Cutrell’s first shot of the round landed 290 yards down the fairway, leaving him a little less than 150 yards to the hole. From there he stuck a 9-iron to within three feet of the hole for an easy birdie putt.
A great start in its own right, but especially given the fact he arrived at his hotel late last night fresh off the three-day Pennsylvania Open Championship at Nemacoln at Woodlands Resort’s Mystic Rock Course in Farmington, Pa.
“You know you have to make birdies to do well,” said the 42-year-old, who had to play in this qualifier because of a scheduling conflict, “so it really helps when you get one under your belt right away.”
Apparently Cutrell would not be satisfied with just one birdie. The 2005-06 R. Jay Sigel Pennsylvania Amateur Match Play Champion reeled off back-to-back-to-back birdies on holes Nos. 17 (par 4, 393 yards), 18 (par 5, 575 yards) and 1 (par 4, 415 yards) to finish the day with six birdies and only one bogey.
George “Buddy” Marucci, Jr., who garnered national attention when he was defeated by none other than Tiger Woods in the 1995 U.S. Amateur Championship final, 2-up, also qualified for the Mid-Am with a 3-under-par 69.
The Captain of the 2007 USA Walker Cup squad and two-time GAP Amateur Champion (79, 85) said he hit the ball better than he has in a while.
“I putted nicely today,” said Marucci, a former Patterson Cup champion (73, 93). “It’s nice to make it.”
Playing in his 47th USGA event, the 53-year-old career amateur joins Cutrell and six other qualifiers heading to this year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur championship is set for Sept. 9-14 at Forest Highlands GC in Flagstaff, Ariz.
The U.S. Mid-Amateur originated in 1981 for the amateur golfer of at least 25 years of age, the purpose of which to provide a formal national championship for the post-college player. The event is open to those with a USGA Handicap Index of 3.4 or lower. It is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
| Qualifiers | ||
| Player | City | Total |
| Arnold Cutrell | Greensburg, PA | 67 |
| Daniel Pinciotti, Jr. | Churchville, PA | 68 |
| George Marucci, Jr. | Wayne, PA | 69 |
| Chip Lutz | Reading, PA | 70 |
| Jamie Slonis | Sewell, NJ | 70 |
| *Thomas Gramigna | Haddonfield, NJ | 71 |
| *David West | Downingtown, PA | 71 |
| *James Kieserman | Dresher, PA | 71 |
| Alternates (in order) | ||
| *Francis Mc Fadden | Newtown Square, PA | 71 |
| *John Brennan | Norristown, PA | 71 |
| Failed to qualify | ||
| *Paul Rogowicz | Yardley, PA | 71 |
| *P. Chet Walsh | Wayne, PA | 71 |
| Douglas Gregor | Phoenixville, PA | 72 |
| Marty Crounse | Lawrenceville, NJ | 72 |
| Michael Moffat | Warrington, PA | 72 |
| Motohiro Yogo | Philadelphia, PA | 72 |
| Phil Ries | Asbury, NJ | 72 |
| Steve Walczak | Greenville, DE | 72 |
| Wayne Bartolacci | Langhorne, PA | 72 |
| Brian Gillespie | Wayne, PA | 73 |
| Chris Lange | Bryn Mawr, PA | 73 |
| Jeff Hudson | Center Valley, PA | 73 |
| Michael Buckley | New York, NY | 73 |
| Thomas Dicinti | Voorhees, NJ | 73 |
| Ajai Sirohi | Princeton, NJ | 74 |
| Alexander Maguire | Philadelphia, PA | 74 |
| Chad Marrone | Staten Island, NY | 74 |
| Charles Whalen | Paoli, PA | 74 |
| D. Drew Siok | Audubon, NJ | 74 |
| Drew Panebianco | Dresher, PA | 74 |
| Glenn Smeraglio | Newtown, PA | 74 |
