Four share medalist honors in Patterson Cup Qualifier at Philmont

 HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. —Youth reigned supreme in a Joseph H. Patterson Cup Qualifier at Philmont Country Club (par 70, 6,390 yards) Tuesday. Merchantville Country Club’s Vincent Anagnos, Little Mill Country Club’s Zach Arsenault, Glenmaura National Golf Club’s Patrick Ross and Torresdale-Frankford Country Club’s Connor Sharp carded respective even-par 70s to share medalist honors. The foursome topped a field of 148 players attempting to earn one of 44 qualifying spots and ties available for the Championship proper, presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance Aug. 8-9 at Cedarbrook Country Club.

  The cut line fell to 76 by day’s end.

  Anagnos and Sharp played in the morning and set the leaderboard standard.

   “I watched my team out here in the winter time, when the course was playing firm, fast and really tough,” Anagnos, a fifth-year senior at Drexel University, said. “But today, it was playing soft and easy. There was definitely a number out there.”

   A trio of birdies allowed Anagnos to chase that number. On No. 3 (par 3, 155 yards), he drilled an 8-iron to the green’s center and deposited a 30-footer into a front right hole location. Sound sand wedges from 105 yards on the next two holes left Anagnos with birdies from six inches and 12 feet, respectively. He played the uphill, dogleg right No. 9 (par 5, 565 yards) wisely by following a 3-wood/5-iron/lob wedge formula that resulted in a 10-footer for a 4.

   “It felt good to make that putt and turn at 2 under,” Anagnos, 21, of University City, Pa., said. “I felt like I had a good, solid game going into the back nine, but then I got a little frustrated on the back.”

   That frustration spawned from a bogey on the par 3, 212-yard 11th hole, where Anagnos flew the green with a 3-iron and failed to navigate a severe slope. Back-to-back bogeys, caused by third shots from greenside bunkers, added to the aggravation. Anagnos poured that anger into an aggressive drive on No. 18 (par 4, 343 yards), followed by a low skipper from 47 yards to four feet for a 3.

   “I’m looking forward to Cedarbrook.” Anagnos said. “That was our home course in college last year. I played it plenty of times.”

   Earlier this year, Sharp forecaddied at Philmont and learned its layout quite well.

   “It was almost like a practice round. It definitely helped,” Sharp, 17, of Northeast Philadelphia, Pa., said. “Early on, I was hitting a lot of fairways and greens, and later in the round, I made a lot of five, 10 footers for par.”

   Sharp’s scorecard was a bit modest: two birdies and two bogeys. He stopped a gap wedge at 15 feet on the par 3, 118-yard No. 8. Sharp knocked a pitching wedge 130 yards to four feet for a 3 on No. 10 (par 4, 322 yards). Poor tee shots crafted his only squares (bogeys) on the scorecard. Sharp, a soon-to-be senior at Father Judge High School, left an 8-iron short on No. 3 (par 3, 155 yards) and pulled a driver left on No. 14 (par 4, 425 yards).

   Sharp is wholly focused on golf this summer; he plays and practices at Torresdale-Frankford from “9 to 5” everyday.

   “I’ve been playing really well over the past week, and it’s given me more confidence,” he said.

   Ross compiled an equally basic yet effective round. The Dunmore, Pa. resident birdied No. 3 thanks to a 7-iron that settled 12 feet below the flagstick. After finding the right fairway bunker on the par 4, 434-yard No. 5, Ross exploded out of an upslope with a 4-iron and executed a four-footer for 3. A pair of bogeys coming in prevented a subpar score. On No. 14 (par 4, 425 yards), the tournament’s toughest hole, Ross exited a 5-iron swing from 192 yards early and missed the green right. He flew the No. 18 (par 4, 343 yards) putting surface with a 9-iron from 134 yards and failed to get up-and-down.

   Ross, who is transferring from the University of Hartford to Temple University in the fall, believes his game is starting to turn around after early season struggles. He qualified for the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Amateur and Open Championships, respectively.

   “It felt good to get a good round in today,” Ross, 21, said. “I kept the ball in front of me. Lag putting was the big thing.”

   Tuesday’s performance renewed Arsenault’s confidence as well. He doubled Ross’ birdie/bogey output.

   “I felt that I had it all day,” Arsenault, 19, of Medford, N.J., said. “I fumbled down the stretch a lot. I can’t complain though. You don’t win the tournament today. I’m happy with the way I played. It gives me some momentum heading into the Patterson Cup.”

   Arsenault, an incoming sophomore at Alvernia University, relied on his 52-degree wedge for red figure set-ups. On No. 9 (par 5, 565 yards), he knocked it 110 yards to three feet. The scene replayed on Nos. 10 (par 4, 322 yards) and 12 (par 5, 491 yards): a 52-degree wedge from the same yardage for birdie.

   NOTES — Play was delayed twice due to severe weather. Players were called off the course at 4:30 p.m. and returned 35 minutes later. At 5:45 p.m., the horn sounded again due. Play resumed an hour and 20 minutes later … Cedarbrook’s Kevin Genuardi aced the par 3, 118-yard No. 8 with a sand wedge.

  The Joseph H. Patterson Cup is the second oldest Championship in the Golf Association of Philadelphia. The Patterson Cup started in 1900 and has been held in every year other than the World War II era (1943-45). Many of the Association’s great champions — J. Wood Platt, William Hyndman, III and R. Jay Sigel, to name a few — have their name engraved on the trophy.

  Since 1912, Liberty Mutual has been committed to providing broad, useful and competitively-priced insurance products and services to meet its customers’ ever-changing needs. Liberty Mutual’s delivery on this commitment is the reason it is now the third-largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2010 net written premium.

  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.