GAP rookie Korcuba tops Amateur Qualifier

  HOPEWELL, N.J. – Playing in his first individual stroke-play event with the Golf Association of Philadelphia, Michael Korcuba of Running Deer GC fired six birdies to card a 4-under-par 68 at Hopewell Valley GC (par 72, 6,585 yards) to earn medallist honors at the qualifier for the 108^th running of the GAP Amateur Championship.

  Korcuba, 38, carded red numbers on hole Nos. 4 (par 5, 480 yards), 7 (par 5, 495 yards), 10 (par 4, 389 yards), 11 (par 4, 404 yards), 12 (par 4, 356 yards) and 16 (par 5, 491 yards) to best the 73-player field.

  “I had to play to a lot of yardage’s today,” said the Sicklerville, N.J., resident. “With the wind blowing the way it was, there was a lot of guessing out there.”

  Although he admits to some presumptions regarding the wind and its affect on the ball, he’s accustomed to it, having played his high school and college golf on the New Hampshire seacoast.

  “I learned how to hit a lot of knock down shots, that’s for sure,” Korcuba said.

  But it was the flat stick that helped him clear the field by five strokes with only 28 putts on the day for the first time GAP tournament player.

  “I made a lot of 12 and 15-footers that did it for me today,” said Korcuba, who also managed to hit 14 greens in regulation.

  Having only participated in GAP Team Matches for Running Deer GC, Korcuba’s participation in Tuesday’s qualifier was more about getting to know how a GAP tournament was run rather than topping one.

  “I just wanted to get a feel for what the Golf Association was like,” he said.

  But as medallist, he gets a front-row seat.

  When the day came to an end, the cut line fell to 78.

  Tuesday’s qualifier was the first of two qualifiers used to help determine the field for the 108^th Amateur Championship set to take place on June 10-12 & 14 at Whitemarsh Valley CC. The second qualifier will be held on May 16 at Radnor Valley CC.

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  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.