Overbrook’s Lange, Jr. tops Mid.-Am. Qualifier at DowningtownDOWNINGTOWN, Pa. — Confidence carried Chris Lange, Jr. to Downingtown Country Club (par 72, 6,428 yards) Saturday for a Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifier. A week removed from a 3-under-par 67 on his home course, the Overbrook Golf Club member felt sure of his game. It showed as Lange carded a 1-over-par 73 to earn medalist honors. “I went out confident,” Lange, 28, of Newtown Square, Pa., said. “I didn’t try to press the issue because the greens were aerated and the wind was blowing, so I just kind of let it go.” Lange led a field of 65 players vying for one of 18 qualifying spots and ties for the Championship proper, set for May 22-23 at Fieldstone Golf Club. He did so by overcoming soft conditions and strong wind spurts with conservative shots. Lange’s first birdie reflected that strategy. On No. 4 (par 4, 303 yards), he smacked a sand wedge 100 yards to five feet. He converted a seven-footer for birdie on the par 4, 393-yard No. 7 following a smooth sand wedge to a back-right hole location. Lange’s lone outward hiccup occurred on No. 6 (par 4, 400 yards). He hit a 6-iron 180 yards upwind to 10 feet, but three-putted for a 5. Lange, a commercial real estate broker at Binswanger, moved to 2 under with a birdie on No. 10 (par 4, 331 yards). He nearly holed a pitching wedge from 135 yards. Poor club selection led to bogeys on Nos. 11 (par 4, 435 yards) and 12 (par 3, 170 yards) brought Lange’s score back to even. On the first, he failed to reach the green with an upwind 6-iron shot from 170 yards. Lange pulled a 7-iron into the right greenside bunker on the 12th hole, splashed out to six feet and missed the ensuing par putt. He also bogeyed the par 3, 201-yard 17th hole after steering a 5-iron left of the green. “It started at the pin, but the wind was blowing right to left, and I couldn’t get it up-and-down,” Lange said. Not only is Lange feeling confident in his game, he’s also feeling healthy. Lange tore his rotator cuff last year and went sans golf for four months. “It [the rotator cuff] bothered me all last summer until I got an MRI in September,” he said. “My body feels healthy for the first time in awhile. With all of the work I did on my shoulder, I feel more stable. Four months of physical therapy, so my swing feels different. My misses aren’t as bad because I’m a little bit stronger than I was.” Come Fieldstone, Lange plans to “play free.” “I tend to get too deliberate. I need to go out and let it fly,” he said. At the end of the day, the cut line fell to 79. The event was the first Saturday qualifier in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 117-year history. The GAP Middle-Amateur started in 1984, three years after the USGA created the U.S. Mid-Am as a formal championship for post-college amateurs. The Association followed suit with the USGA in creating a Mid-Am, but initially differed in its administration of the tournament in a couple of respects. The most obvious difference was the age requirement. Prior to 2001, the GAP Mid-Am was for players 30 years of age and older. The Association’s Executive Committee reviewed and revised that age requirement in 2001 to match the USGA's guidelines of 25 years of age or older for eligible players. Also at that point, the Committee changed the format of the event to a two-day stroke play tournament (instead of a one-day medal play event) with a cut to the low 70 players and ties after the first round. The field begins with 144 players, an increase of 12 from years past. Players must have a GAP/USGA Handicap Index of 7.0 or lower. Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 143 Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
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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.
