Matthew McKeone lives in Mount Arlington, N.J. these days,
but Moselem Springs Golf Club in Fleetwood, Berks County is still his home
course.
So the 2014 Moselem Springs club champion was right at home
teeing it up in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Father & Son (Older)
Championship last Wednesday with his dad, 62-year-old Guy, on the younger
McKeone’s home course. Guy McKeon plays out of nearby Reading Country Club.
The result was a 4-under-par 66 over the 6,382-yard, par-70
Moselem layout in the select-drive, alternate-shot format that gave Team
McKeone the title. The Older division in GAP’s series of three Father & Son
championships is for sons 30 and older and their dads.
Starting on the back nine, Guy McKeone got the team going
when he drilled an 8-iron to six feet at the 130-yard, par-3 11th
hole and Matthew converted the birdie. Most of the rest of the way, it was just a
matter of Matthew bombing drives and Guy hitting wedges to birdie range.
After the McKeones fell back to even-par with a three-putt
bogey at the 13th hole, Guy knocked a gap wedge from 85 yards away at the
16th hole to 10 feet and Matthew drained the putt. At 17, Guy’s approach
finished 20 feet from the hole and Matthew converted the tough birdie try to
get Team McKeone to 2-under heading to the front nine.
After dropping a shot with a bogey at the first hole, Guy McKeone
knocked a wedge from 95 yards away at the second to four feet and Matthew made
the putt to get them back to 2-under.
Guy McKeone used a 5-rescue at the 173-yard, par-3 fifth
hole and drilled it to two feet to get Team McKeone to 3-under. And dad
finished up strong as he nearly holed his approach with a wedge at the sixth
hole and Matthew tapped it in to enable the McKeones to finish at 4-under.
“We’ve always been really close,” Matthew McKeone, whose
wife Kelli expects to deliver a grandchild for dad in November, told the GAP
website. “We’ve been best friends. It’s
just fun playing with him, whether in competition or just fun on a Saturday or
Sunday.
“We’ve learned how to play with each other. We used to get
nervous. Spending four or five hours catching up … hopefully a long time from
now, my boy and I will do the same thing.”
Mike Owsik, the proprietor of the M Golf Range in Newtown
Square and a fellow Archbishop Carroll Class of 1973 graduate of mine, and son
Michael Owsik Jr., playing out of Cobbs Creek Golf Club, finished tied for
second at 1-under 69.
They were joined at that figure by Dan Brown and Michael
Brown of Llanerch Country Club.
Michael Hyland and Tom Hyland of Little Mill Country Club
matched par with a 70 to finish fourth, the Lancaster Country duo of Brandon
Detweiler and Martin Detweiler finished fifth at 1-over 71 and the Brookside
Country Club pair of Bo Maguire and Alexander Maguire Sr. took sixth at 2-over
72.
A formidable Overbrook Golf Club pair Christopher Lange and
Chris Lange Jr. and Gregg Semenetz and Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Sean
Semenetz shared seventh place, each team carding a 4-over 74.
Rounding out the top 10 were three teams that finished tied
for ninth place at 5-over 75, including the Rolling Green Golf Club pair of Craig
Aronchick and Robert Aronchick, Gary Yeager of Philadelphia Cricket Cup and
Royce Yeager of Cedarbrook Country Club and Dan Alessi of McCall Golf &
Country Club and Richard Alessi Jr. of Llanerch.
In the Super-Senior division, the Whitford Country Club pair
of Chris Yard and W. Scott Yard reprised their Father & Son (18 and over)
title from 19 years ago as they matched par with a 70 to take the top spot in
the division.
The Yards hit the first 10 greens in regulation without much
to show for it as they stood at 1-over. But the 72-year-old Scott rolled in a
15-footer for birdie at the 13th to capitalize on 46-year-old Chris’
solid 9-iron approach to get Team Yard to even par.
Chris Yard then got one to fall after dad’s approach to the
16th with a wedge finished 15 feet away to get them to 1-under. A
bogey at the 17th left them at even-par, which was good enough to
give them a one-shot edge on the Coatesville Country Club tandem of Rich
Pruchnik and Richard Pruchnik, who carded a 1-over 71.
The Aronimink Golf Club pair of Martin Klaholz and Tim
Klagholz finished third at 2-over 72 and Michael Brown Sr. and Lu Lu Country
Club’s Michael Brown Jr. finished fourth at 4-over 74.
The Heidelberg Country Club tandem of Jason Weaver and John
Weaver and the Huntingdon Valley Country Club pair of Bill Fanner and Eric
Fanner finished tied for fifth place, each team posting a 75.
Five more teams finished tied for seventh place at 76, including
Gregory Markus of Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia and Steve Markus of
Little Mill, Dave Owsik (my favorite Northwestern Mutual insurance guy) and
Rich Owsik of Rolling Green, the Chester Valley Golf Club duo of Mike Civitello
Jr and Michael Civitello, Thomas Mohr of Whitford and Anthony Stipa of
Bluestone Country Club and Bryan McClaskey of Merchantville Country Club and
Charles McClaskey of the Philadelphia Publinks Golf Association.
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