Brown's Birdie Barrage Leads to Patterson Cup Victory - The Golf Association of Philadelphia

Aug 11, 2018

Brown’s Birdie Barrage Leads to Patterson Cup Victory

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. – Michael R. Brown, Jr. openly talks about the self-doubt associated with his golf game. His self-confidence and self-belief are always at a premium.

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In Thursday’s final round of the 116th Joseph H. Patterson Cup, Brown banished those inner demons, at least temporarily, with a scintillating mid-round move that led to an eventual victory.

Brown carded a second-round 5-under 66 to finish the 36 holes at 4 under, two shots clear of the field. Fellow Lu Lu Country Club mate Mark Farley, too, shot up the leaderboard and, too, posted a final-round 66 to finish second.

It is Brown’s third Golf Association of Philadelphia Major title. He adds the Patterson Cup to victories in the 2009 Middle-Amateur Championship and 2010 Open Championship.

“All golfers question themselves,” said Brown, 45, of Maple Shade, N.J. “I feel a lot better now. Having won two of them before, the last one being in 2010, it feels good to be more recent. I’ve been kind of feeling like the good days were behind me. It seems like it’s harder and harder to win and I feel like it’s harder and harder to play the game as I get older.”

Brown entered the second round five shots behind Day 1 leader Scott McNeil of Bala Golf Club. McNeil carded a 4-under 67 Wednesday.

Brown’s day didn’t start so promising. On No. 1 (par 4, 427 yards), he had to chip out from the right trees with his second shot and would eventually make bogey.

He cancelled that out with a birdie on No. 3 (par 4, 460 yards) thanks to a 164-yard 7-iron that stopped a foot from the hole.

As the leaders struggled, Brown ratcheted up the pressure. He rocketed up the leaderboard by playing holes Nos. 7-12 in 5 under. He went birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie-bogey-eagle.

“I got a little lucky. I made a 20-foot downhiller for birdie on No. 7 (par 5, 496 yards). I hit it entirely too hard. If it doesn’t go in I’m going to three-putt most likely,” said the soft-spoken Brown. “After I made birdie on No. 10, I thought I had a chance to win.

“I was hoping opportunistically the eventual winner would be at 4 under. That’s what I finished at.”

After No. 7, Brown’s birdies went as so: on No. 8 (par 4, 361 yards) he lifted a wedge 54 yards to five feet; on No. 9 (par 4, 378 yards) he hit a wedge from 97 yards to six feet; on No. 10 (par 4, 414 yards) he ripped a 9-iron from 131 yards to six feet and on No. 12 (par 5, 518 yards) he made eagle when he drained a 25-footer after striping a 5-iron from 197 yards to reach the green in two.

His No. 11 (par 4, 353 yards) bogey blemish came as the result of finding the fairway bunker with his tee ball.

Brown ended his round with five straight pars before converting a short birdie try on No. 18 (par 5, 460 yards) after finding the green in two shots.

“I’m a little shocked,” said Brown. “I didn’t put myself into the golf tournament until pretty late. There are a lot of good young players and a lot of good older players and it’s really hard to win in Philadelphia. I couldn’t be happier. It’s a relief as much as a feeling of accomplishment because you would hate to work hard and not be paid off.”

Farley, 22, of Langhorne, Pa., started the day 2:30 hours before the leaders after an opening-round 3-over 74.

“I wasn’t really thinking I’d be in contention for the championship,” said Farley. “I just wanted to go out and play a solid, smart round of golf and see where that put me. I was fortunate enough to eagle No. 18 and get to 2-under total. Then it kind of sunk in where I was at overall.”

The Patterson Cup was Farley’s lone Association appearance this year.

The 2018 Temple University graduate is working at Liberty Mutual in Conshohocken, Pa. and has had little free time.

His prior top Association performance came in the 2015 Patterson Cup at Chester Valley Golf Club, where he tied for 19th.

Brown, the 2010 William Hyndman, III Player of the Year, is in position to take that honor again this year.

Even if that fails to materialize, his place within the Golf Association of Philadelphia community is already established.

“In the back of my head, I want to be relevant and part of the conversation [when it comes to top players in Philadelphia],” said Brown. “That’s what motivates me.”

Golf Association of Philadelphia
Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 260 Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.

