#GAPOpen Qualifying: The 1912 Club

Barbin bests #GAPOpen Qualifying field at 1912

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PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – Evan Barbin already has a GAP Major Qualifying medal to his name this summer. After earning that top honor, and preparing for the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship, a weather delay in a national championship qualifying event forced him to withdraw from the Amateur field this week.

After a 1-under 69 performance at The 1912 Club (par 70, 6,655 yards) Wednesday in the first of three GAP Open Championship Qualifying events, now Barbin has a pair of GAP medals — and a second chance at the ultimate Major hardware.

At day’s end, which featured mid-70s temperatures and sporadic wind, the cut line stopped at 6-over 76, meaning 42 players advanced to the 117th #GAPOpen, which will be contested July 13-14 at Country Club of York.

Barbin, a Loch Nairn Golf Club member, began his day on 1912’s opener (par 4, 490 yards) with his card’s lone bogey. After blocking his drive right, Barbin chipped out and failed to get up-and-down for par. He’d round out the front nine with eight-straight pars.

“All I was trying to do was make birdies and avoid doubles. I just told myself to hit the center of greens,” said Barbin.

A clean second side of 2-under par checks both of those goals off the list. Barbin’s first birdie of the day arrived on the par-4, 413-yard 11th. A 3-wood off the tee, and over the pond, left him with just a pitching wedge in. He landed that approach on the left fringe near a sprinkler head, took relief, and chipped in for 3. His second and final red digit on No. 15 (par 4, 347 yards) came after an overdrawn 3-wood landed left, but a 60-yard lob wedge approach landed within 10 feet and was drained. Three pars coming in resulted in the 1-under finish.

“It was one of those days where I had a ton of good looks at birdie. I missed a few short ones, maybe three five-footers in a row,” said Barbin. “I hit the ball really solid overall.”

It’s been a big Barbin week. A medal for Evan, and impressive #BMWPhillyAm showings by Austin and Zach, who both are accomplished GAP and collegiate players in their own right. Zach, of Liberty University, won both the Philadelphia Amateur and Patterson Cup in 2020, and reached the Semifinals Tuesday at Cedarbrook Country Club before falling to eventual finalist Jack Irons, 3&2. His brother, Austin, of the University of Maryland, earned the No. 2 overall #BMWPhillyAm seed before being defeated in the Round of 32, 2 down. Austin also took the 2019 GAP Junior Boys’ Championship title.

A rising senior at Red Lion Christian Academy, Barbin talked about the “huge summer ahead” for his game. So huge, in fact, that schedule conflicts were inevitable. Barbin was set to compete in this week’s #BMWPhillyAm, but a lightning delay the day before in a Boys Junior PGA Championship at Valley Country Club messed with those plans.

“It was extremely unfortunate. I was disappointed, because I really wanted to play in the Philly Am,” said Barbin, 17, of Elkton, Md. “But we had a lightning delay and we had to come back the next day. I ended up missing [the Boys Junior PGA] by one shot, but I’m the first alternate.”

Good thing there’s plenty of golf left to be played this summer. Now, after today’s medal honor, Barbin will not only test his game against the region’s top amateur, but also its top professionals. He’s ready for that platform.

“This will be my first GAP Open. I’ve played in the [Delaware State Golf Association] Open before, so it’s not my first time going against pros,” said Barbin. “I just need to play my game. Each time I go out now, I just think about taking the round deep. I just think about making birdies and posting great rounds. Hopefully I can continue that.”

Today marked the first of three #GAPOpen Qualifying events. The next will tee off at Schuylkill Country Club on June 23, followed by Trenton Country Club on June 28.

The Open Championship is GAP’s third oldest championship behind the Philadelphia Amateur and Joseph H. Patterson Cup.

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 300 Member Clubs and 80,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.