GREENVILLE, Del.–The calendar reads May but April reigned in the first round of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 30th Middle-Amateur Championship. Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Joe April, 28, of Philadelphia, Pa., posted a sensational 4-under-par 67 at a demanding Fieldstone Golf Club (par 71, 6,579 yards) to grab a commanding three shot-lead after 18 holes of the season’s first Major. April’s steadfast short game produced five birdies and a scintillating closing eagle en route to one of two sub-par scores. He also carded three bogeys.
Stephen Hudacek, III of Glenmaura National Golf Club, the 2011 Amateur Championship runner-up, is alone in second place at 1-under 70. Senior standout Raymond Thompson of Overbrook Golf Club; Michael McDermott of Merion Golf Club, a three-time Mid.-Am. champion and 26-year-old Michael Carr of Plymouth Country Club are tied in third at even-par 71. Defending champion John Brennan of Philadelphia Cricket Club made the cut at 80.
The low 70 players and ties advanced into Day 2.
The second and final round of the Middle-Amateur Championship begins at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow. With inclement weather forecasted, the Association will start players on both the No. 1 and 10 tee. Typically, all players begin on No. 1 for Day 2.
“I wasn’t sure how I was going to play actually. I had a little bit of an inconsistent start to this year,” said April, who advanced to the second round of the 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. “I’ve had some really good rounds and I’ve had some not so good rounds. The one thing I tried to do today, and I think I did a pretty good job, was to take it one shot at a time and not think ahead. I hit a lot of good wedges and putted great. It’s amazing how much that can save you. I’m very pleased and a little unexpected.”
April foreshadowed the day to come on the very first hole when after being forced to lay up his second shot on No. 1 (par 4, 418 yards), he saved par from 60 yards. He then jumped into red figures on No. 2 (par 5, 575 yards) with a tap-in birdie after a wedge from 130 yards stopped inches shy of the cup.
A brief hiccup on No. 4 (par 4, 354 yards) followed with a lost ball bogey but a gimme birdie on No. 5 (par 5, 522 yards) sent April on his way.
“That was actually a really good bogey on No. 4,” said April, who is playing in his first Association Mid.-Am. “I hooked my drive just a tad into the heavy fescue and never found it so I had to go back and replay it. I got up and down from 120 yards. That was one of the crucial holes out there. I didn’t want to make a double bogey especially after a good start. I made a birdie on No. 5 and that kind of gave me some momentum to get through the day. “
He added a smooth 7-iron over the flag to 20 feet on No. 6 (par 3, 184 yards) to make the turn at 2 under.
Two more tight wedges resulted in two more birdies on Nos. 11 (par 4, 304 yards) and 12 (par 4, 369 yards) and a 4-under score. However, a poor tee shot on No. 13 (par 3, 187 yards) and a blocked approach on No. 14 (par 4, 457 yards) gave two shots back. April wasn’t deterred, though. He finished in spectacular style. April reached No. 18 (par 5, 524 yards) in two, the second a 240-yard 3-wood, before sinking a 35-foot downhiller. He totaled just 27 putts.
“It had a little bit of speed on it,” a wry April said. “I’m glad it found the bottom of the cup.”
April, who graduated from Drexel University in 2007, noted a new job in the private equity field last year has allowed him to become rededicated to the game. Last year’s U.S. Mid.-Am. and today’s performance proved that out.
Hudacek burst onto the scene a few years back with a runner-up finish to Michael Hyland in the 2011 Amateur.
A non-aggressive approach on Wednesday has the 26-year-old in contention.
“I never played here before so I played very conservatively and I think that helped a lot,” said Hudacek, a resident of Scranton, Pa. “I may take one or two more shots tomorrow but I think I’ll stick to the game plan I had today. I putted very well.”
Hudacek had two birdies and a bogey to make the turn at 1 under before finishing his last nine in even-par 36.
He said he still draws on that 2010 experience.
“That’s been a big confidence booster just knowing my game can go to that level,” said Hudacek. “I don’t think I’ve played that well since then but I see shades of it coming back.”
