North Hills’ Fisher reels in medalist honors at Patterson Qualifier

  WALLINGFORD, Pa. — Thomas Fisher picked the right day to break par for the first time this year. The Horsham, Pa. resident carded a 2-under-par 68 to earn medalist honors in a Joseph H. Patterson Cup Qualifier at The Springhaven Club (par 70, 6,463 yards) Thursday. He led a field of 103 players attempting to earn one of 22 qualifying spots and ties available for the Championship proper, presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance Aug. 9-10 at Philadelphia Country Club.

   “It doesn’t really seem like it’s the first time I broke par, but it feels pretty cool,” Fisher, 16, said. “Since baseball ended (two weeks ago), I’ve played nine holes or have a range session every day. I’ve just been playing golf. I guess it all just clicked today.”

  During the summer, Fisher, an incoming junior at Hatboro-Horsham High School, splits his time between baseball and golf obligations. He competes on the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior circuit as well as the Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour, schedule-permitting. And with his baseball bat and glove now tucked away, Fisher is wholly focused on sharpening his course chops.

  It showed Thursday. Fisher fired three birdies against three bogeys for a modest even par on his outward tour. Nerves contributed to an early mistake on No. 2 (par 5, 545 yards). Fisher ruffled a chip out of a ghastly lie on and failed to get up-and-down.

   “I had the first-hole jitters for the first five holes,” he said.

  Fisher reclaimed the stroke with a birdie on the next hole (par 3, 151 yards), stopping an 8-iron at six feet. He couldn’t carry the fairway bunker with his drive on No. 4 (par 4, 418 yards) and carded an unfortunate 5. More tee trouble on the par 4, 441-yard No. 7 added a third circle (bogey) to Fisher’s scorecard. He avoided a complete nosedive by firing back-to-back birdies on Nos. 8 (par 5, 545 yards) and 9 (par 3, 170 yards). Fisher hit a wedge 76 yards to eight feet and converted a left-to-right tickler on the first. He stuck a 6-iron to nine feet on the latter.

   “I was just trying to keep a steady head,” Fisher said. “Whenever I make a birdie, I always get excited and I usually end up bogeying the next hole.”

  Heading home, Fisher turned up his consistency dial. He hammered a 5-iron 186 yards to 20 feet on No. 11 (par 4, 445 yards) and canned a straightway slammer for birdie. Fisher knocked a gap wedge 107 yards to seven feet on No. 12 (par 5, 507 yards) for a 4. He maintained a 2 under stance with six consecutive pars.

  Thanks to his effort Thursday, Fisher will make his first appearance in the Association’s premier stroke play championship.

   “It’s definitely cool because last year was the first time I ever played in it, and I shot 81 [in a Patterson Cup Qualifier at Spring Mill Country Club] and didn’t make it,” he said.

  At the end of the day, the cut line fell to 73.

  The Joseph H. Patterson Cup presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance is the second oldest Championship in the Golf Association of Philadelphia, having been contested for 109 years. The Patterson Cup started in 1900 and has been held in every year other than the World War II era (1943-45). Many of the Association’s great champions — J. Wood Platt, William Hyndman, III and R. Jay Sigel, to name a few — have had their name engraved on the trophy.

  Since 1912, Liberty Mutual has been committed to providing broad, useful and competitively-priced insurance products and services to meet its customers’ ever-changing needs. Liberty Mutual’s delivery on this commitment is the reason it is now the third-largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2010 net written premium.

  Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 145 Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.