HAVERTOWN, Pa. — It was a warm yet wet homecoming for Jeff Osberg Tuesday. Warm because the Manayunk, Pa. resident returned to Llanerch Country Club (par 71, 6,778 yards), where he was a member for the last three years, to compete in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Team Championship Qualifier. Wet because steady rainfall soaked the course and contributed to a field scoring average of 83.
Now a Huntingdon Valley Country Club member, Osberg shined and represented his new digs spectacularly, carding a 3-under-par 68 to earn the tournament’s individual title. He posted the day’s lone subpar score and boosted Huntingdon Valley to the top of the team leaderboard with a 298 total.
“It’s nice coming back here. I love Llanerch,” Osberg, who will compete in Sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open in less than a week, said. “It always plays extremely difficult. Playing in the afternoon, you could see the scores from the morning, and I wasn’t surprised. I just feel comfortable here. I know how to play the greens. I know how to keep it in play. I never really got in trouble today.”
Joining Huntingdon Valley in the Championship proper, set for June 25 at Lehigh Country Club, are Llanerch, Commonwealth National Golf Club and reigning GAP Team Matches champions Philadelphia Cricket Club. Three-time defending Team Champions Overbrook Golf Club, which holds a record 17 titles overall, failed to advance with a 322 total.
Osberg, who finished third in last week’s Middle-Amateur Championship, knows what it takes to lead his team into the Championship proper. Two years ago, Osberg, then representing Llanerch, earned medalist honors in a Team Championship Qualifier at Trump National Golf Club — Philadelphia.
Amid cloudy skies and relentless raindrops Tuesday, Osberg played Llanerch’s long par 3s superlatively. He hammered a 5-iron to 15 feet right of the No. 4 (205 yards) for birdie. He used the same club on the 221-yard No. 8 tee-box and converted an uphill 20-footer from the green’s front.
“The first four holes here are the most difficult part of the golf course,” Osberg, 28, said. “I always say if I can get across the road to No. 5 at even par, then you know you’re going to have a great round.”
Osberg did one better. He also inked red on No. 6 (par 4, 416 yards), hitting a pitching wedge 130 yards to five feet. Osberg’s lone frontside hiccup occurred on No. 7 (par 4, 393 yards). His sand wedge approach from 98 yards hit the flagstick, slid down the front slope and stopped 45 feet from the jar. After unexpectedly missing a tap-in birdie on No. 9 (par 5, 490 yards), Osberg whacked a wedge 135 yards to 10 feet for a 3 on No. 11 (par 4, 457 yards). He missed the par 3, 150-yard 17th green with a 9-iron and went on to register a bogey, but responded with a kick-in birdie on No. 18 (par 4, 296 yards) shortly following a monstrous drive that settled 30 feet from the flagstick.
Huntingdon Valley last advanced to the Team Championship in 2004, when it captured the trophy at Lookaway Golf Club. It has a chance to erase that drought at Lehigh.
“It’s probably one of the most fun days of the year. It’s an absolute blast to play with the other three teams,” Osberg said.
With the additions of Osberg and Benjamin Smith, the reigning New Jersey State Golf Association Open Champion, Huntingdon Valley seems primed to add to its illustrious past.
“There are a lot of good players that play there now, and there are a lot of good players that have been through there in the past,” Osberg said. “When you walk through the halls there, you see hall of fame plaques for guys who have done well in national events and Philadelphia events. It’s a great place to be. There’s a lot of history there.”
Home-club hopeful Stephen Seiden carded a 2-over-par 73 to lead Llanerch into the Championship proper.
“I knew pars were going to be excellent today with the weather coming in, but they’re good on this golf course no matter what the conditions are,” Seiden, 31, of Havertown, Pa., said. “The familiarity of the golf course helps you get it around and be comfortable with the lines off the tees. I got off the tee real well and consequently put myself in good shape to hit a lot of greens and to make some easy pars. And easy pars help the round keep going. It was nice to do that.”
“I played the longer holes really well, which was key,” Seiden said. “The greens were still firm, so you had to be careful with that.”
Also aiding Seiden’s effort Tuesday was Sandy Amadio, a Llanerch member who endured the rain to forecaddie for his friend.
“He’s an old veteran here. We get along well and I asked him to ride along with me to have some fun, and he likes competition,” Seiden said. “He made sure I didn’t make any silly mistakes. I’ve been known to do that.”
Despite losing its top player in Osberg during the winter, Llanerch remains a strong force on the team circuit. It finished second in Section 4 of Division AA in the GAP Team Matches and now prepares to make a charge in the Championship proper.
“Jeff’s obviously one of the elite players in this area, so when you lose someone like that, everyone’s got to come together and keep grinding away. Every score is important,” Seiden said. “No one puts too much pressure on themselves, and no one pressures other people to play well. It’s a nice, comfortable place to play. We have a pretty good, deep team, and our home golf course gives us a good eight, nine shot advantage over five or six guys.”