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 143 Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of 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
Score
Joe April, Philadelphia Cricket Club
67
Stephen Hudacek, III, Glenmaura National Golf Club
70
Michael McDermott, Merion Golf Club
71
Raymond Thompson, Overbrook Golf Club
71
Michael Carr, Plymouth Country Club
71
Stephen Seiden, Llanerch Country Club
72
Thomas E. Timby, Jr., The Bucks Club
72
Peter Barron, III, Stone Harbor Golf Club
73
Matthew Gaffney, Little Mill Country Club
73
Scott Storck, Philadelphia Cricket Club
73
Scott McNeil, Bala Golf Club
73
Rich Pruchnik, Back Creek Golf Club
73
Michael Hyland, Little Mill Country Club
73
Kyle Davis, Bidermann Golf Club
73
Kevin Cahill, Merion Golf Club
74
Chris Lange, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club
74
Brian McDermott, Llanerch Country Club
74
Joshua Isler, Chester Valley Golf Club
74
Sean Torpey, Commonwealth National Golf Club
74
Blake Cleary, Wilmington Country Club
74
Christopher Ault, Yardley Country Club
74
Matthew Mattare, Saucon Valley Country Club
75
Shawn Lavin, Rolling Green Golf Club
75
Peter Moran, Edgmont Country Club
75
Michael Tash, Tavistock Country Club
75
Freddy Henriquez, Loch Nairn Golf Club
75
William Jeremiah, Bidermann Golf Club
76
Ryan Gelrod, Philadelphia Cricket Club
76
Brian Gillespie, St. Davids Golf Club
76
Jeff Osberg, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
76
Thomas Hyland, Little Mill Country Club
76
Mark Peterson, Philadelphia Cricket Club
76
Oscar Mestre, Overbrook Golf Club
76
Tim Freeh, Back Creek Golf Club
76
Marc Mandel, Philadelphia Cricket Club
77
Will Holt, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
77
Christopher Thude, Torresdale-Frankford Country Club
77
Scott McLaughlin, Commonwealth National Golf Club
77
G. Patrick Dougherty, Philadelphia Cricket Club
77
James Gillespie, Wedgwood Country Club
77
Christopher Clauson, Sandy Run Country Club
77
Anthony Apostolico, Back Creek Golf Club
77
Thomas Bartolacci, Jr., Saucon Valley Country Club
77
Scott Bergson, Little Mill Country Club
77
Nicholas Anderson, White Manor Country Club
77
James Bell, III, Makefield Highlands Golf Club
78
Jamie Slonis, Tavistock Country Club
78
Conrad Von Borsig, White Manor Country Club
78
Michael Brown, Philadelphia Publinks GA
78
Todd Vonderheid, Huntsville Golf Club
78
Roc Irey, Lookaway Golf Club
78
Robert Bechtold, Fieldstone Golf Club
78
P. Chet Walsh, Philadelphia Country Club
78
David Liotta, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
78
Matthew Finger, Wedgwood Country Club
79
John Gosselin, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
79
Jon Lavin, Rolling Green Golf Club
79
Benjamin Smith, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
79
Edward Kelly, Jr., Old York Road Country Club
79
Michael Quinn, Edgmont Country Club
79
John Brennan, Philadelphia Cricket Club
80
Patrick Phillips, Philadelphia Publinks GA
80
Rand Mendez, Fieldstone Golf Club
80
Randy Mitchell, Wilmington Country Club
80
David West, Whitford Country Club
80
Michael Vassil, Country Club of Scranton
80
Tom DiCinti, Little Mill Country Club
80
Alexander Maguire, Jr., Brookside Country Club
80
George Petrellis, Blue Bell Country Club
80
Joshua Krumholz, Moselem Springs Golf Club
80
Jack Anderson, Yardley Country Club
80
John Simone, Philmont Country Club
80
Charles Scalzott, Hidden Creek Golf Club
80
Keith Matt, Philadelphia Publinks GA
80
Failed to qualify
Daniel Rexon, Tavistock Country Club
81
Steven Marcozzi, Stone Harbor Golf Club
81
Kevin McDermott, Llanerch Country Club
81
Joseph Russo, Laurel Creek Country Club
81
Glenn Smeraglio, Mercer Oaks Golf Course
81
Thomas Gramigna, Tavistock Country Club
81
Patrick Knott, Merion Golf Club
81
Michael Walker, Loch Nairn Golf Club
82
Andy Achenbach, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
82
Chris Anderson, Wilmington Country Club
82
Rodney James, Golden Oaks Golf Club
82
Robert Savarese, Jr., Philadelphia Cricket Club
82
William Naylor, Applebrook Golf Club
82
Peter Pendergast, Berkshire Country Club
83
Grant Skyllas, Moselem Springs Golf Club
83
Jim Rattigan, Schuylkill Country Club
83
Andrew Carnevale, North Hills Country Club
83
Santo Lafoca, Huntsville Golf Club
83
Matt Johnson, Stone Harbor Golf Club
83
Michael Zieg, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
83
David Shields, Philadelphia Publinks GA
84
Brian Herman, Merchantville Country Club
84
Michael Casella, Golden Oaks Golf Club
84
Jeff Klagholz, Aronimink Golf Club
84
Brian Kenny, Greate Bay Country Club
85
Jack Wallace, Philadelphia Cricket Club
85
Gerald Newell, Jr., DuPont Country Club
85
Jim Simmons, Stonewall
85
David Brookreson, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
85
Mark Kosko, Sea Oaks Golf Club
85
John Campanelli, Running Deer Golf Club
85
John Frampton, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
86
Jonathan Shevlin, North Hills Country Club
86
Tim Westfall, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
86
Duane Pinnock, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
86
Ryan Hayward, Jericho National Golf Club
87
Gary Daniels, Applebrook Golf Club
87
Timothy Anderson, Philadelphia Publinks GA
87
Luis Diaz, Rancocas Golf Club
88
Damon Zappariello, Five Ponds Golf Club
89
Daniel Feeney, Philadelphia Cricket Club
90
Steve Meyer, Rolling Green Golf Club
92
John Burke, Running Deer Golf Club
92
Eric Holt, Torresdale-Frankford Country Club
93
Robert Good, Merion Golf Club
95
Bob Beck, Lehigh Country Club
95
Peter Kyriakodis, Commonwealth National Golf Club
97
Pierce Herbst, Greate Bay Country Club
98
Tom Spano, Llanerch Country Club
DQ
Francis McFadden, Overbrook Golf Club
WD
Steven Passalacqua, Wedgwood Country Club
WD
Arthur Kania, Jr., Merion Golf Club
WD
Michael Domenick, Phoenixville Country Club
WD
Richard Umani, Honeybrook Golf Club
WD
Tom Borsello, Hartefeld National
WD
Brad McFadden, Overbrook Golf Club
WD
Matt Jasudowich, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
WD
Greg O’Connor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
WD
DQ-disqualification; WD-withdrawal
