The 2008 Golf Association of Philadelphia schedule, the 112th in the organization’s history, once again contains events for all age groups (Junior, Amateur and Senior) and playing levels (Championship and Handicap).
Beginning in April, and encompassing seven months, the schedule visits four states for its 64 tournaments and 69 days of competition.
Of particular note in 2008 is the creation of three new events: the Brewer Cup, the Father-Son Middle Tournament and the Senior 27-Hole Challenge.
The Brewer Cup, named after O. Gordon Brewer Jr., a two-time U.S. Senior Amateur Champion, is a three-day event consisting of a one-day, 18-hole stroke-play qualifier followed by match play for the Top 16 players in the Senior Flight and the Top 8 players in the Super-Senior Division.
Open to Senior players with a Handicap Index of 7.0 or less and Super Seniors with an Index of 12.0 or less, the Brewer Cup is set for July 15-17 at Huntingdon Valley.
Brewer is a veteran of 42 USGA Championships and holds U.S. Senior Amateur Championship titles from 1994 and 1996. Aside from his national accolades, he also took home Golf Association of Philadelphia Amateur titles in 1967 and 1976 as well as the 1997 GAP Senior Amateur Championship crown, which earned him Player of the Year honors in that year.
The inaugural Father-Son Middle Tournament, set for May 29 at Bellwood Golf Club, is for those father and son teams with sons ranging in ages from 18 to 29. The event was conceived because of the high demand for participation in both the Father-Son Younger, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007, and the Older tournament, an event in its 97th year.
And the inaugural Senior 27-Hole Challenge replaces the Senior Net Championship on the tournament schedule. An event for players 55 years of age and older, the Senior 27-Hole Challenge is a gross event consisting of three nine-hole stipulated rounds in three different formats: four-ball stoke play, aggregate and selective drive – alternate shot. Both a Championship and Super-Senior Division will be offered. The tournament is open to seniors with a USGA Handicap Index of 7.0 or lower. Super-Seniors must have a USGA Handicap Index of 12.0 or less.
GAP Team Matches-For the third straight year, a record number of teams will compete in the annual contest. This year’s total of 324 teams is up from 320 of a year ago. A total of 126 clubs, down one from last year’s record-number, will field teams to kick off the 2008 Tournament Season. The 126 member clubs will take part in the three days of competition: April 13, 27 and May 6. The Playoff and Challenges are set for May 10.
Last year, Commonwealth National Golf Club’s top team shocked the field by earning its first title. Since 2005, CNGC had been a Playoff finalist but managed only a third- and fourth-place showing in those initial two tries. CNGC pulled out a stunning 2007 victory with a well-rounded collective effort led by captain John Robinson.
Championships-The 108th Amateur Championship, which runs four days, is set for June 10-12 & 14 at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club and Philadelphia Cricket Club (Militia Hill – qualifying only). The 36-hole final match is scheduled for June 14. Phil “PJ” Bartholomew of Yardley Country Club defeated Bill McGuinness of Tavistock Country Club, 2&1, last summer to become the first member of Yardley CC to etch his name on the J. Wood Platt Amateur Championship trophy. This year’s Amateur Championship falls on the Centennial Anniversary of Whitemarsh Valley CC.
This year marks the 104th running of the Open Championship, a one-day, 36-hole medal play event. Lookaway Golf Club hosts the tournament on Wednesday, July 23. Last summer at Merion Golf Club, Mark Miller of Yardley CC became only the 12th amateur to capture the Open Championship in the Association’s storied history. Miller finished at even-par 140 for the 36 holes (69-71) to edge Mark Sheftic (rounds of 70-71), an assistant professional at Sunnybrook Golf Club, and the remainder of the 72-player field, by a stroke.
The 24th Middle-Amateur opens the major championship season on May 21-22 at Fieldstone Golf Club. This is the first time the Mid-Am will travel to Fieldstone Golf Club in Greenville, Del. Chip Lutz of LedgeRock Golf Club, a two-time winner of the Mid-Am (’98,’07), looks to defend his title from last year where he won with at Stonewall (North) with an even-par, two-round total of 140 (70-70).
The 106th Patterson Cup, the final major of the season, takes place on Aug. 14 at Waynesborough Country Club and St. Davids Golf Club. This marks only the second time Waynesborough CC will host the 36-hole, stroke play championship, while it will be the seventh time St. Davids GC welcomes the championship in its history. The Patterson Cup, which has every entrant playing 18 holes at each course, was won last year by Michael McDermott of Merion GC with a 6-under-par 136 (70-66) split between Moselem Springs Golf Club and Berkleigh Country Club.
Wyoming Valley Country Club also steps into the championship venue rotation by holding the Philadelphia Team Championship for the first time in its history. The Team Championship, which started in 1915, will be held on June 26. Four clubs of eight players each will compete in a foursome match and singles competition for Association bragging rights.
USGA Events-Including the U.S. Amateur Championship Qualifier at DuPont Country Club (DuPont/Nemours), the Association will conduct seven USGA Qualifiers, including two for the U.S. Open Championship set for June 12-15 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, Calif.
Senior-The 38th Senior Amateur Championship, set for Sept. 2-3 at The Springhaven Club, is for golfers 55 years of age and older. Last year, the two-day, 36-hole medal play competition was taken by Ray Thompson of Overbrook Golf Club with a 1-under-par 141 (70-71). Thompson’s victory capped a stunning Senior season that included wins in the Warner Cup and Chapman Cup that helped propel him to take the Senior Silver Cross Award as well. Other highlights of the senior schedule include: the Warner Cup (Gross) on May 7 at Whitford Country Club; the Warner Cup (Net) on May 27 at Bala Golf Club; the Senior Four-Ball Stroke Play on June 5 at Hershey’s Mill Golf Club; the Senior Four-Man Team on July 10 at Golden Oaks Golf Club; the Chapman Memorial (Gross) on July 31 at North Hills Country Club and the Chapman Memorial (Net) on Sept. 17 at Green Valley Country Club.
