The Philadelphia area proved once again that it boasts some
of the best players of a certain age – well, you have to be 55 just to enter –
as Chip Lutz, Buddy Marucci and the amazing Don Donatoni earned tickets to
match play following the second round of qualifying in the U.S. Senior Amateur
Sunday at The Minikahda Club in Minneapolis, Minn.
And Marucci’s Merion Golf Club clubmate, William Cherpak of
Red Bank, N.J., is still in with a shot as he’ll be part of a playoff among 12
players for the final seven spots in match play Monday morning.
The 62-year-old Lutz, the Reading native who plays out of
LedgeRock Golf Club, was his consistent self Sunday, carding a second straight
even-par 72 to finish tied for eighth at even-par 144. The 2015 U.S. Senior
Amateur champion will take on David Nelson of Reno, Nev. in the opening round
of match play Monday.
Lutz, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s reigning
seven-time Senior Player of the Year, is coming off his annual trip to the
British Isles, where he was the low amateur in the Senior Open Championship at
Royal Porthcwal in Wales and finished tied for eighth in a bid for a fourth
Seniors Amateur Championship at Sunningdale Golf Club’s Old Course in England.
If you were ready to write off the 69-year-old Donatoni,
GAP’s reigning four-time Super-Senior Player of the Year, after his
opening-round 79 at Minikhada, think again.
One of the oldest players in the field, Donatoni really had
it going when he recorded his fourth birdie of the day at the 13th
hole on the Donald Ross gem to reach 3-under for his round. He made three
bogeys the rest of the way, at 14, 16 and 17, but snuck his fifth birdie of the
day in there at 15.
It added up to a 1-under 71, his 6-over 150 total easily
getting the Malvern resident and White Manor Country Club member into match
play. Unbelievable. Donatoni opens match play against Larry Clark of Kingston,
Ga. Monday.
The 65-year-old Marucci, who won the 2008 Senior Amateur
title in between captaining the U.S. to Walker Cup wins in 2007 and 2009, added
a 77 Sunday to his opening-round 74 for a 7-over 151 total. Marucci will take
on Keith Decker of Martinsville, Va. in the opening round of match play Monday.
Charpek struggled to a 78 after opening with a 74 to join
the group in Monday’s playoff at 8-over 152.
Charpek was the co-medalist in the local qualifier for the
Senior Amateur held at LedgeRock. All the other co-medalist, David Brown of
Ligonier, did Sunday was win medalist honors at the U.S. Senior Amateur, adding
a 2-under 70 to his opening-round 68 for a 6-under 138 total.
Brown has had a terrific summer, highlighted by a berth in
the final of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s R. Jay Sigel Match Play
Championship at The Country Club of Scranton. He fell to four-time U.S.
Mid-Amateur champion Nathan Smith.
The scary part is Brown probably could have played better
Sunday. Two of his three bogeys came on par-5s, the seventh and 13th
holes. But he also had five birdies at one, four, eight, 14 and 17 to win the
qualifying medal by two shots.
Matthew Sughrue of Arlington, Va., the runnerup in the
Senior Amateur a year ago at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, had shared
the opening-round lead with Brown, matching his 68, but fell back with an
even-par 72 to head a trio of players
tied for second at 4-under 140.
He was joined at that figure by Mitch Wilson of Portage,
Mich. and Chuck Palmer of Dallas, both of whom carded a 4-under 68 Sunday after
matching par in the opening round.
Defending champion Dave Ryan of Taylorville, Ill. and Tim
Jackson, winner of the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1994 and 2001 from Germantown,
Tenn., finished tied for fifth at 2-under 142. Ryan fired a 3-under 69 Sunday
after opening with a 73 while Jackson matched par Sunday with a 72 after
opening with a 70.
One of western Pennsylvania’s top amateur players, Sean
Knapp of Oakmont, bounced back from an opening-round 76 with a 1-under 71 to
finish tied for 20th at 3-over 147 in his 42nd USGA
appearance.
That sets up an interesting opening-round match between
Knapp and Duke Delcher. Although he’s listed as being from Bluffton, S.C.,
Delcher was a fixture in GAP events as a young amateur player out of Sandy Run
Country Club and showed up as recently as two summers ago, falling to Lutz in
the Brewer Cup quarterfinals.
Two of the other players who came out of the local qualifier
at LedgeRock failed to reach match play. Scott Mayne of Harrisburg carded a
second straight 77 for a 154 total and Christopher Clauson of Philadelphia
bounced back from an opening-round 81 with a 74 for a 155 total.
Roc Irey of Furlong, Pa. also rebounded in the second round
after opening with an 84. Irey carded an even-par 72 Sunday for a 156 total.
No comments:
Post a Comment