Bradbeer has a solid showing in Men's Dixie Amateur at Eagle Trace

   It was no fluke when Peter Bradbeer, a few weeks before the start of his sophomore year at Bucknell in 2017, won the final Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) major championship of the summer, the Joseph H. Patterson Cup at Wilmington Country Club’s South Course.

   The victory also earned Bradbeer, a member of one the first families at Merion Golf Club, GAP’s Stroke Play Championship, the Silver Cross Award, which combines the Patterson Cup result with the 36 holes of qualifying for the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship for a 72-hole total.

   Bradbeer was a solid performer at Bucknell, his senior season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic last spring, but he hadn’t really been showing up in any GAP events the last few summers.

   So it was interesting to see his name pop up on the leaderboard of last weekend’s Men’s Dixie Amateur at Eagle Trace Golf Club’s Gold Course in Coral Springs, Fla. Who knows why Bradbeer teed it up in the Dixie. Maybe he just wanted to see how his game stacked up in what is always an interesting field of current and recent college standouts and even some mid-ams.

   Many college players undoubtedly jumped at the opportunity to play in the Dixie because their competitive opportunities were so limited by the pandemic this fall.

   Turns out, Bradbeer, a scholastic standout at Friends’ Central, was very much in his element, getting into contention right away with a 2-under-par 70 over the par-72 Gold Course layout in Thursday’s opening round and earning a solid top-10 finish as he was one of six players who finished in a tie for sixth place at 3-over 291.

   Not sure if everybody started off the first tee every day, but Bradbeer’s opening round featured birdies at the second, fifth and 10^th holes around a bogey at the seventh. Bradbeer rattled off pars on the last eight holes of the Gold Course’s incoming nine, regardless of whether that was his front nine or finishing nine.

   Bradbeer added a 3-over 75 in Friday’s second round and matched par with a 72 in Saturday’s third round. He got off to a slow start in the final round with bogeys at the first and fourth holes and a double bogey at the fifth. But he righted the ship with three straight birdies at the eighth, ninth and 10^th holes. A bogey at the 11^th hole dropped Bradbeer back to 2-over for the round, which is where he finished with a 2-over 74.

   The Men’s Dixie Amateur crown went to Larry Blatt of Chicago, a 33-year-old mid-am who played collegiately at Illinois. Blatt ripped off nine birdies, including five straight from the ninth to the 13^th holes, in a final round of 5-under 67, the best round of the tournament, that gave him a 5-under 283 total and a two-shot victory.

   Blatt told AmateurGolf.com that he is considering turning pro at some point.

   Luke Wells, a sophomore at Butler from Springfield, Ohio, had grabbed a three-shot lead heading into the final round on the strength of a 3-under 69 in Saturday’s third round. But he could only match par in the final round with a 72 and couldn’t keep up with Blatt’s Sunday surge. Still, Wells earned a solid runnerup finish with a 3-under 285 total.

   Marc France of Plantation, Fla., a former Florida Southern standout, closed with a 3-under 69 and was the only other player under par for the weekend as he finished alone in third place with a 2-under 286 total.

   David Harrison, a freshman at Texas-San Antonio out of Trophy Club, Texas and Max Green, a junior standout from Hilton Head Island, S.C. who is a prized recruit at West Virginia, finished in a tie for fourth place, each landing on 2-over 290. Harrison closed with his second straight 1-under 71 while Green matched par in each of his weekend rounds with 72s.

   One of the players who joined Bradbeer in the logjam at 3-over 291 was defending champion Michael Barnard, a redshirt sophomore at Middle Tennessee State from Hendersonville, Tenn.

   Temple senior Dawson Anders, who starred scholastically at Souderton, didn’t get a chance to play college golf this fall due to the pandemic, but had a solid showing in the Dixie, closing with a 1-over 73 as he ended up in the group tied for 18^th place at 7-over 295.

   The best round of the weekend for Anders, winner of GAP’s Junior Boys’ crown in 2017, was an even-par 72 in Saturday’s third round.

