BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship visits Llanerch CCThe Delaware Valley’s top talent will traverse Llanerch Country Club’s tremendous terrain for the 115th BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship June 16-18 & 20.
This marks Llanerch’s fourth time hosting the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s most prestigious event and first since 1998. The organization announced BMW of North America and the Delaware Valley BMW Centers as a presenting partner earlier this year. A field of 140 players will compete for 32 available match play spots on June 16. Contestants must advance through a 36-hole stroke play qualifier — 18 at Llanerch in Havertown, Pa. and 18 at Rolling Green Golf Club (qualifying site only) in Springfield, Pa. Any ties for the final spots will be broken by a sudden-death playoff at the conclusion of Day One’s stroke play qualifier. First- and second-round matches will take place June 17, with the quarterfinals and semifinals following on June 18. The remaining competitors clash in a 36-hole final on Saturday, June 20. Huntingdon Valley Country Club’s Jeff Osberg is the tournament’s defending champion. He defeated Gulph Mills Golf Club’s Nelson Hargrove, 10&9, a year ago at White Manor Country Club. That score eclipsed Brian Rothaus’ 9&8 win in 1988 as the largest margin of victory. Hargrove turned professional and, therefore, will not return to compete. Osberg, 30, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., enters the 2015 edition fresh off a runner-up performance in the GAP Middle-Amateur Championship presented by Callaway Golf. “Heading into a tournament where I’m defending champion is pretty exciting,” he said. “The mindset going in is hopefully you don’t do anything too drastic in the qualifier and get one of the match play spots available. I think [Llanerch] is a fantastic layout, and then pair that alongside Rolling Green, which is also a fantastic golf course, and I think it will make for a pretty exciting first day qualifier.” Osberg, the 2010 Patterson Cup Champion, is well-familiar with the host site. He is a former Llanerch member (2010-12) and two-time club champion. “It’s definitely a course I’m comfortable with,” Osberg said. “Knowing what lies ahead on a golf course and knowing that you’ve had success on holes that you haven’t played yet in the past allows you to stay focus on the goal, which is qualifying [for match play]. Llanerch is a place that’s very fair when you’re hitting the ball well. It’s a place that I think is very mentally challenging. There are a lot of holes that you can hit quality golf shots on, but if you don’t play them to the proper section of the green or just miss by a little bit; it can be very penal, around the greens especially.” Also keenly aware of Llanerch’s intricacies is Merion Golf Club’s Michael McDermott, a two-time BMW Philadelphia Amateur Champion (2008, 2013) who grew up at the venue. “I’ve played 1,000 rounds at Llanerch in my life. Jeff Osberg’s probably played 1,000 there in the last 10 years,” McDermott, 40, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., said. “It’s one of the real tests of golf in the entire region, and those who don’t know that or aren’t prepared for it will see that pretty quickly.” Such course knowledge, McDermott warns, can occasionally act as a disadvantage. “You can put too much pressure on yourself,” he said. “It’s great that Jeff and I know the course and are coming off recent wins in this tournament, but ultimately, you’ve got to go hit the shots. Even though we know a lot of the secrets about the course, we also know a lot of the trouble. It’s easy to talk yourself into where the trouble is as opposed to some people who can just step up and hit a shot.” McDermott and Osberg agree that any of their fellow competitors can nullify the home course advantage notion with fiery play. “The competition’s been strong in Philadelphia so you’re always going to be playing somebody that’s great,” Osberg said. “I had to birdie Nos. 17 and 18 to escape with a win in the first match last year. From there, it catapulted me into playing some really good golf. My week could’ve just as easily ended on the first match and I turned out to be the champion. I think you’re going to see that this year.” “No matter how well I know the course or how well I think I’m playing, you can’t take anybody lightly in this tournament at a course as hard as Llanerch,” McDermott, a five-time William Hyndman, III Player of the Year, added. In addition to McDermott and Osberg, past BMW Philadelphia Amateur champions in this year’s field include Brian Gillespie (2001), Michael Hyland (2000, 2011), Raymond Thompson (1972) and Conrad Von Borsig (2009). Both the public and media are welcome to attend. Aside from offering live scoring on its Web site, the Association will provide BMW Philadelphia Amateur updates via its social media outlets. Follow @GAofPhilly on Twitter and Instagram and use the #BMWPhillyAm hashtag to join the conversation.
Golf Association of Philadelphia |
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.
