Seese tops Amateur Championship Qualifier at a windswept Ballamor GC

  EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Sean Seese of Huntingdon Valley CC withstood near-gale-force winds to take home medallist honors Wednesday with an even-par 72 at the Golf Association of Philadelphia Amateur Championship Qualifier held at a brisk Ballamor Golf Club (par 72, 6,900 yards). Seese led a field of 93 players attempting to earn 26 of the qualifying spots and ties for the 107^th running GAP’s Amateur Championship set for June 11-13 & 16 at Applebrook GC and White Manor CC.

 “It was tough out there,” said Seese. “You had to take so much more club just so the ball wouldn’t spin as much or anything. You really had to be careful because if you hit a bit of a cut or a hook, it just got exaggerated.”

  Seese said he had difficulties when confronted with holes that were head-on into the wind but was able to make up for that with a consistent short game.

  “The par 3s were especially tough for me,” he said. “I had to take so much more club, which was difficult for me. Luckily, I putted really well all day and only missed one or two putts from more than 10 feet out.”

  Added Seese, “Fortunately, I was able to get up-and-down if I missed [the green].”

  “The greens rolled perfectly,” said Kosko of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. “If you hit it where you were aiming, and you had the right line picked out, it was going in.”

  But for Seese, things were more of a cerebral battle than a contest with the elements.

  “It’s all about momentum,” Seese said. “If you make a couple bogeys then you start thinking about the cut line. Luckily, I kept my score where I needed to all day.”

  With the qualifier, but not the wind, coming to an end, the cut line landed at 80.

  Wednesday’s qualifier was the second of two qualifiers used to determine the field for the Championship. The first was held back on May 7 at Penn Oaks GC where Jack Wallace of Burlington CC took home medallist honors with a 3-over-par 74.

  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.