CINNAMINSON, N.J. – Kyle Martin of Huntingdon Valley Country Club gutted it out in harsh weather conditions by finishing 7 over to secure a Top-10 finish Thursday after Day Two of the 42nd Middle-Amateur Championship presented by NJM Insurance Group at Riverton Country Club (par 71, 6,573 yards).
“I’ve been playing golf pretty much my entire life,” Martin, 31, of Lansdale, Pa., said. “My parents played, so I grew up learning from them. They got me like a little U.S. Kids Junior set and we bounced around country clubs. We were at Talamore Country Club for a few years, and then when I really got into it, we were over at Commonwealth National Golf Club for a long time before I made the move to Huntingdon Valley about six years ago.”
During his time at Commonwealth, Martin competed in GAP events with his highlight being the 2014 Open Qualifying at Makefield Highlands Golf Club where he earned medalist honors. As a kid, he frequently competed in junior tournaments.
Martin played college golf at the University of Delaware from 2012-16 and was the team’s captain his junior and senior seasons.
“I haven’t played a GAP event in probably four years for various reasons,” Martin said. “This is the first time I’ve actually been back out and it’s my first time playing Riverton in a tournament setting. Coming in, I didn’t have a ton of expectations.”
Even with low expectations, Martin went out and fired a 71 in Round 1. He mixed in three birdies and an eagle on No. 9 with five bogeys. On Day Two, Martin shot rounds of 70 and 79 across the 36-hole marathon.
“I just came out, started playing well, made some putts and was hitting it all right. Everything was good.” Martin said. “I kept everything in front of me.This afternoon with all the rain, I struggled to adjust to the speed of the greens, so I had a few three putts. The [three putts] derailed the round from the beginning. I played well this morning, and then this afternoon was more of a struggle.”
Martin has a younger sister and works for Intellitec Solutions which is based out of New Castle County, Del. He does IT consulting, application development, and is a solutions engineer for Intellitec. With the high stress his job provides, he said he appreciates his time on the golf course.
“I take full advantage of everything I can with golf so every time I’m at the golf course, I do a pretty good job of zoning out,” Martin said. “Whether it was back at school, working or anything at all, once I got to the golf course, I was away from everything else. I didn’t have to worry about anything, just focused on golf.”
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.
NJM Insurance Group
Founded in 1913, NJM is among the Mid-Atlantic region’s leading property and casualty insurers. One of the Company’s core values is to support the communities it is privileged to serve, a value exercised through year-round employee volunteer efforts at local non-profits and a formal corporate giving program. NJM operates in a mutual fashion for the exclusive benefit of its policyholders and is consistently recognized for its award-winning customer service, superior claims handling, and overall customer satisfaction. NJM’s personal insurance products are available direct to consumers in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The Company also works with a preferred network of independent agents to deliver business insurance in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Visit njm.com to learn more.
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.
