2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying: Carlisle

Fajt medals; GAP regulars Lalley and Fricke also advance

CARLISLE, Pa. — Kevin Fajt looked like Mr. Magoo in the scoring area Monday. Scorecard extended in front of his face, squinting as the numbers came into focus.

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Those numbers added to medalist honors in U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying administered by GAP at Carlisle Country Club (par 70, 6,400 yards).

Fajt carded a 5-under-par 65 to earn one of three qualifying positions. LuLu Country Club’s Aaron Fricke and Llanerch Country Club’s John Lalley also advanced. Both carded respective 3-under-par 67s.

The 43^rd U.S. Mid-Amateur will take place Sept. 21-26 at Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, Va.

“I get so scared when I have to sign a scorecard,” Fajt, 46, of Greensburg, Pa., said. “I have a heck of a time [reading] it. Believe me, I need my cheaters. I left them in the center console of my vehicle.”

Spectacles required for the spectacle that was Fajt’s round. He registered 17 greens in regulation and stressed as often as a Floridian reclining poolside.

Fajt, a Hannastown Golf Club member, opened with a birdie on No. 1 (par 4, 425 yards). Although his drive ricocheted off a pine tree, Fajt had enough room to weave a wedge from 130 yards onto the green. It came to rest in tap-in territory. Fajt accelerated as he approached the turn. His 7-iron from 162 yards on No. 9 (par 5, 501 yards) reached the right fringe; he exited with a 4. Fajt holed out for eagle on No. 10 (par 4, 367 yards) with a wedge from 45 yards. On the trepidatious 11^th hole (par 4, 305 yards), he knocked a sand wedge 110 yards to six feet for birdie.

“I was looking to shoot 2 or 3 under and get in, but after Nos. 9, 10 and 11, I was trying to get to 6, 7 under if I could,” Fajt said. “I’m very pleased with 65.”

Fajt added another birdie on No. 15 (par 4, 489 yards), where his drive again tangoed with the trees. He stood slightly behind a lumber tower some 170 yards from the hole location. Fajt smashed a 9-iron, albeit a flier that rolled to 10 feet.

“You could say I got lucky there,” Fajt, an insurance agent, said. “It was a good break. Five more yards and I wouldn’t be able to get over that tree.”

Fajt previously qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2015 and 2021. He felt confident in securing a third appearance Monday. Fajt tied for fifth in the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Open Championship in late July and won the WPGA Four-Ball Championship alongside Darin Kowalski a week ago at his home club.

“I prefer to come [to Carlisle] if I can. I’ve had success out here,” Fajt, who advanced at Carlisle in 2021, said. “If they have [U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying] here, I’ll most likely be here. It just suits me. It gives you confidence.

“Nos. 9, 10 and 11 really made my round of golf. I was just moving along steady at 1 under, then all of a sudden, I was 5 under. It was a nice sight to see for me.”

With or without eyeglasses.

Both Fricke and Lalley warranted spectators with their Carlisle curtain calls. On No. 18 (par 5, 541 yards), Fricke pulled a drive into the left trees. He then grabbed a hybrid from 245 yards.

“I had a bare lie, and it just came out and hit the left edge of the green. I put the rangefinder on it and said [to my caddie William Gately], ‘Gator, I think it’s a tap-in,’” Fricke, 29, of Denver, Pa., said. “I was still pretty nervous [over the eagle putt]. I knew [2 under] has gotten through here in the past. I was just trying to make a 4. I had a wide-open swing to go for it. I was lucky.”

Fricke, the reigning BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship runner-up, played his final five holes in 4 under to rise above the cut line. He executed birdie putts of 12 and 10 feet, respectively, on Nos. 14 (par 4, 406 yards) and 15 (par 4, 489 yards).

“I hit it great, and I missed everything. I missed 15-footers [for birdie] on the first three holes. I was just so patient,” he said. “I knew I was hitting it well. I figured the putts would drop.”

Fricke will compete in his first U.S. Mid-Amateur. In 2023, he appeared in the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Four-Ball alongside LuLu clubmate Scott Forrester.

For his part, Lalley, too, needed a bit of ingenuity to ink red on his final hole. His drive bounded through the fairway on No. 9 (par 5, 501 yards) and settled underneath a tree.

I got relief [from a hole made by a burrowing animal]. A GAP Rules Official came over, and we went through the process. All I could get, even from there, was a punchout,” Lalley, 38, of Havertown, Pa., said. “From 100 yards I hit a wedge to 10 feet. [The birdie putt] was a bit of a slinger. It had a cup of right-to-left break. It was a firm read. I wasn’t going to leave it short.”

And he didn’t. A fist pump was proof.

“I’m really excited. [Qualifying for the U.S. Mid-Amateur] was a life goal in golf for me,” Lalley said. “I caddied for a good buddy of mine, Mike O’Neil, in the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine (National). It was motivation I would say, eye-opening to see that level of golf. I’m really pumped.”

In a twist of Fajt (it’s actually pronounced fight so allow for poetic license here), Fricke defeated Lalley, 5&4, en route to the 124^th BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship Final in June.

“I owe Fricke a little payback. It’s nice we can go play in the U.S. Mid-Amateur together,” Lalley said.

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.