Overbrook GC's Lange opens Mid-Am title defense atop first-round leaderboard - The Golf Association of Philadelphia

May 23, 2006

Overbrook GC’s Lange opens Mid-Am title defense atop first-round leaderboard

  HORSHAM, Pa.-Chris Lange of Overbrook GC opened the 23rd Middle-Amateur Championship at Commonwealth National GC (par 71, 6,858 yards) on Tuesday in the same position he finished last year’s tournament, atop the leaderboard . Lange, 51, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., carded an even-par 71, the only first-round score at par or better.

  In all, 78 players made the cut.

  The 132-player field was cut to the low 70 players and ties for the second and final round set for tomorrow. Tee times begin at 7:30 a.m.

  “It was hard,” said Lange of the challenging Commonwealth National GC layout. “There’s no hiding out there. You’ve got to hit the ball. The greens were firm, fast and the wind was blowing so it was as tough as it gets.”

  Lange came into the clubhouse with three birdies and four bogeys on a day when the wind pushed scores way above par. He began his round with a birdie on No. 2 (par 4, 390 yards) when he chipped it in from above the hole.

  “No. 2 got me off to a good start.” Lange said.

  He would also card back-to-back birdies on the treacherous No. 13 (par 4, 440 yards), where he hit a 7-iron downwind from about 160 yards to within a few feet, and the difficult No. 14 (par 4, 427 yards), to put him at 2-under-par with four holes to play. However, Lange bogeyed No. 16 (par 3, 190 yards) and No. 17 (par 4, 382 yards) before a par on No. 18 (par 4, 445 yards) accounted for an even-par finish.

  The defending Middle Amateur Champion doesn’t necessarily look back to last year’s championship as an aid toward this season’s contest.

  “I’ve been doing this a long time,” Lange commented. “I don’t really think about [defending the tittle]. You’ve just got to go out, play good and see what happens.”

  Lange is a three-time Amateur Champion, three-time Patterson Cup Champion and captured the Philadelphia Open in 2004 at Philadelphia CC.

  If Lange repeats, he’ll be the first player to successfully defend his Middle-Amateur title.

  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. That 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.

  This is the first full scoring event toward the William Hyndman, III Player of the Year standings.

