Brian Colbert of White Manor CC.
*Scorecards
*Medallists History
*Player of the Year standings
*Hyland aces No. 17 at HVCC, his second in as many Majors

White Manor’s Colbert splashes to medalist honors at 112th Amateur

  HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa.–Brian Colbert of White Manor Country Club made quite the splash in his first-ever Golf Association of Philadelphia Amateur Championship. Battling all day intermittent, and at times steady, rains, the 2012 Villanova University graduate traversed a soggy 36 holes of the 112th Amateur Championship Qualifier at Huntingdon Valley Country Club (par 70, 6,807 yards)/Torresdale-Frankford Country Club (par 70, 6,359 yards) in 2-under-par 138. Brandon Dalinka of The Ridge at Back Brook and Nelson Hargrove of Merion Golf Club tied for second place at 2-over-par 142. Hargrove is the No. 2 seed. Dalinka is seeded third. Defending champion Michael Hyland of Little Mill Country Club finished with a 146 total. He is the No. 12 seed.

  The first two rounds of match play are set for tomorrow. The Round of 32 begins at 8 a.m. with the Round of 16 to follow.

  The cutline for the 112-player field fell at 152 with seven players competing for the final two spots.

  Colbert, a Chicago native, earned a spot in the Amateur Championship based on an exemption as a qualifier for the 2011 U.S. Publinks Championship.

  “Not to sound cocky, I’m a no name around here, but not back home,” said Colbert, 22, a business major. He lives in Bryn Mawr, Pa. “I’ve been around Philadelphia golf for four years at Villanova. To do this in my first, and probably last Amateur, is cool. I played steady all day. I made no big mistakes. It was fairways and greens pretty much.”

  The odds were stacked against Colbert adding his surname to the regal list of Amateur qualifying medalists on a few fronts. Start with the weather. Add a dash of he’s never seen Torresdale-Frankford before and was playing Huntingdon Valley for the first time in “I can’t tell you when.” And mix in the fact he carried his own bag for 36 holes in the rain.

  “The weather was inconvenient,” said Colbert. “I had my rain pants, jacket, glove and umbrella and that’s all I needed. I did wish I had a caddie.

  “I just wanted to make match play. That was the goal. Obviously I wanted to shoot the lowest score I could and it just happened to be the best score of the day.”

  Colbert, the No. 2 player at Villanova this year, opened the Amateur at Torresdale-Frankford in the morning. He carded four birdies against two bogeys.

  On No. 6 (par 4, 420 yards), Colbert smacked a sand wedge 115 yards to 15 feet and drained the birdie putt before exerting his power on a pair of back nine par 5s (Nos. 10, 484 yards and 13, 557 yards). On the first, he hammered a 3-iron into the front left bunker, splashed out to six feet and sunk the birdie try. Colbert's 3-wood on No. 13 caught the front bunker, but a superb sand shot stopped within 15 feet of the jar. Colbert also birdied the 18th hole (par 4, 394 yards), knocking a wedge 125 yards to eight feet below the flagstick.

  At Huntingdon Valley, Colbert kept the mojo flowing.

  He opened his second round, starting on the back nine, with a birdie on No. 10 (par 4, 399 yards) courtesy of a 7-iron from 155 yards to 10 feet. He added another circle to the scorecard on No. 15 (par 5, 573 yards) with a 60-degree wedge that stopped a foot away. A bogey on No.16 (par 4, 397 yards) curtailed his push slightly, but Colbert responded on No. 4 (par 4, 366 yards) by draining a 30-foot, big left-to-right breaker for a 3. He finished with bogeys on No. 6 (par 4, 435 yards) and No. 9 (par 4, 437 yards). He pulled his driver on No. 6 when the rains intensified and knocked a 6-iron into the greenside bunker on No. 9 and failed to get up-and-down.

  “I got a text from my teammate from last year, Brendan Kelly. When I told him it was going to rain today, he said ‘don’t worry about it, you’re a mudder’,” said Colbert.

  A thumbnail of Colbert’s résumé is as follows. He qualified for the 2010 and 2011 U.S. Publinks championships; the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay and finished in the Top 10 of the Illinois State Amateur in 2010.

  “I think I probably turned some heads,” said Colbert. “I’ll definitely look back and show kids. That’s cool.”

