A first step to Congressional

   Michael Kania had a strong finish to his sophomore season at Villanova and his sharp play carried over at U.S. Open qualifying Tuesday at Hidden Creek Golf Club in Egg Harbor Township, N.J.
   Kania, the two-time Haverford School All-Delco and Overbrook G.C. member, matched par at the 7,015-yard, par-72 Hidden Creek layout to earn one of the four coveted spots in sectional U.S. Open qualifying next month. The ultimate goal is a spot in the U.S. Open, which will be played June 16-19 at Congressional C.C. in Bethesda, Md.
   Christopher Gold, a former University of Maryland product who is playing the Hooters Mini-Tour, grabbbed the qualifying medal wtih a 2-under 70. Gold is a native of Haddonfield, N.J. and was a Golf Association of Philadelphia standout in his amateur days at Little Mill C.C.
   Christopher Gray, an assistant pro at Old York C.C. at Chesterfield, was another shot back at 1-under 71. Kania, the 2010 runnerup at the GAP Amateur Championship, shared third place with Jordan Gibbs of Princeton, N.J. at even-par 72. Kania's Villanova teammate and GAP rival since their junior days, Robert Galbreath Jr., posted a 2-over 74 and lost out in a playoff for the second alternate spot in sectional qualifying.
    Another local qualifier for the Open is scheduled for Thursday at Applebrook G.C. in East Goshen, Chester County. Michael Kania's older brother James, winner of the the 2009 William Hyndman Award that goes to the GAP Player of the Year, Cory Siegfried, a teammate of the Kanias at Haverford School, and Adam Cohan, a three-time Daily Times Player of the Year in his high school days at Radnor, are among the names appearing on the list of tee times at Applebrook.
Little Mill crowned the champion
   The Little Mill C.C. team played big in capturing the Golf Association of Philadelphia's Team Matches Division AA crown Saturday for the first time since the Medford, N.J. club joined the GAP family in 1985.
   And it wasn't really close. Players from all four clubs involved -- Little Mill, perennial Team Matches powers Merion G.C. and Tavistock C.C. and Fox Hill C.C. -- teed it up at each course. Little Mill finished with 75 points with Tavistock finishing second with 48 points, Merion in third with 47 and Fox Hill another point back in fourth with 46 points.
   Particularly impressive was the play of Little Mill newcomer Benjamin Smith. He teed it up at Merion's famed East Course, which will play host to the U.S. Open for the fifth time in 2013, and pulled out of the driveway on Ardmore Avenue with nine points added to the Little Mille cause.
    Merion had earned its spot in the Division AA final four with a hard-fought victory over Llanerch C.C. May 1. That match featured a heavyweight showdown between Merion captain Michael McDermott, who grew up playing at Llanerch, and a talented addition to the Llanerch roster in Jeff Osberg. McDermott used his local knowledge at Llanerch to get the best of Osberg and propel Merion to last Saturday's Division AA playoffs.