| Schedule | Rules and Regulations |
The BMW GAP Team Matches schedule. Enough said.
It’s really here. The 122nd playing of GAP’s cornerstone event will take place April 21, 28 and May 5. The Playoff & Challenges is set for May 11.
The lineup is a record breaker: 402 teams from 175 GAP Member Clubs. Four will enter as rookies: Cobblestone Creek Country Club in Lawrenceville, N.J.; Frog Hollow Golf Club in Middletown, Del.; Waynesboro Country Club in Waynesboro, Pa. and White Oaks Country Club in Newfield, N.J. Back Creek Golf Club in Middletown, Del. returns to the BMW GAP Team Matches following a near decade-long hiatus.
A pair of changes highlights the forthcoming affair. First, GAP regionalized the BMW GAP Team Matches for Divisions A through E. Teams will travel within its respective geographic footprint to compete. Division AA continues to host the Top 16 teams regardless of location. Travel distances have declined by a total of 1,800 miles for returning clubs.
Second, GAP changed the BMW GAP Team Matches weather policy. If inclement weather affects the GAP region during scheduled play, then GAP is the authoritative decisionmaker on the week’s status. A week of matches will not be rescheduled should GAP cancel play due to weather. All BMW GAP Team Matches participants will not play in that case; it is no longer a club-by-club basis.
Huntingdon Valley Country Club won its record 34th BMW GAP Team Matches title a year ago. It defeated LuLu Country Club 1, Merion Golf Club and Philadelphia Cricket Club 1 in the Playoff.
The BMW GAP Team Matches is the genesis of GAP’s founding in 1897. It started with the four founding Member Clubs — 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.
