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, 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
