Little Mill’s McCarty heads Amateur qualifying at Coatesville CC

  COATESVILLE, Pa.-Ryan McCarty of Little Mill CC fired an even-par 71 to lead a group of 27 players who qualified for the 104^th Amateur Championship of the Golf Association of Philadelphia Thursday at Coatesville Country Club (par 71, 6,418 yards).  

 McCarty, a sophomore at St. Joseph’s University, “avoided the big mistake” in making his second Amateur Championship.   

“Maybe because it was a qualifier, I felt very comfortable out there,” said McCarty, 18, of Voorhees, N.J. “I hit a lot of good shots and had a couple nice up and downs.”  

 McCarty posted four birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.   He made short under-par putts on No. 3 (par 5, 536 yards) and No. 7 (par 4, 327 yards) before rolling in a winding 25-foot birdie putt on No. 11 (par 4, 304 yards).   

McCarty stood at 2 under after seven holes but registered a bogey on No. 8 (par 4, 382 yards) and a double-bogey on No 9 (par 4, 368 yards) to fall to 1-over-par.  

 “I still shot a 36 [on the front side], so I wasn’t worried,” said McCarty, who was making his first trip to Coatesville. “On the back, I tried to keep it as far away from trouble as possible. Sometimes I play better if I don’t know where the trouble is.”   

Also advancing into the Amateur Championship field is Bobby Galbreath, Jr., who shot a 73.   

The 12-year-old Huntingdon Valley resident will be making his second appearance in the championship proper.   Last year, Galbreath became the youngest competitor to compete in an Amateur field.  

 A group of 71 players attempted to qualify.   

The group of 27 will join the exempt competitors and 50 qualifiers from Concord CC in the 132-player field at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, June 14-19.   

The Amateur competition will begin with a 36-hole qualifying round on Monday, June 14. The low 31 players will advance to match play on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 15 and 16. The 36-hole final will be held on Saturday, June 19.   

The defending champion is Michael Tash, of Tavistock CC, who defeated Brian Gillespie, of St. Davids GC, 1-up, at Philmont Country Club (North) last year.