74th Delaware Amateur: Day Three

Lugiano cooks way to Delaware Amateur title

MILLSBORO, Del. – In his Liberty University dorm, Michael Lugiano’s golf prowess isn’t even a topic of conversation. 

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His roommates couldn’t care less about what tournaments he’s won or where he’s played.

What do they care about? Chocolate chip cookies and chicken parmesan. Enter Chef Lugiano.

“I love to cook and bake,” Lugiano said. “I enjoy being in the kitchen as much as the golf course. Some of the guys will get store-bought cookies and bring them home. That doesn’t fly for me. I enjoy making any Italian meal but chicken parmesan is my specialty.”

Lugiano, a rising sophomore at Liberty, cooked the field at the 74th Delaware Amateur. A final round 65 at Plantation Lakes Golf & Country Club (par 71, 6,552 yards) sizzled him to a 72-hole total of 16 under. He is the 74th Delaware Amateur Champion.

DuPont Country Club’s Tyler Debusschere finished in solo second at 9 under.

Lugiano is the only player to break par in all four rounds. He also helped secure the Liberty repeat. Evan Barbin, a rising senior, claimed the title last June at White Clay Creek Country Club.

“Winning the Delaware Amateur means a ton,” Lugiano, 19, of Jackson Township, Pa., said. “This is a great event with a great field. My friends and I like to call this GAP’s fifth major because of all the great players in GAP who play in it. It is really amazing.”

Starting the 36-hole marathon day with a three-shot deficit to 2023 champion Blake Micholas, Lugiano surged to the 54-hole lead after a 67. 

“I knew that to win I was going to need a couple solid rounds of golf,” Lugiano, of Huntsville Golf Club, said. “So many players were playing great golf. My motto was to remain patient and that came true because I started slow in both rounds. I just let the shots come to me. The putts started to drop.”

Lugiano took control of the tournament in the final round with a birdie trifecta on Nos. 8 (par 3, 148 yards), 9 (par 4, 350 yards) and 10 (par 4, 320 yards). 

He closed out his taste test at Plantation Lakes in style by birdieing his final two. He flipped a 50-degree wedge from 123 yards to 10 feet on No. 17 (par 4, 442 yards). On the last (par 5, 513 yards), his 6-iron stayed dry after it missed the green right. He chipped it to two feet.

Chef’s kiss. 

Waiting for him off the final green was his mother MaryAnn, father Robert (pictured above) and his brother Bob. He played in the same group as Bob, who played collegiately at Millersville University, the first two rounds.

His love for the game started like many during the COVID-19 pandemic. He started playing when he was 12.

“I am definitely blessed to have such a great family,” Lugiano said. “My father taught me how to play and my mom raised us well. I can always count on my family if I need them. Liberty is six hours from home but if I called my mom, dad or brother, I know they would get to me as soon as possible. I try to return the favor whenever I can. They mean a lot to me.”

Ironically enough, his father loves Plantation Lakes. They played there for the first time a couple years ago on vacation. The Lugianos will return to Millsboro next week for vacation with a tee time on the books at Plantation Lakes. It has become a special place.

To the victor goes the spoils. In 2024, the USGA added exemptions for State Amateur champions into the U.S. Amateur based on select criteria. Lugiano will get his first chance Aug. 11-17 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif.

“What I am looking forward to most is experiencing the good golf course,” Lugiano said. “It will be cool to meet new players. Being able to play 36 holes of competition against the best amateurs in the world is what I am excited about.”

In 2018, the Anthracite Golf Association merged with GAP. Since then Lugiano, Logan Paczewski (2023 Joseph H. Patterson Cup) and David Mecca (2023 Middle-Amateur) have won prominent individual titles in the GAP region.

“Golf in the Anthracite area is so good,” Lugiano said. “I grew up playing in the Coal Scuttle. I never realized when I was younger how good the competition is in the GAP region. It makes it so much nicer to get the win because I know how good the competition is. I am really lucky. It is super cool to be the first player from that region to win this tournament.”

NOTES

-Wilmington Country Club’s Jeff Homer aced No. 11 (par 3, 124 yards) in the final round. He jarred a 50-degree wedge for his second career ace and first in a tournament.
-Recent Penn State University graduate Jake Griffin carded the round of the championship with a final round 63. His round set a new course record at Plantation Lakes.

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.