Vince Covello eyes his drive on No. 1 (par 4, 459 yards).

Pro Covello caps U.S. Open Local Qualifier at Makefield Highlands

  YARDLEY, Pa. — Pronounce Vince Covello’s name phonetically The last syllable reflects his performance Thursday.

  Covello, a professional who recently earned status on PGA TOUR Canada, went low, carding a 4-under-par 68 to earn medalist honors in a U.S. Open Local Qualifier administered by the Golf Association of Philadelphia at Makefield Highlands Golf Club (par 72, 7,028 yards).

  Amateurs and GAP staples Michael R. Brown of Maple Shade, N.J. and Michael Johnson of Ambler, Pa., as well as Jeremy Nevius, an amateur out of Metuchen Country Club, and professional Brian Hollins of Fairless Hills, Pa., emerged from a five-for-four playoff to secure the remaining spots.

  The 115th U.S. Open will be held June 18-21 at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.

  “It was a good test of golf,” Covello, 32, of Ponte Vedra, Fla., said. “The greens are firm and rolling very nice. The undulations of the greens made it important to be playing from the fairway.”

  Command of the par 3s and 5s heading out gave Covello, who started on the back nine, an exam edge. He hit a 5-iron to 15 feet on the 225-yard 14th and a knockdown 7-iron to 25 feet on the 174-yard 17th hole. He converted two-putt birdies on Nos. 12 (544 yards) and 16 (489 yards) — a 3-iron from 236 yards on the first, a 6-iron from 190 yards on the latter. On the tempting par 4, 337-yard No. 4, Covello played a safe mid-iron into the fairway and then stuck a wedge from 100 yards to three feet for birdie. He exchanged safety for power on No. 9 (par 5, 513 yards), launching a 4-iron from 215 yards onto the green’s front edge and two-putting for a 4.

  The finish contrasted Covello’s start. On No. 10 (par 4, 464 yards), a 6-iron out of a buried lie failed to chase its intended 190-yard mark. A drive into the fairway bunker on No. 6 (par 4, 446 yards) also resulted in a bogey.

  Covello’s performance Thursday mirrored last year’s effort. He medaled in a U.S. Open Local Qualifier at Laurel Creek Country Club. Covello, a Havertown, Pa. native and Episcopal Academy alum, typically returns north this time of year.

  “It’s good to see the family and catch up with old friends,” Covello said. “Philadelphia’s always a fun trip for me. I moved away from here in 2000 and I miss it.”

  Covello will make his fifth trip to U.S. Open Sectional qualifying when he competes at Tumble Creek Club, in Cle Elum, Wash. June 8. Until then, he will follow a PGA Tour Canada schedule with hopes of gaining a Web.com Tour card by year’s end. Earlier this year, Covello advanced thru OneAsia Q-School to receive playing privileges on that tour and exemptions into the Fiji International and Australian Open.

  “I’ve had some nagging injuries that kept me on the sidelines the last few years. This year, I’m feeling good,” Covello said. “The game’s coming along. I’m just trying to keep things simple and be happy out there.”

  Pieczynski, an assistant professional at Weston Golf Club in Weston, Mass., needed to change qualifying sites twice before gaining a morning tee time at Makefield Highlands.

  “Today was the only day I had off and available, and the [qualifier] in Massachusetts was booked,” he said. “A college buddy of mine lives in Princeton — about a half-hour away — so I texted him to see if I could stay at his place. This is the first tournament round I’ve played since Sept. 30 of last year, so I didn’t know what to expect.”

  Seven birdies, including two on his final three holes, didn’t suggest any rust. Pieczynski, a Kingston, Pa. native who resides in Boston, converted a downhill breaker from seven feet on No. 7 (par 5, 636 yards). He lost a stroke on the par 3, 193-yard No. 8 after rolling a 25-footer over a high edge — three feet past the cup. Pieczynski, 32, missed the comebacker. On No. 9 (par 5, 513 yards), he boomed a drive into a narrow landing area, hammered a 5-iron 200 yards and lagged a 12-footer for eagle into tap-in territory.

  “This is a public golf course, and it was mint,” Pieczynski, the 2008 GAP Open Champion, said. “I made a lot of putts because the greens were perfect. Three or four under was the number I was thinking would be safe.”

  Pieczynski will head to Century Country Club and Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, N.Y. for Sectional qualifying. It will be his third appearance.

  Brown, 42, is a former GAP Middle-Amateur (2009) and Open (2010) Champion. The Links Golf Club member previously advanced to Sectional qualifying in 2013. Brown is the 2010 William Hyndman, III Player of the Year.

  Johnson, 23, heads to Sectional qualifying for the second straight year. The Talamore Country Club member birdied four of his last five holes to get into the playoff. That’s where he stayed sizzling, sticking a pitching wedge 125 yards to two feet on No. 1, the first playoff hole.

  "I walked off the 4th green and there was a leaderboard there. I saw the cut was 2 under and said 'Look, I have to do something,'" Johnson said. "I was 1 under thru nine holes and kind of had a bad spell. I hadn't played a tournament in three months and I'm coming off a shoulder injury. It was nice to get my feet wet again."

  Johnson, the 2010 Patterson Cup runner-up, graduated from La Salle University in 2014 and spent the past year working and playing golf at the Country Club of Mirasol in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He plans on turning professional in August.

  Hollins set off course record sensors by opening his qualifying bid with fourth straight birdies. He hit a 50-degree wedge 125 yards to three feet on No. 1 (par 4, 459 yards), a 6-iron from 200 yards to three feet on No. 2 (par 4, 454 yards), a 7-iron to 14 feet on No. 3 (par 3, 159 yards) and a wedge 105 yards to 10 feet on No. 4.

  Nevius, of Mountainside, N.J., is an incoming junior at Campbell University.

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.