The reputation of the tournament would be enhanced by the inclusion of Richard "Dick" Chapman, one of the few amateur golfers to win both the U.S. Amateur (1940) and the British Amateur (1944). He also had won the 1949 Canadian Amateur.

Cherry lost by one stroke to another American Walker Cup member, Hillman Robbins, Jr., of Memphis, Tennessee. Robbins, whose resume included the 1954 National Intercollegiate Championship, would later that summer become the United States Amateur champion. His success, the improved field, and medal-play format established the Sunnehanna Amateur as a tournament on the way up in amateur golfing circles.

By the third year, the tournament had begun to receive notable national acclaim.

The tournament's invitation process was updated and changed. Using a format to invite players much like The Masters, invitations would essentially be limited to those who won major amateur tournaments or state-sanctioned championships. Three nationally known golf writers were afforded three invitations, the committee given two committee selections.

Two major television networks were also quick to sense the goings-on in Johnstown. The National Broadcasting Company's Monitor staff allotted time on its weekend programs for on-the-spot descriptions, developments, as well as highlights. Updates were relayed to New York and reported Saturday and Sunday include a wrap-up of the tournament. The Columbia Broadcasting Company would also provide national news coverage.

Periodicals such as The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Pittsburgh Press, and The Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph devoted significant pre-tournament coverage of the amateur in Johnstown. Golf World Associate Editor, Jimmy Mann, came from Pinehurst to cover the tournament for his golf weekly. <more>