Pros Pohle, Mazzalupi cap Open Qual. at Indian Valley

TELFORD, Pa. — Hugo Mazzalupi, a professional who calls Philadelphia Cricket Club home, and Joey Pohle, head professional at Indian Valley Country Club, shared medalist honors in a Golf Association of Philadelphia Open Championship Qualifier at Pohle’s home course (par 72, 6,843 yards) Tuesday. Mazzalupi and Pohle were two of 11 players who can now mark July 23 as the day they’ll compete at Pine Valley Golf Club in the Championship proper.

  Mazzalupi represents the Philadelphia section for the Future Collegians World Tour, a national organization that gives juniors the opportunity to compete in tournaments at the national level. His golf game is peaking the right time.

  “The last month, I’ve been hitting the ball solidly for a change,” Mazzalupi, 43, of King of Prussia, Pa., said. “I’ve been working a little bit on my game. One of the biggest keys is playing regular golf with the members at Philadelphia Cricket. I play with all of the scratch guys and all of the GAP guys, which has really helped my game.”

  Mazzalupi fired five birdies against two bogeys. He attacked the No. 3 (par 5, 520 yards) green with a 3-wood from 238 yards. Mazzalupi guided a chip from the back edge to three feet from the flagstick for birdie. He posted back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 (par 4, 441 yards) and 8 (par 5, 509 yards): a wedge 125 yards to three feet on the first, and a 207-yard 5-iron shot, followed by a solid chip-and-putt combination, on the second. Mazzalupi birdied his third par 5, the 519-yard 12th hole, after hammering his 3-wood 238 yards just off the green and cozying a chip to three feet. His 132-yard wedge shot on No. 13 (par 4, 420 yards) crashed into the crown. Mazzalupi rolled in an uphill 20-footer for birdie No. 5.

  Mazzalupi had a pair of miscues coming in. He steered his tee shot left on No. 10 (par 4, 373 yards) and failed to get up-and-down. Mazzalupi thought he had a good line on No. 17 (par 4, 396 yards), but it went through the fairway and settled underneath the trees. He caught the left greenside bunker with his approach and two-putted for bogey.

  Nevertheless, Mazzalupi is thrilled to see Pine Valley.

   “I’ve played it quite a few times with friends, he said. “It will be nice to play it in a tournament. Hopefully, I can continue to play a little golf between now and then. If I strike it the way I struck it today, and if I get the chipping and putting down, it will be a fun day.”

  Pohle is in his first year as Indian Valley’s head professional, but quite familiar with the course and its subtleties. That knowledge contributed to Pohle’s subpar score.

   “I think it helped. I knew how firm things were going to be,” Pohle, 32, of Horsham, Pa., said. “It’s feels good [to put up a good score for the membership]. I don’t want anyone else beating me on my home track. I’m competitive.”

  Pohle’s scorecard was slightly more adventurous and colorful than Mazzalupi’s: eight birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey.

  His “worst drive of the day” traveled out-of-bounds on the par 4, 448-yard No. 2 and ultimately resulted in a bogey. He bounced back with consecutive birdies on Nos. 3 (par 5, 520 yards) and 4 (par 3, 141 yards) thanks to a lucky 9-iron. He used the club for a 144-yard shot on the first, and it left Pohle 25 feet from the hole location. Pohle equipped that 9-iron on the par 3, 141-yard No. 4 and stuck it to two feet.

  Just as things were going swimmingly, Pohle flailed a bit on Nos. 5 (par 4, 430 yards) and 6 (par 3, 208 yards). A pair of unplayable lies led to a bogey and double bogey, respectively.

  Pohle dove back into the birdie bin on the par 5, 509-yard No. 8. He reached the putting surface in two strokes and two-putted from 20 feet for birdie. The red figures ran rampant as Pohle began his inward trek.

   “On the back nine, I said let’s just go at flags,” he said. “And that’s what we did.”

  Pohle stuck a sand wedge 102 yards to a foot on No. 10 (par 4, 373 yards) and tapped in for birdie. Pohle powered a 2-hybrid to two feet on the par 3, 211-yard 11th hole. His 4-wood on No. 12 (par 5, 548 yards) landed short of the green, but Pohle pitched up and rolled in a four-footer. He also carded a birdie on the par 5, 548-yard 15th hole, knocking a gap wedge 107 yards to three feet. Pohle rebounded from a bogey on No. 16 (par 3, 158 yards) with a birdie on No. 17 (par 4, 396 yards). He hit a 9-iron 165 yards downwind to 15 feet.

   “It was the best shot of the day,” Pohle said of the approach. “I knew I had to hit a good shot.”

  Pohle is excited to be a part of the Championship proper.

   “It’s fun,” he said. “It’s why you play golf. You have to play well to get to it.”

  At the end of the day, the cut line fell to 73. Russell Hartung of Doylestown Country Club birdied the seventh extra hole in a three-for-one sudden-death playoff to advance.

  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.