Birdies at Back Creek book U.S. Senior Open berthsMIDDLETOWN, Del. — Gerard Courville and Roger Newsom both executed lengthy birdie putts to punch their tickets into the U.S. Senior Open Thursday. The two prevailed on No. 1 (par 4, 417 yards) — the first playoff hole in a qualifier administered by the Golf Association of Philadelphia at Back Creek Golf Club (par 71, 6,827 yards). Courville, a professional affiliated with Shorehaven Golf Club in Connecticut, and Newsom, an amateur out of Elizabeth Manor Golf & Country Club in Virginia, outlasted John DiMarco, head professional at Laurel Creek Country Club, and Dennis Winters, head professional at Eastern Shore Yacht & Country Club, to advance. All four players carded 1-under-par 70s in regulation. The U.S. Senior Open will take place July 10-13 at Oak Tree National Golf Club in Edmond, Okla.
“It’s something you look forward to all year. You get one chance at it,” Courville, 55, of Stratford, Conn., said. “To make it when the odds are against you feels good.” “The four and a half hour drive back home won’t be nearly as bad,” Newsom, 50, of Virginia Beach, Va., said. “I bogeyed the last hole coming in, and this kind of validates that I’m playing pretty good.” On the first playoff hole, both Courville and Newsom found the fairway. Playing first, Newsom skied a 58-degree wedge 97 yards to 26 feet above a front hole location. Courville followed with a 58-degree wedge from 80 yards to 20 feet — just inside Newsom’s line. Facing a downhill putt with a bit of left-to-right movement, Newsom executed his birdie try and let out a celebratory fist pump. Courdville followed suit. “Luckily I got a perfect read,” he said. “When I hit it, I said, ‘it looks pretty good,’ but you can’t think too much too soon. I learned that the hard way.” The aforementioned 18th hole (par 4, 442 yards) meant different things to Courville and Newsom. The former drilled a 9-iron 154 yards to eight feet and converted his birdie try. Newsom’s drive caught the edge of the right fairway bunker. With a 6-iron in hand, he attempted to blast out of a lie against the lip, but left it some 50 yards from the putting surface. The bogey capped an eagle-birdie stretch that made Newsom leaderboard relevant. On No. 16 (par 5, 500 yards), he hammered a 5-wood 225 yards to 30 feet. “I thought I was playing it conservatively [off the tee] and I really didn’t,” he said. “I hit a 3-wood and it cut the corner and came up perfect. [The putt] broke about a foot and half left. I had to hit it hard and it just started tracking and went in. To make that to get in a playoff is pretty rewarding.” Newsom stopped an 8-iron at eight feet for a 2 on No. 17 (par 3, 170 yards). Courville heads to his third U.S. Senior Open. He also qualified in 2009 and 2010. Newsom is booking his first trip in as many attempts. Courville is the 1995 U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion and a three-time Walker Cupper. Newsom qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2007 and 2010. He won the Eastern Amateur in 2012 and is a two-time Virginia State Golf Association Open Champion. Although DiMarco and Winters fell in the playoff, the two accomplished a rare feat in regulation. Both players holed out for eagle on No. 7 (par 4, 386 yards): DiMarco with a pitching wedge from 131 yards, Winters with an 8-iron from 142 yards. “I haven’t done that in I can’t tell you how long. I just hit it as good as I could hit it, and I knew just where I had to land it,” DiMarco, 53, of Cherry Hill, N.J., said. “I knew it was going to bounce. The greens are kind of bouncy in certain areas.” “I was in between clubs, so I chose to swing a smooth 8-iron. I just hit it nice and high,” Winters, 54, of Melfa, Va., said. “It landed short of the pin and rolled in.”
Golf Association of Philadelphia
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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.
