Green Valley Country Club’s Ben Feld (right) and Daniel Pinciotti, Jr. talk shop on No. 13 (par 4, 405 yards) tee.

Beck, Feld head BMW Philadelphia Amateur Qualifier at Blue Bell

  BLUE BELL, Pa. — Ryan Beck and Ben Feld, a pair of middle-amateurs with premiums on game management, carded respective 1-under-par 70s to top a BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship Qualifier at Blue Bell Country Club (par 71, 6,726 yards) Tuesday. The two led a field of 143 players hoping to attain one of 16 available spots and ties for the Championship proper.

  The cut line fell to 75 by day’s end. The 116th BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship will take place June 13-15 & 18 at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course.

  The co-medalists come from opposite ends of the GAP experience spectrum. Beck, 29, of Ambler, Pa., is a relative newcomer, with a collection of recent BMW GAP Team Matches appearances to his credit. He played competitive golf in high school (Hatboro-Horsham) but took time off post college to establish a professional career. Encouraged by self-improvement as of late, he decided to see how he’d stack up against fellow BMW Philadelphia Amateur hopefuls. The Championship proper’s venue enticed, too.

   “I wanted to see if I could get on Merion,” Beck, a commercial real estate manager, said. “We actually played them in the [BMW GAP Team] Matches this year. I was not fortunate to play away, so I was pretty bummed out by that. It was a good motivation to go out and play today.”

  Feld, 25, of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., is a two-time BMW Philadelphia Amateur semifinalist (2012, 2014) and frequent competitor on the Association circuit. He recently medaled in a GAP Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifier presented by Callaway Golf at Concord Country Club. Feld is also a former Blue Bell member (2006-11). He lost in the club championship final on three occasions, but did clinch consecutive Montgomery County Amateur titles at Blue Bell in 2011-12.

   “Obviously I know this place very well,” Feld said. “When I first started to play competitively, this is where I was playing out of. I feel pretty comfortable here. The one thing I knew you had to do here was to drive it well. I drove it well enough today. There were no re-tees, which is really the goal around here. You have white stakes on both sides of each hole. Trusting that there was plenty of room out there was definitely something I needed to keep reminding myself.”

  The inner-nagging worked. Feld registered nine of 13 fairways on the day. Citing a lack of feel for the greens early, he carded a bogey on No. 2 (par 4, 460 yards), leaving an uphill 30-footer six feet short of the jar.

   “I had three sketchy first putts on the first three holes,” he said.

  The round quickly went from sketchy to stellar. Feld rattled off three consecutive birdies to climb up the leaderboard. He converted a left-to-right breaking 35-footer on No. 4 (par 4, 440 yards) following a 6-iron from 177 yards. On No. 5 (par 4, 368 yards), Feld knocked a sand wedge 105 yards to 10 feet below the hole. He capped the red run with an unwavering 12-footer on the par 3, 186-yard No. 6, set up by a smooth 6-iron.

  Like Feld, Beck thrived on Nos. 4-6 with birdies. He drained a pair of 10-footers after wedge set-ups (pitching from 135 yards on No. 4, sand from 120 yards on No. 5). A 7-iron on No. 6 put Beck 25 feet from the hole location. He made good on the lengthy try. Beck added three more birdies on the card. He sent a 25-footer up a ridge and into the cup on No. 12 (par 3, 183 yards). The upcoming par 5s netted red as well. Beck stuck a 60-degree wedge 75 yards to three feet on the 505-yard 14th hole. Beck powered a 7-iron 170 yards to 10 feet on the 493-yard 17th hole and lipped out the eagle attempt. A trio of lip-outs on the back nine (Nos. 10, 15 and 16) prevented outright medalist honors.

  “I really hit well off the tee today. If not for a couple three-putts coming in, it would have been a much lower round,” Beck said. “Overall, I’m very pleased with the round.”

  Feld, too, found hiccups coming in. He fanned a 4-iron from 192 yards on No. 11 (par 4, 448 yards) and missed a 15-footer to save par. A 3-iron on No. 16 (par 3, 198 yards) traveled through the green and nestled in a bare area between clumps of grass. Given the lie, Feld attempted to pop a putter, but his golf ball hopped and stopped at 15 feet. He fired a birdie on the closing 18th (par 4, 405 yards) to secure a subpar score. Instead of overloading a wedge, Feld dropped a 9-iron 134 yards to 20 feet. With a beat on its line, he canned the straightaway putt.

  Feld is two-for-two when it comes to medaling in 2016. He attributes such a sharp start to his profession; Feld is the interim men’s golf coach at Drexel University.

  “Being around the game, you’re mentally sharp because you’re constantly thinking strategy,” Feld said. “Already being in midseason form mentally has definitely helped me place my ball around a golf course these last couple of weeks.”

  When Merion’s famed East Course last welcomed the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship 62 years ago, GAP Hall of Famer John Dyniewski defeated N. Harper Steward of Manufacturers Golf & Country Club, 4&3. The Golf Association of Philadelphia Magazine highlighted the event’s history at Merion in its Spring 2016 issue.

  The BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship is the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s premier event. Participants must first advance through a one day, 36-hole stroke play qualifier to gain one of 32 available match play positions. Those who qualify for match play must advance through four matches in two days to reach the Amateur Final, which is typically held on the Saturday of Father’s Day weekend. The winner receives the J. Wood Platt Trophy; its namesake holds a record-seven Amateur Championship titles.

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 153 Full Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. 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.