The Golf Association of Philadelphia

Gold goes low, tops U.S. Am. Qualifier

WILMINGTON, Del. – Christopher Gold of Haddonfield, N.J., torched the Nemours course at DuPont CC to the tune of six birdies and an eagle to card an 8-under-par 63 Monday, good for medallist honors at the local qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Championship.

The University of Maryland senior carded a two-round total of 134 (71, 63) to top the 155-player field who attempted to qualify for the Championship at the Nemours (par 71, 6,166 yards) and DuPont (par 71, 7,076 yards) courses.

Gold will be joined by Jeffery Griest of Glen Mills, Pa., Chris Derby of Alexandria, Va., Conrad Von Borsig of Swarthmore, Pa., David Sanders of Mt Laurel, N.J. and Brandon Detweiler of Akron, Pa., at the U.S. Amateur Championship is set for Aug. 18-24 at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C.

"I’m just happy to get in," said the 21-year-old, a veteran of two U.S. Amateur Championships (2004-05) who also played Pinehurst CC in the North-South Amateur Championship earlier this summer. "I have a feel for the course and I feel like it fits my game."

But it was the Nemours course that looked as if it was tailored to Gold’s game Monday as he made up a four-stroke deficit after the first round and beat the field by two strokes on the Nemours track that played 3.154 strokes easier that the DuPont course.

"I just played solid in my first round [at DuPont] and saw that there were a couple low scores on the other course, so I figured I was still in it," said the Gold of his chances.

Gold capped off his stunning second round with a chip-in eagle on the par 5 18^th hole (577 yards).

"It was a great ending," he said of the chip-in for eagle. "It was a nice way to finish."

For Griest, who came in with the second best score of the day with a 5-under-par 136 (70, 66), the flatstick was key, as the 21-year-old said he made bunch of putts to help him advance into his first U.S. Amateur Championship.

"I mean, I have goose bumps," said Griest, a University of Delaware senior, of making it into the Championship. "I’m just so excited and can’t wait to get down there."

For Derby, a recent graduate of Loyola College who has aspirations of turning professional within the year, Monday’s qualifier for the Championship carried a little more weight for him than most.

"I’m so excited," Derby said. "This is the last shot I had [to qualify] so I’m absolutely ecstatic. I’m kind of in shock right now."

Notes:
Robert Maguire of Pottstown, Pa., made a hole-in-one on the par 3, 17^th hole (Nemours, 177 yards) with a 6-iron.

The U.S. Amateur, the oldest USGA championship, was first played in 1895 at Newport Golf Club in Rhode Island. The event, which has no age restriction, is open to those with a Handicap Index of 2.4 or lower. It is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

---

Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 136 Member Clubs and 56,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. The purpose of the Association is simple: To promote, protect and preserve the game of golf in the region.

Qualifiers
Name	City, State	Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Total
Christopher Gold	Haddonfield, NJ	71	63	134
Jeffrey Griest	Glen Mills, PA	70	66	136
Chris Derby	Alexandria, VA	69	68	137
Conrad Von Borsig	Swarthmore, PA	72	65	137
Brandon Detweiler	Akron, PA	69	70	139
David Sanders	Mt Laurel, NJ	69	70	139

Alternates (in order)
Estanislao Guerrero	Norfolk, VA	71	69	140
*Amory Davis	Chadds Ford, PA	69	72	141

