Osberg completes GAP career grand slam by claiming Middle-Amateur crown at LedgeRock

    It seemed to be just a matter of time before Jeff Osberg got the only Golf Association of Philadelphia major championship to elude him.

   That time was Wednesday, although the timing in 2020, the year of the coronavirus, was a little unusual. But, in many ways, it was vintage Osberg as the big hitter with the a deft short-game touch made three birdies and one remarkable par save on the back nine at LedgeRock Golf Club in Mohnton, Berks County that enabled Osberg to fire a 4-under-par 68 and earn a two-shot victory in GAP’s 37^th Middle-Amateur Championship with a 5-under 139 total.

   Osberg joins an old friend and rival, Overbrook Golf Club’s Chris Lange Sr., as the only players to win the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship, the Philadelphia Open, the Patterson Cup and the Middle-Amateur Championship in their careers.

   The great Jay Sigel lacks only a Middle-Amateur on his resume, although when GAP started the championship in 1984, Sigel was busy being one of the best mid-ams in the world, winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship three times. Another Osberg friend and rival, Merion Golf Club’s Mike McDermott, is missing only the Philadelphia Open on his resume, although he has been close several times in an event that pits the best GAP amateurs against a talented bunch of Philadelphia Section PGA pros.

   Lange was the first to complete the GAP career grand slam when he won the Philadelphia Open in 2004 at Philadelphia Country Club.

   “I’m overwhelmed with joy,” the 36-year-old Osberg, a Bryn Mawr resident who plays out of Pine Valley Golf Club, told the GAP website. “It’s something I’ve had my sights on now for years since it’s been a possibility. It’s been a big focus of mine.

   “There have been so many great players in the Philadelphia area. To think I stand on top with Chris Lange, who is a friend of mine, is special. Obviously, it goes without saying, he’s one of the best players ever to play in the Philadelphia area. To think there are only two people to have achieved (this) is really special.”

   Osberg won the BMW Philadelphia Amateur in 2014, the Philadelphia Open in 2016 and again last year, and owns Patterson Cup victories in 2010, 2016 and for a third time a year ago.

   Osberg, who starred scholastically at Owen J. Roberts and played on the 2004 Division III national championship team at Guilford College, carded a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s opening round and trailed co-leaders Andrew Mason, the former Temple standout who plays out of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, and Jason Wilson, one of the Lehigh Valley’s top players out of Olde Homestead Golf Club, by two shots going into Wednesday’s final round.

   The field played an entirely different golf course than the one they encountered Tuesday as dry summerlike conditions were transformed by 2.2 inches of rain overnight and some serious wind gusting out of the northwest. I’m sure the par-72 LedgeRock layout played every inch of its 7,069 yards Wednesday and that might have played into Osberg’s hands a little.

   Still, Osberg, GAP’s reigning William Hyndman III Player of the Year, briefly trailed Mason by four shots after Osberg made a bogey at the par-3 10^th hole to fall to 2-under for the championship.

   But while Mason,  playing behind Osberg, made back-to-back bogeys at the 10^th and 11^th holes to fall back to 4-under for the tournament, Osberg made his move.

   Osberg drove the green at the 265-yard, par-4 12^th hole and his 15-foot eagle try lipped out, giving him a two-putt birdie. At the 556-yard, par-5 13^th hole, Osberg’s knock-down wedge from 50 yards away finished 10 feet from the hole and Osberg converted the birdie opportunity.

   Osberg nearly drove the green at the 365-yard, par-4 16^th hole, ending up in a greenside bunker. He blasted out to 10 feet and suddenly he was 5-under.

   He capped his effort with a par at the tough 445-yard, par-4 17^th hole that playing partner Matt Mattare, the 2016 Middle-Amateur champion and one of the region’s top mid-ams himself, called all-world.

   Taking a 2-iron off the tee, Osberg ended up in the right rough. From 210 yards away, he kept the 2-iron in his hands, but slipped and ended up 67 yards away, but fortunately short of a cross bunker. Osberg played a lob wedge to five feet and drained the par-saver. Osberg’s a basher, but the par at 17 put his short-game prowess on display.

   Saucon Valley’s Mattare, author of an impressive Philadelphia Open-Met Amateur Championship double in 2017, ended up earning runnerup honors. Mattare added a 1-under 71 to his opening-round 70 for a 3-under 141 total that left him two shots behind Osberg.  Mattare, a 34-year-old Jersey City, N.J. resident, was never able to quite get back on track after a double bogey at the ninth hole.

   Mason and Wilson each followed up their opening-round 69s with a 1-over 73 in Wednesday’s final round and finished in a tie for third at 2-under 142.

   The Ridge at Back Brook’s Brandon Dalinka, who starred scholastically at Council Rock North and collegiately at North Carolina, added a 1-under 71 to his opening-round 72 to finish alone in fifth place at 1-under 143.

   It was another two shots back to Old York Road Country Club’s John Samaha, who signed for a 1-over 73 after opening with a 72 to end up in sixth place at 1-over 145.

   Another former Middle-Amateur champion, Ben Feld, the 2017 winner who plays out of Green Valley Country Club, was only a shot behind Mason and Wilson after an opening-round 70, but the Drexel men’s golf coach struggled to a 4-over 76 and shared seventh place with Yardley Country Club’s Christopher Ault, at 2-over 146. Ault cut two shots off an opening-round 74 with an even-par 72 Wednesday.

