Firsts can be hard to come by for a 128-year-old Association like GAP. But here we are.
Next year, GAP will conduct a Major Championship at a public facility – marking the first time one of the Association’s marquee events enters the public domain.
Jeffersonville Golf Club in Norristown, Pa., owned and operated by West Norriton Township, will host to the 43rd Middle-Amateur Championship May 20-21, 2026.
| WATCH: 2026 GAP Mid.-Am. Announcement |
“When we met with the club about a year ago and walked the course, we all agreed it was the perfect venue for a GAP Major Championship,” GAP President Ken Phillips said. “One of the goals of the GAP Executive Committee, especially with half of our clubs being public courses, much like the USGA, is to conduct more championships at public venues.”
Jeffersonville opened in 1931. Its 18-hole layout was designed by renowned architect Donald J. Ross and restored by Ron Prichard in 2000. Ross’ works are regularly celebrated in the illustrious Golf Digest America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses lists. Prior to becoming a golf course, Jeffersonville was used for horse racing in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
A week prior to the Mid.-Am., the world’s finest professionals will compete in the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pa., another Ross gem.
“Jeffersonville Golf Club is thrilled to be the first public golf course to host a GAP Major championship,” Jeffersonville’s Golf Professional Billy Mullen, 42, of Eagleville, Pa., said. “Jeffersonville Golf Club is a ball-strikers golf course. It’s not very long, but you need to be in the right spot off the tee.”
Qualifying sites for the Championship proper will be announced in early 2026.
Middle-Amateur Championship
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.
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.
