George Washington University Athletics
GW Golfers Take Part in Summer Amateur Tournaments
7/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
July 12, 2004
GW golfers past and present have been hitting the links and having quite a bit of success this summer. The first Colonial to tee it up was rising junior, Andrew Gallo (Toronto, Canada) who joined the Class of 02's Thomas Blankvoort (The Hague, The Netherlands) at the 2004 British Amateur at St. Andrew's Golf Links in Scotland.
Both players were invited based on the tournament resumes. Neither Andrew nor Thomas made the cut at the event which has what is likely the third strongest field in amateur golf, behind the US Amateur and the NCAA Finals, according to GW head coach Scott Allen.
Thomas shot 78-73 and Andrew 82-72 with the 72 coming at the Old Course. Coach Scott Allen (Class of '93) caddied for Gallo and Gallo's teammate, Stuart Healey (Class of '04) caddied for Blankvoort, giving GW a strong presence at the event. Gallo has already qualified for the Royal Canadian Amateur and he hope to qualify for the U.S. Amateur to complete the trifecta. Speaking of St. Andrew's, Pat Tallent ('76) finished 15th at the St. Andrew's Links Trust, a major Amateur event in the UK with 299 for 72 holes.
Gallo continued his strong play, in June winning the Norman Smith Invitational with a score of two over in a three way playoff. The following week he continued his strong play at the Troy Invitational (which Blankvoort won in 2002) shooting 219 for 54 holes and finishing 2nd by a shot. Rising sophomore Raman Luthra (East Amherst, NY) finished eighth with 225 in a field that included many NCAA players.
Several Colonials attempted to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Public Links. The most successful was freshman Tim Johnson (Marblehead, MA) who shot 71-79 and birdied the first playoff hole to grab the fifth and final spot from the Boston area sectional qualifier and advance to the finals in Minnesota. Johnson is the first Colonial to advance to the event since Ryan Day (Ellsworth, ME-Class of 2001) in 2001. Two of Johnson's future teammates are hoping to join him. Rising junior Dan Mirabella (Ann Arbor, MI) shot 76-72 and is the first alternate out of the Richmond, VA sectional qualifier.
Brian Carroll (Crystal Lake, IL) also a rising junior shot 144 and is the third alternate from the Chicago area sectional. Carroll qualified for the Illinois Open, shooting a 75 at the qualifier for the August 2-4 event, and the Illinois Amateur, shooting 74 to qualify for the August 9-11 event. Carroll finished 17th at the Chicago District Golf Association Amateur with 146.
Rising sophomore Jack Tyler (Novi, MI) shot 74 to qualify for the Michigan Amateur where he shot 75-76-71-72 and finished 22nd. Tyler was the sixth-lowest amateur in the field that included the best amateur and professional players in the state. Jack was also an alternate for the US Open from the Michigan sectional qualifier.
Another incoming freshman, Danny Brooker (Windsor, England) finished 25th at the Midlands Youth Amateur (a major event in the UK) with 145. He shot 146 to qualify for the event. Danny also finished third at the Oxfordshire Amateur. He'll play in the English Amateur in late July.
The Colonials, who return their top seven players from last season, open the 2004-05 season at the Naval Academy Fall Invitational on September 11-12, 2004 in Annapolis, MD.
Players Mentioned