The Team Championship Qualifier determines what four member clubs will compete in the Team Championship. Participants must field at least six players to be eligible. The low four scores of each team make up the qualifying total. In the event of a tie, the sixth player’s score is used.
The Championship proper features eight-man teams playing an alternate shot format in the morning, with singles matches in the afternoon.
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
Total
Huntingdon Valley CC
298
Jeff Osberg
68*
Benjamin Smith
74*
Sean Seese
81*
Daniel Pinciotti, Jr.
75*
Benjamin Cooley
83
Sean Ryan
82
Llanerch CC
304
Michael Rogers
76*
Brian McDermott
81
Stephen Seiden
73*
Sean Coyle
79*
Tom Spano
79
Kevin McDermott
76*
Commonwealth National GC
304
Brett Diakon
76*
Scott McLaughlin
79
Sean Torpey
83
Michael Moffat
77*
Matthew Teesdale
75*
Kyle Martin
76*
Philadelphia Cricket Club
305
Robert Savarese, Jr.
76*
Steve Oh
79*
G. Patrick Dougherty
76*
Daniel Feeney
89
Marc Mandel
83
John Brennan
74*
Failed to qualify
Mercer Oaks GC
310
Justin Van Hyning
79*
Thomas Timby, Jr.
76*
Glenn Smeraglio
76*
Matt O’Connell
85
Michael Brown
79*
Louis Giovi
80
Little Mill CC
315
Paul Tighe
77*
Zach Arsenault
82*
Cody Dazen
76*
Troy Vannucci
83
Bradley Roberts
88
Tom DiCinti
80*
Whitford CC
318
David West
81*
Jim Simmons
87
Chris Yard
81*
William Smyth
80*
Matt Dietrich
76*
Bruce Cowgill
85
Tavistock CC
321
Thomas Gramigna
79*
Matt Raudenbush
90
Michael Tash
81*
Robert Arthur
85
Jamie Slonis
81*
Sean Leonard
80*
Overbrook GC
322
James Kania, Jr.
76*
Michael Kania
DQ
Christopher Lange
81*
Sean Fahey
83*
Oscar Mestre
83
Chris Lange, Jr.
82*
Lookaway GC
325
Ronan Culligan
83*
Bob Majczan
83*
David Robinson
94
Chuck Esposito
NC
Jake Merana
81*
Mike Merana
78*
The Springhaven Club
326
Chris Naylor
91
Gene Flanagan
78*
Michael Hodges
86*
Andrew Harmer
80*
Andrew Caldwell
82*
James Denon, Jr.
97
Aronimink GC
327
Michael Walsh, III
86*
Dan Bernard
76*
Charles Bernard
84*
Jeff Klagholz
87
Jeff Fialko
81*
Chris Ford
89
Spring Ford CC
329
Bobby Kershner
NC
Jeff Hicks
82*
Pete Zollers
79*
Blake Slawecki
81*
Michael Ridgeway
87*
Rich Budka
96
Lehigh CC
330
Thomas Soares
81*
Bob Beck
83*
Sean Lyons
79*
Richard Pearce, II
87*
Steven Rainford
89
Greg Johnson
98
Philadelphia CC
330
P. Chet Walsh
78*
John LeBoeuf
87
Ted Brennan
82*
Cory Siegfried
86*
Pat Pasquariello
84*
Robert Craven
102
Whitemarsh Valley CC
331
John Frampton
81*
Richard Atcavage
86*
Kevin Hinkle
88
Frank Polizzi
92
Michael Fagan
86*
David Liotta
78*
Makefield Highlands GC
332
Edward Erickson
87*
Andrew Strock
77*
John Cyb
88
Ted Harris
86*
Steven Budenz
82*
Patrick Welsh
89
Applebrook GC
334
William McCrossan
86
Dan Arison
85*
Patrick Shanahan
79*
Gary Daniels
85*
Jeffrey Shanahan
85*
Charles Dowds, III
91
Inniscrone GC
350
Josh Smith
80*
Pete Widdoes
88*
Mike Mendola
86*
Ed Wasno
97
Joe Sellers
96*
Tom Sellar
WD
McCall G&CC
351
Rick Bunn
94*
Ari Flaisher
84*
Jason Lyon
78*
Cameron Campbell
95*
Matt Koehler
96
Jon Stein
WD
Glen Oak CC
351
David Maddock
80*
Brian Mahlstedt, Sr.
91*
Carl Danzig
91*
Frank Petrillo
94
Michael Manci
95
Ron Yanoski
89*
*- score counted toward team total
DQ – disqualification; WD – withdrawal; NC – no card
