By Rick Woelfel
Philadelphia Golf Magazine staff

  Considering the long history of golf in this region, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 21-year-old Mid-Amateur Championship has barely reached maturity. But the list of past champions, not to mention the names of the 60 men who are exempt into this year’s field, shows the event has come a long way in a relatively short time.

  Rob Savarese of Philadelphia Cricket Club will defend his title over 36 holes of medal play on May 26-27 at Gulph Mills Golf Club. Last year he shot two under par (69-71—140) over the Wissahickon Course at his home club to edge Bill McGuinness of Tavistock by two strokes.

  It was just the third time the event had been scheduled for 36 holes. From its inception in 1984 through 2000, it had been just a one-day, 18-hole test.

  The championship is open to players 25 or older who have a handicap index of 7.0 or less.

  Sixty players are exempt from qualifying on the basis of past performance. Assuming all 60 choose to play, that left 72 additional slots to be filled through qualifying rounds May 6 at Burlington Country Club and May 13 at Doylestown Country Club.

  Among the past champions, only David Brookreson of Huntingdon Valley, has won twice – in 1986 and 1988. Michael Tash, the defending Philadelphia Amateur champion, also won the Mid-Am in 1994. The 2003 GAP Player of the Year and Silver Cross winner, Michael McDermott, won the Mid-Am in 2001.

  For Savarese, whose job and three young children keep him busy, the Mid-Am will be his first taste of live competition in 2004, aside from the GAP Team Matches. "By then I won’t have played in any tournaments other than the Team Matches," he says. "Fortunately, I’m real familiar with Gulph Mills, and I happen to love it, so I’m real excited about playing there."

  Brian Gillespie of St. Davids, who reached last year’s Philadelphia Amateur final before losing to Tash, prefers the tournament’s medal-play format. He’ll have a chance to play some tournament golf before heading to Gulph Mills. "I’ll have played in the Compher Cup, the [Hugh Wilson Invitational] and the team matches," he says. "I’ve always had the time to play, so I should be pretty confident going into that tournament."

  Tavistock’s McGuinness is used to going against quality competition, since his home club has an abundance of low-handicappers. Like Savarese, he places a priority on getting off to a good start. "It’s not quite as bad as an 18-hole tournament," he says, "but you know you’ve got to play right from the start. You can’t afford to have too many bad holes over 36 holes."

  The Mid-Am may lack the history of some of the area’s other championships, but winning it, or even playing well in it, builds a golfer’s reputation. "You want people to think you’re one of the better players," McGuinness says, "and this tournament is one of the opportunities you have in GAP to prove that."