Gaffney, Wallace top Mid.-Am. Qualifier at Burlington CC

MT. HOLLY, N.J. – Matthew Gaffney of Little Mill CC and Jack Wallace of Burlington CC each shot 1-over par Thursday at Burlington CC (par 70, 6,580 yards) to earn medallist honors at the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifier.

   Gaffney, 28, and Wallace, 24, sat atop the 105-player field attempting to each earn one of the 45 qualifying spots and ties available for the 26th edition of the Middle-Amateur Championship set for May 20-21 at Tavistock CC. Thursday’s qualifier was delayed three and a half hours due to severe weather.

   “I felt pretty relaxed out there. I hit it pretty solid. I hit a lot of fairways,” Gaffney said. “It was a good round.”

   Gaffney birdied No. 5 (par 3, 147 yards) and bogeyed Nos. 7 (par 4, 458 yards) and 10 (par 3, 135 yards). He hit 9-iron to about two-feet on No. 9. On No. 7, Gaffney laid it into the fairway bunker and chipped it out to about four-feet with a 6-iron.

   Three holes later, Gaffney recovered after hitting his tee ball out of bounds.

   “I came back, hit another one or two feet and made bogey,” he said.

   Wallace, of Beverly, N.J., didn’t let an hour and a half rain delay affect his play.

   “It wasn’t that bad,” Wallace said. “The course was in great shape. It wasn’t that wet out there.”

   Wallace fired birdies on Nos. 4 (par 5, 479 yards), 12 (par 3, 192 yards) and 17 (par 4, 412 yards). On No. 12, he hit 5-iron to land about two yards from the hole. Wallace felt “pretty good” about his birdie on No. 4.

   “I laid it up to about 90 yards and hit a 60-degree wedge in pretty close to the hole,” he said.

   Wallace bogeyed Nos. 1 (par 4, 420 yards), 2 (par 3, 212 yards), 5 (par 3, 147 yards) and 18 (par 4, 315 yards). Playing at home was also a boost.

   “It was definitely an advantage. I know all of the holes and the putts,” Wallace said. “I felt very comfortable out there.”

   Paul Rogowicz of Yardley CC shot 2-over par 70 to finish second.

   “Before you even play, you expect the scores to be a little bit higher [because of the conditions], and when you’re trying to qualify, that’s all you’re trying to do is get in the field,” he said. “You want to get off to a good start, which I did. It got easier as it went on. The course played really long. You had to hit the ball in the fairways.”

   Rogowicz, 45, made par on 12 holes. The Yardley, Pa., resident fired birdies on Nos. 6 (par 4, 417 yards) and 14 (par 5, 550 yards). He hit 6-iron to the green for about a 12-foot birdie.

   Rogowicz was on No. 14 when an hour and a half rain delay commenced.

   “It was playing long because of the delay,” Rogowicz said. “I hit a good lay-up. I was in a little trouble off the tee. I hit a nice shot in there about 10 feet, then I made [a birdie]. Then it was just, ‘hold on and get into the house as quick as possible.’

   “At that point, I was only 1-over par, so I knew I was in good shape, but I would have rather not stopped.”

   Rogowicz hopes to play well in the Championship later this month.

   “Tavistock CC is a great course. I’m going to have to compete with all of the homers,” he said. “You go out and try to play your best.”

   “Hopefully, I can contend with those boys who have been playing out there for awhile,” Gaffney added.

   When it was all said and done, the cut-line landed at 82.

   Thursday’s qualifier was the final Middle-Amateur Championship qualifier used to determine who will play in the Championship later this month. The first qualifier was held yesterday at Spring Ford CC, where Scott Klee of Indian Valley CC and Blake R. Slawecki of Spring Ford CC each carded an even-par 72 to share medalist honors.

   Michael McDermott of Merion GC took the 25th Middle-Amateur Championship at Fieldstone GC last year after recording 2-over par 73. The win was the third Middle-Amateur Championship for McDermott, who also took the title in 2001 and 2004.    The Middle-Amateur is for players 25 years of age and older.

   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.

   That 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 132 players. 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 136 Member Clubs and 56,000 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.

   NOTE: Mike McTyre, 42, of Sakima CC, hit 9-iron on No. 10 (par 3, 135 yards) for his first-ever hole-in-one.