Scenic Saucon Valley CC graces 110th Amateur Championship

  Combine Philadelphia’s best golfers with a nationally-renowned club and you have an equation that emanates exciting and exceptional golf.

  Such an equation comes to life June 21-23 & 26 as the Golf Association of Philadelphia brings its 110th Amateur Championship to Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa. It is the club’s first time hosting the Association’s most prestigious tournament. Needless to say, a monumental chapter will be added to Philadelphia’s rich golf history, and one of the tournament’s 130 participants will look to become its centerpiece.

  Among them is James Kania, Jr. of Overbrook Golf Club, the 2009 William Hyndman, III Player of the Year and runner-up in last year’s Championship at Stonewall. The University of Kentucky senior feels that his golf game is “coming around” following an “up-and-down” season at school. He competed in nearly all of Kentucky’s spring tournaments while facing a college athlete’s most common challenge.

  “At points, it got hard for me to balance golf and academics,” he said. “I needed to hit the books real hard.”

  Kania’s runner-up performance in the Amateur served as a springboard to his success in 2009. He went on to win the Joseph H. Patterson Cup at Llanerch Country Club as well as the Silver Cross Award, presented to the player with the lowest aggregate score in the qualifying rounds of the Amateur Championship and the Patterson Cup.

  “I definitely feel that a lot of my success last summer raised my expectations going into the school year,” Kania, of Haverford, Pa., said. “Having all of that success was very valuable. It showed me that I do have that ability to compete and succeed. I struggled in the fall. You start playing lousy and you realize how difficult this game is. I was humbled a little bit. It kept me hungry.”

  His experience in the 2009 Amateur Championship prepared Kania for what potentially awaits at Saucon Valley.

  “Anyone that’s made a deep run knows what a grind it is,” he said. “It’s brutal. It’s mentally and physically draining. You’re playing a lot of golf in a short amount of time. It’s more of a marathon than a golf tournament. You have to stay patient and keep from going crazy.

  “Hopefully, things come together at the right time. I’m excited to see how I play. I still have a lot to prove.”

  Another player who strives to accomplish more on GAP’s grandest stage is Thomas Gramigna of Tavistock Country Club, the 2010 Middle-Amateur Champion. Gramigna, a quarterfinalist in last year’s Amateur, hopes to build upon a golf season that’s seen the Haddonfield, N.J. resident advance to U.S. Open Sectional qualifying and finish as a semifinalist in the NJSGA (New Jersey State Golf Association) Middle-Amateur Championship.

  “I have been driving it well and not three-putting,” Gramigna, 40, said. “I hope to be competitive and someday win (the GAP Amateur).”

  Thomas Bartolacci, Jr., the 2008 Senior Player of the Year, is one of seven players representing the home club in this year’s Amateur. He believes familiarity can be a factor, but not specifically an advantage.

  “Home course advantage does play into it, but there are no guarantees,” Bartolacci, 59, said. “It’s tough for an old guy to qualify no matter where it is. The younger players just hit it farther.”

  Players will traverse Saucon Valley’s Old and Grace Courses to qualify for match play. Both venues will present championship conditions, which will be further enhanced by the preceding Norborne Berkeley Member Guest at Saucon Valley.

  “I think the emphasis will be on hitting fairways. Accuracy will be a premium,” Bartolacci, of Washington Crossing, Pa., said. “It’ll be a real good test for all the players, regardless of age or ability.”

  The Old Course, which will be the site of match play, will pose a stronger threat to the scorecard, Bartolacci added.

  “It’s a difficult golf course,” he said. “The greens will be quick, hard and probably difficult to read for guys who don’t play there.”

  Bartolacci qualified as the No. 22 seed at Stonewall and fell to Kania, 5&4, in the first round. He hopes to earn a match play berth on his home course this year.

  “It’s one of the things that excites me about [the 2010 Amateur],” Bartolacci said. “Qualifying would be a good treat for me. That’s my primary objective. Once you get into match play, of course, anything can happen.”

  The 110th Amateur Championship is scheduled for June 21-23, with the 36-hole final set for Saturday, June 26. Qualifying on the first day is 36 holes, 18 each at Saucon Valley’s Old and Grace courses. The low 32 finishers advance into the match play draw on the Old Course.

  First and second-round matches are set for June 22. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be held June 23. In addition to determining the match play field, the Amateur Championship Qualifier also serves as first two rounds of the Silver Cross Award.

  Both the public and media are welcome to attend.

  NOTES – Conrad Von Borsig of Concord Club, the 2009 Amateur Champion, will not defend his title this year. Von Borsig turned professional earlier this year…Saucon Valley has yet to field an Amateur Champion. In 1992, Robin McCool did reach the Final, but fell to Lu Lu Country Club’s Jim Spagnolo, 2-up, at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club…Of last year’s 32 match-play qualifiers, 26 have returned to compete this year…Zachary Herr of Jericho National Golf Club, the 2009 Junior Boy’s Champion, is the youngest player in the Amateur field at 15 years old.