Veteran Chris Lange cards 70; tops U.S. Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifier

GALLOWAY, N.J. – Longtime USGA competition veteran Chris Lange of Bryn Mawr, Pa., carded the only sub-par round at a tough Galloway National GC (par 71, 6,954 yards) Thursday to top the local qualifier run by the Golf Association of Philadelphia for the U.S. Middle-Amateur Championship with a 1-under-par 70.

  Lange will be joined by Gregory Wolfe of Newark, Del., Norman Swenson of Linville, N.C., Glenn Smeraglio of Newtown, Pa., Thomas Gramigna of Haddonfield, N.J., James Kieserman of Dresher, Pa., Marc Mandel of Conshohocken, Pa., and Walker Cup captain George “Buddy” Marucci, Jr., of Villanova, Pa., in the Championship set for Sept. 6-11 at Milwaukee CC in River Hills, Wis.

  “It’ll be fun to go to Milwaukee,” Lange said. “I just have to go out there and play great. We’ll see what happens when we get out there.”

  Lange got out to a fast start carding a 2 on the par 3, 2nd hole (143 yards) after knocking a 9-iron to within two feet for a kick-in birdie. The 53-year-old continued his solid play throughout the day on the tricky Jersey Shore track and finished strong with a birdie on the dogleg right, 18th hole (par 4, 442 yards).

  After cutting a drive down the middle of fairway to leave him a manageable 122 yards to the hole, Lange reached the green safely with a pitching wedge but was some 25 feet from the flagstick.

  From there, a surprised Lange made the “snaking putt” for birdie to give him the top qualifying spot.

  “I was very surprised by it going in, since I didn’t really make much today,” said Lange of his birdie try on No. 18. “It was a nice note to end on.”

  Wolfe, 36, who was given back his amateur status only last Friday, finished with a solid 1-over-par 72 to advance to his first U.S. Mid-Am Championship.

  “My goal was to qualify for either the [Amateur] or [Mid-Amateur],” said Wolfe, a former mini-tour player on the Tampa circuit. “That was the goal all summer.”

  Added Wolfe on playing the difficult New Jersey course, “This is just a tough course. Whether you set it up easy or hard, you could make a number out here. One loose tee shot and you could easily make a double bogey.”

  Norman Swenson, 61, of Linville, N.C., fired a 3-over-par 74 Thursday to advance into his first U.S. Mid-Am Championship. The defending European, Mexican, Bermuda and New Zealand (55-and-older division) Senior Amateur champion qualified for the U.S. Mid-Am. in his first try.

  “It’s not every day that a guy in his 60s qualifies for the Mid-Am.” said Swenson. “The only reason I tried to get in today was that you get a seven-year exemption into the British Senior Amateur.”

Notes:
  The U.S. Mid.-Amateur originated in 1981 for the amateur golfer of at least 25 years of age, the purpose of which to provide a formal national championship for the post-college player. The event is open to those with a USGA Handicap Index of 3.4 or lower. It is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

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  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 136 Member Clubs and 56,000 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.