Northampton’s Casella heads Mid.-Am. Qual. at Bellewood

  POTTSTOWN, Pa. — Wanting to increase his competitive golf intake, Michael Casella of Northampton Country Club decided to audition for the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 29th Middle-Amateur Championship Wednesday. He promptly earned a role after carding a 1-over-par 72 to earn medalist honors in a Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifier at a cool and damp Bellewood Golf Club (par 71, 6,678 yards).

  Casella led a field of 156 players attempting to earn one of 49 qualifying spots and ties available for the Championship proper, set for May 23-24 at Chester Valley Golf Club. The Easton, Pa. resident tallied 27 putts on the day.

  “That was the key. I putted very well,” he said. “The greens were wet from the rain, so you could be aggressive on your putts.”

  That aggressiveness didn’t serve Casella well early. Starting on the back nine, he blocked his drive left on the dangerous No. 13 (par 4, 363 yards). Casella then equipped a 6-iron to address a challenging approach from 130 yards.

  “I had to go underneath a tree and run it up the green,” he said. “It rolled past the hole and off the back of the green.” Casella chipped on and left his par putt short.

  Casella, 42, carded consecutive bogeys on Nos. 15 (par 4, 381 yards) and 16 (par 4, 387 yards). Unfamiliarity contributed to the first as Casella misjudged a 9-iron approach from 130 yards.

  “I didn’t realize the green sloped from right to left so hard, and the ball just spun to the left just off the green,” he said.

  A similar 9-iron story and ending occured on the uphill 16th hole for Casella. However, he leveled his play with three red figures to begin his inward tour. On No. 1 (par 4, 385 yards), Casella hit a sand wedge 107 yards to eight feet left of the flagstick. He powered a 3-wood 240 yards to 60 feet on No. 2 (par 5, 505 yards). Casella ran his eagle try three feet past the jar, but cleaned up the birdie putt. On No. 3 (par 4, 383 yards), he knocked a gap wedge 117 yards and drained an uphill 20-footer.

  “It literally went in on the last rotation,” Casella, a pharmaceutical representative, said.

  A hiccup on No. 5 (par 4, 432 yards) put Casella one above the blue. With less than180 yards to the flagstick, he tried to negotiate a 5-iron onto the green. It came out low and flew to the rear of the green. Casella left a six-footer to save par on the front lip.

  “Some of the downhill putts I expected to be faster than they were,” he said.

  Wednesday marked Casella’s first attempt to qualify for the Middle-Amateur Championship. He did so under the encouragement of Gary Hardin, Northampton’s head professional.

  “He says I’m better than I think I am,” Casella said. “I’ve only played in club events and the Lehigh Valley Amateur the last couple of years. I just thought that if I’m ever going to be good, then I need to play in some of these events to get used to tournament competition.”

  Now that he’s forged a spot in the Championship proper, Casella hopes to make an impression among a crowd of new faces.

  “I don’t know any of these guys or what the competitions like,” he said. “I just feel like if I can control my emotions and be confident, then I could put up a good score.”

  The cut line stopped at 81. Wednesday’s qualifier was the last event used to determine who will play in the Championship Proper next month. Thirty-one players advanced from an April 26 qualifier at Wedgwood Country Club.

  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.

  The Association’s Executive 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.

  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.