Indian Valley’s Henofer heads #BMWPhillyAm Qual. on home course

TELFORD, Pa. — Twenty four hours ago, Kyle Henofer’s status for the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship lingered in limbo. Any trace of uncertainty evaporated following his performance Tuesday at Indian Valley Country Club (par 72, 6,852 yards).

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  In a qualifier administered on his home course, Henofer carded an even-par 72 to earn medalist honors. The Arcadia University senior led a field of 144 players hoping to attain one of 26 available spots and ties for the Championship proper.

  The cut line fell to 79 by day’s end. The 117th BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship will take place June 13-15 & 17 at Philadelphia Cricket Club (Wissahickon).

  “It was kind of crazy,” Henofer, 22, of Glenside, Pa., said. “I had a final exam scheduled for yesterday, but my teacher had a family emergency, so she pushed it back to today. I had to e-mail Kirby (Martin, GAP Director of Competitions) and ask if I could get my tee time pushed back. If I couldn’t do that, I would have to see if I could play in another qualifier. If not, I was going to have to withdraw. That would have been unfortunate.”

  No kidding.

  Henofer completed a final on psychological research methods in the morning, which, coincidentally, helped psychologically. As did a 30-minute nap prior to his new 2:10 p.m. tee time.

  “It put me in a good frame of mind today,” Henofer said.

  Course familiarity added to the psychological comfort.

  “It was definitely a factor — knowing where to miss the greens, where the pins where and which holes I could get aggressive on, which holes I can aim for the middle of the green and take my two-putt,” Henofer said.

  Henofer played his last 11 holes in 3 under to seize the top spot Tuesday. He fired back-to-back birdies on Nos. 8 (par 5, 511 yards) and 9 (par 4, 371 yards). On the first, Henofer pummeled a 4-iron 226 yards and nudged a wedge into kick-in range. He knocked a wedge 65 yards to five feet on the latter. On the par 3, 207-yard 11th hole, Henofer left a 5-iron 30 feet short of the hole location. He then buried a right-to-left bender worth two cups of break for birdie.

  Consider a bogey on No. 13 (par 4, 421 yards) a piece of fuzz on Henofer’s medalist coat. He brushed it off with a spectacular birdie on the par 5, 549 yard 15th hole. Playing down the right side on the downhill, uphill dogleg right, Henofer needed to negotiate an obstructing tree on his third shot. He floated a wedge 45 yards, using the natural slope generated by the backside of the green to his advantage. Henofer drained a right-to-left breaker that died into the cup.

  Despite the good vibes upon arrival, Henofer opened his qualifying bid with a bogey on No. 1 (par 4, 396 yards), where a false front suckered his second shot. A three-putt from 10 feet on No. 3 (par 5, 319 yards) and a hooked drive on No. 7 (par 4, 439 yards) also spearheaded bogeys on the front.

  “From that point on, I wanted to play smarter golf and make a few birdies coming in,” Henofer said.

  Henofer heads into his first BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship in a good state, both psychologically and physically.

  “I was a caddie for [good friend] Eric (Murphy) at Philadelphia Cricket last year. It blew me away,” Henofer said. “It’s a grind of a course but I’m really excited. Hopefully I can make somewhat of an impact.”

NOTES — Edward Benatti, 52, of Lincoln University, Pa., aced the par 3, 157-yard 16th hole with an 8-iron. It marked the Hartefeld National member’s first career hole-in-one.   The BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship is the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s premier event. Participants must first advance through a one day, 36-hole stroke play qualifier to gain one of 32 available match play positions. Those who qualify for match play must advance through four matches in two days to reach the Amateur Final, which is typically held on the Saturday of Father’s Day weekend. The winner receives the J. Wood Platt Trophy; its namesake holds a record-seven Amateur Championship titles.

Golf Association of Philadelphia
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 153 Full Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. 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.