ELVERSON, Pa. — Little Mill Country Club’s Matthew Gaffney and Applebrook Golf Club’s William Naylor carded respective 1-under-par 70s to share medalist honors in a Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifier at a cool French Creek Golf Club (par 71, 6,389 yards) Monday. Both players led a field of 135 hoping to earn one of 39 qualifying spots and ties available for the Championship proper, set for May 22-23 at Fieldstone Golf Club.
Sharing the medalist seat isn’t foreign to Gaffney, 32, of Washington Township, N.J. He did so twice in 2009: at a Middle-Amateur and Amateur Championship qualifier, respectively.
“I drove the ball really long and straight today,” Gaffney, a transportation manager for Cisco Foods, said. “I took advantage of some really good tee shots and made some crucial putts for par to keep the round going. The golf course is in great shape. The fairways are nice and tight. It was just overall a good performance.”
Also contributing to that performance was Harry Lore, a good friend and clubmate who served as Gaffney’s forecaddie.
“He’s played here a number of times, and I had never seen the golf course,” Gaffney said. “It was nice to have someone to guide my round and tell me where to hit it.”
Gaffney opened with a three-putt from 60 feet for bogey on No. 1 (par 4, 349 yards). He lost another stroke on the par 5, 485-yard No. 4 after a 6-iron shot from 205 yards landed in fescue. Gaffney responded nicely with a birdie on No. 5 (par 3, 115 yards) after sticking a 9-iron to a foot. He posted six straight pars before finding a birdie on the par 4, 445-yard 12th hole. Gaffney hit a 7-iron 155 yards to nine feet and converted the right-to-left breaker.
“It broke a little more than I thought,” he said. “I didn’t hit it hard enough to hold the line, but it luckily caught the left lip and rolled in.” Gaffney moved to 1 under with a birdie on No. 17 (par 3, 202 yards) after stopping a 4-iron at six feet.
Gaffney’s represented his home course throughout its charge into the GAP Team Matches Playoff. It’s kept his game fresh and sharp thus far. Monday provided further re-assurance that Gaffney’s trending in a positive direction. He is dipping back into the competitive circuit following a short hiatus. Gaffney and his wife Dorthea had a baby, Mark Benjamin, last year.
“I’m looking forward to getting back out there this year,” he said. “With the way I’m driving the golf ball, I definitely feel that I can contend at Fieldstone. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Like Gaffney, Naylor, 39, of Willistown Township, Pa., attributed his medalist effort to consistent ball-striking. He hit 13 fairways and 15 greens in regulation. He, too, bogeyed No. 1 following a three-putt from 30 feet. Naylor carded a 4 on the par 3, 182-yard No. 8 after missing the green left with a 7-iron. He attempted to hit a high 60-degree wedge out of thick rough, but his golf ball caught the down-slope and left Naylor 12 feet from the jar. A 3 under on his inward tour boosted Naylor, an insurance consultant, onto the medalist platform.
“I started to get a feel for the greens,” he said.
Naylor knocked a 56-degree wedge 70 yards to four feet for birdie on No. 11 (par 5, 502 yards). Naylor posted back-to-back red figures on Nos. 16 (par 5, 518 yards) and 17 (par 3, 202 yards). He hammered a 3-wood 236 yards to 20-feet and two-putted for birdie on the first, and hit a 4-iron to six feet.
During the winter, Naylor spent time in Naples, Fla. and joined Calusa Pines Golf Club. Doing so allowed Naylor to improve his golf game.
“The course is so hard. It kind of taught me what good scores mean,” he said. “I’ve become a lot more relaxed playing golf. I’m starting to enjoy it a lot more.”
Monday’s qualifier was the last of three; Downingtown Country Club and Greate Bay Country Club hosted events last month. At the end of the day, the cut line stopped at 80.
