Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Gregor Orlando tees off No. 7 (par 3, 160 yards).

#USMidAm at Stonewall: Local trio advances to Round of 32

  ELVERSON, Pa. — Four players with Golf Association of Philadelphia ties competed in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Round of 64 at Stonewall (Old) Monday. Yardley Country Club’s Christopher Ault, Merion Golf Club’s Michael McDermott, Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Gregor Orlando all posted victories in dramatic fashion to advance. Cricketeer John Brennan saw his bid cut short by Dan Sullivan of Pasedana, Calif., 3&2.

  Ault, seeded No. 51, claimed the last three holes against Kevin O’Connell of Raleigh, N.C. to prevail, 1-up.

  “I’m kind of in shock,” an emotional Ault, 30, of Yardley, Pa., said. “It was a tough match. I don’t think we both played well. At the end he sort of let me back in. It feels great.”

  A loose swing on No. 13 (par 4, 460 yards) sent Ault into a downward spiral. A six-footer for a key halve on No. 15 (par 3, 177 yards) pried the 2013 Pennsylvania Golf Association Amateur Champion from the depths of demise. Ault capitalized on an O’Connell miss on the next hole (par 4, 498 yards) to become 1-down. He drew even with a spectacular 6-iron to 20 feet on No. 17 (par 3, 234 yards). After finding the right side of the 18th fairway (par 4, 447 yards), Ault lifted a 7-iron 209 yards to 18 feet. O’Connell, meanwhile, failed to get up-and-down from the front bunker.

  Ault, a quarterfinalist in the 2009 BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Stonewall, continues his quest at 9:25 a.m. tomorrow.

  McDermott, a three-time BMW Philadelphia Amateur Champion and five-time William Hyndman, III Player of the Year, experienced a flashback as his 20-hole victory over Joseph Ida of Overland Park, Kan. transpired Monday. In the 2000 BMW Philadelphia Amateur Final against Michael Hyland of Little Mill Country Club, he held a 1-up advantage heading down No. 18, lost the hole and eventually suffered defeat on No. 2, the match’s 38th hole, at Stonewall.

  Monday nearly bore an identical result.

  McDermott missed a nine-footer for par on No. 18 (par 4, 447 yards) to send his match against Ida into overtime. On No. 1 (par 5, 507 yards), McDermott, the No. 45 seed, reached home in two after drilling a 5-iron 210 yards to 25 feet left of the flagstick. Ida, needing a successful 25-footer of his own to extend the bout, buried it from the right fringe. The conversion, however, didn’t rattle McDermott’s wits. After Ida caught the front left bunker on No. 2 (par 4, 427 yards), McDermott, 41, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., bashed a pitching wedge 167 yards to 17 feet.

  “When I’m nervous, I just try to crush it instead of trying to make some easy swings,” he said.

  The adrenaline served him well. Ida missed a 15-footer for 4. McDermott cozied his putt for a concession.

  “There’s a certain comfort [playing at Stonewall], although it seemed a little bit like déjà vu,” he said. “I was 1-up coming up No. 18, and then I was in position to win it on No. 1. Mike Hyland made a 25-footer to extend the match. I’ve seen it before, except I lost that one on No. 2. This time I was able to pull it out.”

  In addition to his runner-up finish in the 2000 BMW Philadelphia Amateur, McDermott reached the semifinals in 2009 at Stonewall. He fell to Conrad Von Borsig, 1-up.

  McDermott squares off against Joe Alfieri of Lutz, Fla. in the Round of 32 at 8:05 a.m. tomorrow. It is a rematch from the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur at the Country Club of Birmingham (West Course). McDermott fell to Alfieri, 3&2.

  Orlando, seeded No. 33, squeezed past Bradley Lane of Lawrence, Kan., 1-up. The two arrived at the par 4, 447-yard 18th hole All-Square. Facing a 160-yard approach out of a mulched area with a titled foundation, Orlando tugged a 9-iron into a safe swale left. Lane entered the same territory with his second shot and nestled a chip to five feet. Orlando, playing next, ran his attempt 10 feet past the jar and missed the comebacker. He sagged his shoulders, removed his cap and braced for a congratulatory handshake. A Lane three-putt swung the outcome in Orlando’s favor.

  “I got through by the skin of my tail. Stuff like that happens so I’m really lucky,” Orlando, 25, of Philadelphia, Pa., said. “I thought the match was over. I didn’t think I had any chance after that because of the way he was putting. I can’t wait to play tomorrow.”

  Orlando appeared in control of the contest after gaining a 3-up advantage through 13 holes. After splitting the fairway with a textbook drive on the 460-yard par 4, Orlando launched an 8-iron 173 yards to 10 feet above the hole location. Lane, on the wings of a fiery flatstick, won the next two holes and squared the contest with a 17-footer for birdie on No. 17 (par 3, 234 yards).

  “Obviously all of the momentum was on his side,” Orlando said. “I was feeling a little lazy [on No. 18 tee]. I don’t know what it was.”

  Orlando opposes No. 1 seed Michael Muehr of Potomac Falls, Va. at 7:15 a.m. tomorrow.

  Despite an early exit, Brennan, 37, of Audubon, Pa., felt proud of what he achieved at Stonewall. Playing in his third U.S. Mid-Amateur (2012, 2014), the 2012 GAP Middle-Amateur Champion gained match play for the first time after rounds of 69 and 78.

  “I came in here wanting to compete and I did that,” Brennan, the No. 50 seed, said. “To shoot 69 in a USGA event is a really cool accomplishment. Making match play is an accomplishment. You can say you’re one of the Top 64 this year. There are a lot of cool things to take from it.”

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.