KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.–In an event for players 25 years of age and older, two grandfathers stand atop the 31st Middle-Amateur Championship presented by Callaway Golf at Gulph Mills Golf Club (par 71, 6,524 yards). Chip Lutz of LedgeRock Golf Club, 59, leads at 3-under-par 68 with Gary E. Daniels of Applebrook Golf Club, 60, a shot back. Either would be the oldest Middle-Amateur Champion ever. Both are former winners.
“I took time off this winter. We have two grandkids and we renovated our house. Maybe I’m more rested,” said Lutz of a strong early-season push. “It feels good to get back at it. I’ve been playing nicely out of the gate. I finished second at Seminole [in the Coleman Invitational Senior] and played nicely at the Concession Cup. I came right back here and [won] the Warner Cup and State Senior Match Play. I’m feeling good about my game right now.”
Lutz won the Middle-Amateur Championship in 1998 and 2007. He is the oldest winner at age 52 (2007).
“Thirty years ago, and nine grandchildren later, I won it,” said Daniels. “Some days I can be good, but not like Chip, who is good every day. I just have my moments.”
Daniels captured the 1985 Mid.-Am.
Joining those two in the final group is Peter Barron, III, 38, of Stone Harbor Golf Club. Barron, the father of three, including a 5 week old, was runner-up in last year’s Mid.-Am. He lost in a four-hole playoff to Michael McDermott of Merion Golf Club at Fieldstone Golf Club.
The cut line fell at 78 with 80 players advancing to the second and final day. The low 70 players and ties made the cut from the field of 129. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m. Thursday. The final group starts at 11:50 a.m.
Lutz announced his intentions and arrival with four straight birdies to open the back nine. On No. 10 (par 4, 411 yards), he drained a 50-foot, downhill double breaker for 3; No. 11 (par 4, 345 yards), he knocked a sand wedge from 100 yards to 10 feet; No. 12 (par 5, 519 yards), he reached the greenside bunker in two shots before getting up-and-down from eight feet; and No. 13 (par 4, 435 yards) lifted an easy 6-iron up the hill from 150 yards to 18 feet. Lutz was 5 under at that point. He gave two shots back with bogeys on the incoming par 3s, No. 14 (par 3, 185 yards) and No. 17 (par 3, 211 yards), before finishing at 3 under.
“I didn’t have my best ball striking round today, but the putter was hot,” said Lutz of Reading, Pa., the reigning four-time Senior Player of the Year. “I felt like I was going to make everything I looked at and it was pretty much that way.”
Lutz noted two-par saving putts, in addition to two birdies, in his first four holes as a key. He made a treacherous four footer on No. 2 (par 4, 406 yards) and then on No. 4 (par 3, 114 yards) sank a 25-foot, right-to-left breaker, down-the-hill putt.
He recorded only 27 putts on the day.
Daniels, too, dotted his scorecard with plenty of red circles. He made seven birdies, three bogeys and a double for 69.
He calls Gulph Mills one of his favorite courses; a place, where just two weeks ago, he captured the Member-Guest.
“I missed two shots all day,” said Daniels of Berwyn, Pa. “I was fighting to play each hole. I love this place. I think it’s just a wonderful golf course. It’s one you can play every day.”
Daniels won the Gulph Mills’ invitational, the A.J. Drexel Paul Cup (a better-ball match play event), in 1981.
Barron didn’t card as many flashy scores as his two closest foes, but concentrated on hitting fairways and greens. He carded four birdies and two bogeys.
“The rough out of here is so lush you don’t want to play from it because you can’t control your ball,” said Barron, of Mays Landing, N.J. “If you hit it to the center of the greens you have no more than 30 feet. That’s not bad.”
NOTES–Chris Ault of Yardley Country Club aced No. 14 with a 7-iron for a second career hole-in-one.
