17-year-old R.J. Wren defeated two GAP Major champions on Day Two.

NOTEBOOK: 2015 #BMWPhillyAm runner-up wants second title shot

  ARDMORE, Pa. - Last year’s BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship delivered runner-up honors for Aronimink Golf Club’s Michael Davis. With a strong showing so far in this year’s version at Merion Golf Club, a course Davis is more than familiar with as a member, the Princeton University golfer is setting himself up for a potentially-similar success.

  Davis squared off with reigning GAP Junior Boys’ champion Kyle Vance in the Round of 32. He took care of business there with a 3&2 victory.

  It didn’t start as planned in the Round of 16. Davis immediately went 3-down after losing the first three holes against Radnor Valley Country Club’s Carey Bina.

  First, it was a three-putt on No. 1 (par 4, 344 yards). Then it was a lost ball off the tee on No. 2 (par 5, 522 yards) – one that most likely found the road. Davis did well to escape the left greenside bunker on No. 3 (par 3, 218 yards), but lost the hole because he missed a 10-footer for par.

  But all was not lost for Davis. After all, it’s match play – and it was early.

  “I didn’t even feel like I did that poorly. I had a poor three-putt and a poor tee ball, plus the third hole always plays tough,” said Davis, 20, of Newtown Square, Pa. “But with match play, especially out here, I was able to get back in it.”

  Get back in it he did.

  Davis took advantage of mistakes from his competitor on Nos. 6-8 and got it back to All-Square. He grabbed the lead for good on No. 15 (par 4, 418 yards) with a great par save from the front-left bunker and never looked back. Davis closed it out on the long, par-3 17th with a beautifully-lagged putt from 40 feet. He tapped in for the 2&1 victory.

  “I definitely got comfortable after the first four or five holes. Then, I started missing a lot of real short putts. No matter if that's stroke play or match play, that's kind of hard to get centered back on the greens, especially at a place like this,” said Bina, 20, of Villanova, Pa. "I was expecting for [the match] to be tough. I've never played with Michael. He was the runner-up last year and is one of the guys in the area who is my age, so I've heard a lot about him.”

  Davis is slated to square off with Applecross Country Club’s R.J Wren at 7:45 a.m. in tomorrow’s quarterfinals – the same portion of the bracket he defeated two-time BMW Philadelphia Amateur champion Michael McDermott last year in a 20-hole thriller.

  If both players were to take care of business in their morning quarterfinal matches, the two would meet in the Championship’s semifinal round. McDermott will first have to get by Five Ponds Golf Club’s Scott Ehrlich, who also holds a J. Wood Platt trophy to his name (2004).

  “I’d welcome that challenge. That’d be a lot of fun again,” said Davis on a potential rematch with McDermott. “To win this thing, you’ve eventually got to beat the best players. No matter what round, you’re going to have to win against those guys eventually. With both of us being members here, we’ve played a bunch of golf here together.”

  The marvelous Merion track serves as a second home to Davis. His member status and playing record over the past few days speak for itself on that front. He carded a 4-over-par 74 at Merion in the qualifying round, and followed that up with a strong performance on Day 2.   You can tell he’s done his homework on the iconic venue, too.

  "It'sspecial to have it here. It’s the first time the GAP Amateur has been here since 1954 and it’s the best course in the area,” said Davis, who says he has played Merion East around 10 times this summer. “Everyone knows this place and, especially with all the history – the (U.S.) Opens, the Amateurs – it’s great. And to see it in this condition is awesome.”

Wren wreaks havoc against GAP Major champs

  For a multitude of reasons, R.J. Wren was not being the focal point of Day One of the match-play portion of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship.

  But, it was something he chose to embrace.

  “I kind of felt like I was the underdog coming in, but I’m OK with that,” Wren said.

  His acceptance of the title showed in his play on Wednesday, as the Applecross Country Club member advanced to the quarterfinals of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur in just his second appearance in the event.

  Wren’s path to Day Two of match play forced him to beat the reigning Middle-Amateur Champion and a 3-time GAP Major winner. Pair that with Merion’s tough track, and you can begin to see how the pressure could get the best of the 17-year-old -- the youngest player remaining in the field.

  “I’ve got to do it for the young guys, I guess,” Wren said. “Michael McDermott came up to me after the first 18 and said, ‘You have to respect your elders.’”

  Wren chose not to take the advice to heart, beating Saucon Valley Country Club’s Matthew Mattare in the Round of 32, 4&3. In the afternoon’s Round of 16, Wren took down Glenn Smeraglio of Lu Lu Country Club, 2&1.

  “I realized they were both great players going into it,” the Morgantown, Pa. native said. “I realized if you made it to the Top 32, you’re always going to get a good player. I feel like I really performed to my standards. It just went my way today with some of the rolls and I got a little lucky in some spots, but I think all in all, I showed what I could do.”

  In his match against Smeraglio, a Middle-Amateur (2011) and Patterson Cup (1998, 2008) titleholder, Wren found a way to turn up his game coming down the stretch.

  “He’s a battler,” Wren said. “Every hole, it feels like he’s in the fairway and then on the green and two-putting for par. I got off to a good start early, then in the middle I kind of slowed down a bit. But I really picked it up in the end.”

  On No. 14 (par 4, 419 yards), while 1-down, Wren knocked a 7-iron 175 yards to three feet and jarred the birdie putt. He drained a four-foot par attempt on No.16 (par 4, 426 yards) to move 1 up. Perhaps his most crucial shot came on No.17, a daunting 207-yard, downhill par 3, to win the match.

  “[On] 17, I blocked my tee shot right,” Wren said. “That was kind of my miss all day. It was a 4-iron, but it ended up in an OK spot, just off the 18th tee-box. It was a little downhill lie and a little juicy. I just hit a nice flop shot to probably about 20 feet, lagged the putt up there close and made the bogey.”

  Wren is no stranger to GAP match play. In 2011, he captured the Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship at Moorestown Field Club. Five years later, with a spot in the quarterfinals secured, Wren feels he is just starting to play his best golf.

  “It means a lot,” Wren said. “I’ve been playing with the GAP for so many years now and I haven’t really, in my perspective, reached my full potential. I feel like I’m starting to do that this year, especially coming off an injury during the winter. This is my first tournament of the year. I’m happy with the way I’m playing and I’m hoping I can keep it up tomorrow.”

  The incoming Delaware Blue Hen suffered three stress fractures in his back this past winter that kept him from playing golf from February through March. The injury, stemming from “a mixture of over-swinging, swinging hard at the ball and playing other sports,” forced Wren to spend a lot of time in the practice area.

  “I’ve only been playing for about a month and a half,” said Wren. “I took a lot of rehab over in Lancaster and I also had to rest. It was a lot of time spent on the putting green and short game to keep my ‘want’ in there.”

  Despite his recent time off, Wren is happy to be back healthy and playing tournament golf. His focus now shifts towards to winning another GAP trophy, this time amongst the Association’s seasoned veterans.

  “I feel like I’m 100 percent,” Wren said. “A little sore after playing 72 holes in two days. [I’m going to] go ahead and ice it when I get home and I’ll be OK tomorrow.”