The GAP Middle-Amateur started in 1984, three years after the USGA created the U.S. Mid-Am as a formal championship for post-college amateurs. The Association followed suit with the USGA in creating a Mid-Am, but initially differed in its administration of the tournament in a couple of respects. The most obvious difference was the age requirement. Prior to 2001, the GAP Mid-Am was for players 30 years of age and older.
The Association’s Executive Committee reviewed and revised that age requirement in 2001 to match the USGA’s guidelines of 25 years of age or older for eligible players. Also at that point, the Committee changed the format of the event to a two-day stroke play tournament (instead of a one-day medal play event) with a cut to the low 70 players and ties after the first round. The field begins with 144 players, an increase of 12 from years past. Players must have a GAP/USGA Handicap Index of 7.0 or lower.
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.
Qualifiers
Name, club
Scores
Matthew Gaffney, Little Mill Country Club
70
William Naylor, Applebrook Golf Club
70
Kyle Davis, Bidermann Golf Club
72
Patrick Phillips, Philadelphia Publinks GA
73
Jim Rattigan, Schuylkill Country Club
74
Stephen Hudacek, III, Glenmaura National Golf Club
74
Freddy Henriquez, Loch Nairn Golf Club
74
Joshua Isler, Chester Valley Golf Club
75
George Petrellis, Blue Bell Country Club
75
Greg O’Connor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
75
James Bell, III, Makefield Highlands Golf Club
76
Ryan Hayward, Jericho National Golf Club
76
Christopher Thude, Torresdale-Frankford Country Club
76
Chris Anderson, Wilmington Country Club
76
Joshua Krumholz, Moselem Springs Golf Club
76
Michael Zieg, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
76
Michael Carr, Plymouth Country Club
76
Matt Jasudowich, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
76
Jim Simmons, Stonewall
77
Peter Moran, Edgmont Country Club
77
John Gosselin, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
77
Thomas Bartolacci, Jr., Saucon Valley Country Club
77
Ryan Gelrod, Philadelphia Cricket Club
78
Andy Achenbach, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
78
John Frampton, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
78
Blake Cleary, Wilmington Country Club
78
Roc Irey, Lookaway Golf Club
78
Santo Lafoca, Huntsville Golf Club
78
Duane Pinnock, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
78
Keith Matt, Philadelphia Publinks GA
78
Kevin Cahill, Merion Golf Club
79
David West, Whitford Country Club
79
Sean Torpey, Commonwealth National Golf Club
79
Robert Beck, Lehigh Country Club
79
Daniel Rexon, Tavistock Country Club
80
Peter Pendergast, Berkshire Country Club
80
Steve Meyer, Rolling Green Golf Club
80
Arthur Kania, Jr., Merion Golf Club
80
Andrew Carnevale, North Hills Country Club
80
Alexander Maguire, Jr., Brookside Country Club
80
Jonathan Shevlin, North Hills Country Club
80
Timothy Anderson, Philadelphia Publinks GA
80
Failed to qualify
Frank Polizzi, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
81
Mike O’Keefe, French Creek Golf Club
81
John Samaha, Old York Road Country Club
81
Mark Hodgson, Burlington Country Club
81
Chris Esbenshade, Bent Creek Country Club
81
Elias Chua, Fieldstone Golf Club
81
Ivan McBride, Five Ponds Golf Club
81
Michael DiGiandomenico, French Creek Golf Club
81
David O’Malley, Commonwealth National Golf Club
81
Kenneth Matt, Commonwealth National Golf Club
82
Daniel Pinciotti, Jr., Huntingdon Valley Country Club
