McDermott shoots 72, qualifies for Mid-Amateur match play
Michael McDermott is accustomed to competing in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, so he usually knows what he has to do to make match play and doesn't let a bad hole slow him down.
Michael McDermott is accustomed to competing in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, so he usually knows what he has to do to make match play and doesn't let a bad hole slow him down.
Playing in his eighth Mid-Amateur, McDermott figured a score of 8 over par would qualify him for the next stage before he teed off Sunday. He finished with a birdie on the 18th hole just to make sure, and his two-day score of 7-over 147 on the two courses at Stonewall safely secured him one of 64 spots in match play.
McDermott, 41, a member at Merion who lives in Bryn Mawr, shot a 2-over 72 on the North course to join three other Golf Association of Philadelphia players who earned a match-play berth. Gregor Orlando of Philadelphia had the best score of the locals, firing a 74 on the Old course for a 145 total.
Two players joined McDermott at 7 over, both playing Sunday on the Old course. Chris Ault of Yardley carded a 76, and John Brennan of Audubon shot 78.
On Monday, two GAP members - Matthew Mattare of Saucon Valley and Nathan Sutherland of Heidelberg - will take part in a 14-man playoff for the 64th and final spot in match play. It took a score of 9-over 149 to make the playoff.
McDermott, who won his third Philadelphia Amateur title in June, capitalized Sunday on his short game at the Chester County layout. He one-putted for pars on the 16th and 17th holes and then, on the par-5 18th, he reached the green in two and two-putted for a birdie.
He said experience in a U.S. Golf Association championship - this is his 16th overall - is valuable.
"It's huge," he said. "The Philly Am is great and everything but this is the next level up. So the first couple of years I played in this, I didn't handle it very well, even though I did fine in the Philly Am. I think being there enough allows you, whether you play well or not as well, to figure out how to get it done."
Orlando, 25, playing in his first USGA championship, finished tied for 23rd in stroke play, overcoming a slow start Sunday with two birdies. He looks forward to match play.
"At this point, you don't have to worry about the rest of the field, you only have to worry about one other player," he said. "The scores don't matter and if you have a bad hole, you can always come back on the next one."
Reading's Chip Lutz, the reigning U.S. Senior Amateur champion, fell short of match play, carding a 76 on Sunday to finish at 151.
Three players - Thomas Werkmeister of Grandville, Mich., Scott Harvey of Greensboro, N.C., and Michael Muehr of Potomac Falls, Va. - shared medalist honors with scores of 2-under 138.
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