Doylestown CC’s Hartung takes Christman Cup and Harry Hammond Award

  NEW HOPE, Pa.– Doylestown CC’s Russell Hartung made it twice as nice.

  The Harry Hammond Award is earned by the player with the lowest aggregate score in the qualifying round of the Junior Boys’ Championship, the Jock MacKenzie Memorial and the two rounds of The Christman Cup. Hartung finished at 294 for the Hammond (71-76-72-75).

  “I hit everything alright today,” Hartung said. “I hit my driver pretty good and hit most of the fairways. It was just an overall good day.”

  Hartung carded three birdies on the day under sweltering conditions, including a back-to-back birdie effort on hole Nos. 13 (par 4, 401 yards) and 14 (par 5, 596 yards) to best the 58-player field by two strokes.

  “It means a lot, this being the first [GAP tournament] I have ever won,” he said. “I’m happy I held it together.”

  As previously mentioned, Hartung’s field-low round also earned him the Harry Hammond Award. But the soon-to-be sophomore at Central Bucks East pointed to his even-par 71 at the Junior Boys’ Championship this past June as somewhat of a catalyst for his success at this level of competition.

  Added Hartung, “Winning [the Harry Hammond Award] means I played pretty good in every tournament and held it together. It’s is a big one.”

  His victory also grants him an invitation to represent the Golf Association of Philadelphia in the 44^rd running of Williamson Cup, a prestigious annual junior competition. Hartung will join Jimmy Bea of Spring Mill CC and two other GAP Junior players at the competition set for Aug. 12-13 at Williams CC in Weirton, W.V.

  Bea carded a 5-over-par 149 (76-73) to finish tied for second place in Thursday’s competition with Robert Galbreath, Jr., the 2007 Junior Boys’ Champion and current Junior Player of the Year points leader out of Huntingdon Valley CC.

  Bea, who said it will be fun to represent GAP at the Williamson Cup, started the day off with a 4-over-par 76 but came back strong to finish just two strokes back with a solid 1-over-par 73 under arguably more difficult playing conditions.

  Overall I’m pleased,” said Bea of his effort. “This is a bigger tournament and I broke 150 which was solid.”

  But for Galbreath, It was more a difference in his play between the front and back nine rather than the rounds. The 16-year-old played Jericho National GC’s front nine in a combined 2-under par for his two rounds compared to 7-over par on the back side.

  “I didn’t play well on the actual back nine all day,” Galbreath said. “I just really could not have played worse on the back [nine] both times.”

  Despite his difficulties, Galbreath’s finish, combined with Thursday’s absence of Sunnybrook GC’s Robert Robertson, has allowed him to take a more comfortable lead in the Junior Player of the Year standings.

  “Player of the Year is something I really take seriously,” Galbreath said. “Because Philadelphia has an Association with so many great players and people, to have your name at the top of a list with so many great juniors means so much.”

  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 135 Member Clubs and 60,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. The purpose of the Association is simple: To promote, protect and preserve the game of golf in the region.

Notes:
  The Williamson Cup is a 36-hole, stroke play event that features competition among four-man teams from 11 state and regional golf associations from Delaware, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, Ontario, Quebec and Washington, D.C.

  The Golf Association of Philadelphia took fourth place at the 2006 Williamson Cup held at Bellevue CC in Syracuse, N.Y.