Philadelphia Cricket’s Brennan earns top seed in #BMWPhillyAm - The Golf Association of Philadelphia

Jun 13, 2017

Philadelphia Cricket’s Brennan earns top seed in #BMWPhillyAm

FLOURTOWN, Pa.–Timing is everything for John Brennan and the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship. A Spring Ford High School social studies teacher, sometimes the educational calendar precludes Brennan from competing in anything more than the event’s stroke play qualifier.

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  This year, with Brennan’s home of Philadelphia Cricket Club hosting the Association’s most prestigious tournament, the 38-year-old made sure he was available to play all week, if necessary.

  And it may just be.

  Brennan, on a brutally hot day, scorched the Wissahickon Course (par 70, 6,868 yards) in a career best 4-under in the morning before finishing the 36-hole BMW Philadelphia Amateur Qualifier with an even-par 72 at the Militia Hill Course (par 72, 7,158 yards). His total was three clear of the field. He will be the No. 1 seed heading into match play, which begins Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. Wissahickon will be the match play site.

  There was a 6-for-3 playoff at 8-over 150. Jack Melville of Lu Lu Country Club earned the No. 32 and final seed with a par on the second playoff hole. Melville outlasted Matt Mattare of Saucon Valley Country Club for the final match play spot.

  The #BMWPhillyAm is the oldest Amateur Championship conducted by a state or regional golf association. It started in 1897.

  “I think [playing on your home course] was a huge aspect,” said Brennan, a two-time Cricket club champion. “Just the conditions of the golf course. It’s a championship golf course out here at Wissahickon. Is everybody in the field prepared for something like this, ‘I don’t know.’ I knew I was prepared coming in for the day. This is a golf course where you just have to plod along and make a lot of pars and when you get an opportunity to make a birdie you have to capitalize on it.”

  Brennan, of Collegeville, Pa., did that with a career-best showing on Wissahickon. He birdied No. 1 (par 4, 395 yards) with a pitching wedge from 125 yards to two feet. He added another on the difficult No. 4 (par 4, 472 yards) after dropping an 8-iron from 155 yards to five feet. He backed that up with a 20-footer on No. 5 (par 3, 193 yards) after landing a 6-iron to the right of the hole. Brennan missed a short par putt on No. 6 (par 4, 472 yards) to give one back but went on a tear, birdieing Nos. 7 thru 9. On No. 7 (par 5, 550 yards), he dropped a lob wedge from 80 yards to 15 feet; drained a 35-footer on No. 8 (par 4, 367 yards) and stopped a GAP wedge at 10 feet on No. 9 (par 4, 376 yards). He made the turn in 5-under 30.

  He reached No. 12 (par 5, 538 yards) in two for an easy birdie, then carded five straight pars before getting in some trouble on 18 (par 4, 469 yards), both off the tee and around the green, before carding a double bogey.

  “That’s my best round by far at Wissahickon. Maybe I shot 1-under par before. To do it on a day like today I’m proud of myself,” said Brennan, who won the Association’s Middle-Amateur Championship in 2012. “In fact, I had only four scores above par, two bogeys and two double bogeys.”

  Brennan carded his other double bogey, ironically, on the first hole of the second round to make it back-to-back doubles.

  After opening with that double at Militia Hill, Brennan then birdied No. 11 (par 3, 157 yards) with a three-quarter 7-iron to 10 feet and No. 14 (par 5, 531 yards) after reaching it in two.

  “I settled in after that and just made a lot of pars,” said Brennan.

  For some reason, this is Nathan Sutherland of LedgeRock Golf Club’s first Amateur appearance. His 1-under-par total was the only other red figure in the field of 139. The timing just never worked out before for the long-hitting 27-year-old.

  It did today, however, for Sutherland who was playing Cricket for the first time.

  “The course sets up well for me. You can spray the ball a little off the tee, you have to hit high shots into the green and I love putting on fast surfaces,” said Sutherland, 27, of Reading, Pa. “This was the first time all year I kind of put everything together.”

  Sutherland isn’t without Championship credentials.

  He finished second in the 2007 Patterson Cup at Berkleigh Country Club/Moselem Springs Golf Club to Michael McDermott. That was the same year Sutherland tied for third in the Pennsylvania State Amateur, where he opened with a 63 at Longue Vue Club.

  Sutherland faces No. 31 seed Brian Fischer, 21, of Commonwealth National Golf Club.

  Defending champion McDermott, 42, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., qualified for match play as well. The three-time Amateur Champion finished qualifying at 4 over and is seeded No. 17. He faces 20-year-old clubmate and No. 16 seed Peter Bradbeer of Rosemont, Pa. at 7:37 a.m. on No. 1.

  A total of 13 Philadelphia Cricket Club members qualified for the Championship proper. Three others, in addition to Brennan advanced: Cole Berman, the 2015 BMW Philadelphia Amateur Champion; Conrad Von Borsig, the 2009 BMW Philadelphia Amateur Champion; and Gregor Orlando, a quarterfinalist in 2016.

