Young rallies down the stretch for one-shot victory in PAGA Middle-Amateur Championship at Huntingdon Valley

   It’s been quite a summer for Brett Young, the former college hockey player who has blossomed into one of Pennsylvania’s best mid-amateur players.

   Young, a 27-year-old Bethel Park resident, capped that strong summer by wiping out a three-shot deficit with five holes to play to capture the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s 27^th Middle-Amateur Championship, which wrapped up Thursday at Huntingdon Valley Country Club, the William Flynn design in eastern Montgomery County.

   Young had shared the lead with Merion Golf Club’s Tug Maude, the one-time Haverford School and Wake Forest standout who returned to competitive golf a couple of years ago after a hiatus of a decade or so, after each carded a 1-under-par 69 over the 6,740-yard, par-70 Huntingdon Valley layout in Wednesday’s opening round.

   Maude, however, made a couple of front-nine birdies early in Thursday’s final round and was showing no signs of cracking.

   Young had nearly driven the green on the par-4 first hole, nestled a chip up to four feet and made a birdie to briefly move in front of Maude. Bogeys at the fourth and ninth holes left Young three shots behind Maude as the final pairing turned for home. He stayed within striking distance with good par saves at the 10^th and 11^th holes.

   And suddenly some cracks started to show in Maude’s game. He made a double bogey at the 14^th hole after pulling a drive into the penalty area.

   Then Young pounced with back-to-back birdies at the 15^th and 16^th holes that enabled him to pull even with Maude.

   Young was 30 yards short of the green at the 565-yard, par-5 15^th hole in a bunker in two and knocked his approach shot to eight feet and made the putt. At the 395-yard, par-4 16^th hole, Young’s approach from 115 yards with a 54-degree wedge again left him an eight-footer for birdie and he rolled it in.

   When Maude couldn’t get it up and down from a bunker at the par-3 17^th hole, Young took a one-shot lead to the 18^th tee and made it stand up with a routine par at the last. It added up to an even-par 70 that left him with a 1-under 139 total.

   Saucon Valley Country Club’s Matt Mattare, one of the top mid-ams on both the Golf Association of Philadelphia and Metropolitan Golf Association circuits, and LuLu Country Club’s P.J. Acierno, a former collegiate standout at La Salle, each closed with a sparkling 3-under 67 and shared second place at even-par 140, a shot behind Young. Mattare and Acierno had each opened with a 3-over 73.

   Maude made his second double bogey in the closing stretch of holes at the 18^th hole that left him with a 2-over 72 as he dropped into fourth place at 1-over 141.

   Young had reached the semifinals of the PAGA R. Jay Sigel Match Play Championship earlier this summer at the Country Club of York, claiming an impressive quarterfinal victory over six-time Sigel Match Play champion Nathan Smith.

   Young was the leader after the opening round of the PAGA Amateur Championship with a 5-under 67 at Lookaway Golf Club before falling back later in the week. He came to Huntingdon Valley off a victory in the West Penn Mid-Amateur Championship at the Longue Vue Club.

   “It was an absolute grind,” Young told the PAGA website. “This place is so challenging. I’ve been in the mix a lot this summer, so I’ve had experience being near the top (of leaderboards), so I think that helped me down the stretch. I’m just honored to have been fortunate enough to get it done today.”

   Young qualified for the U.S. Amateur in 2017 and 2018 and the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2018 and 2019. There was no local qualifying for the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Mid-Amateur was cancelled in this crazy coronavirus summer, but if wouldn’t be a surprise to see Young start to make a little noise at the national level after the summer’s he’s had in Pennsylvania.

   It’s the kind of move that Smith, who plays out of Wildwood Golf Club, made more than a decade ago when a nice player in Pennsylvania circles became a four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and a three-time member of the U.S. Walker Cup team.

   Smith had a solid showing at Huntingdon Valley, adding a 1-over 71 to his opening-round 72 to share fifth place with Jordan Klodowski of Kittanning Country Club at 3-over 143, two shots behind Maude. Klodowski also closed with a 71 after posting an opening-round 72.

   Rick Stimmel, a veteran western Pennsylvania player who has had a pretty nice summer himself, shared seventh place with Troy Vannucci, a Philadelphia Publinks representative, at 4-over 144. Stimmel, playing out of Diamond Run Golf Club, and Vannucci each fired a 2-under 68 in Thursday’s final round after opening with a 76.

   Will Wehenmayer, playing on his home course at Huntingdon Valley, finished alone in ninth place at 5-over 145 after adding a 71 to his opening-round 74.

   Conrad Von Borsig, the 2009 Philadelphia Amateur champion who plays out of Philadelphia Cricket Club, headed a group of five players tied for 10^th place at 6-over 146. Von Borsig closed with a 2-over 72 after opening with a 74.

   Jim Sullivan, a clubmate of Acierno’s at LuLu, also landed on 146 as he started strong by matching par with an opening-round 70 before falling back with a 76. Rounding out the quintet at 6-over were Eric Williams of Honesdale Golf Club, Bob Beck of Lehigh Country Club and Vince Scarpetta of Glenmaura National Golf Club, all of whom carded a pair of 73s.

   Carlisle Country Club’s Jeff Frazier, whose strong season at the senior level included a victory in GAP’s Brewer Cup, shared 15^th place with another Philadelphia Cricket Club entry, Michael Carr, each landing on 7-over 147. Frazier closed with a solid 1-over 71 after opening with a 76 while Carr added a 74 to his opening-round 73.