31st Pennsylvania Mid-Amateur Qualifying Results
Qualifying for the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s (PAGA) 31st Pennsylvania Mid-Amateur wrapped up on Wednesday, Sept. 4 in the West Region at Nemacolin Country Club, with eight additional golfers securing their spot for this year's Mid-Am, which takes place Sept. 16-17 at Moselem Springs Golf Club in Fleetwood, Pa. Three previous qualifiers took place last month at Bellewood Country Club (East Region), Fox Hill Country Club (Northeast Region), and Colonial Golf and Tennis Club (Central Region). A total of 76 players between all regions will compete in the upcoming Mid-Amateur. Find brief recaps and complete lists of the qualifying players from each region below.
Nemacolin Country Club (West Region) – Sept. 4, 2024
South Hills Country Club’s Darin Kowalski found himself atop the leaderboard after Wednesday’s qualifying round, finishing two strokes ahead of the rest of the field with an even-par 70. Kowalski birdied holes No. 2 and 6 on the front nine but ran into a stretch of trouble that included bogeys on 5, 8, 9, and 11 before recovering with another pair of birdies on 12 and 13. Pars the rest of the way on the back nine kept him in front of the pack of competitors chasing him. Jon Pratkanis of Butler Country Club was runner-up after finishing the day with a two-over-par 72, while David Degol (Scotch Valley Country Club) was just behind in third place with a three-over 73. Three golfers were tied for fourth place at 74 (+4): Daniel Joseph (South Hills CC), Lance George (Southpointe GC), and Christopher Reedman (Makefield Highlands GC). The last two qualifiers from the West Region were tied for seventh place at 76 (+6) and include Hannastown GC’s Matt Montgomery and Bedford Springs Resort’s Matthew Bullington.
Bellewood Country Club (East Region) – Aug. 19, 2024 The East Region qualifier at Bellewood Country Club was led by a duo of golfers tied with one-under-par 70’s: Kennett Square Golf & CC’s Jeff Miller and Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Brendan Borst. Miller was one-under on the front nine, with birdies on holes No. 7 and 9 and a bogey on 5, then added three more birdies and three more bogeys on the back nine. Borst notched two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine but added an eagle on the par-five 10th hole to highlight his back nine. Bellewood CC’s Brian Gardner and Erik Reisner (1912 Club) were the only other two competitors at even-par on the day, with both shooting 71. Beyond the top four was a pair who shot 72 (+1) in Thomas Weir (Philadelphia Publinks) and Nick Lilley (Northampton Valley CC), then a quartet with two-over 73’s: Zack Amole (French Creek GC), Joe Dulka (Bellewood CC), Greg O’Connor (Bellewood CC), and Michael Carr (Philadelphia Cricket Club). Other qualifiers from the East Region include: Perry Landis (Moselem Springs GC) Dan Kennan (Philadelphia Publinks) James Braunsberg (Blue Bell CC) Frankie McVeigh (Llanerch CC) Josh Isler (Stonewall) Patrick McDermott (St. Davids GC) Nelson Hargrove (Merion GC) Luke Smith (Five Ponds GC) Danny Wu (Bluestone CC) Jake Stoutland (The Springhaven Club) Pete Moran (French Creek GC) Jim Rosenbaum (Old York Road CC) Brad Sokol (Green Valley CC) Bryan Mulhern (Radley Run CC) Benjamin Foster (Old York Road CC) Patrick Rutter (Schuylkill CC) Scott McLaughlin (LuLu CC) Ryan Winchester (Rolling Green GC) Justin Schorr (Talamore CC) Tyler Flagler (Indian Valley CC) Dicky Rhoads (Huntingdon Valley CC) Frank Nattle (Philadelphia Publinks) Tim Beck (North Hills CC) Don Uhrig (LedgeRock GC) Shawn Lavin (Rolling Green GC) Conor Rinehart (St. Davids GC) Wayne Lesage (Aronimink GC)
Fox Hill Country Club (Northeast Region) – Aug. 21, 2024
The qualifying group from the Northeast Region, competing at Fox Hill Country Club, featured Cedarbrook CC’s Kevin P. O’Brien atop the leaderboard with a one-under 70. O’Brien birdied holes No. 1 and six on the front nine and added another pair on 12 and 14. Bogeys on 2, 13, and 15 balanced out the round but O’Brien was able to fend off PAGA Individual Member Ryan Carroll, who was the runner-up at even-par 71. Those two were the only hopefuls to finish at or under-par on the day, but another trio came close to round out the top five with scores of one-over 72: Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Mark Miller, Fox Hill CC’s Bob Gill, and Whitford CC’s Chris Yard. 14 total competitors qualified from the Northeast Region, also including: Alex Anderson (Huntsville GC) Michael Thomas (Country Club of Scranton) Glenn Iversen (USGA/GAP GC) Jonathan Wilson (Irem CC) David Palumbo (Steel Club) Zachary Fischl (Allentown Municipal) Sam Martini (Woodstone CC and Lodge) Seth Hartman (USGA/GAP GC) John Buliga (Yardley CC)
Colonial Golf and Tennis Club (Central Region) – Aug. 22, 2024
17 golfers from the Central region will be competing at the 31st Pennsylvania Mid-Amateur after qualifying at Colonial Golf and Tennis Club on Thursday. At the top of the leaderboard was four players tied for first place with rounds of two-under-par 70: Ian Patterson (Penn National GC), Brandon Raihl (Philadelphia Cricket Club), David Urbassik (Colonial G&T), and Brandon Knaub (Country Club of York.) Each of them bogeyed three holes on the day but found plenty of opportunities for low scores on other holes. Patterson and Knaub led the way with five birdies each, while Raihl birdied 4, 7, and 16 in addition to an eagle on the par-five 14th hole. Urbassik added birdies on 4, 9,17, and an eagle on 11. Beyond the top group was Scott Pugh (Mayapple GC) in fifth place with a 71 (-1), while Andrew Forjan (Royal Manchester Golf Links), Jason Radic (Colonial G&T) and Mick Farlling (Carlisle CC) were tied for sixth place at even-par 72. Other qualifiers from the Central Region include: Stuart Carrihill (Lancaster CC) Connor Vanin (Philadelphia Publinks) Nick Geiman (Out Door CC) Robert Streit (North Hills CC) Jason Miller (Colonial G&T) Justin Lapiska (Colonial G&T) Daniel Galbreath (Huntingdon Valley GC) Joshua Krumholz (Moselem Springs GC) Clay Davidson (West Shore CC)
Next up on the PAGA schedule is the 20th Art Wall Jr. Memorial Championship, scheduled to begin next Monday, Sept. 9 at Centre Hills Country Club. The Pennsylvania Golf Association would like to thank the staff and membership of Nemacolin Country Club, Bellewood Country Club, Fox Hill Country Club, and Colonial Golf and Tennis Club for the hospitality shown during the qualifying rounds. Additional thanks, as always, also go to DICK’S Sporting Goods for sponsorship of the event. |