but a place in history is probably worth it.
“I felt like I was missing out,” said a smiling Nicholas. “I was like I really need to win this thing or else I just wasted a night of graduation. This is way better though. This trumps everything.”
NOTES–Nicholas, as the winner of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship, received an automatic bid into the U.S. Amateur Championship, an official USGA Exemption Event. The Philadelphia Amateur is one of 69 Allied Golf Association tournaments where a player receives an automatic berth. Additionally, the BMW Philadelphia Amateur runner-up as well as the two semifinalists from that championship earn exemptions into the U.S. Amateur Final Qualifying. The U.S. Amateur visits The Olympic Club Aug. 11-17 in San Francisco, Calif.
Final
27. Drue Nicholas, Galloway National GC, d. 8. Patrick Isztwan, Huntingdon Valley CC, 5&4.
BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship
Originating in 1897, the Amateur Championship is GAP’s premier individual event. Albert H. Smith of Philadelphia Cricket Club won the first Amateur Championship, then known as the GAP Individual Championship, by defeating J.D. Winsor, Jr. of Merion Cricket Club in 37 holes. The event’s format switched to medal play in 1938. J. Wood Platt went on to win two consecutive Amateur titles under that format. His brother William “Zimmer” Platt earned the 1940 title at Philadelphia Cricket Club by being the only competitor to finish all 72 holes. The event’s format reverted to match play in 1941. The Amateur Championship wasn’t contested from 1943-45 because of World War II. Overall, 34 courses have hosted the Amateur. GAP Magazine Editor-in-Chief Martin D. Emeno, Jr. and Senior Writer Tony Regina chronicled the event’s history in the Summer 2017 edition of the publication.
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 130,000 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.
