WEST CHESTER, Pa.–Brian Corbett of Huntsville Golf Club, a Senior Player to Watch in the Golf Association of Philadelphia Magazine spring issue, proved his game is good enough for any age. The 55-year-old Corbett carded an even-par 72 at Radley Run Country Club (par 72, 6,578 yards) on an overcast day en route to medalist honors in the third and final Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifier presented by Callaway Golf.
Corbett led a field of 97 players hoping to earn one of 27 qualifying spots and ties for the Championship proper set for May 21-22 at Gulph Mills Golf Club.
The cut line fell at 77 with exactly 27 players.
“It’s always nice to be medalist. It’s always nice to shoot even par. I certainly couldn’t have scripted it any better,” said Corbett. “I felt a little bit of added pressure. A lot of guys were razzing me about the article. But this was a good course for me. I got away with a couple errant shots early in the round but as the round kept going I hit it a lot better.”
Corbett’s scorecard was pretty good all day.
He made 16 pars, one birdie and one bogey.
Corbett, who started on the back nine, lifted a 9-iron from 125 yards on No. 12 (par 5, 572 yards) to 15 feet and drained the birdie putt to move to 1 under early in his round. Two holes later, an errant drive on the dog-leg left 14th (par 4, 401 yards), gave that shot back. Any drama ended there. Corbett finished with 13 straight pars.
“[On No. 12,] I hit it left and had no idea I’m even in play off the tee. [Then] I make birdie. I hit it left [again] on the dog-leg left 14th and had to hit it over the trees to get back in play for [my third] shot at the green,” said Corbett, of Shavertown, Pa. “It could have been a bogey and a double bogey on those holes but instead it was a birdie and bogey.”
Corbett also cited the fact he recorded zero three putts on Radley Run’s treacherous green complexes.
“I haven’t seen this place in at least 10 years,” said Corbett. “The greens were quick and nice and smooth. I made a lot of three- to four-foot saves. If you miss those early on you, may miss those all day. I made them early, and made them all day.”
Corbett returns to the Middle-Amateur Championship for the first time since 2010. His top finish in an Association Major came in 2004 with a pair of Top 15 finishes in the Amateur and Patterson Cup. Those results placed Corbett in a tie for seventh in the Silver Cross standings that year.
Three players, Paul Kupcha of Fieldstone Golf Club; Paul Liebezeit of Aronimink Golf Club and Rand Mendez of Fieldstone Golf Club tied for second at 1-over 73.
The field scoring average was 80.9.
Golf Association of Philadelphia
The Golf Association of Philadelphia will administer a U.S. Open Local Qualifier May 13 at Laurel Creek Country Club. 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 150 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
Name, club
Score
Brian Corbett, Huntsville Golf Club
72
Rand Mendez, Fieldstone Golf Club
73
Paul Liebezeit, Aronimink Golf Club
73
Paul Kupcha, Fieldstone Golf Club
73
Bradley Roberts, Little Mill Country Club
74
Michael Walker, Loch Nairn Golf Club
74
Colin Smith, Radley Run Country Club
74
Troy Miller, Back Creek Golf Club
75
Chris Smedley, Loch Nairn Golf Club
75
Byron Whitman, Berkshire Country Club
75
Keith Matt, Philadelphia Publinks GA
75
Ed Chylinski, Chester Valley Golf Club
76
James Gillespie, Wedgwood Country Club
76
George Petrellis, Blue Bell Country Club
76
Matthew Vassil, Honeybrook Golf Club
76
Michael Moffat, Commonwealth National Golf Club
76
Brett Cybulski, Merchantville Country Club
76
