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Overbrook GC keeps repeat bid alive, tops Team Championship Qual.PINE HILL, N.J. — The title defense is officially on. Overbrook GC’s team of James Kania, Jr., Chris Lange, Chris Lange, Jr., Oscar Mestre, Andy and Raymond Thompson carded a collective 7-over-par 291 to lead Monday’s Team Championship Qualifier at Trump National GC — Philadelphia (par 71, 6,797 yards). Overbrook holds a record-32 Team Championship titles, its most recent coming last year on Stonewall’s North Course.
Also advancing to the Championship Proper were Commonwealth National GC (299), the 2009 titleholders, Little Mill CC (297), the reigning GAP Team Matches Champions, and Llanerch CC (297), a two-time Team Championship winner. Mestre and Andy Thompson carded respective 72s to lead Overbrook to its ninth Finals appearance in the last 11 years. “I struck the ball well,” Mestre, of Berwyn, Pa., said. “I kept the ball in front of me. I hit really good irons into the greens. At a place like this, you just want to keep it in play. It’s nice when you can control your golf ball.” Mestre, who began on the back nine, posted five birdies on the day. The red figures rolled immediately on No. 10 (par 4, 455 yards), where Mestre blasted a 3-rescue 215 yards to five feet to get the red figures rolling. “It was a great confidence builder,” Mestre, 51, said. Mestre, the 2002 Middle-Amateur Champion, carried a 1 under on the scorecard entering the challenging par 4, 427-yard 3rd hole (par 4, 427 yards). However, his tee shot sailed into a patch of pine needles to the left of the fairway. Mestre punched out, knocked a wedge to 30-feet and three-putted to card a double bogey. “When you’re playing well and make a double (bogey), you think it can turn a good round into a bad round,” he said. “You have to protect it, and I was able to.” Jeff Osberg of Llanerch CC carded a 3-under-par 68, earning individual medalist honors and leading his club into the Championship Proper. The notorious long-hitter only used his driver on three holes of the Tom Fazio-design. “In a qualifier, especially at a course you’ve never played, you just try to figure out where the 150 [yardage marker] is, figure out what to hit onto the green and keep it in play. I think I did that pretty well. I only hit two balls into the woods today.”
The par 3s at Trump National — Philadelphia fell back into Osberg’s good graces after birdies on Nos. 5 (par 3, 185 yards) and 8 (par 3, 192 yards). He stuck a 7-iron to two-feet on the first. A smooth 8-iron settled eight-feet to the right of the No. 8 flagstick. Osberg also posted back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 (par 5, 534 yards) and 15 (par 4, 444 yards). With 205 yards into the 14th green, Osberg’s 6-iron came up just short of the green. A soft chip crossed into tap-in territory. Osberg continued to put on a shotmaking clinic with a well-played 15th hole. His tee shot found the left-side of the fairway. Osberg then pulverized his 5-iron 210 yards to 20-feet and converted the downhill slider. “I was playing a ball out to the left, I thought,” Osberg, 26, said. “I watched Chris (Lange) putt his and it didn’t break. I watched Tom (Gramigna) putt his [golf ball] on the same line and it didn’t break. I just figured I’d trust their lines and miss it right, but it stayed straight and went in.” Osberg admits that he felt pressure to maintain a subpar score for the Llanerch squad. “When I started to get under par, I was thinking that in a normal tournament, you kind of know what the number is,” Osberg said. “In this, you don’t know what the low number is. I just tried to keep hitting good shots, making good putts and keeping the ball in front of me.” Llanerch CC is fresh off a strong GAP Team Matches campaign. The club held its own in a Division AA section that featured the likes of Merion GC and Philadelphia Cricket Club. Now, Llanerch has an opportunity to capture its first Team Championship trophy since 1940. “It’s big for us,” Osberg said. “I think we have a lot of good players. It’s nice to come out and know that these guys don’t just play well at Llanerch or just play well with no pressure on them.” The Team Championship Qualifier determines what four member clubs will compete in the Team Championship. Participants must field at least six players to be eligible. The low four scores of each team make up the qualifying total. In the event of a tie, the sixth player’s score is used. The Championship Proper features eight-man teams playing an alternate shot format in the morning, with singles matches in the afternoon. It will take place at Philmont CC (North) on June 30.
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A Walk Through Time
GAP is the oldest state or regional golf association in the country. It started courtesy of a friendly competition – the Team Matches – and has grown into the preeminent golf association in the country. Along the way, golf history has been made.
