2004 GAP Schedule released

  Beginning in April, and encompassing seven months, the schedule visits five states for the annual Mason-Dixon Matches, for its 54 tournaments and 62 days of competition.

  Of particular note is the Pro.-President, Golf & Green Meeting set for May 19 in which Fred Ridley, the newly elected President of the United States Golf Association, is slated to speak, and the celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the Open Championship on July 21 at Philadelphia Country Club.

  Team Matches–As always, the extremely popular Team Matches open the campaign. A record 304 teams (12 members from each team) from 119 member clubs will take part in the three days of competition: April 18 and 25 and May 2. The Playoffs and Challenges are set for May 8. Merion Golf Club looks to repeat as the champion.

  Amateur Championships–This year marks the 100^th renewal of the Open Championship, a one-day, 36-hole medal play event. Philadelphia Country Club, site of the 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, hosts the tournament on Wednesday, July 21. Last summer, Brian Kelly of Bucknell Golf Club edged Stu Ingraham of Overbrook Golf Club and Mark Sheftic of Sunnybrook Golf Club by two shots for his second Open title in four years. The night prior to the championship, the Golf Association of Philadelphia will host a special cocktail party, reuniting the events past champions. Philadelphia Country Club last hosted the Open in 1979.

  The 104^th Amateur Championship, which runs four days, is set for June 14-16 & 19 at Philadelphia Cricket Club. The 36-hole final match is scheduled for the 19^th. Michael Tash of Tavistock Country Club will be back to defend after his thrilling, 1-up, victory over Brian Gillespie of St. Davids Golf Club last summer. This will be the first Amateur Championship at Philadelphia Cricket Club since 1976.

  The Middle-Amateur Championship opens the Championship season on May 26-27 at Gulph Mills Golf Club. In light of the high number of entries received the past few seasons, a second Mid-Am qualifier (Burlington Country Club on May 6 and Doylestown Country Club on May 13) has been added for non-exempt participants. This is the first time the Mid-Am will travel to Gulph Mills. Rob Savarese, Jr. of Philadelphia Cricket Club earned the title on his home course last year.

  The Patterson Cup, the final major of the season, takes place on Aug. 12 at Laurel Creek Country Club/Tavistock Country Club. This is the first time these two venues have teamed up at the same time to co-host the 36-hole, stroke play championship of the Association - each entrant plays 18 holes at each course. Laurel Creek last held a round of the Patterson Cup in 1997 and Tavistock in 1993. Chris Gallagher of Penn Oaks Golf Club stunned the field last year at Bellewood Golf Club/Spring Ford Country Club with a record setting score of 6-under-par. This is the 102^nd renewal of the Patterson Cup.

  The qualifying rounds of the Amateur Championship and the two rounds of the Patterson Cup also determine the Silver Cross winner. This prestigious award, started in 1902, is given to the player with lowest aggregate score in those four rounds. Michael McDermott of Llanerch Country Club, the reigning Player of the Year, finished atop the standings last year to earn his first Silver Cross.

  Lookaway Golf Club holds the Philadelphia Team Championship, which started in 1915, on July 1. Four clubs of eight players each will compete in a foursome match and singles competition for Association bragging rights.

  USGA events–The Association will conduct six USGA Qualifiers, including two for the U.S. Open set for June 17-20 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.

  Senior–The Senior Championship, set for Aug. 31-Sept. 1 at Lu Lu Country Club, caps the year for golfers 55 years of age and older. Last year, the two-day, 36-hole medal play competition was taken by Michael Rose of Ashbourne Country Club, the reigning Senior Player of the Year. Other highlights of the senior schedule include: the Warner Cup on May 12 at Bellewood Golf Club, the Chapman Memorial on Aug. 25 at Little Mill Country Club and the Senior Four-Ball Stroke Play on Sept. 9 at Moselem Springs Golf Club.

  Junior–On June 29-July 1, the Junior Boys' Championship heads to Philmont Country Club. The top 16 players from qualifying advance into match play with the final set for the afternoon of July 1. The Christman Cup, the 36-hole stroke play championship for juniors, is set for July 16 at Overbrook Golf Club.