Jon-Michael Socaris, Broad Run Golfers Club
77
Kevin McDermott, Llanerch Country Club
77
Brian Fisher, Philadelphia Publinks GA
77
John Robinson, Commonwealth National Golf Club
77
Cory Reighard, Llanerch Country Club
77
Dan Arison, Applebrook Golf Club
77
Matthew Walsh, Overbrook Golf Club
77
Keith Olinick, Philadelphia Publinks GA
77
Michael Beran, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
77
Rodney James, Golden Oaks Golf Club
77
Failed to qualify
John Burke, Running Deer Golf Club
78
Drew O’Neill, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
78
Bo Maguire, Brookside Country Club
78
Daniel Feeney, Philadelphia Cricket Club
79
Michael Quinn, Edgmont Country Club
79
Mark Kosko, Sea Oaks Golf Club
79
John Grove, Chester Valley Golf Club
79
Philip Damico, Five Ponds Golf Club
79
Brad George, Aronimink Golf Club
79
William Naylor, Applebrook Golf Club
79
Drew Panebianco, Five Ponds Golf Club
79
Kevin Economos, Loch Nairn Golf Club
80
John Gosselin, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
80
Joseph Dulka, Bellewood Country Club
80
Andrew Neal, Five Ponds Golf Club
80
Gary Quinn, Jr., White Manor Country Club
80
Sam Pancoast, Radley Run Country Club
81
Nicholas Hermansader, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
81
Jim Engler, Sea Oaks Golf Club
81
Bill Holsten, III, Aronimink Golf Club
81
Andrew Sterge, Applebrook Golf Club
81
George Connell, Jr., Gulph Mills Golf Club
81
Peter Moran, Edgmont Country Club
81
Patrick Shanahan, Applebrook Golf Club
81
Timothy Anderson, Philadelphia Publinks GA
81
Joseph Roeder, Little Mill Country Club
81
Michael Hodges, The Springhaven Club
81
Jonathan Shevlin, North Hills Country Club
81
Jeffrey Shanahan, Applebrook Golf Club
81
Brian Malley, Penn Oaks Golf Club
81
John Frampton, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
82
Andrew Dietz, Laurel Creek Country Club
82
James Prendergast, Philadelphia Publinks GA
82
Robert Craven, Philadelphia Country Club
82
Mark Hodgson, Burlington Country Club
82
George Hagstoz, Riverton Country Club
82
Michael Vassil, Country Club of Scranton
82
Stephen Brown, Chester Valley Golf Club
83
Mark Wachter, DuPont Country Club
83
Robert Dietrich, Loch Nairn Golf Club
83
John Donnelly, White Manor Country Club
83
Steven Passalacqua, Wedgwood Country Club
83
Dino Stathis, Metedeconk National Golf Club
83
Kenneth Matt, Commonwealth National Golf Club
84
Pierce Herbst, Greate Bay Country Club
84
David Sim, Applecross Country Club
84
David Guertler, Laurel Creek Country Club
84
Jeff Nocella, Bala Golf Club
84
Jeff Fialko, Aronimink Golf Club
85
Michael Walsh, III, Aronimink Golf Club
85
Tom Coyne, McCall Golf & Country Club
86
William Gamgort, DuPont Country Club
86
James Kaiser, Tavistock Country Club
86
Fred Jones, Merion Golf Club
86
Scott Blandford, Applecross Country Club
86
Reid Carnes, Sea Oaks Golf Club
86
Gil Moniz, Jr., Running Deer Golf Club
87
Peter Pendergast, Berkshire Country Club
87
Steve Meyer, Rolling Green Golf Club
87
Peter Kyriakodis, Commonwealth National Golf Club
87
Gerald Bowes, Jr., Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
88
Tom Piersanti, Saucon Valley Country Club
88
Skip Hoerz, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
88
Scott Hillman, Merchantville Country Club
88
Michael Zieg, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
89
Kevin Bair, Loch Nairn Golf Club
89
William Kelly, Penn Oaks Golf Club
90
Mark Mulvihill, Fieldstone Golf Club
92
Alexander Liebman, Mercer Oaks Golf Course
94
Joseph Grad, Country Club of Scranton
WD
Patrick O’Brien, North Hills Country Club
WD
Arthur Kania, Jr., Merion Golf Club
WD
WD-withdrawal
