Troy Vannucci of Little Mill Country Club established himself as one of the region’s top mid-amateur players with his victory in last month’s Golf Association of Philadelphia Middle-Amateur Championship at Jericho National Golf Club.
Now, the 30-year-old Vannucci is taking aim at a second straight GAP major after earning a share of medalist honors in qualifying for match play Monday in the 122nd BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship at Philadelphia Country Club and the Union League’s Liberty Hill Course.
Vannucci drilled a 3-iron from 217 yards away on his final hole, the 550-yard, par-5 ninth hole at Liberty Hill, to four feet and made the putt for an eagle. That capped a sparkling 5-under-par 67 over the 7, 247-yard, par-72 Liberty Hill layout, which, combined with the 1-under 70 he carded in his opening round over the 6,827-yard, par-71 Philly Country Club layout, gave him a 6-under 137 total for the day.
Vannucci backed up his win in the GAP Middle-Amateur by reaching the quarterfinals of the New Jersey State Golf Association’s Mid-Amateur Championship last week at Somerset Hills Country Club.
Only Merion Golf Club’s Michael McDermott has ever won GAP Middle-Amateur and BMW Philadelphia Amateur crowns in the same season.
Co-medalist honors went to Duke sophomore John Peters, who plays out of Carlisle Country Club. Peters authored the shot heard around Pennsylvania last summer when he holed out for eagle from 193 yards away at the historic 18th hole at Merion Golf Club’s East Course to capture a victory in the Pennsylvania Amateur.
Peters, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during an outstanding scholastic career at Carlisle, added a 4-under 68 at Liberty Hill in the afternoon to the opening round of 2-under 69 he posted in the morning at Philly Country to join Vannucci at 6-under.
As I wrap up this post, the opening round of match play is under way, although it looks like there might some weather delays at some point Tuesday.
Vannucci’s opening-round opponent is Connor Sheehan of Tanglewood Manor Golf Club, one of nine players who finished in a tie for 24th place and made the cut for match play on the number at 2-over 145, the lowest cutoff for match play in the history of the championship.
Peters’ opening-round opponent is Will Holt of Kennett Square Golf & Country Club, another of the nine players who made the match-play bracket on the number at 2-over 145. Holt was a part-time member of our sports staff at the Delaware County Daily Times once upon a time before quickly realizing that being a sportswriter didn’t leave a guy nearly enough time to spend on his golf game.
Good to see Will playing well. As I’ve mentioned several times in the past, making that field of 32 for match play in the Philadelphia Amateur means you can play.
All of the matches will be played at Philadelphia Country Club, home to the 1939 U.S. Open. There will be two rounds of match play Tuesday that will leave a field of eight quarterfinalists. Two more rounds of matches Wednesday will leave two finalists, who will play a 36-hole final Saturday.
Jeffrey Cunningham, who helped Drexel finish in third place in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship earlier this spring, was two shots behind the co-medalists in third place. Cunningham, part of a strong contingent playing out of LuLu Country Club, added a 4-under 68 at Liberty Hill in the afternoon to his opening round of 1-under 70 at Philly Country.
The winners of the last three GAP Junior Boys’ Championship, Josh Ryan of The 1912 Club, who was the Junior Boys’ winner in 2020 and 2021, and Austin Barbin of Chesapeake Bay Golf Club, the 2019 Junior Boys’ champion, head a group of four players tied for fourth place at 3-under 140. They will be teammates at Liberty for the wraparound 2022-2023 college season.
Ryan, who also has a victory in the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s R. Jay Sigel Match Play Championship on his resume, opened with a sparkling 4-under 67 at Philly Country before adding a 1-over 73 in the afternoon at Liberty Hill. Barbin, who played a couple of rounds for Liberty in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., matched par at Philly Country in the morning with a 71 before adding a 3-under 69 in the afternoon at Liberty Hill.
Rounding out the group at 3-under 140 were Philadelphia Cricket Club veteran John Brennan, a school teacher in the Spring-Ford School District, and Ben Smith of Carlisle Country Club.
Brennan carded a pair of 70s, going 1-under in the morning at Philly Country and 2-under in the afternoon at Liberty Hill. Smith had started his college career at Penn State, but wasn’t on the roster last season. Smith matched Brennan’s splits, going 1-under 70 in the morning at Philly Country and 2-under 70 at Liberty Hill in the afternoon.
Aronimink Golf Club’s Max Siegfried, who starred scholastically at The Haverford School and played college golf at Virginia, finished alone in eighth place with a 2-under 141 total. Siegfried opened with a sparkling 4-under 67 at Philly Country before adding a 2-over 74 in the afternoon at Liberty Hill.
A pair of LuLu entries, Michael R. Brown Jr., one of the region’s top mid-amateur players, and Jon Rusk, who, I’m pretty sure, is the manager at LuLu after being the head pro and getting his amateur status back, were tied for ninth place, each landing on 1-under 142.
Brown, who briefly held state amateur titles in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey simultaneously last summer, registered a 2-under 70 in the afternoon at Liberty Hill after opening with a 1-over 72 at Philly Country. Rusk, the 1997 PIAA champion during one of the great scholastic careers ever by a District One player while at Council Rock, opened with a 2-under 70 at Liberty Hill before adding a 1-over 72 at Philly Country in the afternoon.
Another GAP Junior Boys’ champion of recent vintage, 2018 winner Ryan Tall, also playing out of LuLu, headed a group of four players tied for 11th place at even-par 143. Tall, who starred scholastically at Conestoga, had a spectacular spring, capturing the Patriot League’s individual crown and representing Lafayette in the NCAA’s New Haven Regional at the Yale Golf Course.
Tall opened with a 2-under 69 at Philly Country before adding a 2-over 74 in the afternoon at Liberty Hill.
The 1912 Club’s Matt Teesdale, the assistant to Temple head coach Brian Quinn and the 2014 Philadelphia Open champion at Applebrook Golf Club, matched Tall’s splits, opening with a 69 at Philly Country before adding a 74 in the afternoon at Liberty Hill.
Rounding out the foursome tied for 11th place at even par were Honeybrook Golf Club’s R.J. Wren, who starred scholastically at Twin Valley and collegiately at Delaware (and is a former Stonewall looper), and Zach Dilcher of Hartefeld National Golf Club.
Looks like Wren’s sizzling 5-under 66 at in the morning was the best round of the day at Philly Country. He struggled to a 5-over 77 in the afternoon at Liberty Hill. The guy has always played tough golf courses well. He reached the quarterfinals of the 2016 Philadelphia Amateur at Merion Golf Club’s East Course before the ink was dry on his Twin Valley diploma.
Dilcher opened with a 1-under 71 at Liberty Hill before adding a 1-over 72 in the afternoon at Philly Country.
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