Cricket’s Berman books medal in #GAPOpen Qual. at Radnor Valley

VILLANOVA, Pa. — When he isn’t reading greens on the golf course, Cole Berman is likely perusing a paperback. Fitting that “Red Notice” by Bill Browder is his current craze.

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  Berman put the field on notice with his red number Tuesday. The Philadelphia Cricket Club member carded a 3-under-par 67 to top a Golf Association of Philadelphia Open Championship Qualifier at Radnor Valley Country Club (par 70, 6,536 yards). He led an assembly of 154 amateurs and professionals alike hoping to earn one of 38 positions and ties available for the Championship proper.

  The cut line fell to 75 by day’s end. The 113th Open Championship will take place July 17-18 at Philadelphia Country Club.

   “It’s a great book,” Berman said of his leisurely read. “It’s about a guy from Chicago who, post-Cold War, started a hedge fund based on Russian companies that were very undervalued. As he attracted more attention to it, the value skyrocketed and then Russia eventually kicked him out and took over his assets. [I’d give it a] 10-out-of-10.”

  Same rating for Berman’s performance Tuesday.

  Berman, who started on the back nine, drained an improbable 50-footer for birdie on No. 11 (par 3, 186 yards) to establish a seemingly impenetrable zone. After leaving a 6-iron short, he threw a cross-your-fingers putt at the hole and watched it pour in the middle.

  “That goes from just trying to make par there and then all of a sudden you’re 1 under and just cruising. I ran into two other birdies on that nine,” Berman, 21, of Rosemont, Pa., said. “I just had a lot of opportunities today. My putting was really solid. The greens were slow but I just kind of saw my lines. It was hard to get the ball past the hole, so you just kind of had to trust it. Putts were going in from distance, which was nice to see.”

  Berman, a soon-to-be senior who is majoring in government at Georgetown University, converted long-range putts for birdies on Nos. 14 (par 4, 424 yards) and 17 (par 4, 408 yards): a 25-footer following an 8-iron from 151 yards on the first, an 18-footer following a pitching wedge from 127 yards on the latter. On the par 3, 173-yard No. 2, he towered a 6-iron to 12 feet for another birdie to move to 4 under.

  A focused Berman, who approached every shot like a machine on autopilot, experienced a topsy-turvy four-hole closing stretch. On No. 6 (par 4, 379 yards), he steered a 3-wood into trees right and ended up on the adjacent 5th hole. Forced to maneuver through the timber, Berman faced a yardage of 88 for his third shot, which he left short of the green. A chip and two putts translated into a 6 on the scorecard.

  Berman, a two-time GAP Major Champion, rebounded with a birdie on the next hole (par 5, 536 yards), splashing out of the right greenside bunker into kick-in range. A missed green on the strenuous No. 8 (par 3, 209 yards) meant a bogey. An 8-iron from 151 yards to 15 feet on the next (par 4, 426 yards) meant a birdie and medalist honors.

  “My game’s been pretty solid this summer. I didn’t try and think about qualifying; I wanted to go out and put up a low number,” he said.

  Berman, a three-time Junior Player of the Year, won the Joseph H. Patterson Cup in 2014 and BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship in 2015. He reached the Round of 16 in this year’s Amateur on his home course, where he fell to Michael R. Brown, Jr. of Lu Lu Country Club, 1-up.

  Golf makes up the majority of Berman’s summer. Rounds outnumber range sessions, a key to his success so far.

  “I think it’s helped my game because it’s more about playing golf than making a swing or hitting a shot on the range,” Berman said. “I’ve been playing a lot of golf. I’m not very busy other than that.”

  He’ll be busy July 17-18.

  The Association expanded the Open Championship field to 132 players in 2017. The format remains 36 holes of stroke play. However, it will be contested over two days instead of one day. A cut to the low 60 and ties takes place after Day One.

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 151 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.