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West Chester’s Osberg tops U.S. Amateur Championship Qualifier

HAVERTOWN, Pa.–With Jeff Osberg’s home course of Llanerch CC serving as one of the two U.S. Amateur Championship qualifying venues, expectations were high for the 27 year old.

Boy, did he deliver.

JEFF OSBERG

The West Chester, Pa. resident turned in a superlative 36-hole performance in the weather¬-delayed U.S. Amateur Championship Qualifier, posting the tournament’s lone under-par score en route to medalist honors. Osberg, who completed the final five holes of his second round Tuesday morning at Llanerch CC (par 71, 6,724 yards), finished at 5-under par to blitz the field of 105 players by a remarkable seven shots. A little less than half the competitors returned today after lightning and rain forced players off the course on Monday at 4:30 p.m. Four qualifying positions were up for grabs for the 111th U.S. Amateur Championship set for Aug. 22-28 at Erin Hills in Erin, Wisc.

“I’ve been playing well and I typically do OK in the USGA qualifiers. I like the 36 holes in one day,” said Osberg, who was the U.S. Amateur qualifying medalist two years ago. “With Llanerch being my home course, I was obviously comfortable. I heard all week ‘You’re a lock to make it,’ but it’s different playing your course when you tee it up in a tournament as opposed to playing with your friends on the weekend. And Rolling Green is classic course similar to [Llanerch] with tough greens. It set up very well for me also.”

Osberg opened his seemingly inevitable date with the 111th U.S. Amateur Championship at Rolling Green GC yesterday morning and with a bit of a hiccup, he three-putted No. 1 (par 4, 416 yards) for bogey from 60 feet. He responded immediately and emphatically, though, with three straight birdies and never looked back. On No. 2 (par 4, 449 yards), Osberg knocked a wedge from 120 yards to 20 feet and made the putt; on No. 3 (par 3, 173 yards), he lofted a 9-iron to 15 feet below the hole for a 2 and on No. 4 (par 4, 392 yards) lifted a lob wedge from 85 yards to 20 feet for birdie.

“Starting off with a three putt is something you don’t want to do but you have 35 holes after that,” said Osberg. “I knew that wasn’t the only bogey I was going to make, but it’s nice to get it back right away.” Osberg moved to 4 under when he drained a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 5 (par 4, 430 yards) but carded back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 8 (par 4, 437 yards) and 9 (par 5, 615 yards) to fall to 1 under at the turn.

He bounced back with a kick-in birdie on No. 10 (par 3, 254 yards) after rocketing a 2-iron to three feet and then added a 40-foot, up-the-hill effort on No. 12 (par 4, 360 yards) to get back to his first-round finishing number of 3 under.

CHRIS CRAWFORD

“My goal was to stay around even par there,” said Osberg. “I knew if I was even a couple over, I was going to a place where I’ve scored before. It was nice coming to my home course where I could kind of put it on cruise control.”

Starting on the back nine at Llanerch, Osberg coasted. He registered eight pars and one birdie – he made 4 on No. 16 (par 5, 539 yards) after reaching the green in two with a 6-iron from 215 yards to 10 feet. Heading home, he rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 1 (par 4, 382 yards). Osberg did bogey No. 2 (par 4, 432 yards) after finding the left greenside bunker but answered a few holes later on No. 5 (par 5, 556 yards) with a two-putt birdie. He parred out from there.

“[At Llanerch] the numbers are missing the greens in the wrong places,” said Osberg. “You can avoid that by playing safe a lot. That’s what I did.”

Osberg said he heads into his second U.S. Amateur, his first was at Southern Hills CC in Tulsa, Okla. in 2009, a little more “patient.”

“I learned I have the ability to make match play,” said Osberg. “Now it’s just about doing it.”

Joining Osberg in Wisconsin are two local hopefuls and one Floridian.

Kyle Cobb of Tallahassee, Fla., Chris Crawford of Bensalem, Pa. and Andrew Mason of Huntingdon Valley, Pa. all tied for second place at 2-over par to each earn a berth into the Championship.

Mason, who won the Golf Association of Philadelphia Open Championship and Pennsylvania Golf Association Amateur Championship in the last two weeks, remains on fire. He posted rounds of 72 at Rolling Green GC and 71 at Llanerch CC to advance into his first U.S. Am.

