Michael McDermott and Jeff Osberg, the Bryn Mawr residents
and former Llanerch Country Club members, are very much in the hunt for berths
in match play after Saturday’s opening round of qualifying at the U.S.
Mid-Amateur Championship at the John’s Island Golf Club in Vero Beach, Fla.
McDermott, a Haverford High and Saint Joseph’s University
product, carded a 3-over 74 at the 6,943-yard, par-71 North Course at John’s
Island and is in a logjam of 29 players tied for 66th. Osberg, who
starred scholastically at Owen J. Roberts, also shot 74, but he played the
6,855-yard, par-72 West Course, so he is in the 20-man group tied for 46th
at 2-over. The top 64 players after Sunday’s second round will advance to match
play.
McDermott, representing Merion Golf Club, started slowly on
the North Course, making bogeys at the first, third and fourth holes, but
battled right back with birdies at the fifth, seventh and ninth holes to make
the turn at even-par.
He stumbled with a double bogey at the 10th and a
bogey at the 11th, but then parred his way in from there.
Pretty sure Osberg, representing Hungtingdon Valley Country
Club, started on the back nine at the West Course and made bogey at the 10th
out of the chute. He got that shot back with a birdie at the 14th.
He made a double bogey at the par-5 17th, but then went into par
mode, matching the card for his last 10 holes to get in at 2-over.
Osberg and McDermott enter the U.S. Mid-Amateur 1-2 in the
Golf Association of Philadelphia’s race for the William Hyndman III Award that
goes to the Player of the Year. Osberg has never been the GAP Player of the
Year while McDermott has won it five times, but not since 2008. Points are
awarded for making match play at the U.S. Mid-Amateur and for any match wins
that may follow.
The Philadelphia Amateur was held at their old stomping
grounds at Llanerch this summer and McDermott outlasted Osberg in an epic
second-round match. McDermott finished second and Osberg in a tie for third in
the Patterson Cup, the last GAP major of the summer in August at Chester Valley
Golf Club.
Glenn Smeraglio, a Newtown resident and Mercer Oaks Golf
Club member, matched McDermott’s 74 at the North Course and is another of those
29 players at 3-over. Smeraglio is one of the eight GAP players who qualified
for match play last week in the U.S. Senior Amateur at Hidden Creek Golf Club
at the Jersey Shore. Smeraglio lost in the opening round of match play.
Another name familiar to those who follow local golf, John
Sawin, an All-Delco at The Haverford School more than a decade ago, got himself
in the hunt for qualifying medalist honors with a 2-under 70 at the West Course
Saturday.
Sawin quit the rat race – well, his job as an investment
adviser in the Silicon Valley of California – in 2014 and toured the nation,
playing in big-time amateur events. He qualified locally for both the U.S.
Amateur and for the U.S. Mid-Amateur, played at Saucon Valley Country Club in
Bethlehem. Sawin also blogged about his journey through the elite amateur
circuit as he visited old friends and made quite a few new ones.
Sawin is one of seven players at 2-under, although some of
the 2-unders are West Course 70s like his and others are North Course 69s. Sawin is listed as a San Francisco resident. Not
sure if he’s returned to the world of high finance, but he does seem to still
be playing amateur golf at a pretty high level.
Bryan Smith of Jay, Vt. and Keith Unikel of Potomac, Md., each
carded 3-under 68s at the North course while Scott Harvey, of Greensboro, N.C.,
who won this title at Saucon Valley a year ago, and Marc Dull of Lakeland, Fla.
had 3-uner 69s at the West Course.
Berman, Davis keep running into each other
Cole Berman and Michael Davis just can’t stop running into
one another on the golf course.
They were scholastic rivals in the Inter-Ac League with
Berman winning two individual titles at The Haverford School, and Davis one at
Malvern Prep. Berman’s Fords usually got the best of Davis’ Friars in the team
race, but Davis led Malvern Prep to a team title in his senior season in the
fall of 2013.
After outstanding freshman seasons in 2014-15, Berman at
Georgetown and Davis at Princeton, there they were again, battling it out for
the biggest prize in local amateur golf, the J. Wood Platt Trophy that goes to
the Philadelphia Amateur champion. Berman took the title with a hard-fought 6
and 4 victory at Llanerch.
So it shouldn’t be much of a surprise to see them running
into each other again in two collegiate events in the last couple of weeks.
Georgetown opened its season in the Navy Fall Classic, which
concluded Sept. 14. It’s an event in which Berman, a Rosemont resident who
plays out of the Philadelphia Cricket Club, began his collegiate career a year
ago by winning the individual title. He couldn’t quite match that eye-opening
effort, but he did have rounds of 72 and 70 over the par-71 Naval Academy Golf
Course for an even-par 142 total that left him in a tie for 11th
individually.
More importantly, he helped the Hoyas post team scores of
284 and 283 for a 1-under 567 total that was good for second place.
The team champion, however, was Princeton and Davis, a
Newtown Square resident who plays out of Aronimink Golf Club. The Tigers fired
a pair of 280s for an outstanding 8-under 560 total. Davis had rounds of 73 and
74 and his 147 total that left him in a tie for 22nd.
Davis was only the fourth-best Princeton finisher as the
Tigers were led by Marc Hedrick, who had a pair of 69s and finished in a tie for foruth at 4-under 138.
Berman was the Hoyas’ third-best finisher as Jack Musgrave
(68-71) and Harrison Rhoades (70-69) were among the group tied for fifth at
3-under 139.
It was another strong showing by Davis and the Tigers at
last weekend’s Windon Memorial Classic against a top-notch field at Lake Shore
Country Club in Glencoe, Ill.
Princeton finished fourth behind a trio of Big Ten powers,
Purdue (830), Michigan (845) and Northwestern (848), the Tigers posting rounds
of 284, 289 and 280 for an 853 total.
Davis had rounds of 71, 72 and 78 for a 221 total that left
him in a tie for 50th. Quinn Prchal and Eric Mitchell led the way
for the Tigers as they finished tied for 24th at 2-over 215.
Berman and Georgetown, meanwhile, were 14 shots back of
Princeton in 10th in the team standings with an 867 total after rounds of 292, 287 and 288.
Berman had steady rounds of 71, 74 and 71 for a 3-over 214
total that left him in a tie for 30th. Rhoades led the way for the
Hoyas with rounds of 73, 68 and 70 for a 2-under 211 total that left him in a
tie for ninth .
Brian Carlson led Purdue to the team title by taking
individual honors with rounds of 72, 67 and 68 for a 6-under 207 total.
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