Siegfried gets a little help from his brother to punch ticket to U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship

   The Aronimink Golf Club team of Cory Siegfried hitting the shots and younger brother Max on the bag proved to be good enough to get Cory Siegfried a spot in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in a Golf Association of Philadelphia-administered qualifier Monday in sauna-like conditions at Indian Valley Country Club in Telford.

   Cory Siegfried has had a solid amateur career, highlighted by a victory in the 2010 Pennsylvania Amateur at Waynesborough Country Club. He played college golf at the University of Virginia and used a year of eligibility he left behind in Charlottesville to play a season at Villanova while doing post-graduate work.

   Max Siegfried followed in his brother’s footsteps and is about to begin his junior season at Virginia. When Aronimink played host to the Pennsylvania Amateur last month, Max Siegfried represented his home course with a seventh-place finish after capturing the club championship the Sunday before the state amateur started. The Siegfried brothers were scholastic standouts at The Haverford School

   Cory Siegfried, who is in technology sales, is 29 and can feel the real world closing in on him with a new wife and a new home. He’s worked hard on his game with the full knowledge that his time on the golf course after this year might be limited.

   And that hard work paid off Monday as he fired a 3-under-par 69 over the 6,769-yard, par-72 Indian Valley layout to grab one of the five tickets available to next month’s U.S. Mid-Am, which tees off Sept. 14 at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colo.

   Siegfried finished two shots behind the co-medalists, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club’s Will Davenport, who captured the GAP Middle-Amateur Championship at Rolling Green Golf Club in May, and Merion Golf Club’s David Ferreira, each of whom carded a 5-under 67.

   Yaroslav Merkulov of Penfield, N.Y. shared third place with Cory Siegfried, matching Cory Siegfried’s 3-under 69. LuLu Country Club’s P.J. Acierno, a former La Salle standout, grabbed the final ticket to Colorado Golf Club when he rolled in a six-footer for birdie on the first hole of a four-man playoff for that precious last spot.

   It will be Cory Siegfried’s second appearance in a USGA championship, having qualified for the 2012 U.S. Amateur. And he was quick to give his brother Max some credit for helping him get the job done.

   “Having my brother on the bag was the biggest thing in the world because he helped me be patient and forget about everything when I felt nervous,” Cory Siegfried told the GAP website. “We had a lot of fun.

   “I’ve been hitting the ball great this year, but making zero putts. It was nice to see some go in today. I’ve been waiting for a good round to happen. I’m happy with where we ended up.”

   Davenport had surged into contention in the Patterson Cup with a sparkling 5-under 66 at Applebrook Golf Club a couple of weeks ago only to see the arrival of summer thunderstorms wipe out the round and shorten the tournament to 18 holes.

   But the 26-year-old Yale product put that disappointment behind him and threw another 5-under round on the board in another important situation. Playing in the first group off the 10^th tee, Davenport hit 17 greens in regulation and made some putts.

   That started right away when he hit an 8-iron from 158 yards away to 15 feet at the 370-yard, par-4 10^th hole and made the birdie try. A 7-iron at the 158-yard par-3 16^th hole finished 22 feet from the cup and he rolled that putt in.

   Davenport got a tough 20-footer to fall after reaching the 447-yard, par-4 second hole with a 6-iron from 180 yards away. He only needed a 7-iron to reach the 478-yard par-5 third hole in two from 165 yards out and made an easy two-putt birdie.

   Davenport got one more long birdie putt to fall at the 204-yard, par-3 sixth hole after his 6-iron off the tee settled 25 feet from the hole.

   The 37-year-old Ferreria, a native of Bermuda who moved to the Philadelphia area nine years ago, took advantage of a big break to get on a roll. His drive on the 367-yard, par-4 ninth hole was headed for the trees, but was spit back out onto the fairway. He knocked a 9-iron from 156 yards away to 12 feet and converted the birdie try.

   Ferreria, a partner in a Chadds Ford hedge fund, went back-to-back at the 377-yard, par-4 14^th hole and the 551-yard, par-5 15^th hole, sending a wedge from 135 yards away at the 14^th to 15 feet and making the putt and getting it up and down after nearly reaching the 15^th in two.

   He then got it to 5-under by chipping in for birdie at the 387-yard, par-4 finishing hole.

   The first alternate is St. Davids Golf Club’s Brian Gillespie, one of the GAP circuits most consistent mid-am performers.

   The second alternate is Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Conrad Von Borsig, who was a semifinalist in the BMW Philadelphia Amateur earlier this summer at Stonewall. Von Borsig just missed making match play in the 2017 U.S. Mid-Am when he made a triple bogey on the ninth hole at Atlanta National Golf Club, his final hole of the day.

   The final member of the foursome tied at 2-under 70 that played off for the final ticket to the U.S. Mid-Am was Colin Brennan of Tyngsboro, Mass.