  The Amateur Championship Qualifier also serves as the first two rounds of the Silver Cross Award. The Silver Cross is awarded to the player with the lowest aggregate score in the qualifying rounds of the Amateur Championship and the Patterson Cup.

  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 145 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.

NOTES–There was a seven-for-two playoff at Huntingdon Valley for the final match play positions. Brian Gillespie, 37, from Wayne, Pa. and St. Davids Golf Club birdied the first hole, No. 10, with a 6-iron from 172 yards that stopped a foot from the cup to take the 31st seed. Dan Charen, 23 of Langhorne, Pa. and Makefield Highlands Golf Club, parred No. 10 to outlast the other five competitors. He is seeded No. 32.

Name, club

Scores

Brian Colbert, White Manor Country Club

68T-70H–138

Nelson Hargrove, Merion Golf Club

70H-72T–142

Brandon Dalinka, The Ridge at Back Brook

72H-70T–142

Christopher Ault, Yardley Country Club

71H-73T–144

Stephen Dressel, St. Davids Golf Club

73H-71T–144

Ben Feld, Blue Bell Country Club

70H-74T–144

Chip Lutz, LedgeRock Golf Club

72H-72T–144

Sean Fahey, Overbrook Golf Club

68H-76T–144

Michael Hyland, Little Mill Country Club

75H-71T–146

Jeff Osberg, Llanerch Country Club

72H-74T–146

Glenn Smeraglio, Mercer Oaks Golf Course

73H-73T–146

Robert Galbreath, Jr., Philmont Country Club

76T-70H–146

P. Chet Walsh, Philadelphia Country Club

74H-73T–147

Greg Jarmas, Philadelphia Publinks GA

76T-71H–147

Brandon Matthews, Fox Hill Country Club

74T-73H–147

James Kania, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club

76T-71H–147

Christopher Fuga, Phoenixville Country Club

74H-74T–148

Robert Cunningham, Overbrook Golf Club

71T-77H–148

JD Dornes, Meadia Heights Golf Club

73H-76T–149

David Liotta, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club

75T-74H–149

Travis Gahman, Philadelphia Publinks GA

73T-76H–149

Grant Skyllas, Moselem Springs Golf Club

76H-74T–150

Benjamin Smith, Little Mill Country Club

76H-74T–150

Thomas Hyland, Little Mill Country Club

71H-79T–150

Michael Johnson, Talamore Country Club

76T-74H–150

Mike Meisenzahl, Little Mill Country Club

75T-75H–150

Zach Allinson, Lehigh Country Club

74T-77H–151

Vince Boyle, Torresdale-Frankford Country Club

74T-77H–151

Dan Bernard, Aronimink Golf Club

72T-79H–151

Raymond Thompson, Overbrook Golf Club

77T-74H–151

*Brian Gillespie, St. Davids Golf Club

78H-74T–152

*Daniel Charen, Makefield Highlands Golf Club

77T-75H–152

 

