Overbrook GC’s Lange tops Mid-Am, McDermott lurks

IVYLAND, Pa. – Chris Lange of Overbrook GC, a top player in the region for more than three decades, moved within a step of becoming the first player in Golf Association of Philadelphia history to capture each of the organization’s four Major championships. Lange, 50, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., navigated the wet, windy and difficult conditions of Spring Mill CC (par 72, 7,079 yards) and leads the 22nd Middle-Amateur Championship field by a stroke.

Lange, who last summer became only the 11^th amateur to capture the Philadelphia Open, is a three-time Amateur Champion (1984, 1993-94) and three-time Patterson Cup (1989, 1994, 1999) Champion. Those three tournaments, along with the Mid-Am, comprise the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Major schedule.

  The second and final round of the Middle-Amateur Championship begins tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. Lange and the leaders, Rich Pruchnik of West Chester G&CC (72) and Thomas Gramigna of Tavistock CC (74) will tee off at 11:50 a.m. Michael McDermott of Merion GC, the defending champion who also carded a 3-over-par 74, will attempt to defend his title in the pairing directly ahead of the lead group.

  “I never really thought about that,” said Lange of the possible career Grand Slam accomplishment. “I wasn’t real sharp today, but I was very fortunate.”

  As an example, Lange opened his round with a par on No. 1 (par 4, 396 yards) after knocking it in the trees on the right. He followed with six straight pars before registering a birdie on No. 8 (par 5, 509 yards) when he landed a pitching wedge from 90 yards to 15 feet. Lange parred the ninth and made the turn at 1-under-par 35.

  Lange recorded a great birdie on the difficult 10^th hole (par 4, 423 yards) after his 7-iron landed 15 feet below the hole. He followed that up with seven more pars before posting his only bogey on the final hole.

  “Tomorrow I’ll try to make pars and let the birdies come when they come,” said Lange.

  Pruchnik, 39, of West Chester, Pa., is looking for a championship breakthrough. He finished tied for third in the Mid-Am last year and advanced to the second round of the Amateur Championship. He was 2-under-par heading to No. 17 (par 4, 450 yards) but finished bogey-bogey to finish even-par 72.

  “It was a sloppy, grinding round,” said Pruchnik, who along with the morning wave faced wet and windier conditions than their afternoon counterparts. “I just tried to hang in there.”

  McDermott, who’s looking to become the first three-time Mid-Am champion, started with a disastrous quadruple bogey on his first hole, No. 10, but rallied with a final-nine 3-under-par 33 to finish at 2-over-par 74.

  “I knew I wasn’t out of the tournament, but I knew I made it more difficult,” said McDermott, 30, of Havertown, Pa. “I knew I had 35 more holes to make it up.”

  Gramigna, 35, of Haddonfield, N.J., carded a 2-over-par 38 on the front but finish with an even-par 36. He’s a three-time New Jersey State Golf Association Middle-Amateur Champion.   Gramigna, Lange and McDermott began their rounds in the afternoon.

  Last year, McDermott edged Lange by a shot for the Mid-Am crown.

  Lange trailed McDermott by five shots entering the second day, but carded a 5-under-par 66. McDermott, displaying his championship mettle, birdied the final hole for the title.

   A total of 79 players made the cut, which fell at 11-over-par 83.

   The Middle-Amateur Championship is for players 25 year of age and older with a GAP/USGA Handicap Index of 7.0 or lower. A field of 132 players started the day.

WD-withdrawal; NS-no show