ANDREW MASON

“This means a lot to me,” said Mason, 22, of Huntingdon Valley CC. “It’s the biggest tournament in the world with the very best amateurs in the world.”

Crawford, 17, a senior at Holy Ghost Prep, was stunned.

“This is the first time I’ve ever tried. It’s unbelievable,” said the Spring Mill CC member. “It’s the country’s Amateur Championship. I came in here without any expectations. I just tried to enjoy the courses and play as well as I could.”

Crawford ended Round 1 in second place after firing a 2-under 68 at Rolling Green yesterday. He finished with a 75 at Llanerch.

Cobb, a fifth-year senior at Florida State University, will be making his second U.S. Amateur showing. He played in the 2006 edition at Hazeltine National GC. Cobb came north due to his friendship with Kyle Davis of Fieldstone GC and Kennett Square, Pa., the 2006 GAP Amateur Champion. Both attended the University of Central Florida for a time.

Qualifiers
Name, city, state	Scores
Jeffrey Osberg, West Chester, Pa.	67R-69L–136
Kyle Cobb, Tallahassee, Fla.	69R-74L–143
Andrew Mason, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.	72R-71L–143
Christopher Crawford, Bensalem, Pa.	68R-75L–143

Alternates (in order)
Stephen Seiden, Chadds Ford, Pa.	71R-75L–146
Cory Siegfried, Wayne, Pa.	78L-69R–147

