DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. — Confidence carried Chris Lange, Jr. to Downingtown Country Club (par 72, 6,428 yards) Saturday for a Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifier. A week removed from a 3-under-par 67 on his home course, the Overbrook Golf Club member felt sure of his game. It showed as Lange carded a 1-over-par 73 to earn medalist honors.
“I went out confident,” Lange, 28, of Newtown Square, Pa., said. “I didn’t try to press the issue because the greens were aerated and the wind was blowing, so I just kind of let it go.”
Lange led a field of 65 players vying for one of 18 qualifying spots and ties for the Championship proper, set for May 22-23 at Fieldstone Golf Club. He did so by overcoming soft conditions and strong wind spurts with conservative shots. Lange’s first birdie reflected that strategy.
On No. 4 (par 4, 303 yards), he smacked a sand wedge 100 yards to five feet. He converted a seven-footer for birdie on the par 4, 393-yard No. 7 following a smooth sand wedge to a back-right hole location. Lange’s lone outward hiccup occurred on No. 6 (par 4, 400 yards). He hit a 6-iron 180 yards upwind to 10 feet, but three-putted for a 5.
Lange, a commercial real estate broker at Binswanger, moved to 2 under with a birdie on No. 10 (par 4, 331 yards). He nearly holed a pitching wedge from 135 yards. Poor club selection led to bogeys on Nos. 11 (par 4, 435 yards) and 12 (par 3, 170 yards) brought Lange’s score back to even. On the first, he failed to reach the green with an upwind 6-iron shot from 170 yards. Lange pulled a 7-iron into the right greenside bunker on the 12th hole, splashed out to six feet and missed the ensuing par putt. He also bogeyed the par 3, 201-yard 17th hole after steering a 5-iron left of the green.
“It started at the pin, but the wind was blowing right to left, and I couldn’t get it up-and-down,” Lange said.
Not only is Lange feeling confident in his game, he’s also feeling healthy. Lange tore his rotator cuff last year and went sans golf for four months.
“It [the rotator cuff] bothered me all last summer until I got an MRI in September,” he said. “My body feels healthy for the first time in awhile. With all of the work I did on my shoulder, I feel more stable. Four months of physical therapy, so my swing feels different. My misses aren’t as bad because I’m a little bit stronger than I was.”
Come Fieldstone, Lange plans to “play free.”
“I tend to get too deliberate. I need to go out and let it fly,” he said.
At the end of the day, the cut line fell to 79. The event was the first Saturday qualifier in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 117-year history.
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 144 players, an increase of 12 from years past. 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 143 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.
Qualifiers
Name, club
Scores
Chris Lange, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club
73
Will Holt, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
76
Randy Mitchell, Wilmington Country Club
76
Peter Kyriakodis, Commonwealth National Golf Club
76
Christopher Clauson, Sandy Run Country Club
76
Nicholas Anderson, White Manor Country Club
76
William Jeremiah, Bidermann Golf Club
77
Jack Wallace, Philadelphia Cricket Club
77
Tom Borsello, Hartefeld National
77
John Burke, Running Deer Golf Club
77
Michael Walker, Loch Nairn Golf Club
78
Robert Good, Merion Golf Club
78
Tim Westfall, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
78
Michael Casella, Golden Oaks Golf Club
78
Tom Spano, Llanerch Country Club
79
Gerald Newell, Jr., DuPont Country Club
79
Shawn Lavin, Rolling Green Golf Club
79
Thomas Mallouk, Lookaway Golf Club
79
Failed to qualify
James Wybar, Philadelphia Cricket Club
80
Carlo Fitti, Llanerch Country Club
80
John Nottage, Commonwealth National Golf Club
80
David Blair, Raven’s Claw Golf Club
80
Jim Gavaghan, Jericho National Golf Club
81
Anthony List, Jr., Llanerch Country Club
81
William McCrossan, White Manor Country Club
82
Joe Kerrigan, Jr., Llanerch Country Club
82
William Gamgort, DuPont Country Club
82
Josh Gwinn, Bellewood Golf Club
82
Daniel Minger, Brookside Country Club
82
John Mullins, Five Ponds Golf Club
82
Joseph Kinsman, Coatesville Country Club
82
Michael Ryan, Coatesville Country Club
82
Nicholas Hermansader, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
83
Steve Oh, Philadelphia Cricket Club
83
Bryan Ott, Schuylkill Country Club
83
Ken Pedraz, Makefield Highlands Golf Club
84
Kevin Bair, Loch Nairn Golf Club
84
Nick Corper, Skippack Golf Club at Evansburg State Park
84
Simon Hagger, Fieldstone Golf Club
84
Nicholas Damm, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
84
Steven Walczak, Wilmington Country Club
85
Dan Clark, Five Ponds Golf Club
85
Scott Carney, Commonwealth National Golf Club
85
Daniel Brooks, Commonwealth National Golf Club
86
Chris Lawler, Raven’s Claw Golf Club
86
Patrick Cahill, III, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
86
Dan Rudershausen, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
86
Joe Frey, Edgmont Country Club
86
George Connell, Jr., Gulph Mills Golf Club
86
Jimmy Taylor, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
87
Chris Ewing, Doylestown Country Club
87
Mike Good, Merion Golf Club
87
Kevin Delaney, Golf Course at Glen Mills
88
Michael Book, Honeybrook Golf Club
89
Christopher Baggini, Applebrook Golf Club
89
Brian Fisher, Philadelphia Publinks GA
90
Vincent Varvolis, Commonwealth National Golf Club
90
Jared Green, Wilmington Country Club
90
Michael Maxwell, Sakima Country Club
91
Brent Jones, Schuylkill Country Club
93
Jeff Schmidt, Bala Golf Club
95
Tom Grady, West Chester Golf & Country Club
DQ
Pat Melvin, Overbrook Golf Club
WD
Mark Walker, Laurel Creek Country Club
WD
DQ – disqualification; WD – withdrawal
