Wilmington’s Humphrey surprises in first day of Senior Amateur

  HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa.–A casual conversation between friends put Thomas Humphrey of Wilmington Country Club in the 43rd Senior Amateur Championship. A solid round of even-par 70 at Huntingdon Valley Country Club (par 70, 6,514 yards) propelled the 61 year old atop Tuesday’s first-round leaderboard.

  Humprey, an Association newcomer who returned to the area in June after calling South Carolina home for the last decade, turned in a steady performance to lead Association regulars Thomas Bartolacci, Jr. of Saucon Valley Country Club, Gary E. Daniels of Applebrook Golf Club and Andy Thompson of Overbrook Golf Club by two shots after 18 holes.

  Three-time reigning Senior Player of the Year Chip Lutz of LedgeRock Golf Club, runner-up a year ago, posted a 3-over 73. Defending champion Mike Vassil of the Country Club of Scranton finished with a 77. The final round begins tomorrow at 7:30 a.m.

 The leaders begin at 1:21 p.m.

  “A friend of mine at Wilmington, Steve Walczak, told me about it,” said Humphrey. “I didn’t realize there was a Philly Senior Am. When I heard about it, and heard it was here, I said ‘I really want to do that.’”

  Walczak, ironically, was scheduled to play in the group behind Humphrey, but withdrew due to an illness.

  Humphrey, a former manager at DuPont moved to Chadds Ford, Pa., in June, to be closer to family, notably his grandchildren. He lived the last 10 years in Spring Island, S.C. Though his past Golf Association of Philadelphia experiences revolved mainly around the GAP Team Matches, Humphrey routinely played in national senior tournaments since retiring in 2002. He placed in the Top 10 in recognized competitions like the Azalea Invitational, Porter Cup and Yeamans Hall Club’s invitational.

  His round on Tuesday showcased a battle-tested game. He made 16 pars, one birdie and one bogey playing in an afternoon of relentless wind. Starting on the back side, Humphrey bogeyed No. 15 (par 5, 550 yards) after finding trouble off the tee and a bunker with his third shot. He erased that negative number with a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 18 (par 4, 396 yards). He knocked a 5-iron from 185 yards long of the hole before converting the lengthy try. His final nine holes were “not too stressful” other than finding the right trees on the par 5, 7th (539 yards) with his tee shot. His ball dropped straight down, however, and he sank a three footer to save par.

  “There will be [nerves] tomorrow. When you are playing well and it’s the first day things come relatively easy,” said Humphrey. “Tomorrow, if you are somewhere near the lead or have the lead it’s a lot more difficult. You better know how to get it up-and-down because you are not going to hit as many greens as you did the first day.”

  In the Super-Senior flight, Charles McDowell of Wilmington and Mike Rose of Talamore Country Club finished the first round tied at 1-over 71 (par 70, 6,025 yards). McDowell had three bogeys and two birdies. Rose made two bogeys and one birdie.

  McDowell, 68, of Wilmington, Del., is looking for a strong second round, something that’s been amiss this year. McDowell said he’s posted low opening scores in the Bailey Cup, Pine Valley Club Championship and Delaware Senior Amateur before struggling to finish.

  “I haven’t been able to play [a good] 36 holes in a 36-hole tournament,” said McDowell. “Maybe tomorrow.”

  Rose, 66, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., cited more than 50 years of Huntingdon Valley experience in getting his ball around.

  “It was a good solid round,” said Rose, the 2012 Super-Senior Player of the Year. “Local knowledge is really important. Even with putting. I still hit bad putts and misread them but I misread them better than the other people misread them. I didn’t have any three putts.”

  The Super-Senior leaders begin at 9:27 a.m.