The Senior Silver Cross and Super-Senior Silver Cross, which represent the Senior and Super-Senior Stroke Play championships of the Golf Association of Philadelphia, will be awarded in each division to the player returning the lowest total score in the Warner Cup Gross (18 holes), Chapman Memorial Gross (18 holes) and the Senior Amateur Championship (36 holes).
Junior-On June 24-26, the 94th Junior Boys’ Championship (ages 14-17) heads to Huntingdon Valley Country Club (Centennial and Flynn courses). The Top 16 players from qualifying advance into match play with the final set for the afternoon of June 26.
Robert Galbreath, Jr. of Huntingdon Valley CC looks to become the only player in the 94-year history of the Junior Program to win four Junior Boys’ Championship titles. Last year, Galbreath narrowly knocked off Robert Robertson, the Junior Player of the Year out of Philadelphia Cricket Club, 1-up, at Cavaliers CC to win his third Junior Boys’ title.
Also on the Junior schedule for 2008, the Christman Cup, the 36-hole stroke play championship for juniors, is set for July 11 at Whitford CC.
The qualifying round of the Junior, the one round of the Jock MacKenzie Memorial and the two rounds of the Christman Cup also account for the Harry Hammond Award winner, the junior version of the Silver Cross. Other events on the junior schedule include: the Francis X. Hussey Memorial on July 28 at Rolling Green Golf Club; the Pre-Junior Tournament on July 9 at Philadelphia Cricket Club (St. Martins Course); the Jock MacKenzie Memorial on July 21 at Sandy Run Country Club and the Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship (ages 11-13) on July 29-31 at Phoenixville Country Club.
In addition, the Deeg Sezna Four-Ball is back for its sixth year on Aug. 5 at Hartefeld National. A special event on the GAP calendar, the Deeg pairs a junior and an amateur together in a better-ball format. Partners must have a minimum age differential of 10 years and one partner must be 21 years of age or younger. The event is named in honor of Davis G. Sezna, Jr. Better known as Deeg, Davis Jr., an avid golfer himself, was tragically killed in the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He was 22 years old.
Round out the Junior schedule is the Williamson Cup. It features teams of four juniors from 10 regional and state associations competing in a one-day, 36-hole stroke play competition. This year’s event is set for Aug. 11 at the Country Club of Scranton.
Handicap Championships-The Association revised the First and Second Handicaps four seasons ago. Renamed the Spring Net Championship (First) and the Fall Net Championship (Second), the two events are comparable to the other GAP Championships. An overall low net champion is crowned and four flight champions are recognized as well. In addition, the low Senior in each flight will earn recognition. The Spring Net Championship is scheduled for June 3 at Bucks County Golf Club and the Fall Net Championship is planned for Aug. 11 at Deerwood Country Club.
Meetings-There are five meetings on the Association calendar: the Presidents’ Council, the Chairmen’s Meeting, the Pro-President, Golf & Green, the Players Dinner and the Annual Meeting.
The Presidents’ Council, in its fourth year, offers a chance for club Presidents and General Managers to attend a seminar on key issues and topics. This year’s program is set for March 25 at Waynesborough Country Club.
The Chairmen’s Meeting is scheduled for April 9 at Lancaster Country Club. The meeting will brief club chairmen on USGA handicap topics.
The Pro-President, Golf & Green is set for May 14 at Concord Country Club/Brandywine Country Club.
The fourth annual Players Dinner, on Oct. 7 at Torresdale-Frankford Country Club, recognizes the top players from each Championship Division – Amateur, Junior and Senior – on their year-long accomplishments.
The Annual Meeting concludes the GAP schedule on Oct. 22 at Philmont Country Club (South/North).
Honorary teams-In addition to the Williamson Cup, the Association will once again send representatives to the Compher Cup, the Senior Challenge Matches, the Challenge Matches and the Mason-Dixon Matches.
The Compher Cup pits the GAP against the New Jersey State Golf Association with 12-man teams from each organization squaring off in an individual and four-ball match. GAP leads the annual series, 30-11-4. Last year, the Golf Association of Philadelphia defeated the New Jersey State Golf Association, 12-6, to retain the Compher Cup at Mountain Ridge Country Club. This May’s match is set for Monday the 21st at storied Pine Valley Golf Club.
Eight-man teams representing four associations – Delaware, GAP, New Jersey and Maryland – contest the Senior Challenge Matches (stroke play competition). The 2008 contest is scheduled for Oct. 1 at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Ft. Washington, Pa.
The Challenge Matches pit 12-man teams from the Golf Association of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Section of the PGA against each other in an individual and four-ball match. This year the Matches travel to Stone Harbor Golf Club on Oct. 2 where GAP looks for its first victory since 1994. The PGA leads the all-time series, 13-1-3. Last year, the Philadelphia Section defeated the GAP, 12-6.
The Mason-Dixon Matches, a competition of 12-man teams from the Golf Association of Philadelphia and the Middle Atlantic Golf Association, is scheduled for Oct. 11-12 at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md. Philadelphia retained the trophy with a 10-8 win last year at Hidden Creek Golf Club in Egg Harbor Township, N.J. The GAP leads the all-time series, 33-19-4.
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 136 Member Clubs and 60,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. The purpose of the Association is simple: To promote, protect and preserve the game of golf in the region.
Contact:
Gian Rodriguez
Office: 610-687-2340 Ext. 28
Cell: 215-880-6807
Email: grodriguez@gapgolf.org
