Klee heads Amateur Championship Qualifier

  VILLANOVA, Pa. – Scott Klee of Indian Valley Country Club carded a 3-over-par 73 to top the 134-player field Monday at the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Amateur Championship Qualifier held at a cool and blustery Radnor Valley CC (par 70, 6,429 yards).

  Monday’s final qualifier, which was rained out last Friday, helped determine the final field for the 108^th Amateur Championship set to take place on June 10-12 & 14 at Whitemarsh Valley CC. The first qualifier was held last Tuesday at Hopewell Valley GC (par 72, 6,585 yards).

  But unlike Friday where the rain reeked havoc, today’s story was the wind which contributed to the field-wide struggles where not a single player finished in red numbers.

  “The wind was tough,” Klee said. “Every time I went into my bag for a club I would have to go back and change it.”

  Despite his early-round difficulties and trouble identifying the direction of the winds, the Telford, Pa., resident managed to keep it in play and hit solid iron shots.

  “I struggled right at the beginning and then as the round went on, I started to make a bunch of pars and got a few breaks along the way,” he said.

  One of those breaks included a chip-in birdie on No. 13 (par 4, 315 yards) after he flew the green from 115 yards out with a 9-iron, a club selection he made with a stiff wind in his face.

  “I killed it and it went right in the middle of the cup,” said Klee of his chip shot from the back of the green. “There were some holes where it was a crosswind and then two minutes later it would be dead into you. I had no idea what was going on with the wind but I had fun out there.”

  Klee now moves on, with the 57 other players who qualified on Monday, to the 108^th Amateur Championship next month.

  “The Amateur Championship is a tough tournament and you have to be playing well,” Klee said. “My goal is obviously to make match play and I hope I could do it.”

  When the qualifier came to an end, the cut line fell to 80.

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  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 136 Member Clubs and 56,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. The purpose of the Association is simple: To promote, protect and preserve the game of golf in the region.