Little Mill’s Kwon medals in #GAPOpen Qualifier at Berkshire

June 20, 2018

READING, Pa.–Vince Kwon loves to take an easy stroll with his dog, Mickey, as much as he possibly can.

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Wednesday in a #GAPOpen Qualifier at Berkshire Country Club (par 71, 6,381 yards), Kwon smoothly sauntered to a round of 4-under-par 67 and his first Golf Association of Philadelphia medalist honor.

The Championship Proper, the 114th edition, takes place on July 18-19 at St. Davids Golf Club.

  “I love to walk my dog Mickey and just stroll around,” said Kwon, 24, of Marlton, N.J. “He calms me down and is very enjoyable. Each time I come home, he always wants to do something. Whenever I have a bad round I will go home and he will make me happy. He is like my best friend.”

  A total of 35 players qualified with the cutline ultimately finishing at 75.

  Kwon got off to a sizzling start on No. 1 (par 5, 485 yards) after splitting the fairway with his driver. He then hit a 6-iron flag-high from 190 yards and converted a five-footer.

  He then used his 54-degree wedge from 100 yards in the left fairway bunker on No. 2 (par 4, 314 yards) and rolled in another six-footer. Making those short putts was key throughout the day for Kwon.

  “I have been working hard on my putting specifically between four and six feet,” said Kwon. “When I am out there practicing, I am grinding for three hours working on putts inside six feet that are straight and break both left to right and right to left. I hit 50 putts from each of those areas around the cup.”

  Kwon added birdies on Nos. 8 (par 4, 302 yards) because of a smooth 54-degree wedge to 10 feet; 12 (par 5, 552 yards) as a result of tremendous touch around the green with his 54-degree wedge and 13 (par 4, 460 yards) after hitting a tight draw with a 9-iron from 160 yards in the left rough to seven feet.

  Kwon’s final two circles on the card came on Nos. 15 (par 4, 460 yards) and 18 (par 4, 320 yards). After blistering a drive down the center on 15, Kwon hit 7-iron from 180 yards to four feet on the third tier of the green. Kwon said No. 15 was the highlight of the day for him.

  Kwon continued his strong touch around the greens on 18 after hitting a driver just short of the green in the right rough. He then played a bump-and-run with his 54-degree wedge to seven feet. He rolled it in center cut to post 4 under.

  But for Kwon this round, which included a total of six birdies and two bogeys, was unexpected. Especially with the struggles he has had off the tee with his driver recently. But at Berkshire, his driver was pure and reliable.

  “Today, everything felt stress-free for some reason,” said Kwon, of Little Mill Country Club. “I’ve been struggling with my swing and I haven’t been striking the ball well at all. My driver was viciously hooking on me. But last week I found something and I have continued to grind and work on it.

  “But when I had no confidence in it, I kept hitting it. I just powered through it and tried to double-cross it by trying to fade it. But today my driver was working beautifully.”

  Kwon found something in the hands of Indian Spring Golf Course Director of Instruction Steve Sieracki. Kwon said Sieracki just simplified his thoughts and they mostly worked on his fundamentals.

  “Shooting a score like this gives me a ton of confidence,” said Kwon. “Especially since I really wasn’t striking it solid or playing well. Being the medalist means a lot. It shows I can compete and play with these guys again. This puts my confidence back to where it usually is and I am excited to keep playing this summer.”