Golf Association of Philadelphia set
The Amateur Championship, the crown jewel of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s tournament season, is set to add another chapter to its rich history. Beginning on June 13 at Torresdale-Frankford CC/Huntingdon Valley CC (qualifying only), a field of 132 players will compete in the 106th Amateur and the right to have their name engraved on the J. Wood Platt Championship trophy. |
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First- and second-round matches are set for June 14 and the quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for June 15. The final begins at 8 a.m. that Saturday morning.
Last year, Clint Deibert of Doylestown CC defeated Tug Maude of Merion GC, 2&1, for his first championship at Cedarbrook CC. By virtue of his victory, Deibert, 24, of Doylestown, Pa., receives a bye and the top seed in the match play field. The remaining 31 seeds will be determined in qualifying on the first day.
"There is nothing I have been looking forward to more than defending the Amateur title," said Deibert. "It has been on my mind a lot these past few weeks as the championship approaches. Sometimes I forget about being the current Philadelphia Amateur Champion and then I think back about that week at Cedarbrook [CC] and know that it is something I will always be able to remember.
"There are a lot of great players in the GAP and I know a lot of them are playing well right now. So I will have to be on my "A" Game if I am going to be successful at defending the Amateur title."
Just like Deibert, Brian Gillespie of St. Davids GC also hopes to add his name a second time to a list of legendary winners that includes William Hyndman, III, J. Wood Platt, R. Jay Sigel and O. Gordon Brewer, to name a few. Gillespie took the 2001 Amateur title and fell just short in earning another in 2003 when he fell in the finals to Michael Tash of Tavistock CC. Last year, Gillespie lost to Deibert in the semifinals, 1-up.
"For me, I don’t care if I’m the medallist or the 32nd seed, I just want to get to match play and see how things shake out," said Gillespie, 31, of Wayne, Pa. "Having the experience I have, I know how to get through some of those matches even if I’m not playing well."
Other former champions in the field include Chris Anderson of Wilmington CC (1982-83); Charles Dowds, III of North Hills CC (1989); Chris Lange of Overbrook GC (1983-84, 94); Brian Rothaus of Philmont CC (1988); Billy Stewart of Llanerch CC (2002); James Sullivan, Jr. of Huntingdon Valley CC (1999), who recently regained his Amateur status; and Raymond Thompson of Overbrook GC (1972).
More than match play qualifying will be at stake on Day One of the Amateur Championship.
The match play qualifying rounds also serve as Open Championship qualifying. In addition, those two rounds also account for the initial pair of Silver Cross scores.
Eleven of the 15 amateur spots for the Open are available to qualifiers (the other four players are exemptions). There are 60 spots in all for the Open, 45 going to professionals.
The Silver Cross is awarded to the player with the lowest aggregate score in the qualifying round(s) of the Amateur Championship and the Patterson Cup.