#BMWPhillyAm Qualifying: Burlington

Seese shoots par for medal at Burlington

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BURLINGTON, N.J. – For the first time since 2004, Sean Seese didn’t make an appearance in a GAP event last season.

Seese made up for the time away in a big way Tuesday. The Huntingdon Valley Country Club standout carded an even-par 70 to take low honors in BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship Qualifying at beautiful Burlington Country Club (par 70, 6,550 yards).

“It feels great to be back,” said Seese, a member of HVCC’s BMW GAP Team Matches squad who reached the Division AA Playoffs last weekend.

When all was said and done, the cut line for the field of 136 hopefuls stopped at 4-over 74 on the day, meaning 37 players advanced to the championship proper.

An ideal weather setting for Tuesday’s morning wave let scores flirt with par before the afternoon wave endured its fair share of wind gusts. Seese was the only player who managed to stay level.

Starting on Burlington’s back side, Seese hopped on a roller coaster ride featuring birdies and bogeys, mixed in with a pair of pars. Seese started the day with a wedge dart to 15 feet on No. 10 (par 3, 133 yards) before making the birdie to begin. After a bogey on the par-4, 350-yard 11th, another birdie dropped on No. 12 (par 3, 150 yards) from 18 feet. After bogeys on three of four between Nos. 14-17, Seese bounced back with a red number before the turn on No. 18 (par 4, 320 yards). His wedge approach there left just four feet, which he made with confidence.

“It’s always good to start the day with a birdie. But I had some mistakes mixed in there at the start. It wasn’t easy out there,” said Seese, 37, of Rydal, Pa.

After making the turn at 1 over, the steady Seese wanted to pick things up a bit for his second nine. He did just that, starting on No. 1 (par 4, 415 yards). His perfected drive led to a wedge approach that kicked up to 15 feet and the putt for 3 was made. A bogey wiped that one out immediately on No. 2 (par 3, 208 yards ). However, a birdie got him back to even on the dogleg left No. 3 (par 4, 400 yards) when a 20 footer found the bottom of the cup. It all added up to the day’s battle-tested low round, and a medal honor for Seese.

“Tight golf course. This is a place you’ve got to hit it good. You can’t spray it around here and get away with it,” said Seese. “The greens were pure as heck. I thought I could make anything I looked at because they were rolling that great. And I made some good ones today.”

Last February, “just a few weeks before the world shut down due to COVID-19′, Seese switched wealth management companies. After moving over to Rockefeller Capital Management, he turned his attention to his new role for most of 2020 without a full slate of playing opportunities on the table. However, golf still remained in the cards — just not the GAP Qualifying circuit. Seese has been a mainstay on GAP Major tee sheets for most of the past decade, so he’s ready to return to those days.

Today’s #BMWPhillyAm Qualifying event marks the first of four this season. The next Qualifying opportunity comes at Elkview Country Club (May 19), followed by Running Deer Golf Club (May 22), and Heidelberg Country Club (Heidelberg Country Club).

The BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship is GAP’s premier individual championship. Participants must first advance through one day, 36-hole stroke-play qualifying to gain one of 32 available match play positions. Those who qualify for match play must advance through four matches in two days to reach the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Final, which is typically held on the Saturday of Father’s Day weekend. The winner receives the J. Wood Platt Trophy; its namesake holds a record-seven BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship titles.

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 Association’s 300 Member Clubs and 80,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.