A new format. A move to mid-week play. And a return to a familiar venue. These are some of the items that have sparked discussion as the best golfers in this golf-rich county prepare for the 17th Montgomery County Amateur Championship on Thursday.

After 16 years of holding the championship over two days on a weekend in either late-July or early-August, the competition will take place over one day. The Championship Division, featuring the best players in the county, will be a physical and mental test of 36 holes in one day. The Senior Division, Super-Senior Division and Women’s Division will play an 18-hole championship, according to a press release from TL Golf Services. 

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After a two-year hiatus, the Championship returns to Blue Bell Country Club, which hosted the final round of the event for the first 14 years of its existence.

“Blue Bell Country Club has a firm commitment to the Championship, but, at the same time we have to be mindful of the needs of our members,” explains Head Golf Professional Joey Pohle, also a member of the Advisory Board Competition Committee for the County Am. “That dictated the move to a weekday. The idea of 36 holes on the same day reflects play in some of the other major championships for amateurs in the region. This is really an attempt to identify the best of the best.”

Blue Bell CC, which has undergone a major renovation over the past 18 months, is in prime condition for the championship. Projects to improve drainage, bunkers and greens have been well-received.

“The conditions at Blue Bell are amazing,” said Jim Serratore, County Am volunteer chairman for more than 12 years. “After being away for the last two years, I was interested to see the improvements. I have walked every inch of this course in past years and I can honestly say it is in the best condition ever. It is a true championship venue.”

Defending champion Ron Robinson of Hatfield is leading the list of accomplished players vying for the championship. He is one of a number of players who have a plus-handicap. He holds a plus-2.4 handicap at Commonwealth National. He just completed his freshman year at Monmouth University.

Other notable names include Dawson Anders of Indian Valley CC, a sophomore-to-be at Temple University and the 2016 Montgomery County Amateur Champion.

In the last two years, both Robinson and Anders pulled off the history-making accomplishment of winning the Junior Championship and the Amateur Championship in the same year.

A pair of players from Spring-Ford Country Club are sure to attract attention. Ryan Tall of Collegeville, who won the Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Championship on the same Blue Bell course last month, is in the field. He is an incoming freshman at Lafayette University.

JT Spina of Schwenksville, also from Spring-Ford, is another accomplished junior who is competing against the big boys. Spina place third in the 2016 PIAA State Championship.

Both Spina and Tall will be competing in the Montgomery County Junior Championship, scheduled for the following day at The 1912 Club (formerly Plymouth CC). Play will take place in both boys and girls divisions, with players competing for the Dave Marshall Memorial Scholarship and the Harry Mirabile Memorial Scholarship.

Also of note, three-time Women’s Champion Isabella DiLisio is returning to defend her title. A key player on the Notre Dame University golf team, the Hatfield resident distinguished herself in the inaugural Valley Forge Invitational at Raven’s Claw in May. Playing as an amateur against the professionals from the LPGA Symetra Tour, she made the cut and finished with a very respectable 1-under-par total in the three-day event.

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