| Mark Dennish | Skillman, NJ | 74 |
| Michael Tash | Glassboro, NJ | 74 |
| Mike Danner | Chalfont, PA | 74 |
| Phil Auerbach | New York, NY | 74 |
| Chris Yard | Downingtown, PA | 75 |
| David Frantz | Easton, PA | 75 |
| Gary Stewart | York, PA | 75 |
| Robert Arthur | Marlton, NJ | 75 |
| Robin McCool | Bethlehem, PA | 75 |
| Ryan Gelrod | Warminster, PA | 75 |
| Steven Horky | Hoboken, NJ | 75 |
| Ted Harris | Yardley, PA | 75 |
| Thomas Timby, Jr. | Doylestown, PA | 75 |
| Andrew Falcone | Duxbury, MA | 76 |
| Geoffrey Cooper | Philadelphia, PA | 76 |
| John Lovett | Marlboro, NJ | 76 |
| John Mullins | Royersford, PA | 76 |
| Keith Matt | Lansdale, PA | 76 |
| Louis Giovi | Ewing, NJ | 76 |
| Oscar Mestre | Berwyn, PA | 76 |
| Peter Betzold | Bel Air, MD | 76 |
| Alan Specht | New York, NY | 77 |
| Douglas Goepfert | Hershey, PA | 77 |
| Frank Corrado | Washington Crossing, PA | 77 |
| James White | Horsham, PA | 77 |
| Jeff Dellafranco | Malvern, PA | 77 |
| Rich Thon | Swarthmore, PA | 77 |
| Rob Kusek | West Trenton, NJ | 77 |
| Brian Dobisch | Warrington, PA | 78 |
| Charles Dowds | Glenside, PA | 78 |
| Douglas Pearce | Cranbury, NJ | 78 |
| Gerard Ascolese | Red Bank, NJ | 78 |
| Glenn Courtney | West Long Branch, NJ | 78 |
| Jim Gavaghan | Newtown, PA | 78 |
| Michael Digiandomenico | Elverson, PA | 78 |
| Michael Price | Basking Ridge, NJ | 78 |
| Sean Leonard | Haddonfield, NJ | 78 |
| Tom Piersanti | Malvern, PA | 78 |
| Glen M. Schreiner | Elkton, MD | 79 |
| Johan Van Schalkwyk | Haddon Heights, NJ | 79 |
| John Quirk | Glenside, PA | 79 |
| Michael Domenick | Phoenixville, PA | 79 |
| Ansley Jessup | Willingboro, NJ | 81 |
| Brian Piotrowski | Woodbury, NJ | 81 |
| Eric Galm | Bensalem, PA | 81 |
| Jack Helms | Wallingford, PA | 81 |
| John Robinson | North Wales, PA | 81 |
| Mark Hutchinson | Yardley, PA | 81 |
| Stuart Francis | Burlingame, CA | 81 |
| Anthony List | Havertown, PA | 82 |
| Brad Sokol | Wayne, PA | 82 |
| Frank Filippo | Newtown, PA | 82 |
| Kenneth Sheppard | Pitman, NJ | 82 |
| Michael Decapua | Easton, PA | 82 |
| Ryan Morrissey | Newark, DE | 82 |
| Bryan Marvin | Horsham, PA | 83 |
| Ronan Culligan | Washington Crossing, PA | 83 |
| Stephen Valahovic | Englewood, NJ | 84 |
| Andrew Speaker | Newtown, PA | 86 |
| Al Flora | Wilkes-Barre, PA | 87 |
| Burton McHugh | Philadelphia, PA | 87 |
| Sean Braddish | New Hope, PA | 87 |
| Gerald Ryan | West Chester, PA | 88 |
| Jeffrey Kutner | Princeton, NJ | 89 |
| Robert Falls | West Chester, PA | 89 |
| Andrew Abrams | Bryn Mawr, PA | WD |
| Andy Achenbach | Royersford, PA | WD |
| Bruce Clifford | Bensalem, PA | WD |
| Damon Taylor | Wilmington, DE | WD |
| Dan Levinson | New York, NY | NS |
| Daniel Afghani | Orlando, FL | NS |
| David Caldwell | Pottstown, PA | NC |
| David Derminio | Coopersburg, PA | WD |
| Donald Meyer | Washington, DC | WD |
| Duke Delcher | Bluffton, SC | NS |
| Glenn Morris | Old Greenwich, CT | WD |
| Jhoon Chang | Ardmore, PA | WD |
| Joseph Cunningham | Blue Bell, PA | NC |
| Richard Siderowf | Westport, CT | WD |
| Robert Hanington | Califon, NJ | DQ |
| Robert Morris | Great Falls, VA | WD |
| Tom Brower | Freehold, NJ | WD |
| William Kelly | King of Prussia, PA | WD |
| WD-withdrawal; NS-no show; NC-no card; DQ-disqualified | ||
| *-determined in playoff |
