Small heads
USGA Senior Amateur Qualifier

  SKILLMAN, N.J.– Allan Small of Florham Park, N.J., carded a 5-under-par 67 to earn medallist honors Monday at a damp Cherry Valley CC (par 72, 6,533 yards), the local qualifying site for the USGA’s 52nd Senior Amateur Championship.

Allan Small of Florham Park, N.J.
  The 54-year-old, who turns 55 just days before the Championship begins next month, fired six birdies and only one bogey under humid conditions after early morning rains postponed the qualifier for one hour.

  "I feel like the kid," said Small, who qualified for his first U.S. Senior Amateur. "It’s a nice feeling because I’ve been playing in all these amateur and mid-amateur events and I was always the old guy. Now I’m the kid."

  The "kid" said he played solid golf all day, beginning his sub-par round with a birdie.

  Small birdied No. 1 (par 4, 363 yards) after a well-played tee shot left him 105-yards to the hole. The electrical contractor then attacked the pin with a sand wedge, leaving him a four-footer for birdie.

  "Everything I hit was right at the stick," Small said. ‘"It was just good solid golf."

  Just before he made the turn, Small stood at 2-under par heading to No. 9 (par 5, 530 yards) where he capped off the front nine in the same fashion as he began. Small birdied the hole after he placed a 70-yard lob wedge shot within eight feet, once again just past the hole to finish 3-under par on the front side.

  He continued his strong play after the turn with birdies on Nos. 10 (par 5, 501 yards) and 14 (par 3, 149 yards) to finish the day at 5-under par.

  Coming in a close second was Charles "Buck" Jones of Collegeville, Pa., with a 4-under-par 68.

  "I drove it real well and made a lot of putts," said Jones, who just came off a strong second-place finish at the Chapman Memorial Cup (Gross).

  Also qualifying was last year’s low medallist qualifier, Thomas DiCinti who shot a 2-under-par 70.

  "This has been the focal point of my year since I played poorly once I got there last year," said DiCinti. "I was not mentally ready for that event."

  He added, "I want to prove to myself, as well as anyone else, that I can play at that level."

  Charles Wilkins of Medford, N.J., Neil McDermott of Newtown Square, Pa. and Vic Gerard of Neptune, N.J., rounded out the remaining qualifiers.

  The 2006 USGA Senior Amateur Championship is scheduled for Sept. 16-21 at Victoria National GC in Newburgh, Ind. The inaugural USGA Senior Amateur was held in 1955 at Belle Meade CC in Nashville, Tenn. The event, for those who are 55 or older on or before the day the championship begins, is open to those with a USGA Handicap Index of 7.4 or lower.

Qualifiers

Name

City

Total

Allan Small

Florham Park, NJ

67

Charles Jones

Collegeville, PA

68

Charles Wilkins

Medford, NJ

70

Neil McDermott

Newtown Square, PA

70

Thomas DiCinti

Voorhees, NJ

70

Vic Gerard

Neptune, NJ

70

  

Alternates (in order)

*Bernie Zbrzeznj

Lafayette Hill, PA

71

*Peter Broms

Verona, NJ

71

  

Failed to qualify

Francis Mc Fadden

Newtown Square, PA

71

Harry Gianetti

Lebanon, NJ

71

Michael Fox

Berwyn, PA

71

Don Tanana

Trumbull, CT

71

Peter Keller

Chatham, NJ

71

Denis Johnson

Nutley, NJ

72

Dennis Campbell

Orwigsburg, PA

72

Ed Chylinski

Gulph Mills, PA

72

Charles McClaskey

Elkton, MD

73

Eugene Maginnis

Maple Glen, PA

73

Jim Haynie

North Wales, PA

73

Michael Egan

Doylestown, PA

73

Richard Smith

Villanova, PA

73

David Hambly

Bluffton, SC

74

Edward Gregorczyk

Moosic, PA

74

Frank Polizzi

Bryn Mawr, PA

74

John Hendricks

Mountain Lakes, NJ

74

Larry Novinger

Millersburg, PA

74

Robin McCool

Bethlehem, PA

74

Carl Everett

Havertown, PA

75

Chuck Mangin

Wayne, NJ

75

Jim Prendergast

Limerick, PA

75

Larry Hall

Wayne, NJ

75

Robert Billings

Media, PA

75

Theodore Beringer

Bryn Mawr, PA

75

Wally Swiger

Maple Glen, PA

75

Boyd Bryson

Wayne, NJ

76

Gibby Young

Newark, DE

76

Michael Rose

Huntingdon Valley, PA

76

Michael Rowland

Emmaus, PA

76

Rich Kovacs

Bethlehem, PA

76

Robert Weyrauch

Oradell, NJ

76

Warren Deakins

Gladwyne, PA

76

Willard Woolbert

Fort Washington, PA

76

Douglas Kahl

Mystic Island, NJ

77

Kerry Mucci

Wayne, NJ

77

Michael Quinn

E Fallowfield, PA

77

Robert McIntyre

Westfield, NJ

77

Thomas Mallouk

Doylestown, PA

77

Clark Hargrove

Haverford, PA

78

Don Powell

Princeton, NJ

78

Fred Jones

Califon, NJ

78

James Goldstein

Bala Cynwyd, PA

78

Joe Grubb

Lyndell, PA

78

Richard Speranza

Washington Crossing, PA

78

Chaney Ferrell

Piscataway, NJ

79

Charles McDowell

Wilmington, DE

79

D.T. McCrone

Mt Arlington, NJ

79

Gerry Barnett

Manasquan, NJ

79

Ralph Lombardi

Neshanic Station, NJ

79

Richard Siderowf

Westport, CT

79

Ronald Vannelli

Edison, NJ

79

Albert Sabini

Edison, NJ

80

Bill Catlett

Chester, NJ

80

Christopher Giles

Wyoming, DE

80

Kenneth Gaskill

Moorestown, NJ

80

Kenneth Harrison

Mahwah, NJ

80

Kenneth Shevlin

S Plainfield, NJ

80

Matthew Bellis

Ambler, PA

80

Richard Haverland

Princeton, NJ

80

Bill Stake

Basking Ridge, NJ

81

Jay Howson

Malvern, PA

81

Joe Scott

Kennett Square, PA

81

Art Brosius

Wilmington, DE

82

Ted Miller

Wharton, NJ

82

Ernest Eichenberg, III

Berwyn, PA

83

Gregory Gaul

Wayne, PA

83

Steve Sader

Oreland, PA

83

Thomas Mairone

Glen Mills, PA

83

Al Sala

Staten Island, NY

84

John Emery

Easton, PA

84

Steven Kahn

Princeton, NJ

84

Robert Reeve

Bridgewater, NJ

85

Michael Hayes

Mays Landing, NJ

86

Gary Davino

Scotch Plains, NJ

87

Vick Kelly

Wyndmoor, PA

87

Robert Murphy

Greenville, DE

88

Glen Mickey

Sparta, NJ

89

Alan Van Horn

Ambler, PA

WD

Bill Henry

Cranford, NJ

WD

Lee Cook

Moorestown, NJ

WD

Raymond Fuller

Pitman, NJ

WD

Hugh Kenworthy

Newtown Square, PA

DQ

Jarrett Kling

Haverford, PA

DQ

  

WD- withdrawal; DQ-disqualified

*-determined in playoff

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