Meadowlands CC’s Ehrlich tops Patterson Cup Qualifier at ACE Club

  Ehrlich, a soon-to-be freshman golfer at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., rode his strategy to post the only sup-par round in the 171-player field.

  On Monday, he challenged himself by playing from the longer black tees with the hope that the 400-yard difference from Tuesday’s tournament setup would be an advantage.

  “I think the fact that I played here from the tips yesterday helped me today,” Ehrlich said. “You’re used to having 170 [yards] in, but when your playing from these tees you’ll have like 150. It just makes the course look easier.”

  But from tee to green, it was Ehrlich’s game that looked easy as he only missed one fairway and hit all but three greens in regulation.

  “I missed one [fairway] and that was on No. 17 (par 4, 390 yards) when I put it in the right rough, but I still made par there,” he said. “I think I hit more greens in this tournament than I ever have in my entire life.”

  As a first-time qualifier for the Patterson Cup, Ehrlich birdied hole Nos. 4 (par 3, 169 yards), 10 (par 4, 450 yards), and 12 (par 3, 198 yards) to join the 43 other competitors who qualified for the GAP’s final major of the season.

  Mark Kosko of Seaview Marriott Resort & Spa finished in second place with an even-par 72 while the cut line fell at 78.

  The Joseph H. Patterson Cup takes place on Aug. 10 at Philmont CC (North and South course) with a field of 132 players determined by today’s Qualifier at The ACE Club and a second one held at Olde York CC on Thursday. The Patterson Cup is a one-day, 36-hole individual gross stroke play event. It is the final Major on the Golf Association of Philadelphia calendar.