  The qualifying round of the junior and the two rounds of the Christman Cup also account for the Harry Hammond Award winner, the junior version of the Silver Cross. Other events on the junior schedule include: the Francis X. Hussey Memorial on July 12 at Rolling Green Golf Club, the Jock MacKenzie Memorial on July 19 at Sandy Run Country Club and the Junior-Junior Boys' Championship (ages 11-13) on July 26-28 at Merchantville Country Club.

  Also, a new event scheduled for 2004 is the Pre-Junior Tournament set for July 14 at Philadelphia Cricket Club. This new instructional event will teach boys and girls, ages 8-10, the rules of golf and the sport’s etiquette and appropriate course conduct.

  In addition, the Deeg Sezna Four-Ball is back for its third year on Aug. 2 at Hartefeld National. A special event on the GAP calendar, the Deeg pairs a junior and an amateur together in a better-ball format. Partners must have a minimum age differential of 10 years and one partner must be 21 years of age or younger. The event is named in honor of Davis G. Sezna, Jr. Better known as Deeg, Davis Jr., an avid golfer himself, was tragically killed in the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He was 22 years old.

  Handicap Championships-The Association revised the First and Second Handicaps last season. Renamed the Spring Net Championship (First) and the Fall Net Championship (Second), the two events were revamped to be comparable to other GAP Championships. An overall low net champion is crowned and four flight champions are recognized as well. In addition, the low Senior in each flight will earn recognition. The Spring Net Championship is scheduled for June 10 at Whitford Country Club and the Fall Net Championship is planned for Aug. 9 at White Manor Country Club.

  Meetings-There are three meetings on the Association calendar: the Chairmen's Meeting, the Pro-President, Golf & Green and the Annual Meeting.

  The Chairmen's Meeting is scheduled for April 14 at St. Davids Golf Club. The meeting will brief clubs' chairmen on USGA handicap topics.

  The Pro-President, Golf & Green is set for May 19 at Cedarbrook Country Club/Old York Road Club. Mr. Ridley will be the featured speaker.

  The Annual Meeting concludes the GAP schedule on Oct. 27 at Huntingdon Valley Country Club/Manufacturers Golf & Country Club.

  Honorary teams-The Association will once again send representatives to the Compher Cup, the Williamson Cup, the Senior Challenge Matches, the Philadelphia Golfer Matches and the Mason-Dixon Matches.

  The Compher Cup pits GAP against the New Jersey State Golf Association with 12-man teams from each organization squaring off in an individual and four-ball match. GAP leads the annual series, 28-10-4. Last year the Golf Association of Philadelphia and the NJSGA finished deadlocked, 9-9, at Somerset Hills Country Club in Bernardsville, N.J. Philadelphia retained the Cup based upon its victory in 2002. The challenger must score 9 1/2 points to capture the trophy. This April's match is set for the 28^th at Bent Creek Country Club in Lititz, Pa.

  The Williamson Cup is for juniors (teams of four) with 11 associations from across the United States and Canada competing. The one-day, 36-hole stroke play event is entering its 41^st year. This summer the Williamson Cup Matches are set for Aug. 9-10 at the Country Club of Detroit. Last year, GAP finished fourth.

  Eight-man teams representing four associations - Delaware, GAP, New Jersey and Maryland - contest the Senior Challenge Matches (stroke play competition). The 2004 contest is set for Oct. 6 at The ACE Club in Lafayette Hill, Pa.

  The Philadelphia Golfer Matches pit 12-man teams from the Golf Association of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Section of the PGA against each other in an individual and four-ball match. This year the Matches travel to Stonewall on Oct. 13 where GAP will look for its first victory since 1994. The PGA leads the all-time series, 11-1-1.

  The Mason-Dixon Matches, a competition of 12-man teams from the Golf Association of Philadelphia and the Middle Atlantic Golf Association, is scheduled for Oct. 9-10 at the Chevy Chase Club in Chevy Chase, Md. The Association defended the Mason-Dixon trophy last season with a, 9.5-8.5, victory at Galloway National Golf Club. GAP leads the all-time series, 30-18-4.