42nd Middle-Amateur Championship: Day Two

Vannucci takes his second Middle-Amateur crown

CINNAMINSON, N.J.–Troy Vannucci trusts the process. The dividends are high yield.

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Vannucci added a third Major Championship to his expanding trophy case with a second Middle-Amateur title on Thursday at Riverton Country Club (par 71, 6,573 yards). Vannucci, the 2022 winner, closed with a sensational bogey-free, 4-under 67 in rainy, raw conditions to secure a four-shot victory. He finished the 54 holes of the 42^nd Middle-Amateur Championship presented by NJM Insurance Group at 5 under.

Stephen Cerbara of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, reinstated as an amateur earlier this year, also closed with a bogey-free 4-under flurry to place second with a 1-under total.

Zak Drescher of Bent Creek Country Club, the 2024 Champion, tied for sixth at 5 over.

 “All the hard work that no one sees [and] the long nights at the range. Seeing all that pay off, I mean, it’s very heartwarming at the end of the day,” said Vannucci, 33, of Marlton, N.J. and Little Mill Country Club. “That’s why we come out to compete and practice and be out here. And I have my name on the trophy two times. That still hasn’t sunk in yet.”

The victory also provided Vannucci with a bit more lure for his growing legacy. He is the first person since Jeff Osberg in 2016 to win back-to-back GAP Major titles. Vannucci won the final Major of 2024, the Joseph H. Patterson Cup, last August at Concord Country Club. Ironically enough, the Patterson Cup was also played in poor weather, as torrential rains shortened the tournament from 54 to 36 holes. Osberg won the Open and Patterson Cup in his year.

The victory also comes with an additional layer. It puts Vannucci’s name in the conversation as GAP’s current top player. In addition to the aforementioned successes, Vannucci was the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship Qualifying medalist in 2022 and 2023 and the Silver Cross Award winner in 2023.

“I’m still a work in progress,” said Vannucci of his stature. “I’m just keeping my head down and keep grinding and see what happens. Keep fighting.”

Those words provide the perfect summation for Vannucci’s Final Round.

He bookended his front nine with birdies on Nos. 1 (par 4, 355 yards) and 9 (par 5, 484 yards). On the opening hole, Vannucci launched a 54-degree wedge from 90 yards to 12 feet below the cup. The ninth hole presented a spot of bother after he pushed his drive right, but Vannucci got back into position and nipped a 40-yard chip to six feet.

As rain intensified, Vannucci grinded out pars with some spicy chips and clutch putts.

The coup de grâce came on No. 13 (par 4, 427 yards). His drive found the right trees. With a hallway to the fairway available, he punched a 5-iron 160 yards to the fairway short of the green. Vannucci’s next shot from 55 yards, bounced and stopped 12 feet short of the cup. A putt, and a par ensued. A clean card remained.

First- and second-round leader Craig Hornberger stumbled mid-third round. That Vannucci par on No. 13 coupled with a Hornberger bogey on No. 12 flipped the leaderboard.

Vannucci continued to be clutch. He nipped a chip to four feet after going long on No. 16 (par 3, 135 yards) – a no, no that turned yo, yo. A potential stumbling block averted.

Vannucci secured the win on No. 17 (par 5, 475 yards). He splashed his third shot out of the bunker short of the green, about 40 yards, to six feet and made the birdie. He then added a 15-footer on the closing No. 18 (par 4, 354 yards) for a little championship icing.

“The short game bailed me out today. I’ve actually been putting and chipping a lot more just because the weather’s been a little shaky here. It’s nice to see that pay off,” Vannucci said. “I call it realistic shots like when you are short-sided and you got to bump it into the heel or when you are short-sided in a bunker, trying to really get a lot of spin. Working on my lag putting a bunch. A lot of the shots today were shots I hit at Little Mill. So I guess you could say I had a bit of a comfort level out there.”

A championship comfort level.

The Middle-Amateur Championship expanded from 36 to 54 holes last year to be listed on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and eligible for points.

The Middle-Amateur Championship is open to individuals 25 years of age or older. 

A William Hyndman, III Player of the Year points event, the Middle-Amateur started in 1984, three years after the USGA created the U.S. Mid-Amateur as a formal championship for post-college amateurs. GAP followed suit with the USGA in creating a Middle-Amateur, but initially differed in its administration of the tournament in a couple of respects.

The most obvious difference was the age requirement. Prior to 2001, the GAP Middle-Amateur was only available to players 30 years of age or older.

The GAP Executive Committee reviewed and revised that age requirement in 2001 to match the USGA’s guidelines of 25 years of age or older for eligible individuals. It also, as previously mentioned, changed the format of the event to a two-day stroke play tournament with a cut to the low 70 players and ties after the first round. Furthermore, GAP lowered the handicap index requirement from 7.0 to 5.0 in 2023. The event was expanded to 54 holes in 2024 and is a WAGR ranked event.

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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 125,000 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.