  This is the first time the BMW Philadelphia Amateur returns to the Wissahickon Course as the primary site since 1976. That year O. Gordon Brewer, Jr. of Huntingdon Valley Country Club defeated Duke Delcher of Sandy Run Country Club.

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 153 Full Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. 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 R1-R2–Total
John Brennan, Philadelphia Cricket Club 66W-72MH–138
Nathan Sutherland, LedgeRock Golf Club 70MH-71W–141
Aaron Fricke, Lancaster Country Club 68MH-74W–142
Marty McGuckin, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve 75W-68MH–143
Scott McNeil, Bala Golf Club 72W-71MH–143
Michael Brown, Jr., Lu Lu Country Club 73MH-71W–144
Conrad Von Borsig, Philadelphia Cricket Club 73W-71MH–144
John Barone, Glenmaura National Golf Club 75MH-70W–145
Cole A. Berman, Philadelphia Cricket Club 72W-73MH–145
Gregor Orlando, Philadelphia Cricket Club 69MH-76W–145
Jeff Osberg, Huntingdon Valley Country Club 71W-74MH–145
Grant Skyllas, LedgeRock Golf Club 73W-72MH–145
Jarred Texter, Conestoga Country Club 71MH-74W–145
Christopher Thude, Union League Golf Club at Torresdale 72W-73MH–145
Jeremy Wall, Manasquan River Golf Club 73W-72MH–145
Peter Bradbeer, Merion Golf Club 70MH-76W–146
Michael McDermott, Merion Golf Club 72W-74MH–146
P.J. Acierno, Lu Lu Country Club 75W-72MH–147
Brian Gillespie, St. Davids Golf Club 74W-73MH–147
Brock Kovach, Berkshire Country Club 79MH-68W–147
Sam Soeth, White Manor Country Club 69W-78MH–147
Christopher Ault, Yardley Country Club 72MH-76W–148
David Hicks, Wildwood Golf & Country Club 72MH-76W–148
#Steve Oh, Philadelphia Cricket Club 73W-75MH–148
Ethan Wall, Manasquan River Golf Club 78MH-70W–148
Jay Whitby, Wild Quail Golf & Country Club 73W-75MH–148
Brandon Dalinka, The Ridge at Back Brook 76MH-73W–149
Roland Massimino, The Ridge at Back Brook 76W-73MH–149
Sean Seese, Huntingdon Valley Country Club 72W-77MH–149
Benjamin Smith, Huntingdon Valley Country Club 73W-76MH–149
*Matthew Smith, French Creek Golf Club 70MH-80W–150
*Brian Fischer, Commonwealth National Golf Club 73MH-77W–150
*Jack Melville, Lu Lu Country Club 76W-74MH–150
Failed to qualify
Matthew Mattare, Saucon Valley Country Club 76MH-74W–150
Sean Semenetz, Philadelphia Cricket Club 75MH-75W–150
Glenn Smeraglio, Lu Lu Country Club 74W-76MH–150
Griffin Smith, Jericho National Golf Club 70W-80MH–150
Austin Barbin, GAP Junior eClub 75MH-76W–151
Geoffrey Cooper, North Hills Country Club 75MH-76W–151
Sean Coyle, Llanerch Country Club 75MH-76W–151
Paul Liebezeit, Aronimink Golf Club 75W-76MH–151
David Liotta, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club 77W-74MH–151
Ron Robinson, Talamore Country Club 78W-73MH–151
Max Siegfried, Aronimink Golf Club 71W-80MH–151
Matthew Teesdale, Commonwealth National Golf Club 71MH-80W–151
Peter Barron, III, Stone Harbor Golf Club 75W-77MH–152
Evan Brown, Hartefeld National 79W-73MH–152
Lukas Clark, Jericho National Golf Club 75MH-77W–152
Andrew Kotler, Cherry Valley Country Club 76W-76MH–152
Andy Latowski, Philadelphia Cricket Club 75MH-77W–152
Liam McAnally, Applecross Country Club 78W-74MH–152
Brad McFadden, Overbrook Golf Club 78W-74MH–152
Connor McNicholas, Lu Lu Country Club 74W-78MH–152
Kevin Scherr, GAP Junior eClub 79W-73MH–152
Stephen Seiden, Llanerch Country Club 77MH-75W–152
R.J. Wren, Applecross Country Club 75MH-77W–152
Dawson Anders, Indian Valley Country Club 76W-77MH–153
Chuck Briggs, Bala Golf Club 79W-74MH–153
Kyle Deisher, Hartefeld National 76W-77MH–153
Brian McDermott, Llanerch Country Club 78W-75MH–153
Liam McGrath, Huntingdon Valley Country Club 79W-74MH–153
Adam Warner, Tavistock Country Club 78W-75MH–153
Carey Bina, Radnor Valley Country Club 74W-80MH–154
Michael Davis, Aronimink Golf Club 78W-76MH–154
Zachary Falone, Philadelphia Publinks GA 81W-73MH–154
Kyle Henofer, Indian Valley Country Club 80MH-74W–154
Jack Irons, Trump National Golf Club – Philadelphia 80MH-74W–154
