Former Burlington members April, Wallace top Open Qualifier

 MT. HOLLY, N.J.–The top of the 109th Open Championship Qualifier leaderboard turned into a Burlington Country Club reunion. Joe April and Jack Wallace, former Burlington members and club champions who now play out of Philadelphia Cricket Club, finished 1-2 atop Thursday’s 98-player field at Burlington (par 70, 6,725 yards).

  April earned medalist honors with a 4-under-par 66. Wallace, who had April in his sights for most of the round, finished at 3 under. The pair earned two of the available 21 spots for the Open Championship on July 17 at Waynesborough Country Club. The cut line for the field fell at 72 with a seven-player-for-six-spot playoff.

  April holds the Burlington competitive course record of 63. He set that in 2006, as a non-member, ironically playing with Wallace.

  “I always feel great playing here. It’s a course I’m very comfortable with,” said April, who held Burlington membership status from 2008-11. “I love the set up of it and really know these greens well. It showed today.”

  April totaled 25 putts include only 10 on the front side.

  Playing in the first group of the day, April used an early-round surge to flash atop the leaderboard. He holed a 20-yard bunker shot on No. 2 (par 3, 217 yards) for birdie before sinking a 60-foot eagle putt on No. 4 (par 5, 505 yards).

  “That really jumped started the round,” said April of his eagle. “I was just trying to get it to lag range and had the perfect line and perfect speed. It’s one of those you don’t expect but always take.”

  April completed a 4-under front side on No. 9 (par 4, 440 yards) when he knocked a 6-iron from 185 yards to 15 feet and made the putt.

  “I was feeling great,” said April, 28, of Philadelphia, Pa., who won the Cricket club championship a few weeks ago. “I knew I had to keep it going.”

  April dropped a 100-yard sand wedge on No. 11 (par 4, 348 yards) to six inches for another 3, to move to 5 under but followed with a couple of poor swings and back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13. April responded with a birdie on his next hole, No. 14 (par 5, 561 yards), with a 95-yard sand wedge to three feet for a final birdie. He finished with four straight pars.

  “I saw where the qualifiers were and knew where I had to be,” said April. “I still love this golf course but living in Center City and working in the suburbs made it more appealing to join a club over there.”

  Wallace, too, made the turn at 4 under and with the course record in sight. He birdied Nos. 1 (par 4, 422 yards), 3 (par 4, 402 yards), 4 (par 5, 505 yards) and 8 (par 4, 417 yards). Wallace had a 9-iron and three wedges in hand for his approach shots on those holes and was within 20 feet on each.

  He also missed three other makeable birdie tries.

  “Yes [I was thinking about it]. I actually played with Joe the day he shot the course record,” said Wallace, a Burlington member from 1994-2011. “I had four birdies on the front and it could easily been six or seven.”

  Wallace moved to 5 under after sticking a 9-iron from 142 yards to inches. However, three poor chips on No. 12 (par 3, 194 yards) after missing the green right and another on No. 14 (par 5, 561 yards) dropped his score to 1 under. Wallace finished with birdies on Nos. 16 (par 4, 449 yards) and 17 (par 4, 412 yards). He knocked a 9-iron from 142 yards to 10 feet on 16 and dropped an 8-iron from 160 yards to eight feet.

  “I actually shot a 63 of my own,” said Wallace, 29, of Plymouth Meeting, Pa. “but it was front a tee set further forward.”

  Wallace’s father David is still a Burlington member.

NOTES –There was a 50-minute weather delayed beginning at 4:07 p.m.