Philly Am champs Osberg, Stasi representing at U.S. Mid-Ams

   The winners of both the men’s (Golf Association of Philadelphia) and women’s (Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia) Philadelphia Amateur championships in 2014 made it to match play at their respective U.S. Mid-Amateur championships this week.

   Jeff Osberg, a familiar name in Delco golf circles from his time as a member at Llanerch Country Club, won the Philly Am at White Manor Country Club with a dominating victory over Haverford School product Nelson Hargrove.

   Osberg took a trip up the Northeast Extension this week to tee it up in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship held at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, site of a couple of U.S. Senior Opens and a U.S. Women’s Open. Osberg fired a 74 at the Weyhill Course and a 71 at the Old Course in qualifying to finish in a tie for 11^th and easily make the 64-man match-play field.

   Osberg, who starred scholastically at Owen J. Roberts, was ousted in the first round Monday, falling on the 19^th hole to Shane Sigsbee of Las Vegas in a hard-fought up-and-down match. Sigsbee fell to Tom Werkmeister of Kentwood, Mich., 1-up, in the second round. Werkmeister won his third-round match and will tee it up in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

   Nathan Smith, the four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and member of the winning U.S. side in the Walker Cup Match at Merion’s famed East Course in 2009, lost in the second round Tuesday in 20 holes to Kevin Marsh of Henderson, Nev. It was the second straight year that Smith, the 1994 PIAA champion as a sophomore at Brookville, has lost in the second round to Marsh, who holed a 35-foot birdie putt from off the green to win the match.

   Marsh followed up the dramatic win over Smith by dusting Andy Latkowski of Plainsboro, N.J., 7 and 6 later Tuesday to advance to the quarterfinals.

   Meanwhile, at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Harbour Trees Golf Club in Noblesville, Ind. Philadelphia Women’s Amateur champion Meghan Stasi remains alive in her bid for a fifth championship.

   Stasi was known as Meghan Bolger when she won seven straight Philly Amateur titles between 1999 and 2005. After a stint as the golf coach at the University of Mississippi, she married Fort Lauderdale, Fla. restauranter Danny Stasi (they met on a golf course, go figure) and emerged as the dominant women’s mid-am in the country.

   Based in Oakland Park, Fla., Stasi took a trip home and grabbed an eighth Philly Amateur title this summer, beating former Mount St. Joseph standout Emily Gimpel in the final at Wilmington Country Club’s South Course.

   At Harbour Trees this week, Stasi finished in a tie for fourth in qualifying at 151. That earned her a first-round match with another Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia stalwart, Sunnybrook Golf Club’s Lisa McGill.

   Stasi downed McGill, 4 and 2, Monday. Tuesday, Stasi took out a pair of Texans, beating Kimberly Noonan of Austin, 2-up, and Linda Jeffrey of Austin, 3 and 2.

   Stasi takes on Canadian Christina Proteau in the quarterfinals Wednesday.