Llanerch’s Coyle, Fox Hill’s Gill top Mid.-Am. Qualifier at Plymouth CC

 PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – Sean Coyle of Llanerch CC and Robert Gill of Fox Hill CC each carded a 1-under-par 71 to share medalist honors in Tuesday’s Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifier at Plymouth CC (par 72, 6,517 yards).

  Coyle, of Manayunk, Pa., and Gill, of Shavertown, Pa., led a field of 136 players attempting to earn one of the 35 qualifying spots and ties available for the 27th edition of the Golf Association of Philadelphia Middle-Amateur Championship set for May 26-27 at Philadelphia Cricket Club (Militia Hill). Coyle birdied four of his final nine holes to enter the clubhouse in red figures.

  “I kept it going,” he said. “I kept it in play. I wasn’t trying to go too deep. I was just trying to keep it going just to qualify.”

  After making the turn at 3 over, Coyle fired a birdie on No. 11 (par 4, 378 yards). His 5-iron from 168 yards prevailed through a feisty wind and settled 12 feet from the flagstick. On No. 12 (par 3, 175 yards), he stayed red by striking his 6-iron to four feet. Coyle, 34, also carded birdies on Nos. 17 (par 5, 537 yards) and 18 (par 5, 503 yards). An approach 4-iron from 232 yards on No. 17 landed 10 feet from the flagstick. Coyle punched out of the rough on No. 18 with a 9-iron and then knocked his lob wedge 65 yards onto the green. He converted a four-footer for birdie.

  “I was getting aggressive,” Coyle said. “The greens were receptive. I started feeling pretty good about my game. I’ve got my putting stroke down pretty well. Once I got it going, it was relatively easy.”

  Coyle played in last year’s Middle-Amateur Championship, but failed to make the Day 2 cut.

  “I’m hoping to do a little bit better,” he said about this year’s event.

  For Gill, an opening birdie set the tone of his round. He drained an 18-footer on No. 1 (par 4, 388 yards) after hitting his 6-iron 172 yards.

  “It kind of relaxes you,” Gill, 51, said.

  On No. 6 (par 4, 329 yards), he struck his 9-iron 130 yards and converted a three-footer for birdie. Gill later rocketed his 7-wood 215 yards, chipped up to the No. 8 (par 5, 475 yards) green and sunk a 15-footer for birdie.

  Trouble, however, arose on No. 10 (par 4, 297 yards) as Gill carded a bogey after an errant drive. He also failed to get up-and-down on Nos. 12 (par 3, 175 yards) and 14 (par 3, 200 yards). But Gill remained composed.

  “I knew I had two par 5s coming in, so I figured I could make some birdies. I figured I had to shoot under par to have a chance at medalist,” he said.

  On No. 15 (par 4, 410 yards), Gill hit his pitching wedge 120 yards to 15-feet and sunk the ensuing birdie putt. Standing 60 yards from the flagstick on No. 18 (par 5, 503 yards), Gill drilled his 60-degree wedge and converted a straightforward, three-footer for birdie.

  “I started off playing good this year,” he said. “After the front nine, I knew instead of playing to qualify, I was playing for medalist. I felt comfortable. It was fun to focus on trying to shoot the low score.”

  Stephen Seiden of Concord CC carded a 1-over-par 73 to place third. Seiden, of Chadds Ford, Pa., kept it in play throughout his round.

  “I just wanted to keep everything in the fairways. I think the only place you can get in trouble here is in the pine trees, and there are plenty of them,” he said. “My short game was good. I’m going in the right direction with my short game. I’m making better contact with my chips. ”

  Seiden, who began his round on the back nine, first showcased his improved short game on No. 14 (par 3, 200 yards). After Seiden’s 4-iron landed between the green and the right-side bunker, his ensuing chip shot ran 50 feet into the cup.

  “It was a pretty straightforward chip. It was straight downhill,” he said. “It wasn’t going too hard. It was a great pace and it stayed online. It wasn’t what I was expecting.”

  Seiden, a pharmacist by day, fired another birdie on the next hole, the 410-yard, dogleg right 15th. His drive settled in the rough, but Seiden overcame an overhanging tree and launched his 6-iron 165 yards to two-feet from the flagstick.

  Another dogleg par 4, the 292-yard No. 4, brought Seiden, 28, a birdie. He smashed his 3-wood into the left rough. Though he had a “perfect angle” 85 yards into the green, a feisty gust of wind took Seiden’s approach-wedge into the right-side bunker. He then knocked a 58-degree sand wedge out of a flat lie and into the cup for birdie.

  “When I hit it, I knew it was a good shot,” he said. “You had to get it up quick. I didn’t have the advantage of having the upslope. The bunkers are firm, so I was just trying to get it anywhere on the green within a putt that I could make.”

  On No. 8 (par 5, 475 yards), Seiden established a good look at eagle after sticking his 4-iron 195 yards to 12 feet from the flagstick. He left the putt short, but tapped in for birdie.

  “At that point, I was just trying to keep everything in play. I kind of knew I was in it,” he said. “In these things, you’re not trying to win them. You’re just trying to qualify,” Seiden said. “I’m just glad I put a good round together because last year was a struggle.”

  Seiden hopes his game will continue to improve for the Middle-Amateur Championship. He failed to make the cut after Day 1 in last year’s event, which took place at Tavistock CC.

  At the end of the day, the cut line fell to 79.

  Tuesday’s qualifier was the first of two Middle-Amateur Championship qualifiers used to determine who will play in the Championship later this month. The second qualifier will take place tomorrow, May 5, at Torresdale-Frankford CC.

  The GAP Middle-Amateur started in 1984, three years after the USGA created the U.S. Mid-Am as a formal championship for post-college amateurs. The Association followed suit with the USGA in creating a Mid-Am, but initially differed in its administration of the tournament in a couple of respects.

  The most obvious difference was the age requirement. Prior to 2001, the GAP Mid-Am was for players 30 years of age and older.

  The Association’s Executive Committee reviewed and revised that age requirement in 2001 to match the USGA’s guidelines of 25 years of age or older for eligible players. Also at that point, the Committee changed the format of the event to a two-day stroke play tournament (instead of a one-day medal play event) with a cut to the low 70 players and ties after the first round. The field begins with 132 players. Players must have a GAP/USGA Handicap Index of 7.0 or lower.