82
Jeffrey Shanahan, Applebrook Golf Club
82
Pete Zollers, Spring Ford Country Club
82
Fred Jones, Merion Golf Club
82
Ryan Riviezzo, Applecross Country Club
83
Mark Coassolo, Brookside C.C. of Allentown
83
Daniel Mahoney, Lu Lu Country Club
83
John Grove, Chester Valley Golf Club
83
Thomas Meehan, Blue Bell Country Club
83
Scott Redmond, Merion Golf Club
83
David Atkinson, Llanerch Country Club
83
Jonathan Kruse, Bala Golf Club
84
Brian Gardner, Philadelphia Publinks GA
84
Owen Mulhern, Whitford Country Club
84
Robert Loftus, Overbrook Golf Club
84
Burton McHugh, Sunnybrook Golf Club
84
Donald MacKelcan, Wilmington Country Club
84
Steven Budenz, Makefield Highlands Golf Club
85
Brad George, Golf Course at Glen Mills
85
Alexander Liebman, Mercer Oaks Golf Course
85
Brian Powell, Burlington Country Club
85
Jeff Owsik, Philadelphia Publinks GA
85
Ryan Orcutt, Philadelphia Publinks GA
85
Jack Clough, Wilmington Country Club
86
Jim Braunsberg, Blue Bell Country Club
86
Adam Gelwarg, Green Valley Country Club
86
Andrew Sterge, Stonewall
86
Dino Stathis, Metedeconk National Golf Club
86
Patrick Conroy, Llanerch Country Club
86
Jay Davidson, Rancocas Golf Club
86
Pat Pasquariello, Philadelphia Country Club
87
Taylor Stansberry, Jericho National Golf Club
87
Matt Mancini, Golden Oaks Golf Club
87
Richard Atcavage, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
87
Lucas Serbun, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
87
Chris Hunger, Wedgwood Country Club
87
Mark Mulvihill, Fieldstone Golf Club
87
Ahmed Carcoura, White Clay Creek Country Club
87
J R Cattoni, Huntsville Golf Club
87
David Smith, Doylestown Country Club
87
Stephen Brown, Chester Valley Golf Club
88
Stephen Dolente, Applebrook Golf Club
88
Matthew German, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
88
Timothy Chow, Indian Valley Country Club
88
Jim Lanzalotto, Llanerch Country Club
89
Timothy Marshall, Inniscrone Golf Club
89
Robert Dietrich, Makefield Highlands Golf Club
89
Tom DiGati, Bellewood Golf Club
89
Michael Costonis, Philadelphia Cricket Club
89
James Dolente Jr, White Manor Country Club
89
Michael Cole, Torresdale-Frankford Country Club
90
Michael Boden, Aronimink Golf Club
90
Ansley Jessup Jr, Rancocas Golf Club
90
Lee Calfo, Rolling Green Golf Club
91
Jim Witt, Commonwealth National Golf Club
91
David Justi, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
92
Walt Neumann, Spring Mill Country Club
92
Stephen Somers, Aronimink Golf Club
93
Brad Sokol, Green Valley Country Club
93
Jeffrey Angelucci, Torresdale-Frankford Country Club
94
David Barnett, Inniscrone Golf Club
94
Joseph Greenwald, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
97
Albury Fleitas, Gulph Mills Golf Club
99
James Zinkand, French Creek Golf Club
101
Michael Schoedler, Five Ponds Golf Club
WD
Jeff Fialko, Aronimink Golf Club
WD
Casey Murray, Philadelphia Cricket Club
WD
Daniel Kilpatrick, Medford Village Country Club
NC
Ron Weaver, Bent Creek Country Club
WD
Gary Smith, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
WD
Schuyler Wickes, Phoenixville Country Club
WD
Chris Kallmeyer, Philadelphia Cricket Club
WD
Sean Remington, Green Valley Country Club
WD
Scott MacDonald, White Clay Creek Country Club
WD
Mark Walkush, Manufacturers Golf & Country Club
WD
Michael Meiswich, Penn Oaks Golf Club
WD
Linc Treadwell, Saucon Valley Country Club
WD
Blaise Giroso, Fieldstone Golf Club
WD
Rob Moses, Concord Country Club
WD
Michael Gradisek, Stonewall
WD
WD – withdrawal; NC – no card