Failed to qualify
*David West	Downingtown, PA	71	70	141
*Eric Onesi	Bear, DE	71	70	141
*Keith Snyder	Bear, DE	65	76	141
Michael Mulieri	Silver Spring, MD	76	65	141
P Chet Walsh	Wayne, PA	70	71	141
Adam Cohan	Savannah, GA	73	69	142
Michael McDermott	Bryn Mawr, PA	75	67	142
Brian Creghan	Radnor, PA	78	65	143
Brian Leveille	Basking Ridge, NJ	77	66	143
Jay Whitby	Wyoming, DE	73	70	143
Chris Lange	Bryn Mawr, PA	74	70	144
Gregory Wolfe	Newark, DE	70	74	144
Jason Cohan	Savannah, GA	74	70	144
Matthew Mattare	Bethlehem, PA	68	76	144
Michael Kania	Haverford, PA	72	72	144
Randy Little	Nottingham, PA	72	72	144
Tommy Ellison	Bethany Beach, DE	69	75	144
George Marucci Jr	Villanova, PA	73	72	145
Greg Verde	Wayne, PA	71	74	145
Kevin Genuardi	Gwynedd Valley, PA	72	73	145
Matthew Smith	Chester Springs, PA	72	73	145
William McGuinness	Woodbury, NJ	73	72	145
Andy Achenbach	Royersford, PA	70	76	146
Cole Willcox	Berwyn, PA	70	76	146
Eric Schmehl	Shamong, NJ	69	77	146
Michael Brown	Cheltenham, PA	71	75	146
Mike Flatley	Schwenksville, PA	69	77	146
Pierce Dever	Yardley, PA	76	70	146
Stephen Dressel	Malvern, PA	72	74	146
Brandon Dalinka	Newtown, PA	72	75	147
David Liotta	Broomall, PA	70	77	147
Dudley Payne III	Warrenton, VA	73	74	147
Eric Williams	Honesdale, PA	73	74	147
Gary Blados	Shelter Island Hgts, NY	70	77	147
James Kieserman	Dresher, PA	77	70	147
Kyle Davis	Kennett Square, PA	73	74	147
Clark Holle	South Orange, NJ	72	76	148
James Kania Jr	Haverford, PA	73	75	148
John Fasy	West Grove, PA	76	72	148
Shawn Lavin	Drexel Hill, PA	72	76	148
Brian Gillespie	Wayne, PA	73	76	149
Geoffrey Cooper	Philadelphia, PA	75	74	149
James Gardas	Hawley, PA	75	74	149
Max Buckley	Rye, NY	70	79	149
Andrew Blumberg	Wilmington, DE	80	70	150
James Kiewra	Brant Beach, NJ	75	75	150
Jamie Slonis	Sewell, NJ	79	71	150
Jeff Osberg	West Chester, PA	71	79	150
Michael O'Keefe	Medford, NJ	77	73	150
Nathan Sutherland	Wyomissing, PA	76	74	150
Peter Barron III	Mays Landing, NJ	71	79	150
Tyler Brewington	Orangeville, PA	78	72	150
Colin Smith	West Chester, PA	78	73	151
Justin Martinson	Avondale, PA	76	75	151
Patrick Rugg	Drexel Hill, PA	78	73	151
Paul Kovalcheck	Aston, PA	78	73	151
Tom Carter	Sicklerville, NJ	77	74	151
Kevin Melnick	Blue Bell, PA	75	77	152
Michael Rushin	Dover, DE	77	75	152
Samuel Lerner	Cherry Hill, NJ	75	77	152
Zach Smith	New Britain, PA	76	76	152
Andrew Geyer	Milford, DE	76	77	153
James Tallent	Haverford, PA	77	76	153
Joseph Megless	Warrenton, VA	75	78	153
Michael Meisenzahl	Medford, NJ	76	77	153
Thomas Ferrero	Long Island City, NY	71	82	153
Vince Boyle	Philadelphia, PA	77	76	153
Bill Turner	Delran, NJ	79	75	154
Brendan Mohler	Bethlehem, PA	79	75	154
Brian Rashley	North Wales, PA	76	78	154
Will Scarborough	Dover, DE	81	73	154
Grant Skyllas	Mohnton, PA	79	76	155
Nikolai Wheeler	Wilmington, DE	83	72	155
Paul Amess	Philadelphia, PA	80	75	155
Greg Matthias	Wilmington, DE	83	73	156
Keith Matt	Lansdale, PA	81	75	156
Kevin Huntington	West Chester, PA	78	78	156
Robert Robertson	Philadelphia, PA	84	72	156
Sasha Bozic	Beach Lake, PA	73	83	156
Steve Minnick	Broomall, PA	78	78	156
Alan Wagenschnur	Middletown, DE	83	74	157
Benjamin Smith	Voorhees, NJ	75	82	157
Cory Siegfried	Villanova, PA	76	81	157
Daniel Pinciotti Jr	Huntingdon Valley, PA	78	79	157
Jerry Temple	Newark, DE	85	72	157
John Brennan	Norristown, PA	80	77	157
John Frazier	Burlington, NC	77	80	157
John Ladow	Pottstown, PA	77	80	157
Ken Sim	Ambler, PA	79	78	157
Logan Terry	Plymouth Meeting, PA	78	79	157
Ryan Barba	Avondale, PA	78	79	157
Earl Cooper	Wilmington, DE	80	78	158
John Lupica	Newtown, PA	77	81	158
Matt Raudenbush	Pine Valley, NJ	77	81	158
Mike Klem	Benton, PA	81	77	158
Nelson Hargrove	Haverford, PA	77	81	158
Phillip Anzaldo	Haddonfield, NJ	73	85	158
Thomas Borsello	Wilmington, DE	82	76	158
Troy Miller	Chester, MD	79	79	158
Clinton Bunting	Rehoboth Bch, DE	80	79	159
Jeff Schott	Wilmington, DE	80	79	159
Mark Kosko	Egg Harbor Twsp, NJ	76	83	159
Robert Galbreath Jr	Huntingdon Valley, PA	82	77	159
Robert Maguire	Pottstown, PA	76	83	159
Tom Hanna III	Bozman, MD	77	82	159
David Atkinson	Philadelphia, PA	83	77	160
Sam Pancoast	West Chester, PA	79	81	160
Thomas Lindberg	Wayne, PA	76	84	160
Travis Gahman	Souderton, PA	86	75	161
Zachary Rothaus	Huntingdon Valley, PA	81	80	161
Beau Guarino	Burlington, NJ	76	87	163
Chip Culp	Philadelphia, PA	83	81	164
John Rosenberg	Devon, PA	82	82	164
Kellen Seligman	Charlottesville, VA	79	85	164
Nicholas Szem	Wall, NJ	83	81	164
Matthew Kaelin	Medford, NJ	82	84	166
William Hoese	Cherry Hill, NJ	89	77	166
Mike Rock	Hollywood, MD	81	86	167
Willie Thomas	Frankford, DE	84	83	167
Joseph Dulka	West Chester, PA	89	79	168
Ryan Thiele	Salisbury, MD	86	83	169
Ryan Schaffer	Voorhees, NJ	82	88	170
Bradley Roberts	Westmont, NJ	80	DQ	DQ
David Taraschi	Haddonfield, NJ	78	WD	WD
Ken Matt	Springhouse, PA	84	WD	WD
Mark Miller	Levittown, PA	79	WD	WD
Philip Bartholomew	Yardley, PA	77	WD	WD
Stephen Seiden	Chadds Ford, PA	78	WD	WD
Zachary Wehrman	Langhorne, PA	87	WD	WD

*-determined in playoff
DQ-disqualified; WD-withdrawal

[ Back ]

Membership

Quick Links

Play

Quick Links

Resources

Quick Links

About

Quick Links

A Walk Through Time

Gold goes low, tops U.S. Am. Qualifier