Mason, Wilson share the lead after opening round of Middle-Amateur Championship at LedgeRock

    It’s been nine years since Andrew Mason dominated the local amateur golf scene on his way to being named the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s William Hyndman III Player of the Year after winning the Philadelphia Open and the Patterson Cup.

   After a brief pro career, Mason, playing out of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, was reinstated as an amateur. The former Temple standout reached the BMW Philadelphia Amateur final two years ago at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, falling to Jeremy Wall.

   Mason was his typically solid self in the opening round of GAP’s 37^th Middle-Amateur Championship Tuesday, rattling off nine straight pars on the back nine to complete a 3-under-par 69 on the challenging LedgeRock Golf Club layout in Mohnton, Berks County to gain a share of the lead with Jason Wilson of Olde Homestead Golf Club.

   Normally the first GAP major championship on the calendar each May, the Middle-Amateur Championship was switched to September due to the coronavirus pandemic. Originally scheduled to be played at DuPont Country Club in Delaware, the event was recently switched to LedgeRock due to the continually shifting of state quarantine protocols in the tri-state area that make up the GAP territory.

   You know, all pretty typical 2020 stuff by now. But the bottom line is, GAP is getting the third of its four majors played with the fourth, the Philadelphia Open, relocated from Galloway National Golf Club to Doylestown Country Club and scheduled to be played next week.

   Mason got it going on the outgoing nine at LedgeRock, making birdies at the second, fifth, eighth and ninth holes around the only blemish on his scorecard, a bogey at the fourth. He matched the card on the incoming nine to get it in at 3-under.

   Wilson got off to a fast start with bogeys at the fourth and sixth holes before his momentum was halted by a double bogey at the par-5 seventh. He birdied the eighth hole to get it back to 1-under before a bogey at the ninth left him at even-par heading to the back nine. Birdies on the 11^th, 13^th and 16^th holes, though, helped Wilson surge all the way to the top of the leaderboard along with Mason.

   There’s plenty of GAP major champions, including four former Middle-Amateur winners, chasing the top two heading into Wednesday’s final round.

   Two of those past Middle-Amateur champions, Green Valley Country Club’s Ben Feld, the Drexel golf coach who won the title in 2017 at Overbrook Golf Club, and Saucon Valley Country Club’s Matt Mattare, the 2016 champion at Waynesborough Country Club, were among a trio of players tied for third place, each landing at 2-under 70.

   Joining Feld and Mattare at 1-under, a shot behind the two co-leaders, was Running Deer Golf Club’s Stephen Barry.

   The only thing missing on Jeff Osberg’s glittering GAP resume is a Middle-Amateur crown. And, as usual, Pine Valley Golf Club’s Osberg is right in the thick of things at LedgeRock. Osberg, who has been really solid all summer, carded a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s opening round and is part of a three-way tie for sixth place.

   Former Temple standout Matt Teesdale, an assistant coach to Brian Quinn with the Owls playing out of The 1912 Club, and Little Mill Country Club’s Troy Vannucci joined Osberg at 1-under 71. Teesdale won the 2014 Philadelphia Open at Applebrook Golf Club, part of that run of five straight Philly Open wins by Temple golfers that included Mason and current Korn Ferry Tour player Brandon Matthews.

   John Samaha, the Maple Glen Tavern bartender who plays out of Old York Road Country Club, and Brandon Dalinka, who starred scholastically at Council Rock North and collegiately at North Carolina, each matched par with a 72 to share ninth place. Dalinka, who plays out of the Ridge at Back Brook, captured the New Jersey State Golf Association’s Mid-Amateur Championship in 2019.

   Defending champion Will Davenport -- it only seems like it was three years ago that he won the 2019 title in May of last year at Rolling Green Golf Club -- was part of a group of three players tied for 11^th place, each signing for a 1-over 73. Davenport plays out of Whitemarsh Valley Country Club.

   Joining Davenport at 1-over were St. Davids Golf Club’s Brian Gillespie, coming off a spirited run to the semifinals of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Lancaster Country Club in June, and Old York Country Club of Chesterfield’s Brandon Capone.