LedgeRock’s Lutz stands at 3 under; leads 31st Mid.-Am. Champ. - The Golf Association of Philadelphia

May 21, 2014

LedgeRock’s Lutz stands at 3 under; leads 31st Mid.-Am. Champ.

*Photo gallery
*Scorecards

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.

  Callaway Golf was founded in 1982 by the late Ely Callaway, a visionary entrepreneur who operated under a simple but profound business promise: Deliver Demonstrably Superior, Pleasingly Different products and services. That philosophy turned what was originally a boutique manufacturer of high-quality wedges and putters into the world’s largest maker of premium, performance golf products. The Callaway mission and vision has remained the same; we passionately pursue advanced, innovative technologies that help golfers of all abilities find more enjoyment from the game. Under the Callaway and Odyssey brands, Callaway manufactures and sells golf clubs and golf balls, and sells golf apparel, footwear and accessories in more than 110 countries worldwide. 

  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, clubScore
Chip Lutz, LedgeRock Golf Club68
Peter Barron, III, Stone Harbor Golf Club69
Gary Daniels, Applebrook Golf Club69
Glenn Smeraglio, Mercer Oaks Golf Course70
Christopher Ault, Yardley Country Club70
Marc Mandel, Philadelphia Cricket Club70
John Samaha, Old York Road Country Club70
Michael Hyland, Little Mill Country Club71
Scott Storck, Philadelphia Cricket Club71
Scott McLaughlin, Commonwealth National Golf Club71
Andy Latowski, Philadelphia Cricket Club71
Dan Rudershausen, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club71
John Brennan, Philadelphia Cricket Club72
James Kania, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club72
Thomas Gramigna, Tavistock Country Club72
Robert Savarese, Jr., Philadelphia Cricket Club72
Michael Carr, Plymouth Country Club72
Bobby Kershner, Spring Ford Country Club72
Michael Moffat, Commonwealth National Golf Club72
John Sawin, Merion Golf Club72
Sean Clifford, Yardley Country Club72
Jeff Osberg, Huntingdon Valley Country Club73
David Shields, Philadelphia Publinks GA73
Matthew Gaffney, Little Mill Country Club73
Benjamin Smith, Huntingdon Valley Country Club73
Stephen Seiden, Llanerch Country Club73
Byron Whitman, Berkshire Country Club73
George Petrellis, Blue Bell Country Club73
Sean Semenetz, Philadelphia Cricket Club73
Michael McDermott, Merion Golf Club74
Bradley Roberts, Little Mill Country Club74
Jamie Slonis, Tavistock Country Club74
Ryan Gelrod, Philadelphia Cricket Club74
Doug Fedoryshyn, Concord Country Club74
Frank Petrash, IV, Philadelphia Cricket Club74
Michael Brown, Philadelphia Publinks GA75
Christopher Lange, Overbrook Golf Club75
Michael Tash, Tavistock Country Club75
Matthew Finger, DuPont Country Club75
P. Chet Walsh, Philadelphia Country Club75
Cole Willcox, Merion Golf Club75
Mark Czerniakowski, Blue Bell Country Club75
James Donnelly, Merion Golf Club75
Robert Bechtold, Fieldstone Golf Club75
David Liotta, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club75
Joshua Isler, Chester Valley Golf Club75
Blake Cleary, Wilmington Country Club75
Troy Miller, Back Creek Golf Club75
Shawn Lavin, Rolling Green Golf Club76
Matthew Mattare, Saucon Valley Country Club76
Brad McFadden, Overbrook Golf Club76
Thomas Hyland, Little Mill Country Club76
Raymond Thompson, Overbrook Golf Club76
