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Overbrook GC's Ray Thompson tops USGA Senior Amateur QualifierHORSHAM, Pa. — Two days and three weather delays later, a USGA Senior Amateur Qualifier administered by the Golf Association of Philadelphia is in the books, and Raymond Thompson glows as the main character. The longtime Overbrook GC member carded a 3-under-par 68 at Commonwealth National GC (par 71, 6,619 yards) to earn medalist honors. He, Duke Delcher of Sandy Run CC, Mike Owsik of Philadelphia Publinks GA and Joe Viechnicki of Saucon Valley CC were more or less survivors than qualifiers.
“I was really patient,” Thompson, of Drexel Hill, Pa., said. “I hit the ball really well on the back nine. That’s probably as good as I’ve hit it all year.” Thompson experienced a somewhat pedestrian outward tour, posting a bogey and a birdie. After steering his drive left on No. 2 (par 4, 357 yards), the 59-year-old bladed a 52-degree wedge over the green and failed to get up-and-down for par. He stopped a 9-iron at four feet on No. 8 (par 3, 119 yards) for a birdie 2. Thompson carded three back-nine birdies to finish in red figures. He nearly holed a choked-down 5-iron on the par 3, 171-yard 12th hole. Thompson laced an 8-iron 135 yards to 25 feet on No. 15 (par 4, 425 yards) and converted an improbable 3.
The cushion was there, but Thompson ultimately didn’t need it. He knocked a GAP wedge 90 yards to five feet on No. 17 (par 4, 374 yards) and reported for birdie duty. Thompson, the 2007 Golf Association of Philadelphia Senior Player of the Year, seems to be returning to championship form, thanks to improvement on the greens. “I’ve putted better this year,” he said. “I play really well for two days, and then I won’t have it for five. But the putter’s been fairly consistent all year. I’m making the putts that I need to make.” Thompson advanced into match play in last year’s USGA Senior Amateur Championship. He also competed in the 1977 and 1978 U.S. Open. The weather delays benefited Owsik. Each time he resumed his round, the Bryn Mawr, Pa. resident fired a birdie. He whacked a wedge 80 yards to 10 feet on No. 1 (par 5, 509 yards); crushed a 5-iron 165 yards to 12 feet on No. 4 (par 4, 370 yards) and hit a wedge 100 yards to 16 feet on No. 11 (par 5, 523 yards). Owsik also inked red on Nos. 7 (par 4, 388 yards) and 10 (par 4, 409 yards). He stuck a 7-iron 140 yards to four feet on the first, and pulverized a 4-iron 190 yards to 18 feet on the latter. “My putting was tremendous. I made every putt that I looked at,” Owsik, who owns MGolf Driving Range and Learning Center, said. “When I putt well, I score well.”
“It’s great to get in,” he said. “I’ve played in five U.S. [Men’s Amateur] Publinks [Championships] before. It’s always great to go.” Delcher, of Bluffton, S.C., and Viechnicki, of Bethlehem, Pa., prevailed in a three-for-two sudden-death playoff to advance. Both players, along with Francis McFadden of Overbrook GC, carded even-par 71s in regulation. Delcher, 55, came north last week to participate in the 109th Joseph H. Patterson Cup at White Manor CC (He won the event in 1976). He stayed in the area in hopes of qualifying for his first USGA Senior Amateur Championship. Mission accomplished. “This was my goal here. I’ve played virtually no golf this summer,” Delcher, who plays out of Berkely Hall in Bluffton, said. “It was hard to tell how the course is playing. I thought the scores would be high before the rain. It played a little easier with the conditions, except when it was pouring rain.” Delcher, who started on the back nine, opened with a birdie on No. 10 (par 4, 409 yards). He smashed a 5-iron 170 yards to 15 feet. Delcher relinquished the stroke immediately on the next hole (par 5, 523 yards) thanks to a poor wedge shot from 93 yards that led to a bogey. Delcher, the 1976 GAP Amateur runner-up, drained a 20-footer for birdie on No. 12 (par 3, 171 yards). Bogeys on Nos. 16 (par 3, 188 yards) and 18 (par 4, 435 yards) put Delcher at 1 over with nine holes to play.
“It was pretty much at the fall line and going in the whole time,” he said. Viechnicki registered 14 fairways en route to an even-par finish. “My driver was exactly where I wanted it to be,” he said. Viechnicki, 58, carded three birdies against three bogeys. Sound wedge shots created red figure opportunities. Viechnicki, who started on the back nine, hit a wedge 110 yards to eight feet for birdie on No. 11 (par 5, 523 yards); 85 yards to 25 feet on No. 1 (par 5, 509 yards) and 65 yards to 12 feet on No. 3 (par 5, 538 yards). Viechnicki continues to thrive in USGA qualifying events. He also qualified for the U.S. Senior Open earlier this year. “My putting has been just fantastic this year,” Viechnicki said. “I’ve been making a lot of the four to 10-footers. I’ve been feeling really good over the ball.”
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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.