Name, club R1-R2–Total
Michael R. Brown, Jr., Lu Lu Country Club 72-66–138
Mark Farley, Lu Lu Country Club 74-66–140
Adam Armagost, RiverWinds Golf & Tennis Club 71-70–141
Michael McDermott, Merion Golf Club 70-71–141
Peter Barron, III, Greate Bay Country Club 70-72–142
Blaine Lafferty, Little Mill Country Club 69-73–142
Marty McGuckin, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve 70-72–142
Greg DeLuca, Makefield Highlands Golf Club 75-68–143
David Hicks, The Shore Club 71-72–143
Matthew Mattare, Saucon Valley Country Club 72-71–143
Paul Mauer, Stonewall 72-71–143
Conrad Von Borsig, Philadelphia Cricket Club 69-74–143
Scott McNeil, Bala Golf Club 67-77–144
Campbell Wolf, Carlisle Country Club 68-76–144
Andrew Mason, Huntingdon Valley Country Club 72-72–144
Richard Riva, Bent Creek Country Club 72-72–144
Grant Skyllas, LedgeRock Golf Club 71-73–144
Joe Tigani, Fieldstone Golf Club 68-77–145
Christopher Ault, Yardley Country Club 68-77–145
Brian Isztwan, Huntingdon Valley Country Club 74-71–145
Gregor Orlando, Philadelphia Cricket Club 70-75–145
Jeff Osberg, Huntingdon Valley Country Club 75-70–145
Ryan Rucinski, Hartefeld National 71-74–145
Ryan Tall, Spring Ford Country Club 72-73–145
Robert Bechtold, Fieldstone Golf Club 75-71–146
Carlos Fullerton, Brookside CC of Allentown 72-74–146
Troy Kelleher, Country Club of Scranton 71-75–146
Patrick Knott, Merion Golf Club 72-74–146
Troy Vannucci, Little Mill Country Club 73-73–146
Jeremy Wall, Manasquan River Golf Club 73-73–146
James Kania, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club 72-75–147
Matt Kocent, Philadelphia Cricket Club 72-75–147
Thomas Timby, Jr., Mercer Oaks Golf Course 71-76–147
Ethan Wall, Manasquan River Golf Club 72-75–147
Dawson Anders, Indian Valley Country Club 73-75–148
Zachary Barbin, Loch Nairn Golf Club 73-75–148
Cole Berman, Philadelphia Cricket Club 72-76–148
John Buliga, Yardley Country Club 74-74–148
Chris Meares, Running Deer Golf Club 72-76–148
Marco Nieto, Glenmaura National Golf Club 74-74–148
Steve Skurla, White Manor Country Club 75-73–148
Sam Soeth, The ACE Club 70-78–148
James Sullivan, Jr., Lu Lu Country Club 75-73–148
Andrew Lombardo, Indian Valley Country Club 75-74–149
Mark Benevento, Jr., Greate Bay Country Club 75-75–150
Alexander Butler, Bluestone Country Club 71-79–150
Michael Cook, Applebrook Golf Club 73-77–150
Jay Whitby, Wild Quail Golf & Country Club 74-76–150
John Barone, Glenmaura National Golf Club 75-76–151
Thomas Dzwonczyk, Country Club of Scranton 75-76–151
Blake Hinckley, Wilmington Country Club 74-77–151
Nicky Marrollo, Whitford Country Club 70-81–151
Gary McCabe, Jr., RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve 75-76–151
Michael Rogers, Overbrook Golf Club 75-76–151
Michael Carr, Philadelphia Cricket Club 73-79–152
John Samaha, Old York Road Country Club 73-79–152
Christopher Cerminaro, Glenmaura National Golf Club 75-78–153
Danny Harcourt, Mercer Oaks Golf Course 71-82–153
Michael Moffat, Lu Lu Country Club 75-78–153
Brandon Capone, Old York CC at Chesterfield 75-79–154
David Herbst, West Shore Country Club 75-79–154
Dan Rudershausen, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club 74-80–154
Chris Warner, Yardley Country Club 75-79–154
Andrew Cornish, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve 75-80–155
Carey Bina, Radnor Valley Country Club 75-81–156
Reed Winkler, Hartefeld National 72-85–157
Mark Czerniakowski, Lu Lu Country Club 73-85–158
Matthew Finger, DuPont Country Club 72-WD–72
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