Chip Lutz

“I was more thrilled to play against Robin in the Final. I’m glad it was the last round because it was fortunately my best round,” Lutz, 59, of Reading, Pa., said. “I was really pleased this afternoon. Last year, Robin took me out in the first round, so this sort of squares us up. I don’t want to see him early. I want to see him late.”

“Obviously, I’m disappointed that I couldn’t figure out a way to win,” McCool, 63, of Bethlehem, Pa., said. “I played well. Chip played better. He’s just the best senior amateur that I know of, so if I can hang with him at all, it’s an accomplishment. I’m very pleased.”

Whitemarsh Valley’s par 5s — a nagging nemesis to Lutz all week — reversed roles in the Final. Lutz moved to 2-up over McCool following a solid two-putt birdie from 20 feet on No. 3 (532 yards). The next par 5 (No. 5, 487 yards) impacted both players in different ways. McCool, a Saucon Valley Country Club member, executed a flop shot that cleared the fairway bunker and darted into the hole for eagle. Lutz carried a 2-hybrid from 236 yards onto the front of the green and watched it chase left and settle 30 feet hole-high. He then matched McCool’s 3.

“It was just good fortune that I was able to roll it in,” Lutz said. “That was really pivotal. You get a guy who holes one out on you and it can change the momentum of the match. I didn’t really expect him to make it from the fairway over the bunker. It was an incredible shot.”

The eagles accelerated Lutz and stalled McCool. The par 4, 381-yard 10th hole produced a similar effect. McCool hit an 8-iron 140 yards to a foot for an assured birdie. Lutz, however, sunk an eight-footer of his own after a precise pitching wedge shot from 110 yards. He extended the lead to three with a birdie on the par 5, 512-yard 11th hole, where he powered a 3-wood 250 yards into the front left bunker and splashed out to four feet.

“I was due for a little redemption on some of these par 5s,” Lutz said. “It was nice to be able to score on those because they’re reachable for me and it’s something you should take advantage of.”

Lutz capitalized on previously untapped scoring opportunities while McCool saw his putter run cold. He missed a five-footer for birdie on No. 12 (par 3, 170 yards). A three-putt on the par 4, 370-yard 13th hole ultimately extinguished his repeat bid.

“I missed a couple of putts that I haven’t missed in matches this week,” McCool said. Lutz, the reigning four-time GAP Senior Player of the Year, will next compete in the British Senior Open at Royal Porthcawl.

The Brewer Cup is named in honor of O. Gordon Brewer, Jr., the former president of Pine Valley Golf Club. He is a two-time U.S. Senior Amateur Champion and veteran of 42 USGA Championships. He’s captured two Golf Association of Philadelphia Amateur Championship titles (1967, 1976), a GAP Senior Amateur Championship crown (1997) and a Senior Player of the Year (1997) as well as countless invitational titles. Five years ago he was recognized for his contributions to the game with the USGA’s Bob Jones Award.

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