MALVERN, Pa.–Reigning Champion Kyle Davis of Fieldstone GC and past winners Chris Lange of Overbrook GC, Chip Lutz of LedgeRock GC and Bill McGuinness of Tavistock CC each advanced into the second round of the 107th Amateur Championship on Tuesday at Applebrook GC (par 71, 6,725 yards).
Davis, the Amateur’s top seed, defeated Michael Moffat of Commonwealth National GC, the 32nd seed, 4&2; Lange, seeded 20th, stopped Robert Galbreath, Jr. of Huntingdon Valley CC, the 13th seed, 1-up; Lutz, the No. 31 seed, defeated co-medallist and No. 2 seed Chase Duncan of Meadia Heights GC, 1-up; and McGuinness, the 12th seed, upended No. 21 seed Stephen Arnold of Yardley CC, 4&3.
“Once you get to the Top 32 players, everyone has a chance,” said Davis, 21, of Kennett Square, Pa. “[Michael] Moffat could have won this match as easily I did. Everyone playing is good.”
Davis made the turn at 4-up on Moffat, a 2002 Amateur Championship semifinalist, before closing the match out on No. 16 (par 5, 573 yards) with a par. Davis’s iron work on the par 3s was extra special. He knocked a punch 7-iron to two feet on No. 9 (par 3, 147 yards) and a chip 9-iron to a foot on No. 11 (par 3, 121 yards).
Lange and Lutz both went to the final hole before securing their victories.
Lange, a three-time Amateur Champion (1984, 1993-94), rallied from an early three-hole deficit. Lange pointed to the 2 hour and 28 minute rain delay midway through the round as a turning point. Lange and Galbreath’s match was called in with the players approaching the ninth green. Out of the delay, Lange, who was 2-down at the time, registered a par as Galbreath three putted. Lange drew even on the ensuing par 5, 10th (573 yards) with a par and then moved 1-up when his wedge rimmed the edge of the cup on No. 11.
Galbreath got back to All Square on No. 14 (par 4, 438 yards) with a remarkable 25-foot chip-in from behind the green. Three subsequent pars by each player brought the match 18 all even. On the closing hole (No. 18, par 4, 450 yards), Lange’s second shot landed just short of the green. He made bogey. Galbreath, 15, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., mishit his approach shot and then left his third shot in the grass just over the bunker. He finished with a double-bogey.
“I just kind of hung in there,” said Lange, 52, of Bryn Mawr, Pa. “The delay actually helped me find my swing. I was swinging too hard and fast.”
Lutz, 52, of Reading, Pa., the 1977 Amateur Champion, lost the first two holes of his match – he started on the back nine – but battled back to make the turn at All Square. He dropped No. 1 to a Duncan birdie but hit a 20-degree rescue wood to eight feet on No. 5 to even the match and then took the lead for good on No. 8 when he knocked a sand wedge from 100 yards to eight feet.
Duncan, 22, of Lancaster, Pa., is a redshirt junior at North Carolina State University.
McGuinness, who captured his lone Amateur title in 1996, defeated Stephen Arnold of Yardley CC, the current Patterson Cup and Silver Cross Award holder, 4&3.
McGuinness, 47, of Woodbury, N.J., never trailed in his match. McGuinness was 4-up at the turn and closed Arnold, 22, of Langhorne, Pa., out on the 15th hole.
Both the second round and quarterfinals will take place tomorrow beginning at 7:30 a.m.
First round
1. Kyle Davis, Fieldstone GC, d. 32. Michael Moffat, Commonwealth National GC, 4&2
17. Cory Siegfried, Philadelphia CC, d. 16. Brian Gillespie, St. Davids GC, 3&1
25. Thomas Gramigna, Tavistock CC, d. 8. Alan Borowsky, White Manor CC, 1-up
9. Philip Arouca, Philadelphia Publinks GA, d. 24. David West, Whitford CC, 2&1
4. Cole Willcox, Philadelphia CC, d. 29. James Kania, Jr., Overbrook GC, 1-up
20. Chris Lange, Overbrook GC, d. 13, Robert Galbreath, Jr., Huntingdon Valley CC, 1-up
5, Michael McDermott, Merion GC, d. 28. Ryan McCarty, Little Mill CC, 2&1
12. William McGuinness, Tavistock CC, d. 21. Stephen Arnold, Yardley CC, 4&3
31. Chip Lutz, LedgeRock GC, d. 2. Chase Duncan, Meadia Heights GC, 1-up
18. Chris Gallagher, Penn Oaks GC, d. 15. Douglas Schroer, St. Davids GC, 2&1
7. Philip Bartholomew, Yardley CC, d. 26. James Sullivan, Jr., Huntingdon Valley CC, 4&3
23. Glenn Smeraglio, Yardley CC, d. 10. Douglas Zelner, Coatesville CC, 3&1
3. Conrad Von Borsig, Concord CC, d. 30. John Michael Pelet, Wyncote GC, 5&4
14. Mark Miller, Yardley CC, d. 19. Bill Murray, Merchantville CC, 4&2
6. Stephen Seiden, Concord CC, d. 27. Donny Wessner, Golden Oaks GC, 19 holes
22. Robin McCool, Saucon Valley CC, d. 11. Jamie Slonis, Tavistock CC, 20 holes
