Michael DiMeglio eases a chip onto the No. 3 (par 3, 157 yards) green.

Mercer Oaks’ DiMeglio caps Middle-Amateur Qualifier at Makefield

  YARDLEY, Pa. — Playing for a score raised concern for Michael DiMeglio prior to a Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifier presented by Callaway Golf at Makefield Highlands Golf Club (par 72, 6,763 yards) Monday. He’s smacked the golf ball with a laissez faire attitude so far this season.

  DiMeglio, a Mercer Oaks Golf Course member, played for — and achieved — a score that the rest of the 137-player field failed to match. He carded a 4-under-par 68 to earn medalist honors and one of 31 qualifying spots and ties for the Championship proper, set for May 25-26 at Waynesborough Country Club.

  The cut line stopped at 76 by day’s end.

  “I played surprisingly well. I wasn’t expecting it,” DiMeglio, 27, of Princeton, N.J., said. “I’m not thinking about qualifying here; I know I’ll qualify in my mind. It’s just a matter of playing well. I think a lot of people psych themselves out in qualifying. I try to stay positive without ever airing that to anyone. I stay humble.”

  It’s mind over body these days for DiMeglio. That philosophy contributed to his subpar performance Monday.

  “I believe in myself,” he said. “I believe I’m a good player who can win. I believe I can make putts and execute. The mind is so powerful. If you believe you are going to perform and set your mind to doing well, it’s amazing what you can train yourself to do.”

  Channeling the words of Marty McFly à la “Back to the Future,” DiMeglio, who works on the operations staff at PGA Magazine, made his inner faith present on the exterior. Starting on the back nine, he birdied five of his first nine holes to shoot up the leaderboard. He whipped an 8-iron 160 yards to 10 feet on No. 11 (par 4, 425 yards). A 50-yard chip to nine feet resulted in red on the reachable yet risky 13th hole (par 4, 283 yards). DiMeglio failed to get up-and-down from the right greenside bunker on the next hole (par 3, 206 yards), but recovered remarkably with a trio of birdies. He “stole one” on No. 15 (par 4, 404 yards) after nipping a weak 9-iron 145 yards to 25 feet. Using the contours of the green to his favor, DiMeglio converted a “circus putt.” He nearly reached the par 5, 488-yard 16th hole in two after thrashing a 3-hybrid. A chip-and-putt combination followed.

  Consider the par 3, 174-yard 17th hole another steal. DiMeglio, who volunteers as an assistant men’s golf coach at Rider University, watched his 8-iron catch a fortuitous bounce off the left bunker's crest and stop four feet from the hole.

  “You need some breaks, especially this time of year,” he said. “I haven’t been playing much at all. This is my third 18-hole round this year. I’ve been out trying to practice a little more. Usually I like to play and not practice as much. I changed my mindset this year. Now for me, it’s about practicing and learning from my past mistakes. I’m trying to improve every round and grow as a competitor.”

  DiMeglio started to suddenly grow out of his subpar surroundings with a bogey on No. 1 (par 4, 413 yards) and a double bogey on No. 3 (par 3, 157 yards). On the latter, he tried to carve an 8-iron over a set of buffering bunkers, but it burrowed in the sand. A swipe out left DiMeglio in a collection area behind the green. He lined a wedge 12 feet by the cup and two-putted.

  “I was playing jungle golf there for a little while. I was losing hairs by the minute,” DiMeglio said.

  A birdie on No. 4 (par 4, 337 yards) quelled the goosebumps. DiMeglio knocked a lob wedge 80 yards to two feet for a 3. A predetermined strategy for Makefield’s frontside par 5s soon paid dividends. Knowing the links-style layout offered fairway flexibility, DiMeglio played from the adjacent Nos. 1 (par 4, 413 yards) and 2 (par 4, 412 yards). He hit a knockdown gap wedge 100 yards to eight feet for a birdie on the 597-yard No. 7. DiMeglio smashed a 3-wood 255 yards onto the front edge of the No. 9 (512 yards) green and two-putted for a 4.

  “Blast the ball miles left. Eliminate the water, eliminate the mistakes,” DiMeglio said. “I would have done that if I was under par or over par. That was my gameplan.”

  DiMeglio’s competitive golf résumé is a bit blank as of late. He’s played in five consecutive New Jersey State Golf Association Amateur Championships and won its’ Four-Ball Championship in 2011 alongside Anthony Aloi. His lone appearance in a GAP Major came during the 2014 BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship at White Manor Country Club; DiMeglio failed to make the match play cut.

  He looks forward to his Middle-Amateur debut later this month.

  “I know there are a lot of great players in the field. There are guys who are Major champions and command a lot of respect,” DiMeglio said. “They’re going to be challenging to compete against for sure. They’re seasoned from their experiences.”

  More experiences like Makefield may get DiMeglio seasoned in no time.

  The Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Middle-Amateur Championship started in 1984, three years after the USGA created the U.S. Mid-Amateur as a formal championship for post-college amateurs. The Association followed suit with the USGA in creating a Mid-Am, but initially differed in its administration of the tournament in a couple of respects.

  The most obvious difference was the age requirement. Prior to 2001, the GAP Middle-Amateur was for players 30 years of age and older.

  The Association’s Executive Committee reviewed and revised that age requirement in 2001 to match the USGA's guidelines of 25 years of age or older for eligible players. Also at that point, the Committee changed the format of the event to a two-day stroke play tournament (instead of a one-day medal play event) with a cut to the low 70 players and ties after the first round. The field begins with 132 players.

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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 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.