Scott McKean, Chester Valley Golf Club 79W-75MH–154
Rodney Anders, Indian Valley Country Club 77MH-78W–155
Dan Bernard, Aronimink Golf Club 77W-78MH–155
Matt Cocco, Commonwealth National Golf Club 79W-76MH–155
Stephen Dressel, St. Davids Golf Club 80MH-75W–155
Michael Moffat, Lu Lu Country Club 78W-77MH–155
John Samaha, Old York Road Country Club 79W-76MH–155
Cory Siegfried, Aronimink Golf Club 76W-79MH–155
Philip Bartholomew, Philadelphia Cricket Club 82W-74MH–156
Ed Brown, Wild Quail Golf & Country Club 77MH-79W–156
Michael Carr, Philadelphia Cricket Club 73MH-83W–156
Matthew Finger, DuPont Country Club 75MH-81W–156
Blaine Lafferty, Little Mill Country Club 74MH-82W–156
Chris Lange, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club 78W-78MH–156
Conor McGrath, Huntingdon Valley Country Club 78W-78MH–156
Zachary Barbin, GAP Junior eClub 77W-80MH–157
Matthew Davis, Aronimink Golf Club 79MH-78W–157
Ryan Gelrod, Philadelphia Cricket Club 81MH-76W–157
Clark Holle, Mercer Oaks Golf Course 80W-77MH–157
Luca Jezzeny, The Bucks Club 82W-75MH–157
Tom Spano, Llanerch Country Club 80MH-77W–157
Brian Isztwan, Huntingdon Valley Country Club 81W-77MH–158
Benjamin Pochet, Spring Ford Country Club 80MH-78W–158
Tanner Robb, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club 82MH-76W–158
John Buliga, Yardley Country Club 79W-80MH–159
Billy Civitella, Aronimink Golf Club 83MH-76W–159
Jason Loehrs, Cobbs Creek Golf Club 81MH-78W–159
Robert Olseski, III, Sandy Run Country Club 77MH-82W–159
Frank Petrash, IV, Philadelphia Cricket Club 78W-81MH–159
Dan Rudershausen, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club 78MH-81W–159
Ryan Worthy, Merion Golf Club 80MH-79W–159
Robert Firth, Jr., Commonwealth National Golf Club 77MH-83W–160
Daniel Furman, Commonwealth National Golf Club 85MH-75W–160
Jacob Hanzel, Running Deer Golf Club 84W-76MH–160
David Colleran, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club 79W-82MH–161
Brian Fisher, Phoenixville Country Club 83W-78MH–161
James Kania, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club 82W-79MH–161
Edward Kelly, Jr., Old York Road Country Club 80MH-81W–161
Kevin Kramarski, Riverton Country Club 78MH-83W–161
Ryan Tall, Spring Ford Country Club 77MH-84W–161
Kevin Haag, Glenmaura National Golf Club 82MH-80W–162
Thomas Lindberg, St. Davids Golf Club 83W-79MH–162
Drew Petri, Jericho National Golf Club 84MH-79W–163
Raymond Thompson, Overbrook Golf Club 81W-82MH–163
Sean Ebert, Commonwealth National Golf Club 84MH-80W–164
Kevin Frost, Philadelphia Cricket Club 78MH-86W–164
Scott McLaughlin, Lu Lu Country Club 83MH-81W–164
Brian Zinman, Saucon Valley Country Club 81MH-83W–164
Trey Croney, Overbrook Golf Club 83MH-82W–165
Tyler Sokolis, Commonwealth National Golf Club 77W-88MH–165
Tyler McGarry, Fox Hill Country Club 78W-88MH–166
Adam Sutovich, Brookside CC of Allentown 81MH-85W–166
Adam Bracy, Rancocas Golf Club 81MH-86W–167
Chris Meares, Running Deer Golf Club 84MH-83W–167
Joseph Dulka, Bellewood Country Club 80MH-88W–168
Daniel Feeney, Philadelphia Cricket Club 82MH-86W–168
Jason Kowalski, Downingtown Country Club 82MH-86W–168
Michael Winter, Stockton Seaview Hotel & Golf Club 83MH-86W–169
Andrew Wallace, Green Valley Country Club 82W-90MH–172
Christian Haldeman, Saucon Valley Country Club 86MH-89W–175
Matthew Balcer, Bensalem Township Country Club WD
Chris Binder, Valleybrook Country Club WD
Nicholas Biondi, Glenmaura National Golf Club WD
Jim Engler, Sea Oaks Golf Club WD
Zachary Herr, Jericho National Golf Club WD
J.D. Hughes, LedgeRock Golf Club WD
William Jeremiah, Bidermann Golf Club WD
Shawn Lavin, Rolling Green Golf Club WD
Mariano Medico, Fox Hill Country Club WD
Richard Riva, Bent Creek Country Club WD
Michael Rogers, Overbrook Golf Club WD
Jamie Slonis, Tavistock Country Club WD
MH-Militia Hill; W-Wissahickon
#-not participating in match play
*-determined in playoff
WD-withdrawal

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