Cherry Hill, Evesham/Marlton, Medford, Medford Lakes, Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Voorhees and elsewhere near the iconic state highways of Routes 70 and 73.
Local qualifying rounds for professionals to play in the U.S. Open have begun, and one of those rounds will be at The Legacy Club at Woodcrest in Cherry Hill on Thursday.
"We are excited to share our world-class golf course with the area's top golfers," Randy Lahn, owner of the 93-year-old club on Evesham Road, said in a news release.
Other clubs in the region hosting rounds include courses in Deal, Monmouth County, and in Malvern and York in Pennsylvania, according to the club.
In Cherry Hill, John DiMarco, Legacy's golf director who qualified in the first stage for the U.S. Open at Woodcrest in 1999, will join two-time Club Champion Ben Keyser and member Jordan Cooper in this year’s 18-hole qualifier, according to the club. This week's qualification round will be the third time it has been held at the club since 1999.
Legacy stated that just five players from its anticipated field of 100 on Thursday will advance to the final qualifying round played at nine U.S. sites, Japan and Canada on May 23 and June 6. The 122nd U.S. Open championship will be held June 16–19 at the The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
In its news release, Legacy said that "8,680 U.S. Open hopefuls are expected to participate in 109 local qualifying rounds at 44 sites in the U.S. and Canada, through May 23." A player must have a Handicap Index not exceeding 1.4 or must be a professional to participate.
The Lahn Hospitality & Amusement Group took over and renamed the 178-acre Woodcrest property last December.Â
Lahn told 70and73.com at the time that he plans to invest $10 million in course and amenity improvements to transform Legacy into a venue to attract families — and not just golfers — over the next few years.
Lahn's family was a member of the Woodcrest Country Club and he caddied for his father, the late Herbert Lahn.
The family company also owns three Funplex amusement and water parks on the East Coast, including the Funplex in Mount Laurel.
