Philadelphia Amateur finalists have similar strategy
Grant Skyllas' 103 holes of golf over the first three days of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur have generated painful foot blisters. But now that he's reached the final he hopes he can maintain the mental approach that has contributed to his success thus far.
Grant Skyllas' 103 holes of golf over the first three days of the BMW Philadelphia Amateur have generated painful foot blisters. But now that he's reached the final he hopes he can maintain the mental approach that has contributed to his success thus far.
Skyllas, of Wyomissing, a member at LedgeRock Golf Club, will take on Gregor Orlando at Philadelphia Cricket Club in Saturday's 36-hole final to determine the winner of the 117th championship. It would be the first Golf Association of Philadelphia title for either player.
Skyllas, who will turn 31 on Sunday, said the key is realizing that it's a long day of golf and "the outcome is not going to always go your way. But you've got to try to weather the storm and stay positive.
"I'm not trying to get too high or too low on myself," he said Friday, an off-day in the competition. "There's a lot of golf, so you can't get ahead of yourself. You've got to focus on the task at hand and not the result. So it's just the whole way I'm going about the round, how I'm going through the process of each shot."
He must continue to do that Saturday against Orlando, 26, of Philadelphia, a member at the host club who eliminated defending champion Michael McDermott of Merion, 2 and 1, in Thursday's semifinal.
Orlando also has played a lot of golf this week - 102 holes – and his approach for the championship match will be similar to that of Skyllas.
"You have to think of it exactly as one shot at a time," he said. "You're playing your opponent. You're not really playing the course. It's a completely different way that you look at the game when it comes down to playing match play versus stroke play. I actually like match play.
"You have to be there 100 percent physically and 1,000 percent mentally. It's a great part of golf, playing in a tournament like this."
As for fatigue, Orlando said he will "just try to drive it out of my mind."
Skyllas had fatigue and more to deal with in his 2-and-1 semifinal win Thursday over P.J. Acierno of LuLu.
"My legs fell out from underneath myself," he said. "I had a blister problem going on. I could definitely feel them. I think that my adrenalin kind of took over for most of the round. I'm having trouble walking because my legs are so sore. But it's all worth it."
The best finish for Skyllas, the 2014 Pennsylvania Mid-Amateur champion, in a GAP major was second place at the 2014 Patterson Cup at Tavistock. Orlando, the 2008 Pennsylvania Junior champion, finished one stroke out of a playoff at the 2016 GAP Middle-Amateur at Waynesborough.
The competition begins at 7:30 a.m. The public is invited.