Failed to qualify

*Robert Bechtold, Loch Nairn Golf Club

76H-76T–152

*Blayze DiPasquale, Makefield Highlands Golf Club

74H-78T–152

*Alexander Hicks, Wildwood Golf & Country Club

77T-75H–152

*Stephen Seiden, Llanerch Country Club

73H-79T–152

*Michael Kania, Overbrook Golf Club

76T-76H–152

John Brennan, Philadelphia Cricket Club

72H-81T–153

Jimmy Wolfe, Bellewood Golf Club

76H-77T–153

Mike Owsik, Philadelphia Publinks GA

79H-74T–153

Michael Carr, Plymouth Country Club

75T-78H–153

Joseph Fabrizio, Jr., Aronimink Golf Club

75T-78H–153

James Bea, Spring Mill Country Club

77T-76H–153

Matthew Teesdale, Commonwealth National Golf Club

77H-76T–153

Daniel Pinciotti, Jr., Huntingdon Valley Country Club

77H-77T–154

Sean Seese, Huntingdon Valley Country Club

74H-80T–154

Sean Coyle, Llanerch Country Club

77T-77H–154

Joseph Russo, Running Deer Golf Club

74T-80H–154

Dave Fardon, Philadelphia Publinks GA

76H-79T–155

Benjamin Cooley, Huntingdon Valley Country Club

79H-76T–155

Simon Hagger, Fieldstone Golf Club

81T-74H–155

Eric Slawter, St. Davids Golf Club

84T-71H–155

Thomas Bartolacci, Jr., Saucon Valley Country Club

79T-76H–155

Marc Mandel, Philadelphia Cricket Club

72H-84T–156

Troy Vannucci, Burlington Country Club

76H-80T–156

Tucker Koch, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve

79H-77T–156

Robert Good, Merion Golf Club

76T-80H–156

Robert Savarese, Jr., Philadelphia Cricket Club

78T-78H–156

Patrick Phillips, Philadelphia Publinks GA

79H-78T–157

Gary Daniels, Saucon Valley Country Club

77H-80T–157

Joe Viechnicki, Saucon Valley Country Club

80T-77H–157

Stephen Hudacek, III, Glenmaura National Golf Club

75T-82H–157

Tim Westfall, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve

78T-79H–157

Byron Whitman, Berkshire Country Club

80T-77H–157

Michael Gregor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club

82T-75H–157

Ryan McCarty, Little Mill Country Club

75H-83T–158

Rand Mendez, Fieldstone Golf Club

79H-79T–158

Sean Torpey, Commonwealth National Golf Club

81T-77H–158

Patrick Knott, Merion Golf Club

80T-78H–158

Ryan Carroll, Chester Valley Golf Club

83T-75H–158

David Shields, Philadelphia Publinks GA

79H-80T–159

Michael Brown, Philadelphia Publinks GA

80H-79T–159

Rodney James, Golden Oaks Golf Club

79T-80H–159

Jeffrey Huntzinger, Five Ponds Golf Club

77T-82H–159

Patrick Ross, Glenmaura National Golf Club

82H-78T–160

Billy McCrossan, White Manor Country Club

80T-80H–160

Scott McNeil, Philadelphia Publinks GA

76T-84H–160

Kevin Kramarski, Riverton Country Club

76T-84H–160

Gary Schoeman, Stonewall

82T-78H–160

Steve Lubin, Five Ponds Golf Club

79H-82T–161

Scott McLaughlin, Commonwealth National Golf Club

80H-81T–161

Oliver White, Manufacturers Golf & Country Club

77H-85T–162

Matthew Finger, Woodcrest Country Club

82T-80H–162

Paul Kovalcheck, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club

79T-83H–162

Ryan Felpel, Honeybrook Golf Club

82T-80H–162

Kyle Martin, Commonwealth National Golf Club

76T-86H–162

Sam Pancoast, Radley Run Country Club

82H-81T–163

Matthew Crescenzo, Philmont Country Club

78H-85T–163

Ryan Siegler, Mercer Oaks Golf Course

80T-83H–163

Matthew Walsh, Overbrook Golf Club

82T-81H–163

Tim Anderson, Philadelphia Publinks GA

81H-83T–164

Stewart Rickenbach, Commonwealth National Golf Club

84H-80T–164

Jake Murphy, Mercer Oaks Golf Course

83T-81H–164

William Jeremiah, Bidermann Golf Club

79T-85H–164

Robert Beck, Lehigh Country Club

81T-83H–164

Kevin Davis, Talamore Country Club

86T-79H–165

William Breskman, Rolling Green Golf Club

86H-80T–166

James Braunsberg, Blue Bell Country Club

77H-89T–166

Reilly Erhardt, Yardley Country Club

85H-82T–167

Scott Storck, Philadelphia Cricket Club

82H-85T–167

John Fasy, Wilmington Country Club

78T-89H–167

Dwight Diorio, Rolling Green Golf Club

88H-80T–168

Daniel Minger, Brookside Country Club

86T-82H–168

Joseph Jasinski, Northampton Country Club

85T-84H–169

Matt Maurer, Bent Creek Country Club

86H-84T–170

Richard Marabella, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club

91H-88T–179

Matthew Kreuter, Philadelphia Cricket Club

91H-WDT–WD

Geoffrey Cooper, Links Golf Club

85H-WDT–WD

Jamie Slonis, Tavistock Country Club

81H-WDT–WD

G. Patrick Dougherty, Philadelphia Cricket Club

85H-WDT–WD

Bryan Ott, Silver Creek Country Club

84H-WDT–WD

Greg O'Connor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club

84H-WDT–WD

 

Denotes: H-Huntingdon Valley Country Club; T-Torresdale-Frankford Country Club

WD-withdrawal

*-determined in playoff

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