George C. Thomas Invitational: Harvey, Lutz win titles

LOS ANGELES, California (June 24, 2017) -- Los Angeles Country Club will host 20 of the best amateurs in the world (10 from USA, 10 from Great Britain & Ireland) when the Walker Cup is played there in September. Spider Miller will captain the USA team for the second straight time in the biennial matches, and try to take his record to 1-1, having lost "across the pond" two years ago. Captain Miller was in attendance as a larger group of Mid-Amateurs and Seniors played LACC's annual showcase, the George C. Thomas Invitational over the weekend. He spoke to the players about recent discussions about Mid-Ams being removed from the rota, and from the sound of things that isn't going to be the case. One can only hope. Scott Harvey, won a three-hole aggregate playoff against Patrick Christovich of New Orleans and 4-time US Mid-Am champ Nathan Smith of Pennsylvania in yet another sign that the Coleman Invitational winner, and qualifier for the U.S. Open is at the peak of his game. Winning in front of Miller, and having the experience of representing USA in the previous Walker Cup, should be the icing on the cake for his selection to the team alongside a player we can only guess will be Stewart Hagestad. The two players are No. 1 and 2 in the AmateurGolf.com Mid-Amateur Rankings. The three players finished with the final scores of 215 to get into the 3-way playoff. Harvey made birdies on hole Nos. 1 and 3 holes of the playoff which helped him seal the victory for the second-straight year. The Senior Amateur Championship, almost headed for a playoff, when Gene Elliott (West Des Moines, IA) and Chip Lutz (Reading, PA) went toe to toe till the final hole. There it was our 3-time champion, Lutz who finished with a second-straight low round of the day, a 1-under 69 that gave him a total score of 214 and a 4-shot victory over Elliott, who is having an amazing season himself, winning the Trans Miss Senior Amateur recently in the California desert.