   Another City 6 player who didn’t get to play much competitive golf this fall, Drexel junior Jeffrey Cunningham, saved his best round for last as he matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish in the group tied for 31^st place at 10-over 298. Cunningham was playing less than an hour from his West Palm Beach home.

   Spring Grove junior Karl Frisk, who finished in a tie for fourth place in this fall’s PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort, finished in a tie for 44^th place at 301 after closing with his best round of the weekend, a 1-over 73. Frisk recently announced that he will play college golf at Division II power South Carolina Aiken.

   Reigning Berks County Match Play champion Nick Vecellio traveled to Coral Springs and closed with a 2-over 74 to finish in the group tied for 51^st place at 305. Vecellio, a Fogelsville resident, starred collegiately at Delaware and scholastically at Northwestern Lehigh.

    On the women’s side at nearly Palm Aire Country Club, several familiar names showed up on the leaderboard, including the dynamic duo from Wilmington, Del., Tower Hill product Jennifer Cleary and Archmere Academy graduate Phoebe Brinker.

   Cleary, denied the chance to play much golf in the fall campaign of her freshman season at Virginia, got into contention with a 3-under 69 in Friday’s second round. After a 3-over 75 in Saturday’s third round, Cleary closed by matching par in the final round with a 72 that left her in a tie for fifth place with Warren, Ohio phenom Gianna Clemente at even-par 288, six shots behind the winner, Fresno State senior Brigitte Thibault of Canada.

   Cleary closed out her junior career last summer with a five-shot victory in the Imperial Headwear Classic, an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) event held at DuPont Country Club just outside of Wilmington.

   That same week, Brinker was making a big splash in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., finishing in a tie for second in qualifying for match play and reaching the second round. Brinker is the niece of Suzy Whaley, whose two-year term as the president of the PGA of America ended this fall. Whaley was the first woman to ascend to the top spot of the PGA of America.

   Like Cleary, the fall campaign of Brinker’s freshman season at powerful Duke was limited by the pandemic. Brinker wasn’t at her best in the Dixie, although she bettered par with a 2-under 70 in the third round. A final-round 76 left Brinker in the group tied for 18^th place at 8-over 296.

   Thibault birdied five of the last 10 holes as she wiped out a deficit that had been as much as eight shots early in the final round with a 3-under 69 that gave her a two-shot victory over Ellen Hume, a junior at Mississippi from England.

   Florida State freshman Taylor Roberts of Parkland, Fla. had taken a four-shot lead into the final round on the strength of three straight sub-par rounds as she opened with a 2-under 70, was one shot better with a 3-under 69 in the second round and one more shot better with a 4-under 68 in Saturday’s third round that got her to 9-under for the tournament.

   But Roberts, who had been on a roll dating back to her final junior events late in the summer, hit the wall in the final round with an 80 that left her in a tie for third place with Holmdel, N.J. teen star Megha Ganne at 1-under 287.

   Up ahead of Roberts, Thibault had fallen further behind with a bogey-double bogey start. She started to get back on track with birdies at the fourth and sixth holes. After a bogey at the seventh hole, Thibault went off with birdies at nine, 13, 14, 16 and one more at the last to grab the title.

   Hume actually led by two with six holes to play, but couldn’t quite keep up with Thibault’s torrid finish. Hume had carded a pair of 3-under 69s in the first two rounds and added a pair of 73s in the third and fourth rounds to finish two shots behind Thibault in second place at 4-under 284.

   Ganne, who plans to join the powerhouse Stanford program in the summer of 2022, was steady throughout. Ganne, who reached the semifinals of the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss., opened with a 2-under 70, matched par in the second round with a 72, registered a 1-under 71 in the third round and closed with a 2-over 74 to join Roberts in the tie for third place at 1-under 287.

   Ganne had finished in a tie for third place in last month’s AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

   Clemente, who made headlines when she qualified for the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Old Waverly at age 11, closed with a 1-under 71 to get her share of fifth place with Cleary. After opening with a 1-under 71, the kid stumbled to a 78 in the second round. But Clemente proved to be pretty resilient, bouncing back with a sparkling 4-under 68 in Saturday’s third round.