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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 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 | |
Name, club | Score |
Chip Lutz, LedgeRock Golf Club | 68 |
Peter Barron, III, Stone Harbor Golf Club | 69 |
Gary Daniels, Applebrook Golf Club | 69 |
Glenn Smeraglio, Mercer Oaks Golf Course | 70 |
Christopher Ault, Yardley Country Club | 70 |
Marc Mandel, Philadelphia Cricket Club | 70 |
John Samaha, Old York Road Country Club | 70 |
Michael Hyland, Little Mill Country Club | 71 |
Scott Storck, Philadelphia Cricket Club | 71 |
Scott McLaughlin, Commonwealth National Golf Club | 71 |
Andy Latowski, Philadelphia Cricket Club | 71 |
Dan Rudershausen, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club | 71 |
John Brennan, Philadelphia Cricket Club | 72 |
James Kania, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club | 72 |
Thomas Gramigna, Tavistock Country Club | 72 |
Robert Savarese, Jr., Philadelphia Cricket Club | 72 |
Michael Carr, Plymouth Country Club | 72 |
Bobby Kershner, Spring Ford Country Club | 72 |
Michael Moffat, Commonwealth National Golf Club | 72 |
John Sawin, Merion Golf Club | 72 |
Sean Clifford, Yardley Country Club | 72 |
Jeff Osberg, Huntingdon Valley Country Club | 73 |
David Shields, Philadelphia Publinks GA | 73 |
Matthew Gaffney, Little Mill Country Club | 73 |
Benjamin Smith, Huntingdon Valley Country Club | 73 |
Stephen Seiden, Llanerch Country Club | 73 |
Byron Whitman, Berkshire Country Club | 73 |
George Petrellis, Blue Bell Country Club | 73 |
Sean Semenetz, Philadelphia Cricket Club | 73 |
Michael McDermott, Merion Golf Club | 74 |
Bradley Roberts, Little Mill Country Club | 74 |
Jamie Slonis, Tavistock Country Club | 74 |
Ryan Gelrod, Philadelphia Cricket Club | 74 |
Doug Fedoryshyn, Concord Country Club | 74 |
Frank Petrash, IV, Philadelphia Cricket Club | 74 |
Michael Brown, Philadelphia Publinks GA | 75 |
Christopher Lange, Overbrook Golf Club | 75 |
Michael Tash, Tavistock Country Club | 75 |
Matthew Finger, DuPont Country Club | 75 |
P. Chet Walsh, Philadelphia Country Club | 75 |
Cole Willcox, Merion Golf Club | 75 |
Mark Czerniakowski, Blue Bell Country Club | 75 |
James Donnelly, Merion Golf Club | 75 |
Robert Bechtold, Fieldstone Golf Club | 75 |
David Liotta, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club | 75 |
Joshua Isler, Chester Valley Golf Club | 75 |
Blake Cleary, Wilmington Country Club | 75 |
Troy Miller, Back Creek Golf Club | 75 |
Shawn Lavin, Rolling Green Golf Club | 76 |
Matthew Mattare, Saucon Valley Country Club | 76 |
Brad McFadden, Overbrook Golf Club | 76 |
Thomas Hyland, Little Mill Country Club | 76 |
Raymond Thompson, Overbrook Golf Club | 76 |
Philip Bartholomew, Philadelphia Cricket Club | 76 |
Joe April, Philadelphia Cricket Club | 76 |
Conrad Von Borsig, White Manor Country Club | 76 |
David West, Whitford Country Club | 77 |
Robin McCool, Saucon Valley Country Club | 77 |
Rich Pruchnik, Downingtown Country Club | 77 |
Rand Mendez, Fieldstone Golf Club | 77 |
Chris Lange, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club | 77 |
John Robinson, Commonwealth National Golf Club | 77 |
Jason Barkley, Huntsville Golf Club | 77 |
