David Gies, II of Charlotte, N.C. rips a drive on No. 6 (par 4, 395 yards).

Bechtold, Gies top U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifier at Applebrook

  MALVERN, Pa. — Robert Bechtold, a 44 year old who works in investments, and David Gies, III, who at age 26 is eyeing a professional golf career, shared medalist honors in a U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifier administered by the Golf Association of Philadelphia at Applebrook Golf Club (par 71, 6,776 yards) Thursday. Both carded respective 3-under-par 68s to top the 130-player field.

  Huntingdon Valley Country Club’s Jeff Osberg and Merion Golf Club’s Michael McDermott, separated by 55 points in a heated William Hyndman, III Player of the Year race, also qualified. Fellow GAP stalwarts Peter Barron, III of Stone Harbor Golf Club and Scott Storck of Philadelphia Cricket Club will join the duo. So will Keith Unikel of Potomac, Md. and Jay Whitby of Wyoming, Del., who advanced as well. The cut line stopped at 70.

  The U.S. Mid-Amateur will take place Oct. 3-8 at John’s Island Club in Vero Beach, Fla.

  Co-medalists Bechtold and Gies amassed 13 birdies total en route to establishing the subpar bar. Putting is typically Bechtold’s Achilles’ heel, but it clearly reversed roles at Applebrook.

  “I putted really well. I just had a little bit of confidence and loved the lines I saw,” Bechtold, of Avondale, Pa., said. “The greens were nice, fast and true. It’s a beautiful course. I felt comfortable. It was fun to play well. I’m excited.”

  Bechtold’s putter showed signs of abnormal behavior immediately. On No. 1 (par 5, 522 yards), Bechtold, playing in only his third competitive, individual event of the summer, powered a hybrid onto the green and logged two putts for a 4. He carded back-to-back birdies on Nos. 3 (par 4, 310 yards) and 4 (par 4, 415 yards) to launch up the leaderboard. On the first, Bechtold, a Fieldstone Golf Club member, sailed a drive over the green, chipped out of a favorable lie and converted a 10-footer. He stuck a wedge 120 yards to a foot on No. 4. The smart and smooth-swinging lefty stayed savvy on the par 5, 581-yard No. 8. Following a safe 6-iron layup, Bechtold knocked a wedge 105 yards to five feet for birdie.

  Bechtold made the turn in 4 under, a stroke back of Osberg at the time. The flatstick continued to respond favorably on the 10th hole (par 5, 573 yards). Bechtold cranked a gap wedge 95 yards to five feet for a 4. He added another red number on the difficult dogleg right, par 4 14th hole (444 yards), smashing a 6-iron 170 yards to eight feet. A trio of three-putts — Nos. 12 (par 4, 370 yards), 15 (par 3, 215 yards) and 18 (par 4, 454 yards) — marked Bechtold’s only bogeys on the day.

  A hot putter served as Bechtold’s physical key to success. A sharp caddie in friend Bill Looney aided his mental approach.

  “It was great having him out here,” Bechtold said. “He’s lighthearted and funny, and honestly that helped too.”

Robert Bechtold

  Competitive golf is rare for Bechtold these days. He, like most middle-amateur golfers, is occupied with work and family. Bechtold has two children — ages 2 and 7 — and spends four nights a week on the football field, watching the elder one practice.

  “That’s life, which is good,” Bechtold said. “It’s been tough getting out with the kids, but I always love the competition. In the last week or so, I started hitting the ball well.”

  Sure did. Bechtold won Fieldstone’s match play championship over the weekend. Prior to Monday, he only carried a pair of competitive golf performances in 2015 under his belt: the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship and the Delaware State Golf Association Amateur Championship, where he posted a Top 10 finish.

  Bechtold will now head to his third U.S. Mid-Amateur, having previously qualified in 2003 and 2007.

  Like Bechtold, Gies, of Charlotte, N.C., adapted an affinity for Applebrook’s glowing surfaces.   “It’s an unbelievable facility and the course is unbelievable condition as well. It’s nice to see a firm, fast course,” he said. “I have a friend who lives [in the area] so that’s why I came here. I haven’t seen her in awhile so I came up and visited. Plus, I had a chance to play Merion as well.”

  Starting on the back nine, Gies stated his intentions with birdies Nos. 12 (par 4, 370 yards) and 13 (par 4, 452 yards). He then experienced a lull. Gies played the next five holes in 4 over and teetered on the cut line.

  A 31 coming in straightened out the scorecard. A two-putt from 15 feet on No. 1 provided a 4. On the next hole (par 4, 356 yards), Gies flopped a wedge 30 yards and watched it glance off the flagstick and dropped anchor at four inches. Gies swept in a three-footer for another birdie on No. 3 following a drive-and-chip combination. He closed with a pair of birdies to share the medalist platform with Bechtold. Gies launched a 3-wood over the No. 8 green and nestled a wedge into tap-in territory. He stopped a pitching wedge at 12 feet on No. 9 (par 3, 142 yards).

  “My game’s been off and on. I’ve had some good moments and some awful ones,” Gies, who works at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte and plans to turn professional after the U.S. Mid-Amateur, said. “It started turning around at the end of the year, which I’m happy about.”

  Gies will make his U.S. Mid-Amateur debut after failing to qualify a year ago. He earned a spot in the U.S. Amateur in 2012 and 2014 and the U.S. Junior in 2006.

  Playing in the morning, Osberg towered atop the leaderboard at 5 under thru 13 holes. However, he played his final four in an uncharacteristic 4 over. A three-putt on No. 6 (par 4, 395 yards) led to a bogey. On No. 7 (par 4, 465 yards), Osberg caught the back lip of the left greenside bunker and only advanced the ensuing extrication a few feet. A shot onto the green and two putts later meant an untimely 6. On No. 8, he blocked a drive right into the hazard and missed a 10-footer.

  “It was a loss of concentration from the delay [because of a ruling with the group in front]. I lost focus and didn’t prepare for the shot enough,” Osberg, 31, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., said.

  Nevertheless, Osberg, the reigning William Hyndman, III Player of the Year leader and recent Silver Cross Award recipient, emerged as a qualifier for his third U.S. Mid-Amateur (2011, 2014). He’s also appeared in three U.S. Amateurs (2009, 2011, 2012), the last courtesy of a medalist performance at Applebrook and Waynesborough.

  “I just think I’m comfortable here. I played a lot of good rounds here,” Osberg said. “I think it’s about staying patient and trying to attack the par 5s, which I was able to do today. The greens always roll so great here, and today they were exceptionally fast. You had to be protective of a few putts.”

  McDermott, too, senses comfort when he sets foot on Applebrook’s grounds. In 2014, he finished as runner-up in the GAP Open Championship on the links-style layout.

  “Power is helpful on the par 5s, which are gettable,” McDermott, 40, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., said. “In general, I just seemed to have shorter shots into the green. I felt good going in.”

  He feels good going out too. McDermott will make his seventh U.S. Mid-Amateur appearance (2001-04, 2007 and 2013).

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.