   A few other young ladies with Jersey ties also popped up among the scores from the Women’s Dixie Amateur.

   Katie Li, a talented youngster from Basking Ridge, closed with her worst round of the weekend, a 6-over 78, to finish among the group tied for 31^st place at 301. Li opened with her best round at Palm Aire, a 1-over 73.

   Natasha Kiel is from New Hope, just across the Delaware River from New Jersey, but played most of her scholastic career at The George School. Kiel closed with her best round of the weekend, a 1-over 73, to finish among the group tied for 42^nd place at 304.

   Kiel is finishing out her scholastic eligibility at the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla. and recently announced that she will continue her academic and athletic pursuits at Vanderbilt, which plays in the powerful Southeastern Conference. Kiel finished third in last summer’s Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship at Lebanon Country Club, a shot behind Cleary, the runnerup.

   Ami Gianchandani, a product of The Pingry School whose career at Yale is getting derailed by the pandemic, closed with her best round of the weekend, a 2-over 74, to end up in the group tied for 52^nd place at 306. Gianchandani finished fourth in her first shot in the Ivy League Championship as a freshman in the spring of 2019 at The Ridge at Back Brook in Ringoes, N.J.

   Also in that group at 306 was another Jersey girl, reigning New Jersey Junior Girls’ champion Katherine Lu of Plainsboro. Lu, who edged Li by a shot for the New Jersey Junior Girls’ crown last summer, struggled in the final two rounds at Palm Aire, but was solid in the first two rounds, following up an opening-round 73 with a 75.

   A week earlier, the Dixie Amateur crowned winners in its Senior, Super Senior and Mid-Master divisions at Eagle Trace.

   Michael Hughett of Owosso, Okla. capture the Senior title for the second time in three years, going wire to wire in a four-shot victory. Owosso, who won the title by a shot in 2018, opened with a 1-under 71 and added a 3-under 69 before closing with a 2-over 74 for a 2-under 214 total.

   Runnerup Jerry Slagle of Southlake, Texas made a move on Hughett in the final round, but Hughett responded with back-to-back birdies at the 14^th and 15^th holes to pull away. Slagle, who trailed Hughett by just two shots after carding back-to-back 1-under 71s in the first two rounds, closed with a 76 to end up with a 2-over 218 total.

   Art Sellinger, a former World Long Drive champion making his senior amateur debut, took third place at 221, three shots behind Slagle. Sellinger sandwiched a 1-under 71 in the second round with a pair of 75s.

   Tim Vigotsky of Centreville, Va. finally birdied the fifth hole of a playoff to defeat Edward Turner of Richardson, Texas and claim the Super Senior championship.

   Vigotsky opened with a 3-under 69 and added a 1-over 73 to open up a five-shot lead on Turner, who added a 75 to his opening-round 72. But Turner caught Vigotsky with a 2-under 70 as they both finished at 1-over 217. Vigotsky registered a final-round 75.

   Jeffrrey Knox of Brecksville, Ohio was another four shots behind the top two in third place at 5-over 221 after he finished up with a 75.

   Tommy Smith of Puerto Rico won the Mid-Master division for players 40 to 54 by three shots over Chad Branton of Cartersville, Ga., the winner of the inaugural Mid-Master division a year ago.

   Smith opened with a 2-under 70 and matched par in each of the final two rounds for a 2-under 214 total. Branton trailed Smith by a shot after an opening-round 71 before adding a pair of 73s to take runnerup honors at 1-over 217.

   It was another three shots back to Mike Batten of St. Johns, Fla. and John Bearrie of Marana, Ariz., who finished in a tie for third place at 4-over 220. Batten, who fired a 3-under 69 in the second round, closed with a 77. Bearrie, the reigning Trans-Miss Mid-Master champion, caught Batten to get a share of third place by matching par in the final round with a 72.