Name Club Name Front 9 Back 9 Total
Christopher Lange Overbrook Golf Club 37 34 71
Mike Danner Lu Lu Country Club 38 34 72
Bill Murray Merchantville Country Club 37 38 75
John Brennan Spring Ford Country Club 36 39 75
Mark Coassolo Berkleigh Country Club 39 36 75
Rich Pruchnik West Chester Golf & Country Club 40 35 75
Chip Lutz LedgeRock Golf Club 39 37 76
Robert Dziak Spring Ford Country Club 39 37 76
Thomas Gramigna Tavistock Country Club 36 40 76
Glenn Smeraglio Yardley Country Club 37 40 77
Mark Peterson Philadelphia Cricket Club 37 40 77
Robin McCool Saucon Valley Country Club 39 38 77
Thomas Hyland Little Mill Country Club 40 37 77
Tom Borsello Delaware National Country Club 36 41 77
David West Whitford Country Club 38 40 78
Douglas Zelner Coatesville Country Club 36 42 78
Jason Barkley Berkleigh Country Club 38 40 78
Scott McIntosh Makefield Highlands Golf Club 40 38 78
Brian Gillespie St. Davids Golf Club 42 37 79
Charles Dowds, III North Hills Country Club 36 43 79
Daniel Delaney Concord Country Club 40 39 79
Jamie Harrell Commonwealth National Golf Club 39 40 79
Joseph Roeder Links Golf Club 42 37 79
Michael Anderson Commonwealth National Golf Club 40 39 79
Michael Moffat Commonwealth National Golf Club 39 40 79
Robert Arthur Tavistock Country Club 40 39 79
Scott Shore Aronimink Golf Club 36 43 79
Sean Clifford Philadelphia Publinks GA 41 38 79
Thomas Bartolacci, Jr. Saucon Valley Country Club 41 38 79
Drew Panebianco Talamore at Oak Terrace Country Club 38 42 80
James Donnelly Philadelphia Cricket Club 39 41 80
John Robinson Commonwealth National Golf Club 37 43 80
Ken Sim Commonwealth National Golf Club 38 42 80
Kenneth Matt Commonwealth National Golf Club 41 39 80
Michael McDermott Merion Golf Club 41 39 80
Roc Irey Cedarbrook Country Club 40 40 80
Ryan Gelrod Commonwealth National Golf Club 41 39 80
Santo Lafoca Huntsville Golf Club 42 38 80
Brian Corbett Huntsville Golf Club 41 40 81
Brian Rothaus Philmont Country Club 39 42 81
David Liotta Whitemarsh Valley Country Club 44 37 81
Edward Erickson Yardley Country Club 40 41 81
G. Patrick Dougherty Talamore at Oak Terrace Country Club 41 40 81
Joseph Russo Running Deer Golf Club 40 41 81
P. Chet Walsh Philadelphia Country Club 39 42 81
Robert Bechtold Fieldstone Golf Club 39 42 81
Robert Gill Fox Hill Country Club 40 41 81
Ted Harris Makefield Highlands Golf Club 38 43 81
Arthur Kania, Jr. Overbrook Golf Club 43 39 82
Darrell Clayton Cavaliers Country Club 40 42 82
Douglas Schroer St. Davids Golf Club 40 42 82
Edward Gregorczyk Glenmaura National Golf Club 39 43 82
Francis Downey North Hills Country Club 42 40 82
Gregg Angelillo Moselem Springs Golf Club 41 41 82
James Kieserman Talamore at Oak Terrace Country Club 42 40 82
James White Philadelphia Cricket Club 42 40 82
Jamie Slonis Tavistock Country Club 44 38 82
John Alterman Commonwealth National Golf Club 39 43 82
Thomas DiCinti Little Mill Country Club 40 42 82
Wayne Bartolacci Jericho National Golf Club 37 45 82
Chris Esbenshade Meadia Heights Golf Club 44 39 83
Daniel Doyle Edgmont Country Club 40 43 83
Dave O’Brien Cedarbrook Country Club 42 41 83
David Strohl Moselem Springs Golf Club 44 39 83
Keith Matt Lu Lu Country Club 41 42 83
Lance Oberparleiter Wedgwood Country Club 39 44 83
Peter Moran Edgmont Country Club 43 40 83
R. Blake Slawecki Spring Ford Country Club 38 45 83
Scott Carney Commonwealth National Golf Club 43 40 83
Andrew Caldwell The Springhaven Club 41 43 84
Chris Anderson Wilmington Country Club 41 43 84
Chris Terebesi Chester Valley Golf Club 39 45 84
Dan Pinciotti, Jr. Huntingdon Valley Country Club 42 42 84
Michael Lewers St. Davids Golf Club 41 43 84
Pat Nein Medford Village Country Club 43 41 84
Ronald Cusick, Sr. Tavistock Country Club 41 43 84
Ronald Jamarowicz Cavaliers Country Club 41 43 84
Steve Owens Commonwealth National Golf Club 42 42 84
Failed to qualify
Bill Boyle Metedeconk National Golf Club 42 43 85
Charles Jones Philadelphia Publinks GA 43 42 85
Christopher DeSana Wyncote Golf Club 42 43 85
David Smith Doylestown Country Club 40 45 85
Edmund Chylinski Chester Valley Golf Club 42 43 85
Eric Meyer Whitford Country Club 41 44 85
Gary Daniels Aronimink Golf Club 42 43 85
J. Kirk Luntey Merion Golf Club 40 45 85
Jim Simmons Whitford Country Club 43 42 85
John Frampton Whitemarsh Valley Country Club 41 44 85
Jon Lavin Philmont Country Club 40 45 85
Joseph Costanzo Blue Bell Country Club 45 40 85
Mark Czerniakowski Philadelphia Publinks GA 41 44 85
Oscar Mestre, Jr. Overbrook Golf Club 46 39 85
Bobby Kershner Spring Ford Country Club 42 44 86
Marlin Detweiler Lancaster Country Club 44 42 86
Michael Domenick Phoenixville Country Club 42 44 86
Mike Owsik Plymouth Country Club 44 42 86
Stephen Conway Burlington Country Club 44 42 86
Chris Kallmeyer Philadelphia Cricket Club 41 46 87
Fred Giblin Merchantville Country Club 45 42 87
Gil Moniz Jr. Running Deer Golf Club 38 49 87
Lee Cook Laurel Creek Country Club 40 47 87
Mark Douglas Spring Ford Country Club 43 44 87
Michael Rose Philmont Country Club 42 45 87
Jon Thomas White Clay Creek Country Club 42 46 88
Kevin Coleman Talamore at Oak Terrace Country Club 39 49 88
Rick Wright Running Deer Golf Club 44 44 88
Rocky Dare Running Deer Golf Club 45 43 88
Frank Corrado, Jr. Jericho National Golf Club 47 42 89
Jeff Paige Bellewood Golf Club 44 45 89
Leonard Pearson Philmont Country Club 43 46 89
Robert Billings Medford Village Country Club 42 47 89
Shawn Knechtel Whitemarsh Valley Country Club 43 46 89
Glenn McClaskey Wedgwood Country Club 46 44 90
Len Fox, Jr. Tavistock Country Club 43 47 90
Bryan McClaskey Merchantville Country Club 44 47 91
Geoffrey Cooper Laurel Creek Country Club 44 47 91
Jeffrey Huntzinger North Hills Country Club 46 45 91
Patrick Cahill, III Whitemarsh Valley Country Club 46 45 91
Steven Passalacqua Wedgwood Country Club 50 41 91
Eugene Maginnis, Jr. Philadelphia Cricket Club 45 47 92
Thomas Alestock Running Deer Golf Club 44 48 92
Thomas McCabe Manufacturers Golf & Country Club 47 45 92
Robert Frankil Spring Ford Country Club 50 43 93
Vince Yost Cedarbrook Country Club 51 43 94
Ric Sucro Plymouth Country Club 47 49 96
John Mullins Spring Ford Country Club WD WD WD
Andy Achenbach RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve WD WD WD
Edwin Donegan McCall Golf & Country Club WD WD WD
John Kennedy Honeybrook Golf Club WD WD WD
Mark Inman Cherry Valley Country Club WD WD WD
Scott Kalan Radnor Valley Country Club WD WD WD
Steve Lubin Plymouth Country Club WD WD WD

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