Park, Cohan head U.S. Open Local Qualifier at Philmont CC (North Course)

  Huntingdon Valley, Pa. – Paul Park, a high school senior from Wayne Valley High School in Wayne, N.J., and Adam Cohan of Wayne, Pa., each carded even-par 70s at Philmont Country Club (par 70, 6,665 yards) on Friday, earning co-medalist honors in a local qualifier for the U.S. Open Championship.

This local qualifier (field of 82 players, 46 amateurs, 36 pros) is one of 109, 18-hole local qualifiers for the U.S. Open Championship that will be played June 14-17 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa.   

Park finished with a pair of birdies under 10 feet on his 17^th and 18^th holes, hole Nos. 8 (par 3 130 yards) and 9 (par 5, 570 yards), to fall to even par and tie Cohan for the field low round.   

Park, who will enter Indiana University in the fall, carded four birdies and as many bogeys during his even par round.

  “I played pretty well and stayed in play on almost every single hole,” said Park, an 18-year-old who heads to Canoe Brook CC in Summit, N.J. for the sectional qualifier. “I also made a couple nice putts and finished birdie, birdie.”   

Cohan, a redshirt junior at Georgia Tech University, carded a remarkable five birdies on hole Nos. 3 (par 3, 160 yards), 4 (par 4, 402 yards), 6 (par 4, 369 yards), 9 (par 5, 570 yards), and 12 (par 4, 491 yards). As he approached No. 18 (par 4, 343 yards), Cohan stood to finish with the only sub par of the afternoon had he been able to two putt from 16 feet. Unfortunately he three putted for bogey and finished with a 70.   

“After going 2-under [par] on the front I kind of limped in a little bit on the back,’ said Cohan who also advanced to the sectional round for the first time. “The toughest thing to do in a qualifier is to just keep playing.”   

Stewart, a graduate of St. Joseph’s University who now plays out of The Breakers Ocean Golf Club in West Palm Beach, also had his share of birdies with four. He barley missed a chance to share medallist honors when his birdie putt burned the left edge of the cup giving him a par.   

“I guess I got reminded pretty quickly about playing golf in Philadelphia again,” he said. “I’ve been down in Florida playing on the Gateway Tour with flat surfaces and slow greens.

I get back here and on every green, if you’re two feet above the hole you still have to play [the ball] outside the hole and dive it in there.”

  Notes–William Kennedy, a teaching pro from Umbria Street Golf Center in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia, had a hole-in-one on No. 3 (par 3, 160 yards) with a 6-iron. That is the 9^th of his golf career.   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 135 Member Clubs and 60,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. The purpose of the Association is simple: To promote, protect and preserve the game of golf in the region.