Chip Lutz of LedgeRock goes global
in repeat performance BY MARTIN D. EMENO, JR.
he fact Chip Lutz earned a second
consecutive Senior Player of the Year
honor isn’t surprising. The path he took to those
repeat heights, however, is as impressive as the
feat itself.
Lutz’s 2011 Senior POY roadmap included a
pair of National Championships, a semifinal run at
the U.S. Senior Amateur and leaderboard placings
in numerous Golf Association of Philadelphia Amateur and Senior tournaments.
Lutz, a founding member of LedgeRock GC,
totaled a record 1,035 points in becoming the third
player to capture back-to-back Senior POY titles.
David Brookreson of Huntingdon Valley CC, in
2004-05, was the last individual to earn consecutive Senior Player of the Year honors. Lutz, of Reading, Pa., finished an astounding 465 points ahead
of second-place finisher Raymond Thompson of
Overbrook GC.
“It seems to be that I’m playing better as the
years go by,” said the 56-year-old Lutz. “Every year
is unique and different. [The points I earned in the
Senior Player of the Year] were probably more bal-
anced this year. This was a pretty special season.
To me, the biggest accomplishment was breaking
through on the national scene. GAP is one of most
competitive venues anywhere, but to take it to the
next step and get on the national radar was a huge
personal accomplishment.”
A year ago Lutz collected a Treasure’s Chest of
T
Invitational and GAP trophies traversing the country en route to Golfweek’s Senior National Player
honors. Work commitments kept Lutz from dancing all those dances in 2011, but when he showed
up to tango, the field ended up playing for second
most times.
As he previously mentioned, the highlight of
Lutz’s special season came in August and early
September, at the three most prominent Senior
Amateur tournaments in the world.
On Aug. 5, he prevailed by a stroke in earning
his first National Championship, the R&A Seniors
Open Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush in
North Ireland, after beginning the final round facing
a four-shot deficit. Three weeks later, at the Canadian Men’s Senior Amateur Championship in Newfoundland, Canada, Lutz did it again, this time
destroying the field by nine shots. With two of the
three Major Senior crowns in his pocket, Lutz
headed to the U.S. Senior Amateur looking to become only the second player to corral all three in a
single season. Despite shooting the equivalent of 6
under in his semifinal match against Phillip Pleat of
Nashua, N.H., Lutz fell, 1-up, and was eliminated.
“Winning the British Seniors was just the most
tremendous thing to ever happen to me,” said Lutz,
who fell by a shot in that tournament to top senior
Paul Simson a year ago. “My brother [Putter] was
on the bag and it was my mom’s 85th birthday on
the last day. It was very emotional for me. I didn’t
expect to gather the momentum that fast. I went
from four back to two ahead thru three holes. After
the final putt, the tears were flowing. In the Cana-
dian, I was basically going head-to-head with Paul
[Simson]. Those were wonderful breakthroughs for
me. I was hoping to cap it off with the U.S. Senior
but I came up just a bit short. I’ll try again next year.”
In addition to his international successes, Lutz’s
ability to compete across the GAP spectrum was
quite noteworthy and, frankly, not often seen.
