| Scorecards | History | HVCC’s Osberg goes low in Patterson |
ALVERN, Pa.- Chester Valley Golf Club last hosted the Patterson Cup in 1989. That year’s Championship schedule was, to say the least, slightly complicated
The original scheduled date, May 16, was wiped off the calendar due to heavy rain. The next available date that year was Aug. 11, which happened to be the same date of the 1989 GAP Middle-Amateur Championship.
The two Championships were played in conjunction on the Chester Valley track. If a player entered into both the Mid.-Am. and the Patterson Cup that year, his 18-hole score counted in both championships. At the conclusion of the first 18 holes of the Patterson, four players who carded rounds of 75 were tied atop the 60-player leaderboard: Chris Lange of Overbrook Golf Club, P. Chet Walsh of Philadelphia Country Club, Art Kania, Jr. of Overbrook and Frank Corrado of Trenton Country Club.
Corrado was the lone player to “compete” in both championships. He finished as runner-up in the Mid.-Am. to Yardley Country Club’s Thomas Dillon, Jr.
On Sept. 13, the foursome competed in an 18-hole playoff. Lange edged the field with a round of 73. Walsh (74) finished one stroke back of the champion, while Kania (75) and Corrado (78) faltered on Chester Valley’s back nine.
The playoff format was changed in 2009 to a four-hole aggregate playoff.
The Bradbeer brothers played in various GAP Junior tournaments last summer. This year, they took their brotherly competition to a Major level.
J.B., who is older by two years, finished the first round of the Patterson Cup with a 74, while Peter shot a 76. Both players made the cut for Friday’s final round.
In 2010, J.B. began taking competitive golf seriously while in the ninth grade. During that time, Peter suffered a second concussion after years of playing soccer. The younger Bradbeer made the switch and followed in the footsteps of J.B. The Bradbeer’s relationship off the course has grown with the heated competition on the links.
“We go out there, and I just think about what he’s kind of shooting and see if I can beat him. It’s a good test of where we are,” J.B., 19, said. “Especially now that we’re both becoming better players, it’s really fun to go out there and make birdies and get that sort of brotherly competition.”
The Bradbeers have competed in GAP Junior tournaments, including their appearances in the 2014 Jock Mackenzie Memorial and Christman Cup. Their biggest match, however, came at their home course of Merion Golf Club during the 2014 Men’s Club Championship. The pair met in the quarterfinals, where Peter came out victorious with a 6&5 victory over his elder sibling.
“It was a heck of a match. I just had it going that day,” Peter, 17, said. “We haven’t really played head-to-head since. He’s been irking me for a rematch, so we’ll see.”
The Rosemont, Pa. residents have just a couple of months left to play that match, as J.B. heads to Lafayette College this year to play on the Leopards’ golf team. Peter will be entering his senior year of high school at Friends’ Central School.
“I’d say he’s a big role model for me,” Peter said. He’s hopeful that rematch could take place on the next level. “I could possibly go to a Patriot League school and we could face off again, so that would be cool.”
“He’s definitely posted enough good scores this summer where he can look to go somewhere very competitive,” J.B. said.
Although J.B. will be moving on to college, the brothers have cherished their time on the golf course together, and attribute the game as a force behind their bond.
“We have a great time. We mess around with each other a lot,” said J.B. “We have a great relationship and golf definitely has definitely enhanced that.”
It’s safe to say Philadelphia Cricket Club’s John Brennan can deem Chester Valley his golfing safe haven.
Brennan’s first connection to the course was forged during his college days at Lebanon Valley College, where he was a standout golfer.
“The caddie master here at the time, his son went to the same school as me, and he got us a job looping,” said Brennan, now 36. “The good thing was there weren’t a lot of caddies back then, so I spent a lot of time as a forecaddie and I got a good feel for the greens.”
On the Malvern track in 2012, Brennan won the 29th Middle-Amateur Championship – his first and only GAP Major victory. His 1-over total of 141 (67-74) was good enough to clear the rest of the field by four strokes. Brennan’s Mid.-Am. 67 was cemented as the post-2008 renovation course record until it was shattered by Jeff Osberg’s round of 64 today.
“When I came back in 2012, it felt like I never left. I had a couple Top-10 finishes before that, but I just played really well that first day,” Brennan, a resident of Audubon, Pa., recalled. “The next day, I shot it around on a really tough day set up wise. That 74 still ended being a Top-10 score on the golf course that day.”
Thursday hosted another clean Brennan round at Chester Valley during Round 1 of the Patterson. Brennan, who is tied for sixth heading into the Final Round, carded an even-par 70 that included three red numbers on his card.
Sitting six shots back of Osberg, the Championship’s first-round leader, Brennan knows he has some work ahead of him on Friday. But when you are as comfortable at Chester Valley as Brennan is, nothing seems impossible.
“Its cliché to say, Jeff is obviously playing well out there. You’re not going to catch him in one or two holes because Jeff is too good of a player,” said Brennan. “If he comes out here and breaks par, he’s probably going to get it done. But I just need to worry about myself and worry about the golf shots I need to hit tomorrow.”
Golf Association of Philadelphia
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 151 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.
