Defending champion Bricker set
to defend Amateur Championship title
The Pennsylvania Golf Association travels to Verona, Pa. and the Longue Vue Club (par 70, 6,647 yards), just outside of Pittsburgh, for its schedule’s crown jewel, the 94th Amateur Championship. Set for July 30-Aug. 1, a field of 132 players compete over two rounds and 36 holes before a cut to the low 40 players and ties for day three. The final round is 18 holes.Last year, amidst sweltering heat and humidity at Moselem Springs GC in Fleetwood, Pa., Chad Bricker of Waynesboro CC earned his first state Amateur title when he finished at 2-under-par 208 for a two-stroke victory. Kyle Davis of Inniscrone Golf Club and Christopher Schultz of Foxchase Golf Club placed second.
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If Bricker repeats, he’ll be the first to do so since Buddy Marucci of Merion Golf Club successfully defended his title in 1983. In all, 14 individuals have captured more than one state Amateur title. Topping the list of multiple-time champions is R. Jay Sigel of Aronimink Golf Club, currently a member of the Champions Tour, who captured a remarkable 11 State Amateurs. Sigel won an unprecedented five straight titles from 1972-76, seven of eight from 1972-79 and eight of 10 from 1972-81. Marucci (1982-83, 1987, 1991) and William C. Fownes, Jr. of Oakmont Country Club (1910, 1912-13, 1916) are tied for the second most championships with four.
Past champions in the field looking for their second Amateur titles are: Don Erickson, III of Indiana Country Club (1988); Sean Knapp of Longue Vue Club (1997); Michael McDermott of Merion Golf Club (2000) and Nathan Smith of Pinecrest Country Club (2002). Also, competing in the 94th Amateur are Brian Belden, Jr. of Brookside CC of Allentown, the R. Jay Sigel Match Play Champion; Kyle Davis of Inniscrone Golf Club, the reigning Open Champion, and Robert Galbreath, Jr. of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, the 2007 Junior Champion.
This will be Longue Vue Club’s fourth time hosting an Amateur Championship. It had done so in 1953, 1969 and 1985.
“I feel real good about my game. In fact, it’s the best I’ve played in years,” said Knapp, 45, a 13-time Longue Vue Club champion. “I’ve played very well in my area and I’ve been fortunate to be in contention in almost every event.”
And what about playing Longue Vue?
“At the end of the day, you still have to hit the shots and sometimes that easier said than done. You have to relax, play well and see where you are at with nine holes remaining.”
Longue Vue Club was founded in 1920 by a group of prominent Pittsburgh businessmen who wanted to establish a first rate country club. The club is situated on 370 acres of ground 200 feet above the Allegheny River on the old Baggaley Farm in Penn Township (now Penn Hills), as well as several adjacent properties. This parcel of land was the major part of a warrant granted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on April 10, 1786 to Revolutionary War veteran, Thomas Martin and known at that time as "Martinsville."
The original course design was by Robert White, a prominent Scottish golf course architect and designer of courses throughout the country. The course has seen its share of changes over the years, but in the late 1980s Geoffrey Cornish, a member of the Golf Course Architects Hall of Fame, developed a master plan which was implemented to return the course to the original Robert White design. In the Fall of 2001, the course again underwent additional renovations designed by Ron Forse of Forse Design to further restore many of the original Robert White concepts and features.
The course is "tight," demanding, picturesque, and latent with ravines and other equally challenging hazards.
An abundance of wildlife including deer, fox, ducks, wild turkeys and hawks lives and thrives on the course. Panoramic views, colorful flower beds and trees of every size and numerous species enhance the sheer beauty of the grounds.
Spectators are welcomed.
**Course history courtesy of Longue Vue Club**