Bullish Bradbeer heads tight #PatCup leaderboard

WILMINGTON, DEL.–Peter Bradbeer is a bull market. Every year around this time, he said, his game trends upward. Wednesday in the 115th Joseph H. Patterson Cup at Wilmington Country Club’s South Course (par 71, 7,172 yards), Bradbeer showed the field his horns. The 19-year-old Bucknell University Bison rising sophomore carded a 3-under-par 68 to headline the tournament’s opening round. A field of 144 began the day with the cut line for the low 60 players and ties landing at 6 over.

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  “My game peaks around the end of the summer. Today was a culmination of a lot of practice and playing and a lot of confidence. I’ve been working on my swing a lot lately and my putting has really come around,” said Bradbeer of Merion Golf Club and Rosemont, Pa. “I’ve played solid in everything but nothing spectacular. I think this is my time to show what I have.”

  In Golf Association of Philadelphia Majors this year, Bradbeer has shown flashes. In the 117th BMW Philadelphia Amateur he qualified as the No. 16 seed before losing a dazzling match to fellow clubmate and multiple Major Champion Michael McDermott in 19 holes. In the Philadelphia Open, Bradbeer posted a solid score of 5 over to finish in a tie for 25th. He also finished as the Merion Club Championship runner-up, falling to decorated Mid.-Amateur John Sawin.

  “To play with [Michael McDermott in the Amateur] really helped me realize where my game needs to go and it showed me I can hang with some of the best players in Philadelphia,” said Bradbeer, a Friends’ Central School graduate. “I felt confident the past couple days. I can’t wait to get out there tomorrow.”

  Bradbeer opened with a bogey on No. 2 (par 4, 420 yards), three putting from 40 feet, but responded with a birdie on No. 6 (par 4, 384 yards) by knocking a wedge from 90 yards to 15 feet. His round really gained traction on No. 9 (par 4, 445 yards), albeit after a poor tee shot found the left tree line. His second shot, an 8-iron from 183 yards from a flyer lie, stopped a foot short of going in for a 2. He made the turn in 1 under.

  “That’s when I knew I was going to get it going,” said Bradbeer.

  On the back nine, Bradbeer exchanged a birdie on No. 12 (par 4, 411 yards) with a bogey on No. 13 (par 3, 200 yards) before carding two more red figures to close his round. On No. 14 (par 5, 547 yards), he knocked his second shot, a 3-wood from 263 yards, to 25 feet for an easy two-putt birdie. On the next hole, No. 15 (par 4, 394 yards), Bradbeer lifted a wedge from 95 yards to 15 feet and made the ensuing putt for a 3. He ended with three straight pars.

  The game plan for tomorrow?

  “Make some pars on the front and tear it up on the back,” said Bradbeer. “It’s a big, strong golf course. It fits my game. I like to hit the driver; it’s one of my best clubs.”

  Bradbeer is joined in the final group of the day, starting at 11 a.m., with Chris Ault of Yardley Country Club and Chris Crawford of Spring Mill Country Club. Both Ault and Crawford finished with 2-under 69s. Ault, 31, of Yardley, Pa., started on the back nine and made the turn at 3 under. His highlight was a 4-iron strike on the lengthy No. 17 (par 3, 229 yards) that stopped a foot from the cup. Ault made two bogeys and a birdie on his inward nine.

  Ault is coming off a strong second-place showing in the Pennsylvania State Amateur at White Manor Country Club last week.

  “I’ve been playing well the last couple of weeks. I started to work on my golf swing after the Philly Am. and I saw some improvement at the Philly Open even though my scores may not have reflected it. I played really well last week and sort of carried [the momentum] over to here.

  “[Wilmington’s] a big golf course where you hit a lot of drivers. It certainly fits my eye. I don’t know if I missed a fairway off the tee today. When you are in the fairway the game’s a lot easier. You can hit the shots you want.”

  Ault missed just one fairway in his round.

  Crawford, who competed in the U.S. Open Championship for a second straight year, and has played in a bunch of national invitationals this summer, saw his round unfold in almost the exact fashion as Ault. He made the turn in 3 under after birdies on Nos. 12, 15 and 16 (par 5, 560 yards).

  He made eight pars and one bogey coming home.

  “I felt like I struck it pretty decent. I putted the ball well, too. I just didn’t get that many putts to go,” said Crawford, 23, Bensalem, Pa. “I’m pretty happy with the round. It’s a big good test of golf.”

  Crawford is a former Patterson Cup champion. He won the 2015 edition at Chester Valley Golf Club.

  There are 17 players within four shots of the lead.

  The Patterson Cup also serves as the final two rounds of the Silver Cross. The Silver Cross is awarded to the player with the lowest aggregate score in the qualifying rounds of the Amateur Championship and the Patterson Cup.

  Bradbeer and Aaron Fricke of Lancaster Country Club are tied for the lead at 214. Standing two shots back are BMW Philadelphia Amateur Champion Gregor Orlando of Philadelphia Cricket Club and defending Patterson Cup and two-time reigning Silver Cross Champion Jeff Osberg of Huntingdon Valley Country Club.

  Osberg finished even in the Patterson’s opening round. The 33-year-old Osberg opened in 4 over, but made four birdies coming in to finish level. His final birdie coming on the treacherous No. 17 (par 3, 229 yards), where he ripped a 2-iron and drained the 25-foot birdie putt.

  “After the first nine holes, I started thinking about the Silver Cross and not the tournament,” said Osberg, the two-time reigning William Hyndman, III Player of the Year. “I told myself to keep it under control and try to hit better shots.”

NOTES–Thursday’s final round will feature Wilmington Country Club’s South Course playing at a total of 7,160 yards. Just 12 yards shorter than Day 1, the course will feature two 600-plus par fives. No. 3 will play at 634 yards and No. 16 will play at a length of 610 yards. This will be the first time in Golf Association of Philadelphia history that two par fives will be played at greater than 600 yards.

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