This weekend, the Amateur Players Tour traveled to historic Bedford, Pennsylvania for its first “Signature Major” of the 2023 season, the APT Open Championship. Contested at the Old Course at Bedford Springs, which is the #2 Ranked Public Access Course in Pennsylvania by Golfweek Magazine, players would be in for a treat with the 1895 Spencer Oldham design, which also had renovation work performed by none other than Donald Ross and A.W. Tillinghast. The Old Course does not challenge the player with its length, but rather using classic design elements and tricky, undulating greens. Saturday would turn out to be a beautiful day of golf, with players battling it out in 5 open and 5 senior divisions.

Unfortunately, rain would again play a major factor in a spring that has seen crazy weather from all over the country. Heavy rains on Friday morning and Saturday night upstream sent an overflow of water through the streams that run through the Old Course, making the course unplayable on Sunday morning. The APT Open Championship would eventually be shortened to an 18-hole official event, with over $10,000 being paid out in VISA Gift Cards to the Sold-Out 128 player field.

In Division 1, Tony Wise (Kentucky) used 2 birdies on the front 9 to turn in even-par 37 to build a lead that would not caught on a tough day where pin locations required a premium on accuracy into the greens. His +4 round of 76 was good enough to earn him a 6-shot victory over Tyler Sipes (Kentucky), who finished in solo 2nd place with an 82. Wise would also claim the Senior honors as well.

In Division 2, Mike Lingenfelter was looking to build off of his Friday win in his first trip around the Old course. After a few birdies and a few bad holes on the front, Lingenfelter needed to make a move on the back 9 to put himself in contention. He did just that, with birdies at 15 and the difficult redan 17th to shoot 76 and edge New Jersey’s Paul Hess (T2-77) and Virginia Capital’s Ken Jones (T2-77) by one stroke. Ryan Mattern (Virginia Capital) and Marcus Wirth (Phoenix) finished T-4 with 78, while James Miller (Metro New York) and Joe Scherer (Birmingham) rounded out the money finishing T-6 with 79. Lingenfelter’s 76 was good enough to take home the senior title, with Paul Hess finishing 2nd and James Miller and Joe Scherer rounding out the money with T-3 finishes respectfully. Mike Lingenfelter took home the USGA Max Prize of $1,000 with his play at Omni.

In Division 3, Matt Love (Nashville) also was trying to build off of a Friday victory in his first trip around the classic, yet treacherous layout of the Old Course. It all came down to a crucial par putt on 18 at the end of Round 1 to hold on the lead, which Love made to get into the clubhouse with an 8-over par 80 and secure his first Major victory and a USGA Max $1,000 prize payout between the open and senior divisions! Terry Lonjin (Virginia Capital) put on a lot of pressure late, with a clutch birdie on 18, but would fall just one shot short with a round of 81. Between his second place finish in the open and the seniors, Lonjin would also earn a USGA Max Prize Payout of $1,000! New Jersey/Philly’s Rich Mariner and Kelly Hopkins each tied for 3rd with 83, while Charlie Hertel (Maryland) and Scott Vanisko (Metro NY) finished Tied-5th with rounds of 84. David Baxmeyer (St. Louis), Simay Souvannarath (St. Louis), Larry Barber (New Jersey/Philly) and Chuck Nimmo (Virginia Capital) rounded out the money with rounds of 85. On the senior side, the finishing order was Matt Love (1st), Terry Lonjin (2nd), Rich Mariner (3rd), Charlie Hertel (T-4), and Scott Vanisko (T-4).

In Division 4, Dan Campbell (Columbus) used a strong front 9 to build a lead that would be here to stay. Campbell shot a smooth 86 to earn a 2-shot win over Dave Funkhouser (Myrtle Beach). 3rd place belonged to New Jersey/Philly’s Ed Kelly and Jordan Miller who were close behind with rounds of 89. Steve Middendorf (St. Louis), Matthew McGee (West Virginia) and Joey Fyall II (West Virginia) each finished tied for 5th with rounds of 90. On the senior side, Dave Funkhouser (Myrtle Beach) played a steady round to edge Ed Kelly by one stroke for the victory with an 88. Steve Middendorf came in 3rd place with a 90.

In Division 5, Paul Kaflinski (Metro NY) cruised to a 5-shot victory with a 95, using a steady hand to earn a 5 shot victory over Virginia Capital’s Enrique Young, who finished in solo 2nd with a round of 100. In the senior division, Enrique Young earned the one-stroke victory with his round of 100 on a difficult golf course with firm and fast, sloping greens. 2nd place was a tie, just one stroke back with Rivia Brown (Carolina Triad) and Anthony Smith (Metro NY) each shooting 101.

From here, the next major stop is the first ever APT University Series! This years event will be hosted by Purdue University and called The Boilermaker and will be contested at Ackerman-Allen and Kampen University, both ranked in the Top-10 campus courses in the country. The University series is a series of events open to ALL APT MEMBERS that will tour some of the best golf that college campuses have to offer around the country. Keep your eyes on the leaderboards this weekend and join us next year as we’ll continue to take a look at some of the top collegiate courses available!

Blind Draw Fourball Top Finishes:

1st – Kelly Hopkins/Ken Jones
T2 – Dan Campbell/Scott Kata
T2- Dan Campbell/Mike Lingenfelter (USGA Max)
T2 – James Chambers/Terry Lonjin (USGA Max)
T5 – Ed Gilbert/Ken Jones
T5 – Jody Barrett/James Miller
T7 – Terry Lonjin (USGA Max)/Christopher Denz
T7 – Rich Mariner/Buzz Buzinski
T7 – Brad Wanish/Paul Hess
T7 – Matt Love (USGA Max)/Mike Cuff
T7 – Michael Cioffi/Marcus Wirth
T7 – Kelly Hopkins/Marcus Wirth