CONCORDVILLE, Pa. – Tug Maude became the first Merion GC representative since Max Marston in 1924 to earn a spot on the Joseph H. Patterson Memorial Cup trophy. Maude did so by surviving an 18-hole playoff with home-club hopeful Conrad Von Borsig on Friday at Concord CC (par 71, 6,736 yards) to take the 103rd Patterson Cup, the stroke play championship of the Golf Association of Philadelphia.
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“I was surprised when I heard that,” said Maude, a recent graduate of Wake Forest University, on being the first Merion member in 81 years to take the Patterson Cup. “There are so many great players there. It’s such an honor.”
Marston was a member of Merion Cricket Club, the predecessor to Merion Golf Club, at the time of his victory.
Added Von Borsig, who is heading to the University of Virginia in a week, “I didn’t quite make any putts today. Against him I thought even par at worse was going to win it. I played well, he played better.”
Maude controlled a majority of the contest, with a slight hiccup in the middle.
Up four strokes on No. 13 (par 4, 441 yards), he put his drive in the lateral water hazard on the left side of the fairway. He made a double bogey six.
On the next hole, No. 14, a 90-degree dog leg par 5 that bears to the right, Maude clipped the trees with his drive, knocked his third shot over the green, left his chip short and three putted for a seven. That coupled with two Von Borsig pars evened the contest.
However, on the par 3, 15th hole (190 yards), Von Borsig’s tee ball clipped the greenside tree and kicked into the fairway. Maude knocked a 5-iron to 15 feet hole high. Von Borsig had a quirky chip standing in a bowl with the ball above his feet and knocked it long. Before it was over, he carded a five. Maude registered a par to recapture his two-stroke lead and, in all actuality, seal the victory.
Maude birdied Nos. 17 (par 4, 333 yards) and 18 (par 5, 521 yards), getting up and down from the bunker on the final hole, to get back to even par.
“Those holes are real tricky. I call them Amen corner [holes 12-14],” said Von Borsig. “I figured my local knowledge would help and then he gave me some more. It was kind of a weird feeling finding myself even after being out of it for awhile. I guess I was a little flustered [on the tee] and didn’t hit a good shot.”
The victory capped a memorable Golf Association of Philadelphia summer calendar for Maude. He made a dazzling run in the Amateur Championship before falling in the final to Clint Deibert of Doylestown CC, 2&1, in June. He also placed second in the Silver Cross Standings, awarded to the player with the lowest aggregate score in the two qualifying rounds of the Amateur Championship and two rounds of the Patterson Cup, to close friend John Sawin of Merion GC. In fact, Sawin caddied for Maude in the Patterson Cup playoff.
A strong showing in the state Amateur (tied for 13) and Pennsylvania Open (tied for 27) also signified Maude’s reemergence in the area after a pair of debilitating knee injuries hindered his game the past four years. As a junior golfer, Maude captured the Christman Cup, the junior boys’ stroke play championship.
“It was more than I expected,” said Maude of his success. “I knew if I played well I’d have a shot in both.”
Maude opened the contest in command. He and Von Borsig split the fairway with their initial drives on No. 1 (par 4, 394 yards). Maude dropped a pitching wedge to 10 feet and sank the birdie try to go 1-under par. Von Borsig’s wedge, however, fell a few yards short and rolled in under the lip of the bunker. He made a bogey five.
Both players made good fours on No. 2 (par 4, 315 yards) before Maude recorded another under-par number on No. 3 (par 4, 334 yards). Maude put a pitching wedge from 122 yards to 40 feet right of the hole and again drained the birdie putt. Von Borsig, who knocked his wedge from around the same yardage to 18 feet left of the hole missed his chance.
The two carded par 3s on No. 4 (184 yards).
On No. 5 (par 4, 374 yards), a slight dog leg left, Maude blew his drive over the trees on the right side. With the green guarded by a pond, Maude, who had a clearing but needed to carry a tree and the water, put his second shot in the back greenside depression. He failed to get up and down. The steady Von Borsig registered a solid two putt to reduce his deficit to two strokes.
The two missed birdie chances on the par 5, 6th hole (568 yards) before Maude posted his third birdie of the day on the difficult No. 7 (par 4, 454 yards). Von Borsig and Maude had identical putts, Von Borsig a 30 footer, Maude about 10 feet closer. Von Borsig’s opportunity slid to the right side. Maude went to school and found the heart of the cup.
The duo finished par-bogey. Maude made a clutch up-and-down for a par save on No. 8 (par 3, 186 yards) and Von Borsig salvaged a half on No. 9 (par 4, 416 yards) after finding the left trees.
On No. 10 (par 4, 360 yards), Maude cozied up a wedge from 35 yards to three feet. On No. 11 (par 3, 194 yards), Von Borsig finally carded his first birdie when he drained a 12 footer up the hill.
That’s when the match swung to Von Borsig for two holes before Maude regained control.
This was the first Patterson Cup playoff since 2000 when Greg O’Connor of Huntingdon Valley CC won the title in a three-man playoff.
