Three players head Open Qualifier at Whitford Country Club

 EXTON, Pa.–A trio of amateurs with diverse Pine Valley Golf Club experiences shared medalist honors in a 108th Open Championship Qualifier on Wednesday at Whitford Country Club under bright blue skies and windswept conditions.

  William Jeremiah of Bidermann Golf Club; Brian Gillespie of St. Davids Golf Club and home-club talent David West, all carded even-par 72s (par 72, 6,688 yards) to earn three of the 11 available qualifying positions in the 156-player field. The Open is set for July 23 at revered PVGC. A field of 72 players, amateur and professionals, will compete.

  Jeremiah, 43, of West Grove, Pa., is a former Pine Valley assistant professional who’s carded a 67 at the South Jersey sanctuary. He regained his Amateur status in 2002 and competes in the Crump Cup, PVGC’s prestigious invitational, yearly. Gillespie, 37, of Wayne, Pa., too, is a Crump Cup regular who visits golf’s Holy Grail annually. On the other hand, West, 52, Downingtown, Pa., has teed it up at Pine Valley just once, a decade ago.

  “I played Pine Valley once in my life. To go back and play it in tournament conditions that’s terrific,” said an elated West.

  Added Jeremiah, “To play Pine Valley under tournament conditions it doesn’t get any better than that.”

  Jeremiah and West completed their rounds in the morning.

  “It’s certainly a lot of fun to test your skills on the greatest course on the planet against the top players, amateur or professional, in the area,” said Gillespie.

  The wind blew steady most of the day, making conditions tough and the already challenging greens harder and faster.

  Jeremiah was first to post a score. He made the turn at 2-over par after a couple of tough breaks – an unfilled fairway divot and an unraked bunker issue resulted in bogeys – but rallied with four birdies in his last six holes to finish even.

  “I was hitting it well on the front,” said Jeremiah, who has never competed in an Open. “I had a few bad breaks.”

  Jeremiah knocked a 7-iron on No. 13 (par 3, 150 yards) to six feet for birdie; lofted a 110-yard gap wedge on No. 14 (par 4, 363 yards) to five feet for a three; made a smooth up-and-down on the par 5, 16th (561 yards) for four and on No. 18 (par 4, 393 yards) chipped a 9-iron from 106 yards out under a tree branch to eight feet for birdie.

  “Even par has made it at [the other two Open qualifiers], so I thought that was the number,” said Jeremiah.

  West, a member at Whitford the last 12 years, recorded a very methodical round. Eight pars and one bogey on the front had West make the turn at 1 over. On the back, West had two birdies and a bogey. He pulled even on No. 11 (par 4, 340 yards) with a lob wedge from 82 yards that stopped 10 feet from the hole. On No. 12 (par 5, 500 yards), West made bogey when his greenside bunker splash stopped 40-feet above the hole but responded nicely to that hiccup on No. 14 (par 4, 363 yards) with another lob wedge shot from 75 yards to 15 feet for a circle three.

  West, a seven-time Whitford club champion, will be competing in his third Open Championship.

  “I had my entry in the day [the qualifier] opened,” said West. “I wasn’t going to miss it.”

  Gillespie, too, used a back-nine surge to punch his ticket.

  One-over at the turn, Gillespie netted three-straight birdies on holes Nos. 11-13 to push into red figures. He knocked a 3-iron, 133-yard wedge to two feet on No. 11; chipped out of the trees on No. 12 for his second shot and laced a 7-iron from 165 yards to 15 feet; and drained an unexpected 40 footer on No. 13, from below and right of the hole. Gillespie bogeyed two of his remaining five holes, taking a conservative route to the house.

  “I figured I had a little cushion after that so I maybe played a little too conservative,” said Gillespie, who finished as the second low amateur the last time Pine Valley hosted the Open in 2002.

  This is the third of four Open Championship Qualifiers. The final one is set for Bellewood Golf Club on July 2.

  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.