Arthur, Jr., Hargrove top Patterson Cup Qualifier at Medford Village CC

  Arthur, who plays out of Tavistock CC, and Hargrove, who calls Merion GC home, shot matching 2-over-par 74s to share medalist honors and lead a group of 16 players (the low 13 scores and ties) into next month’s Patterson Cup.

  Ben Bershad of Hopewell Valley GC, James Arsenault from Little Mill CC, Alex McPherson from Sandy Run CC and Bill Murray of Merchantville CC all finished at 75. Mark Edmonson from the host club was at 76 along with Jack Anderson from Yardley CC and Bo Maguire from Brookside CC.

  For the 19-year-old Arthur, it was a matter of sticking to the game plan. The University of Delaware sophomore-to-be got around the 7,009-yard layout by successfully negotiating its narrow fairways and treacherous greens. “You just had to get your tee balls out in the fairway,” he said. “You could make some pars and maybe a couple birdies.”

  Arthur, who played the back nine first, made two bogeys going out to make the turn in 2-over-par 38 but took his game up a notch on his second nine. He held his round together by playing his next four holes, the toughest stretch of the golf course in 1-over par.

  “Those holes were big, just to get through,” he said. “I made three pars, which was what I needed to make everything all right for the day.”

  Arthur converted birdie chances at the 530-yard par-5 fifth and the 370-yard par-4 seventh. He bogeyed the eighth (par 4, 375 yards) and wound up at even-par for his second nine.

  With a goal of merely qualifying for the Patterson Cup field, as opposed to shooting the low round of the day, Arthur played more conservatively than usual. ”It’s a different mindset,” he said. “My Dad (Bob Arthur, Sr.) is a good player, so I listen to him. He says ‘Every time you make a par, you get past somebody.’ So I just tried to make as many pars as I could.”

  The 18-year-old Hargrove, who will be a freshman at the University of North Carolina this fall, chose to deal with the narrow fairways by leaving his driver in his bag. “I think I hit one drive the entire day,” he said. ”There are trees around here, so I wanted to keep it in play. I figured I could hit 2-iron and 3-wood off the tee and it worked.”

  Hargrove’s only birdie of the round came at the opening hole, a 422-yard par 4. He went out in even-par 36. He made two stumbles on the back, making bogey at the 519-yard par-5 14th and the 380-yard par-4 17th.

  But he made it into the Patterson Cup field with ease, which was the point of the day. “Everybody’s a winner in a qualifier,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter if you’re first or last, as long as you’re in. I figured as long as I shot a good number, I’d be all right.”

  The 21-year-old Bershad, a senior-to-be at Rutgers University, made a surge on his second nine that lifted him from oblivion to a spot in the field. He opened with a 43 on the second nine that included five bogeys and a double bogey. He also bogeyed the third hole (par 5, 535 yards).

  But he made a charge up the leaderboard by closing his round with five consecutive birdies. “My front nine was tough, but then I caught fire,” he said. “I really pulled it back together.

  “Once I realized I wasn’t playing so well I started relaxing a little bit and then it just started coming to me. I made a couple of birdies”

  Like his peers, Bershad was more concerned with getting in the Patterson Cup field than posting a low number. “You don’t need to go low, you only need to shoot a certain number,” he said. “You don’t need to beat everybody, you only need to beat a certain amount of people.”

  Arsenault, who played with Arthur and Bershad, didn’t hit the ball as long off the tee as some of the other players in the field. But he made three birdies on his opening nine (the back nine) and turned with a 1-under-par 35. Despite shooting 40 on his second nine he made it comfortably into the Patterson Cup field.

  “They stretched it out to 7,000-plus,” Arsenault said. “That’s not easy for a guy my age (47) who only hits it about 270.

  “We played the back nine first, which is the much more difficult nine and I shot 1 under there. I kind of struggled on the front nine, but 75, I’ll take it. With this course the way it is today, I’m happy.”

  Murray, who played the front nine first, turned in nines of 38-37. "You definitely have to drive it well here,” he said. “It’s a tough golf course, they had it stretched out pretty far. You had to be good with your approaches and keep the ball under the hole.”

  McPherson also turned in nines of 38-37. His day featured birdies at the 162-yard par-3 sixth and the 519-yard par-5 14th.

  The cut came at 7-over-par 79. Tuesday’s qualifiers will be part of the field for the Patterson Cup tournament, on Aug. 13-14 at Llanerch CC. This will mark the first time the Patterson Cup has been played over two days.

  In addition to determining the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s stroke-play champion, the Patterson Cup tournament will conclude the Silver Cross for 2009.