John Barone (right) eyes his drive on No. 1 (par 5, 478 yards).

Collegiates Barone, McGrath headline #PatCup Qualifier at Lu Lu

  NORTH HILLS, Pa. — A pair of Brian Quinn pupils, John Barone of Glenmaura National Golf Club and Liam McGrath of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, carded respective 3-under-par 68s to share medalist honors in a Joseph H. Patterson Cup Qualifier at Lu Lu Country Club (par 71, 6,368 yards).

  The two led a field of 96 players hoping to earn one of 39 qualifying positions and ties available for the Championship proper, set for Aug. 4-5 at Huntingdon Valley. The cut line fell to 75 at day’s end.

  Barone, 20, of Dunmore, Pa., is a redshirt sophomore at Temple University, where Quinn serves as men’s golf coach. McGrath, 19, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., consulted Quinn recently to shake off a summer funk. Both showcased the value of that tutelage Tuesday.

  “My game’s been very on and off, to be honest,” Barone said. “When the driver’s good and the putter’s good, everything seems to go right. I wanted to get my game back together for the last big tournament of the summer. Today was a good start. The putter was good, and that’s been the biggest thing for me this summer.”

  Barone totaled 27 putts at Lu Lu. He opened with a birdie on No. 11 (par 4, 350 yards), the first hole for logistical purposes. Barone nearly holed a pitching wedge from 130 yards and tapped in a six-incher. Bogeys on Nos. 13 (par 4, 431 yards) and 15 (par 3, 144 yards) threatened to capsize the round. But Barone’s putter came to the rescue on the par 5, 521-yard 17th hole. He converted a left-to-right breaking 25-footer for birdie.

  Barone made it a back-to-back affair on Nos. 1 (par 5, 478 yards) and 2 (par 4, 352 yards). He launched a 6-iron 197 yards to 15 feet and two-putted for a 4 on the first. A “member’s bounce” changed his scorecard’s shape from square to circle on No. 2. Barone, who also shared medalist honors in a BMW Philadelphia Amateur Qualifier earlier this year, knocked a 9-iron 150 yards to 15 feet after his driver generously careened into a tree guarding the boundary fence. He joined McGrath as co-medalist by carding a birdie on his last hole (No. 10, par 5, 525 yards). After almost arriving at the green in two with a 4-iron from 230 yards, Barone nestled a chip to four feet.

  During the summer, Barone’s remained in touch with Quinn — a swing checkup here and there.

  “He’s been a huge influence,” Barone said. “I came to Temple kind of a raw golfer and he’s made me what I am.”

  Quinn’s assisted McGrath with ball-striking and short game issues of late.

  “I haven’t really played that well throughout the summer, so it feels good to put a round like this,” McGrath said. “I made a lot of good putts and some lucky up-and-downs. I thought I drove the ball well.”

  A 15-footer for birdie on the par 3, 111-yard No. 6 marks one of those good putts. After sending a sand wedge flag-high right, McGrath snuck in a right-to-left slider on the right edge. One of those lucky up-and-downs resulted in red as well. On No. 7 (par 4, 433 yards), he narrowly cleared a towering pine tree with a pitching wedge from 125 yards and dropped a 10-footer for birdie. Look to the uphill par 4, 311-yard No. 9 as an example of improved ball-striking. He powered a drive greenside left and stopped a chip at three feet. McGrath also carded consecutive birdies on Nos. 17 (par 5, 521 yards) and 18 (par 4, 404 yards). On the first, he hit a 54-degree wedge 110 yards onto the right fringe and watched his ensuing roll catch the cup.

  “I absolutely pounded the putt. It was going to go so far by if it didn’t hit the hole,” McGrath, who will attend Furman University in the fall, said. “I got lucky with that one.” He hit a pitching wedge 125 yards to five feet on No. 18.

  The good news flowed through the McGrath household Tuesday. McGrath’s brother Conor, 16, also advanced with a score of 74. Brett, 13, became a finalist in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship at Moorestown Field Club.

   “We encourage each other a lot and get out there and play as much as possible. They’re kind of teaching me right now,” Liam said.

  Tuesday’s Patterson Cup Qualifier was originally scheduled for July 28 at Broad Run Golfer’s Club. However, severe weather forced officials to postpone the event. Broad Run wasn’t available to return as host site.

  The second oldest Championship in the Golf Association of Philadelphia, the Joseph H. Patterson Cup memorializes a man who fostered the game in its infancy. Joseph Henry Patterson, a Philadelphia Cricket Club member, competed in the first out-of-town match played by a team of Philadelphians. Friends of Patterson donated the Cup, designed by J.E. Caldwell & Co., to the Association in 1900.

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.