Failed to qualify
Benjamin Smith, Voorhees, N.J.	76L-72R–148
Ryan O'Donnell, Newtown Square, Pa.	74L-74R–148
Scott McLaughlin, Harleysville, Pa.	76L-72R–148
Kyle Davis, Kennett Square, Pa.	75L-73R–148
Tucker Koch, Malvern, Pa.	80L-68R–148
Connor McNicholas, Ambler, Pa.	73R-75L–148
James Kania Jr, Haverford, Pa.	76L-73R–149
Nelson Hargrove, Haverford, Pa.	77L-72R–149
Michael R Brown Jr, Cheltenham, Pa.	74L-76R–150
Blayze Di Pasquale, Richboro, Pa.	76L-74R–150
Sean Coyle, Philadelphia, Pa.	74R-76L–150
Larry Georgetti, Marmora, N.J.	70R-80L–150
Zachary Falone, Mickleton, N.J.	78L-73R–151
Richard Marabella, Blue Bell, Pa.	75R-76L–151
Christopher J Lange Jr, Newtown Square, Pa.	75R-76L–151
Brandon Matthews, Dupont, Pa.	71R-80L–151
Troy Miller, Chester, Md.	74R-79L–153
Joseph Fabrizio Jr, West Chester, Pa.	80L-74R–154
Daniel Long, Coatesville, Pa.	76R-78L–154
James Wolfe, Pottstown, Pa.	75R-79L–154
Robbie Coyne, West Chester, Pa.	77R-77L–154
Wes Strang, Bethesda, Md.	75R-80L–155
Michael Kania, Haverford, Pa.	75R-80L–155
Matthew Crescenzo, Cheltenham, Pa.	77R-79L–156
James Braunsberg, Plymouth Meeting, Pa.	75R-82L–157
Brian Kenny, Somers Point, N.J.	82L-76R–158
P Chet Walsh, Wayne, Pa.	82L-77R–159
Chris Orlando, Broomall, Pa.	74R-85L–159
Jake Pilarski, Garnet Valley, Pa.	80L-80R–160
Connor Eichman, Havertown, Pa.	80R-81L–161
Marc Mandel, Conshohocken, Pa.	80R-82L–162
Peter Landreth Jr, Wyndmoor, Pa.	78R-84L–162
James Pokorny, Havertown, Pa.	84R-88L–172
Daniel Furman, Blue Bell, Pa.	87R-88L–175
Anthony List, Havertown, Pa.	85L-WDR–WD
Michael Serensits, Catasauqua, Pa.	88L-WDR–WD
Shawn Lavin, Drexel Hill, Pa.	82L-WDR–WD
Phillip Villari, Riverton, N.J.	79L-NCR–NC
Blake Vogdes, Wildwood Crest, N.J.	88L-WDR–WD
Greg Matthias, Wilmington, DE	80L-WDR–WD
Jalen Griffin, Ambler, Pa.	79L-WDR–WD
Adam Mastone, Philadelphia, Pa.	92L-NCR–NC
Dan Gallagher, Cinnaminson, N.J.	87L-NCR–NC
Steve Oh, Scarsdale, N.Y.	87L-WDR–WD
Christopher Ault, Yardley, Pa.	77L-WDR–WD
Kenneth Matt, Lower Gwynedd, Pa.	81L-NCR–NC
John Murphy, New Providence, N.J.	95L-WDR–WD
David Shields, Erdenheim, Pa.	82L-WDR–WD
Andrew Lawson, West Chester, Pa.	77L-WDR–WD
Dan Delaney, Madison, N.J.	83L-WDR–WD
John Leboeuf, Bryn Mawr, Pa.	78L-WDR–WD
Luke Desimone, Garnet Valley, Pa.	81L-WDR–WD
J Pierce Dever, Conshohocken, Pa.	78L-WDR–WD
Bradley Bausman, Lutherville, Md.	86L-WDR–WD
Thomas Ferguson, West Chester, Pa.	81L-WDR–WD
Jordan Claffey, Philadelphia, Pa.	85L-WDR–WD
Dan Bernard, Malvern, Pa.	86L-WDR–WD
William Bello, Freehold, N.J.	85L-WDR–WD
Jeffrey Klagholz, Wayne, Pa.	78L-WDR–WD
Mark Coassolo, Macungie, Pa.	79L-WDR–WD
Alexander Hicks, Cape May Court House, N.J.	74L-WDR–WD
Robert Galbreath Jr, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.	78L-WDR–WD
Scott McNeil, Philadelphia, Pa.	77L-WDR–WD
Cameron Liebert, Malvern, Pa.	82L-WDR–WD
Beau Guarino, Burlington, N.J.	NCL-WDR–WD
James Wallace, Astoria, N.Y.	74L-WDR–WD
Thomas Corr, Collegeville, Pa.	95L-WDR–WD
Oliver White, Ambler, Pa.	80L-WDR–WD
Stephen Dressel, Malvern, Pa.	77L-WDR–WD
Austin List, Haverford, Pa.	82L-WDR–WD
Geoffrey Cooper, Philadelphia, Pa.	77R-WDL–WD
Justin Smith, Jenkintown, Pa.	85R-WDL–WD
Alex Dupre, Drexel Hill, Pa.	80R-WDL–WD
John Inman, Skillman, N.J.	90R-WDL–WD
Tom Spano, Philadelphia, Pa.	82R-WDL–WD
Christopher Binder, Collingswood, N.J.	80R-NSL–NS
Mike Meisenzahl, Medford, N.J.	76R-WDL–WD
Jason Loehrs, Upper Darby, Pa.	79R-WDL–WD
Will Gallagher, Wagontown, Pa.	78R-WDL–WD
Sam Hockfield, Gladwyne, Pa.	73R-WDL–WD
Paul Kovalcheck, Aston, Pa.	74R-WDL–WD
Robert Savarese Jr, Lafayette Hill, Pa.	77R-WDL–WD
Colin Spellman, Philadelphia, Pa.	91R-NSL–NS
Jim Rattigan, Orwigsburg, Pa.	76R-WDL–WD
Matthew Kreuter, Penllyn, Pa.	89R-WDL–WD
Tim Godshalk, Bluffton, SC	86R-WDL–WD
Michael Johnson, Ambler, Pa.	77R-WDL–WD
John Murphy, Cape May Court House, N.J.	79R-WDL–WD
Pete Moran, Chester Springs, Pa.	81R-WDL–WD
Tom Nolan, Ridgewood, N.J.	74R-WDL–WD
Fraser Graham, Princeton, N.J.	76R-WDL–WD
William Breskman, Gladwyne, Pa.	82R-WDL–WD
Peter Eiler, Holland, Pa.	72R-WDL–WD
Freddy Krispin, Dallas, Pa.	87R-WDL–WD
Louis Kelly, Sewell, N.J.	76R-WDL–WD
Robert Truskey, West Chester, Pa.	85R-WDL–WD
Michael Davis, Newtown Square, Pa.	78R-WDL–WD
Ted Brennan, Newtown Square, Pa.	82R-WDL–WD
Adam Eiswerth, Orange Park, Fla.	81R-WDL–WD

NC-no card; WD-withdrawal
R-Rolling Green GC; L-Llanerch CC

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West Chester’s Osberg tops U.S. Amateur Championship Qualifier