Jeff Osberg of Huntingdon Valley Country Club and caddie John Leighton discuss strategy on the No. 5 (par 3, 196 yards) tee during Thursday's opening round of the Joseph H. Patterson Cup at Chester Valley Golf Club.

HVCC's Osberg goes low in Patterson Cup; cards opening 64

  MALVERN, Pa.–Jeff Osberg, a multiple-time Major Champion, questioned the sanctity of his game prior to the opening of the 113th Joseph H. Patterson Cup on Thursday at Chester Valley Golf Club (par 70, 6,660 yards). So much so, he arrived two hours before his 9 a.m. tee time to work out the kinks.

  When Osberg completed Round 1 a few hours later, the wrongs were all right. He turned in a blemish free 6-under 64 to shatter the prior competitive course record (since 2008 renovation) of 67 registered last, ironically, by John Brennan when Chester Valley hosted the Association’s 2012 Middle-Amateur Championship.

  Michael Hyland, 36, of Little Mill Country Club, a two-time BMW Philadelphia Amateur Champion, closed with three birdies in the final five holes for 65. Michael McDermott, 40, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., also a two-time BMW Philadelphia Amateur Champion and the 2007 Patterson Cup victor, posted a 68. That threesome is paired together in the final grouping on Friday at 11:20 a.m.

  The cut for the low 60 players and ties fell at 76. A total of 72 players advanced to Day 2.

  “This week I had some back issues starting off and didn’t get a lot of practice in. I played yesterday and didn’t play well. So I woke up early this morning and figured I needed to work on everything,” said Osberg, winner of the 2010 Patterson Cup and Silver Cross Award. “I worked on the putting, and that didn’t go too well. I worked on some chipping and went to the range and got hitting it OK. I came back and putted some more.

  “Starting the first hole I wasn’t overly confident with the putter. I hit it on the front of the green and putted it up to three or four feet left of the hole and started off with a solid two putt. That sort of got things rolling.”

  Osberg birdied Nos. 2 (par 5, 574 yards), 3 (par 4, 339 yards) and 5 (par 3, 196 yards) to state his intentions immediately. He knocked in a tricky right-to-left breaker from 10 feet for a 3 on No. 2; knocked a chip shot from 40 yards to five feet on No. 3 and converted a short birdie putt on No. 5 after launching a 6-iron to four feet. On No. 9 (par 4, 380 yards), he hit 2-iron, 9-iron from 160 yards to 20 feet and made the putt to turn in 4 under.

  “On the second hole I hit it in the right bunker in two [shots],” Osberg said. “I hit a good bunker shot on the green but had 10 feet sliding a foot right to left and hit it dead center. That when I thought maybe my day wasn’t going to be as bad with the putter as when I woke up.”

  Osberg added birdies on Nos. 11 (par 4, 385 yards) and 14 (par 5, 495 yards). On No. 11, he hit a 138-yard pitching wedge to 10 feet and on No. 14 came up short of the green in two shots before knocking a chip up-and-over the bunker from 40 yards to five feet. Osberg finished with solid midrange par saves on Nos. 17 (par 4, 379 yards) and 18 (par 4, 440 yards).

  Osberg, 31, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., has dealt with a balky back for some time. He had a second surgery in October 2013. Two weeks ago, the back problems resurfaced after a car accident on Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pa.

  “The [back] issue was bad, really bad,” said Osberg. “I couldn’t play on Tuesday of this week. I got in a really significant car accident a couple weeks ago, my car was totaled, and my back has gotten progressively worse. I really couldn’t move on Tuesday. I was telling John [Leighton] my caddie that every morning I wake up I really don’t know how it’s going to be.”

  Osberg’s torrid pace on Thursday all but secured a second Silver Cross. Osberg, who led Cole Berman of Philadelphia Cricket Club by three shots entering the day, holds a 12-shot lead on second-place. The Silver Cross is awarded to the player with the lowest aggregate score in the qualifying rounds of the Amateur Championship and the Patterson Cup.

  Hyland, who won the BMW Amateur in 2000 and 2011, is gunning for his first Patterson Cup victory. His best finish prior was a second-place showing in 2012, when he carded an opening 68 at Philadelphia Country Club. The second round was rained out.

  Hyland’s battled the lefts the last three years and just recently returned to his former swing coach Mike Mack, Burlington’s professional, for a retooling. All the work resulted in today’s showing.

  He made the turn in 1 under with a lot of solid, steady play, and when his putter warmed up on the back nine, Hyland, of Medford, N.J., rocketed up the leaderboard. The highlight was a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 15 (par 3, 189 yards). His last red figure came on No. 16 (par 3, 427 yards) when he knocked a wedge from 143 yards to 15 feet. A read from fellow competitor John Samaha’s putt assisted.

  “I worked really hard on revamping the golf swing, almost completely. This is the first time [for it] under pressure,” said Hyland. “[Mike Mack] got me out of the snap hooks, which has killed me for the last three years. We’ll see how it works tomorrow.”

Golf Association of Philadelphia
  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 151 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.

NOTES–Five players broke par on Thursday, including Michael Davis of Aronimink Golf Club. Davis is fresh off a runner-up finish in the 2015 BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship at Llanerch Country Club where he fell in the final to Cole Berman of Philadelphia Cricket Club … five of seven former Patterson Cup Champions in the field made the cut. Joining Osberg and McDermott moving onto Day 2 were Berman (2014), Smeraglio (1998, 2008) and Brad McFadden (1992).