Philip Bartholomew, Philadelphia Cricket Club76
Joe April, Philadelphia Cricket Club76
Conrad Von Borsig, White Manor Country Club76
David West, Whitford Country Club77
Robin McCool, Saucon Valley Country Club77
Rich Pruchnik, Downingtown Country Club77
Rand Mendez, Fieldstone Golf Club77
Chris Lange, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club77
John Robinson, Commonwealth National Golf Club77
Jason Barkley, Huntsville Golf Club77
Jim Gavaghan, Jericho National Golf Club77
Tim Freeh, Back Creek Golf Club77
Chris Meares, Running Deer Golf Club77
Bill Burke, Sea Oaks Golf Club77
Cory Reighard, Llanerch Country Club77
Rodney James, Golden Oaks Golf Club78
Oscar Mestre, Overbrook Golf Club78
Roc Irey, Lookaway Golf Club78
Sean Coyle, Llanerch Country Club78
Jack Wallace, Philadelphia Cricket Club78
Sean Torpey, Commonwealth National Golf Club78
Kevin McDermott, Llanerch Country Club78
Brian Shevland, Waynesborough Country Club78
Chris Lawler, Cedarbrook Country Club78
Kevin Haag, Makefield Highlands Golf Club78
Adam Bracy, Rancocas Golf Club78
Dave Marshall, Trenton Country Club78
Failed to qualify
James Gillespie, Wedgwood Country Club79
Kevin Cahill, Merion Golf Club79
Brian Fisher, Philadelphia Publinks GA79
Brian Gillespie, St. Davids Golf Club80
Tom Spano, Llanerch Country Club80
Stephen Dressel, St. Davids Golf Club80
Drew Garis, North Hills Country Club80
Matthew Walsh, Overbrook Golf Club80
Dan Arison, Applebrook Golf Club80
Keith Olinick, Philadelphia Publinks GA80
Geoffrey Cooper, North Hills Country Club81
Tom DiCinti, Old York CC at Chesterfield81
Michael Rose, Talamore Country Club81
Christopher Reedman, Makefield Highlands Golf Club81
Grant Skyllas, LedgeRock Golf Club81
William Bello, Metedeconk National Golf Club81
Brett Cybulski, Merchantville Country Club81
Jon-Michael Socaris, Broad Run Golfer’s Club81
Matthew Vassil, Honeybrook Golf Club81
Colin Smith, Radley Run Country Club82
Rich Thon, The Springhaven Club82
Mark Coassolo, Brookside C.C. of Allentown82
Neil Gordon, Five Ponds Golf Club82
Richard Umani, Honeybrook Golf Club82
Paul Liebezeit, Aronimink Golf Club82
Edward Kelly, Jr., Old York Road Country Club82
J.J. Berenato, Llanerch Country Club82
Keith Matt, Mercer Oaks Golf Course82
Michael Walker, Loch Nairn Golf Club83
Brian Sokolowski, Greate Bay Country Club83
William Thornton, Jr., LedgeRock Golf Club83
Robert Good, Merion Golf Club83
Patrick McCusker, Jr., Plymouth Country Club83
Mike Cavanaugh, Jericho National Golf Club83
Brendan Young, North Hills Country Club83
Brian Corbett, Huntsville Golf Club84
Christopher Terebesi, Honeybrook Golf Club84
Richard Atcavage, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club84
Ronald Jamarowicz, Hartefeld National84
Michael Beran, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve85
Patrick Murray, North Hills Country Club85
Tom Borsello, Hartefeld National86
Len Fox, Jr., Tavistock Country Club86
Paul Kupcha, Fieldstone Golf Club88
Thomas Lindberg, St. Davids Golf Club88
Patrick Conroy, Llanerch Country Club89
Phil Cillo, Little Mill Country Club90
Anthony List, Jr., Llanerch Country ClubNC
Ed Chylinski, Chester Valley Golf ClubWD
David Brookreson, Huntingdon Valley Country ClubWD
Brian McDermott, Llanerch Country ClubWD
Chris Smedley, Loch Nairn Golf ClubWD
NC-no card; WD-withdrawal

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