MOHNTON, Pa. — Chip Lutz is a trophy hunter.
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Not the kind with a grizzly bear rug or his latest sporting conquests mounted on the wall, but with shelves adorned with glistening crystal and shimmering silver and gold.
On Wednesday, Lutz, the No. 3 seed, and a founding member of LedgeRock Golf Club, added the 18th Brewer Cup Super-Senior trophy to his burgeoning collection. In thrilling fashion, he outlasted No. 5 seed Greg Osborne of Overlook Golf Course in 21 holes at his home club (par 72, 6,320 yards). It was the longest Final in the event’s 18-year history.
“Fortunately, I seemed to play fairly steady from a medal play point of view. I managed my game pretty well,” Lutz, 70, of Reading, Pa., said. “This is obviously a very special place to me as I was involved in the formation of the club early on and then [as] the second president. It means a lot to me.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had that much fun losing,” Osborne, 71, of Lititz, Pa., said. “[Chip] is such a gentleman [and] a great player. I’m just thrilled that I could hang with him.”
With Wednesday’s victory, Lutz becomes the second player to earn titles in both the Senior (2014, 2011) and Super-Senior divisions of the event. Robin McCool of Saucon Valley Country Club won the Senior Division of the Brewer Cup on two occasions (2013, 2010) and the Super-Senior Division three times (2022, 2019, 2016).
The Final was a proper heavyweight tilt.
Lutz’s name is laureled in the GAP Hall of Fame as well as in the USGA Hall of Champions. Some of his most prolific accolades include three R&A Senior Amateur titles (2011-12, 2016) and a U.S. Senior Amateur (2015). His championship pedigree is also reflected in GAP. He is the possessor of nine Senior Player of the Year awards (2010-2018), and is the only player to win a GAP tournament in each age division GAP conducts championships in: junior, amateur, middle-amateur, senior and super-senior.
Osborne is the reigning Super-Senior Player of the Year. He captured another Super-Senior POY title in 2022. Ironically, both Finalists were navigating their first Super-Senior divisional starts in the Brewer Cup. Prior to this year, Osborne has not competed in either division of the event.
Throughout regulation, the titlechasers traded blows in their loop around the Rees Jones layout. Lutz stood 2-up on No. 16 (par 4, 328 yards). After the pair hit drives within 10 yards of one another, they attacked the front-right hole location with short irons. Osborne’s approach landed 18 inches from the hole resulting in a concession. Lutz earned the gallery’s applause after his ball stopped just five feet away. He failed to match Osborne’s birdie.
Both players missed the green on No. 17 (par 4, 395 yards). Lutz, who found the collection area short and left of the green, sculled his ensuing chip into the rough on the opposite side of the green and failed to get the next one close as well. Osborne chipped up from the right greenside rough, resulting in a conceded par. The pair halved No. 18 (par 5, 525 yards) to force extra holes.
On No. 19 (No. 1, par 4, 360 yards) Osborne and Lutz found the fairway with their tee shots. Osborne hit a 4-iron from 160 yards into the right greenside bunker. After a suave splash to 25-feet, he canned the putt to extend the match. Lutz made a two-putt par prior. The pair halved No. 20 (No. 2, par 3, 115 yards) with pars after hitting the green in regulation. On No. 21 (No. 3, par 4, 310 yards) the finalists’ tee shots left each with less than 100 yards into the green. Both approach shots landed near the front-center hole location. Osborne, who was away, missed his 12-footer. Lutz, standing over a six-footer on a similar line, stroked his birdie putt into the back of the cup.
“He hit a putt that he expected to go left, right, and it does but not much,” Lutz, said. “That kind of confirmed for me that it was a lot straighter and I kept it in the hole and I managed to get it in.”
Lutz is still navigating an inflection point in his golfing career as he settles into Super-Senior competition. Given the length of his competitive prowess, he is selective in the events he plays in.
“I’m just trying to figure out what I want to do when I get older. It’s a hard thing right now for me,” Lutz, who won the Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup Super Senior in 2024, said. “In the same token, I’m still playing pretty decent.”
In February, Lutz had a trigger finger surgery on his middle finger and thumb. Since he’s still recovering, he’s withdrawn from several events this season.
“I had enough Cortisone injections in them for the doctor to say, ‘You can’t really do anymore,’” Lutz, who is retired from the title insurance industry, said. “It’s probably from wear and tear over the years. I’ve hit a few million golf balls I’m sure.”
Lutz decided to play in this year’s Brewer Cup at the last minute after realizing the event’s venue.
“It’s been a great association certainly in my life. I gave a lot early to the club, but they gave back to me and made me an honorary member here,” Lutz, who’s captured three men’s championships at LedgeRock, said. “The fact that they’ve done that and committed to me and believed in me and have been supportive, I really cherish and honor that.”
Several members followed the late holes of the Lutz/Osborne match. Also in the crowd was Lutz’s wife Bonnie, son Jordan and nephew John. Putter, Chip’s brother, supported during the Semifinal.
While still discerning the next chapter of his golfing story, this week’s title run in the Brewer Cup has added some ink to the page.
“When I play this many days in a row, this many rounds, my body starts feeling better the more I play. I should really probably look at that as a sign to continue on. I’m not as sore as I thought I might be,” Lutz said. “I love the game, I love GAP and all the things that go with this. I was very fortunate to win today.”
Super-Senior Semifinals
Osborne upset No. 8 seed Bob Beck of Lehigh Country Club in the Semifinal match, 2&1. Osborne extended his lead to 3-up on with a birdie on No. 8 (par 5, 525 yards). His 50-degree wedge from 30 yards stopped four feet away.
“Greg is solid. He didn’t make too many mistakes,” Beck, 65, of Allentown, Pa., said. “I wasn’t disappointed in the way I hit it, he’s just a little better than me.”
In the other Semifinal match, Lutz ousted No. 7 seed Steve Walczak of Wilmington Country Club, 3&1. A Lutz birdie on No. 13 (par 5, 525 yards) resulted in a 3-up lead. He canned a 15-footer after hitting a 60-degree wedge from 52 yards.
“Chip is very good and very consistent,” Walczak, 68, of Greenville, Del., said. “Today I didn’t make anything, I didn’t really putt well and didn’t drive it as well.”
The Brewer Cup is named in honor of O. Gordon Brewer, Jr., the former president of Pine Valley Golf Club. He is a two-time U.S. Senior Amateur Champion and veteran of 42 USGA Championships. He’s captured two Golf Association of Philadelphia Amateur Championship titles (1967, 1976), a GAP Senior Amateur Championship crown (1997) and a Senior Player of the Year (1997) as well as countless invitational titles. He is a recipient of the USGA’s Bob Jones Award and a member of the GAP Hall of Fame.
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.
Final
3. Lutz, LedgeRock GC d. 5. Greg Osborne, Overlook GC, 21 holes
Semifinals
5. Osborne, Overlook GC d. 8. Bob Beck, Lehigh CC, 2&1
13. Chip Lutz, LedgeRock GC d. 7. Steve Walczak, Wilmington CC, 3&1