   St. Davids Golf Club veteran Brian Gillespie, DuPont Country Club’s Matthew Finger and The 1912 Club’s Matt Teesdale, an assistant to Temple men’s golf coach Brian Quinn, finished in a tie for ninth place, each landing on 3-over 147. Gillespie added a 2-over 74 to his opening-round 73, Teesdale struggled a little with a 76 after opening with a 1-under 71 Tuesday, and Finger bounced back from an opening-round 76 with a 1-under 71.

   Finger’s home course was originally scheduled to host the Middle-Amateur Championship in May. But the coronavirus forced the event to be postponed and the shifting state protocols amid the pandemic forced GAP officials to move the tournament from Delaware to Berks County and LedgeRock.

   Defending champion Will Davenport, who plays out of Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, headed a group of four players tied for 12^th place at 4-over 148. Davenport added a 75 to his opening-round 73.

   Chris Fieger Sr., who claimed his second straight GAP Senior Amateur Championship earlier in September at Old York Road Country Club, carded his second straight 74 to join the group at 4-over. Fieger is a Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association entry.

   Rounding out the quartet at 148 were Merion Golf Club’s Patrick Knott, who improved four shots from his opening-round 76 by matching par with a 72, and Downingtown Country Club’s Sam Sherrill, who, like Fieger, posted a second straight 74.

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Morgenthaler gets in the swing to claim title in Chapman Cup (Net) at Whitford; Rose the Women's Division winner

    Locating a golf swing that had been missing in action, Coatesville Country Club’s John Morgenthaler piled up 39 Stableford points at Whitford Country Club in Exton to capture a victory in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 81^st Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup (Net) last Wednesday.

   The 58-year-old Morgenthaler, a Downingtown resident, arrived at Whitford after not hitting it great in the Member-Member at Coatesville the previous weekend and in a round the day before at the tough Lancaster Country Club, a William Flynn gem. A pre-round range session didn’t help much. But then he made a couple of good swings, relaxed a little and the next thing he knew he had his hands around a GAP trophy.

   “I said to (my playing partner) Billy (Cranney), ‘I’m slapping the ball. I have no idea what I’m doing,’” Morgenthaler, a financial consultant, told the GAP website. “Then I hit three or four shots in a row pretty good. I relaxed my swing. I mean I hit some bad shots today, but nothing like I did in the previous three rounds. Golf is a funny game.”

   Isn’t it though?

   One of those good swings came at the 104-yard, par-3 fifth hole, where Morgenthaler dropped a 54-degree wedge to six feet and made the birdie try. Another natural birdie came at the 445-yard, par-5 12^th hole, where Morgenthaler reached a right greenside bunker in two with a 3-wood and then watched his sand shot release down to the hole.

   And while Morgenthaler didn’t play all that well the day before at Lancaster, the fast greens there were perfect preparation for the slick putting surfaces at the 5,867-yard, par-72 Whitford layout.

   When a poor approach at the 333-yard, par-4 10^th hole left Morgenthaler eight feet for par, he got it to fall. When a bad drive at the 16^th hole resulted in a tricky downhiller from seven feet for par, Morgenthaler again knocked in the putt.

   Tom Mallouk of Lookaway Golf Club claimed runnerup honors with 37 points. Evan Berson of Radnor Valley Country Club was a shot behind Mallouk in third place with a 36 and Lee Oxman of Moselem Springs Golf Club was a point behind Berson in fourth with 35.

   Four players landed in a tie for fifth place with 34 points apiece, including Rick Ames, a Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association entry, Steven Alger of Lebanon Country Club, Mike Connell of The Springhaven Club and James McGuckin of Philadelphia Country Club.

   Rounding out the top 10 were three players – Joseph DeAngelis of Makefield Highlands Golf Club, Greg Smith of Radley Run Country Club and Michael Kyle of Talamore Country Club – who finished in a tie for ninth place, each picking up 33 points apiece.

   On the women’s side, Sheryl Rose got out of the comfort zone she feels at her home course at the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve and compiled 32 points over a Whitford layout that played to  5,592 yards and a par of  72 for the ladies to edge playing partner Colleen Baker of Lehigh Country Club by a point and earn herself a GAP trophy.

   “I got an e-mail that sounded like me,” Rose told the GAP website. “You had to be over 50-years old and not be a scratch golfer. I thought, ‘Wow, that sounds like this was made for me.’”

   The key to Rose’s victory was her lone natural par for the round at the 158-yard, par-3 17^th hole at Whitford as she drilled a driver to 20 feet and two-putted.

   Josie Anthony of White Manor Country Club finished three points behind Baker in third place with 28 points. Patty Wright of Tanglewood Manor Golf Club was a point behind Anthony in fourth place with 27 points and it was another point back to Karen Hilliard of Spring Ford Country Club in fifth place with 26 points.

   Mary Pownail, another Tanglewood Manor entry, took sixth place with 24 points, Alison Kellock of Flourtown Country Club was seventh with 22 points and Baker’s Lehigh clubmate Jackie Beck was eighth with 21 points.