Jim Gavaghan, Jericho National Golf Club | 77 |
Tim Freeh, Back Creek Golf Club | 77 |
Chris Meares, Running Deer Golf Club | 77 |
Bill Burke, Sea Oaks Golf Club | 77 |
Cory Reighard, Llanerch Country Club | 77 |
Rodney James, Golden Oaks Golf Club | 78 |
Oscar Mestre, Overbrook Golf Club | 78 |
Roc Irey, Lookaway Golf Club | 78 |
Sean Coyle, Llanerch Country Club | 78 |
Jack Wallace, Philadelphia Cricket Club | 78 |
Sean Torpey, Commonwealth National Golf Club | 78 |
Kevin McDermott, Llanerch Country Club | 78 |
Brian Shevland, Waynesborough Country Club | 78 |
Chris Lawler, Cedarbrook Country Club | 78 |
Kevin Haag, Makefield Highlands Golf Club | 78 |
Adam Bracy, Rancocas Golf Club | 78 |
Dave Marshall, Trenton Country Club | 78 |
Failed to qualify | |
James Gillespie, Wedgwood Country Club | 79 |
Kevin Cahill, Merion Golf Club | 79 |
Brian Fisher, Philadelphia Publinks GA | 79 |
Brian Gillespie, St. Davids Golf Club | 80 |
Tom Spano, Llanerch Country Club | 80 |
Stephen Dressel, St. Davids Golf Club | 80 |
Drew Garis, North Hills Country Club | 80 |
Matthew Walsh, Overbrook Golf Club | 80 |
Dan Arison, Applebrook Golf Club | 80 |
Keith Olinick, Philadelphia Publinks GA | 80 |
Geoffrey Cooper, North Hills Country Club | 81 |
Tom DiCinti, Old York CC at Chesterfield | 81 |
Michael Rose, Talamore Country Club | 81 |
Christopher Reedman, Makefield Highlands Golf Club | 81 |
Grant Skyllas, LedgeRock Golf Club | 81 |
William Bello, Metedeconk National Golf Club | 81 |
Brett Cybulski, Merchantville Country Club | 81 |
Jon-Michael Socaris, Broad Run Golfer’s Club | 81 |
Matthew Vassil, Honeybrook Golf Club | 81 |
Colin Smith, Radley Run Country Club | 82 |
Rich Thon, The Springhaven Club | 82 |
Mark Coassolo, Brookside C.C. of Allentown | 82 |
Neil Gordon, Five Ponds Golf Club | 82 |
Richard Umani, Honeybrook Golf Club | 82 |
Paul Liebezeit, Aronimink Golf Club | 82 |
Edward Kelly, Jr., Old York Road Country Club | 82 |
J.J. Berenato, Llanerch Country Club | 82 |
Keith Matt, Mercer Oaks Golf Course | 82 |
Michael Walker, Loch Nairn Golf Club | 83 |
Brian Sokolowski, Greate Bay Country Club | 83 |
William Thornton, Jr., LedgeRock Golf Club | 83 |
Robert Good, Merion Golf Club | 83 |
Patrick McCusker, Jr., Plymouth Country Club | 83 |
Mike Cavanaugh, Jericho National Golf Club | 83 |
Brendan Young, North Hills Country Club | 83 |
Brian Corbett, Huntsville Golf Club | 84 |
Christopher Terebesi, Honeybrook Golf Club | 84 |
Richard Atcavage, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club | 84 |
Ronald Jamarowicz, Hartefeld National | 84 |
Michael Beran, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve | 85 |
Patrick Murray, North Hills Country Club | 85 |
Tom Borsello, Hartefeld National | 86 |
Len Fox, Jr., Tavistock Country Club | 86 |
Paul Kupcha, Fieldstone Golf Club | 88 |
Thomas Lindberg, St. Davids Golf Club | 88 |
Patrick Conroy, Llanerch Country Club | 89 |
Phil Cillo, Little Mill Country Club | 90 |
Anthony List, Jr., Llanerch Country Club | NC |
Ed Chylinski, Chester Valley Golf Club | WD |
David Brookreson, Huntingdon Valley Country Club | WD |
Brian McDermott, Llanerch Country Club | WD |
Chris Smedley, Loch Nairn Golf Club | WD |
NC-no card; WD-withdrawal |