125th BMW Philadelphia Amateur: Day One Recap

Crowley, Feld share medalist honors

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Two former major champions at two different points of life shared medalist honors in the 125^th BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship Qualifying co-hosted Monday by Aronimink Golf Club (par 70, 6,995 yards) and Radley Run Country Club (par 71, 6,789 yards). Michael Crowley of Briarwood Golf Club and Ben Feld of Green Valley Country Club both finished the 36 holes at 5-under-par (137 total).

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Feld is seeded No. 1 after a draw by lot. Crowley is the No. 2 seed.

It is the first Amateur medalist honor for both.

The cutline fell at 3 over with a six-for-four playoff to determine seeds Nos. 29-32. Matt Homer of Wilmington Country Club, Matthew Zerfass of Brookside CC of Allentown, Blake Micholas of Kings Creek Country Club and Owen Mulhern of Whitford Country Club advanced into the match-play bracket.

Crowley, the 2023 Champion, is looking to become the 21^st player to win two or more Amateur titles. Jeremy Wall was the last to turn the feat when he won back-to-back championships in 2018-19. Feld, a two-time Amateur semifinalist (2012, 2014), is in search of an elusive J. Wood Platt Amateur Trophy.

First-round matches start at 7:30 a.m. off Nos. 1 and 10. Round of 16 matches follow. The quarterfinals and semifinals are set for 7:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. Wednesday, respectively. The 36-hole Amateur Final starts at 7:30 a.m. Friday. The last 18 holes begins at 12 p.m.

Crowley is currently completing a one-year MBA program focused on interdisciplinary business at Loyola University Maryland.

He completed his undergraduate degree there in 2024. This August, he’s heading overseas to University of St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland to start a 12-month entrepreneurship program. And, yes, he’s going to play on the St Andrews golf team.

“I think my experience in the Amateur is huge,” said Crowley, 23, of Hunt Valley, Md. “You know, there’s a lot of moments from that Final I can draw back on and take confidence from. There’s not too many people who are in match play that won before. So I think it’s definitely an advantage. It’s something that I’ll have in my back pocket. It’s good to know that I’ve done it before. Hopefully, I could do it again.”

Feld, who holds a Major title of his own in the 2017 Middle-Amateur Championship, is hoping to write a chapter of Amateur retribution. His 2012 Amateur semifinal loss still rings a bell of tragedy. Feld was 4-up with seven holes to go before dropping the match in 19 holes.

“It sure does,” said Feld, 34, of Cherry Hill, N.J., when asked if that loss still bothers him. “I mean I can take what happened two years later in the Amateur at White Manor Country Club. Nelson [Hargrove] shot a gazillion under par in the semifinal. I think about the Huntingdon Valley semi when this tournament comes around. I’ve been in a spot where, you know, all you had to do was kind of stay on two feet and you were in the Final. And I mean, I didn’t stay on two feet, obviously. I love this event. Of all the GAP events, this is the flagship event. It’s the one you circle on the calendar.”

Crowley entered the 125^th BMW Philadelphia Amateur after dropping a first-round match June 6 in the Maryland Amateur in 20 holes despite shooting the stroke-play score equivalent of 64. Prior, he tied for 20^th individually in the NCAA Auburn Regional. His game has been good. In his first look at both of the Philly Amateur courses, Crowley was sharp, smart and strategic.

“Google Earth and all that stuff is so advanced at this point that you can kind of see typography. And greens for the most part, I can see from 150 yards or in,” said Crowley. “I felt the courses were pretty straight forward today.”

Crowley carded a 71 at Radley Run in the morning with three birdies and two bogeys before catching fire at Aronimink. He birdied four of his first nine holes to shoot into medalist contention. Crowley stumbled twice heading home with bogeys on Nos. 12 (par 4, 447 yards) and 14 (par 3, 190 yards) but followed those with bounce-back birdies on Nos. 13 (par 4, 385 yards) and 15 (par 4, 463 yards).

Feld, on the other hand, has been searching.

“The swing has felt good. I’ve played a lot of rounds where I’ve hit the ball well. I’ve been really searching on the greens for something I’m comfortable both equipment wise and thought wise,” said Feld. “I had a putter in the bag for the first time today. It came in the mail Saturday night. I brought it in here today completely untested and found a little something on the putting green at Radley this morning. I made a lot of putts. I felt very consistent. It was the best I’ve felt on the greens in a very long time.”

The putter manufacturer is Sub 70.

Feld brought the putter mojo immediately. He birdied holes Nos. 2 thru 5 in the morning at Radley Run. His birdie rolls ranged from six to 25 feet. Feld eventually finished at 3 under. In the afternoon at Aronimink, it was four birdies and two bogeys. He noted a 20-foot par save on No. 14 after finding the bunker to punctuate his putting renaissance.

Two men on two tracks aiming for one common moniker: Amateur Champion.

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.