LuLu Country Club’s Michael R. Brown Jr. had a couple of
Golf Association of Philadelphia major championships on his resume, but it had
been a while.
But Brown proved Thursday in the second round of the 116th
Joseph H. Patterson Cup at Gulph Mills Golf Club, the Donald Ross gem set amid
the hustle and bustle of Upper Merion traffic, that he hasn’t forgotten how to
win.
The 45-year-old made a breathtaking move in the middle of
his round, making four birdies and an eagle in a stretch of six holes that
somehow also included a bogey, on his way to a scintillating 5-under-par 66
that gave him the title in the Patterson Cup.
Brown trailed opening-round leader Scott McNeil of Bala Golf
Club by five shots after posting a 1-over 72 in Wednesday’s opening round.
Thursday’s 66 gave him a 4-under 138 total and a two-shot victory over fellow
LuLu member Mark Farley, a Langhorne resident who completed a solid college
career with Brian Quinn’s Temple program this spring.
Farley had even more ground to make up after an
opening-round 74, but he too fired a 66, capping it with a spectacular eagle at
the par-5 18th, for a 2-under 140 total that left him alone in
second.
But this day belonged to Brown of Maple Shade, N.J. It did
not get off to a promising start as he drove it in the trees on the right side
of the first hole and made bogey.
His 7-iron shot from 164 yards away at the third finished a
foot from the hole for a tap-in birdie. After a bogey at the fifth, Brown made
his move.
He birdied the par-5 seventh hole when his downhill
20-footer for birdie was going way too fast until it disappeared in the hole.
Brown wedged his approach from 54 yards away at the eighth to five feet and
made that, then used a wedge again from 97 yards away at the ninth and hit it
to six feet and made that.
At the 10th, Brown made it four straight birdies
when his 9-iron from 131 yards away finished six feet from the hole and he
dropped that putt.
Brown bunkered his tee shot at the 11th, which
led to a bogey, but it only sidetracked him momentarily. At the par-5 12th,
Brown reached the green in two with a 5-iron from 197 yards away and then
buried a 25-footer for eagle. He was suddenly 4-under for the day.
Brown parred the next five holes and then reached the green
in two at the par-5 18th and two-putted for the finishing touch on
his winning round.
Brown had won the GAP Middle-Amateur crown in 2009 and the
Philadelphia Open in his William Hyndman III Player of the Year campaign in
2010. As he pointed out, the competition on the GAP circuit is tough.
“I’m a little shocked,” Brown told the GAP website. “I
didn’t put myself into the golf tournament until pretty late. There are a lot
of good young players and a lot of good older players and it’s really hard to
win in Philadelphia.
“I couldn’t be happier. It’s a relief as much as a feeling
of accomplishment because you would hate to work hard and not be paid off.”
Merion Golf Club’s Michael McDermott is one of those good
older guys Brown was talking about. The three-time BMW Philadelphia Amateur
champion and 2007 Patterson Cup winner added an even-par 71 to his
opening-round 70 and finished tied for third, a shot behind Farley at 1-under
141.
McDermott shared third with Adam Armagost of the RiverWinds
Golf & Tennis Club. He is a little bit of a mystery to me, although he
might be the same guy as the Edmond Armogast, a Pine Valley Golf Club caddie, who qualified for
the U.S. Senior Amateur in a GAP-administered qualifier at Tavistock Country
Club last week. I’ll get to the bottom of that little mystery by the time the
U.S. Senior Amateur gets under way.
Armogast carded a 1-under 70 Thursday after matching par
with a 71 in Wednesday’s opening round.
Marty McGuckin of RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve, who
reached the semifinals of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Whitemarsh Valley
Country Club earlier this summer, headed a group of three players tied for
fifth at even-par 142 after adding a 1-over 72 to his opening-round 70.
He was joined at that figure by Peter Barron III of Greate
Bay Country Club, who also posted a final-round 72 after opening with a 70, and
Blaine Lafferty of Little Mill Country Club, who completed a solid college
career at Delaware this spring. Lafferty had opened with a 2-under 69 and fell
back a little with a 2-over 73.
Saucon Valley Country Club’s Matthew Mattare, the reigning
William Hyndman III Player of the Year, headed a group of five players tied for
eighth at 1-over 143. Mattare matched par with a 71 Thursday after opening with
a 72.
Also in that group was Paul Mauer, who is an occasional
looper at Stonewall, where his dad, also Paul, has been the manager since Day
One. Mauer was elected to be the captain of the golf team at Navy for his
senior season. Even though he wasn’t in the lineup, the Middies won the Patriot
League title this spring. Mauer helped St. Joseph’s Prep capture the PIAA Class
AAA team title as a senior in 2014.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence that teams Mauer is on keep
winning championships, but I doubt it. Mauer, coming off a strong showing in
the Pennsylvania Amateur at Sunnehanna Golf Club last week, matched par
Thursday after opening with a 72.
Greg DeLuca, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a senior at
Neshaminy last fall, fired a 3-under 68 after opening with a 75 to join the
group at 143. DeLuca of Makefield Highlands Golf Club will try to convince Jim
Wilkes that he deserves a look as a walk-on at Villanova.
Getting back to the Stonewall theme, the other two players
at 143 were The Shore Club’s David Hicks, who got through a qualifier at
Stonewall last summer to earn a trip to the U.S. Amateur at Riviera Country
Club, and the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Conrad Von Borsig, the 2009 BMW
Philadelphia Amateur champion at Stonewall.
Hicks added a 72 Thursday to the even-par 71 he opened with
while Von Borsig fell back a little with a 3-over 74 after opening up with a
2-under 69.
Brown’s 5-under 66 nearly earned him the Silver Cross Award,
which goes to the GAP stroke-play champion. The scores from the Patterson Cup
are added to the scores from match-play qualifying at the BMW Philadelphia
Amateur for a 72-hole total.
Fieldstone Golf Club’s Ryan Rucinski, invited to the NCAA
Division III Championship as an individual as a junior at Wilmington College
this spring, claimed the Silver Cross Award with a 1-over 286 total, mostly on
the strength of his performance at Whitemarsh Valley, where he was the
qualifying medalist. Rucinski nailed down the Silver Cross Award with a 3-over
74 Thursday.
Brown, McGuckin and Mattare all finished a shot behind
Rucinski in a tie for second at 287.
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