#GAPMidAm Day One: Recap

Philadelphia Publinks’ Flanigan plays early, goes low

NEW HOPE, Pa. – His name may be a mystery in GAP circles, but Sean Flanigan’s game needs no Scooby Doo detective agency.

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Flanigan, a reinvigorated talent of Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association, surprised the 39^th Middle-Amateur Championship field at Jericho National Golf Club (par 72, 6,813 yards) Tuesday. He carded a 4-under 68 playing in the second group to start on the back nine in the morning to take the first-round lead of the Association’s first Major of the season.

Cole Willcox, the 2008 BMW Philadelphia Amateur runner-up, stands alone in second place at 3 under. Three players – John Barone, Glenmaura National Golf Club; Brandon Dalinka, The Ridge at Back Brook and Troy Vannucci, Little Mill Country Club – sit at 2 under.

All five competitors had a morning wave tee time where the scoring average was 77.3 strokes. An afternoon breeze pushed the afternoon scoring average up to 79.6. The low score from the afternoon groups was even.

Defending champion Scott McNeil, also of Philadelphia Publinks, missed the cut, shooting 80.

The cut line fell at 6-over 78 with 73 players advancing from the original 144-player field. Tee times for the second and final round begin at 7:30 a.m.

The last group – Dalinka, Flanigan and Willcox – tees off at 11:50 a.m.

Work and family interrupted Flanigan’s competitive game after graduating from Duquesne University in 2003. However, with his son Gavin now 13, and a little more free time available, Flanigan recently started ramping up his competitive golf agenda. Last year, he missed qualifying for the New Jersey State Golf Association Amateur Championship by a stroke. This year, in his very first GAP event, he co-medaled at the Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifying at Medford Lakes Country Club with a 2-under 68.

In his GAP Championship proper debut, Flanigan displayed a heavy dose of mettle. He registered six birdies and two bogeys.

“Life kind of gets in the way,” said Flanigan, 41, of Logan Township, N.J., of his hiatus. “I didn’t stop playing the game. I was doing it more for fun. I’ve dedicated myself a little bit more [lately]. When you put it down for a little while, your attitude changes. It’s kind of one shot at a time. You embrace every moment out there. That’s what you have to do. The mindset you have to have. I knew my game was in pretty good shape. The course suited my eye. You just have to keep it in front of you and birdies will present themselves.”

Flanigan made three birdies on his outward nine: on No. 11 (par 4, 387 yards), he drained a 22-footer; on No. 14 (par 5, 565 yards), he chipped in from 15-feet after finding the back collar and on No. 17 (par 5, 546 yards) crushed driver and hybrid just short of the green before sinking a six-footer for a 4. Two bogeys on that side, including a three-putt on No. 18 (par 4, 407 yards) from 15 feet, put Flanigan at 1 under.

Another bogey on No. 1 (par 5, 574 yards), when “he hit his worse shot of the day,” catching the lip of a fairway bunker, dropped Flanigan to even.

The self-proclaimed grinder answered those leaky shots with a streak of precision, birdieing four of his final seven holes. On No. 3 (par 4, 366 yards), he clipped a 58-degree wedge from 90 yards to three feet; on No. 5 (par 3, 175 yards), he lifted an 8-iron to 12 feet; on No. 7 (par 5, 525 yards) he just missed holing out for eagle from the bunker before tapping in for birdie; and on No. 9 (par 4, 400 yards), he went 3-wood, 56-degree wedge from 127 yards to 20 feet before making the ensuing putt.

Flanigan’s most unlikely round saver of the day came on No. 8 (par 4, 299 yards).

He hit his driver into the right fescue, turned a wedge 90-degrees into the left greenside bunker but got up-and-down from 25 yards to save par.

A civil engineer the last decade for S.T. Hudson Engineers, Inc., a Marine Engineering Solutions company, Flanigan grew up at Lawrence Park Golf Club in Erie, Pa.

He said he recorded a few Top 5 finishes in college but nothing extraordinary. Flanigan did note, however, that at Duquesne he has the distinction of carding the school’s first sub-70 round.

The skills are obviously there. So what does tomorrow hold?

“No expectations,” said Flanigan. “Tee it up and let it fly. I think if I can keep the nerves [in check], the swing feels OK. This game is about on any given Sunday. I’ve put myself in a good spot. I’m just worried about myself. We’ll see what we can do.”

GAP

Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 330 Member Clubs and 90,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.