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| Gary and Cody Smith bump fists following a par save on No. 2 (par 3, 151 yards). |
Rock on: The Smiths capture Father & Son (Middle) at Heidelberg
BERNVILLE, Pa. — A jubilant Cody Smith couldn’t hide his giddy grin. Can you blame the Philadelphia Publinks GA member after experiencing one of the best rounds — better yet golf moments — of his life?
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Photo gallery |
History |
Smith, along with his father Gary, carded a 1-under-par 69 to capture the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Father & Son (Middle) at an overcast Heidelberg Country Club (par 70, 6,061 yards). The event’s format is selective drive/alternate shot.
The Smiths, who played in the morning, meandered throughout the clubhouse as a handful of teams in the afternoon threatened to tie, or to even overtake, their lead. When the victory became official, Cody’s grin returned. He and Gary shook hands and embraced.
“I can’t believe we did it, dad, I’ve wanted to win this with you for a long time,” Cody said.
“I’ve been lucky to play in a couple of U.S. Amateur Championships (1983, 1991) — college golf and a few neat things,” Gary, 58, said. “Two years ago, when we finished second in the (Pennsylvania Golf Association) Father & Son (Championship), that was the best day I had on the golf course. Today beats that. Playing golf with your son and having a good round is pretty special.”
Cody, 23, raised his game from tee to green en route to raising a trophy with dad.
“Every time I get to go out and play golf with my dad, it’s a lot of fun," he said. "I just feel like when I play with him, I always play better. I want to show off for him.”
Cody showed off alright. He ensured safety off the tee and executed all three of the team’s birdie putts.
“He drove the ball well. He rolled the ball well,” Gary, a Pine Valley Golf Club member, said. “With the exception of one hole — he hit it out-of-bounds on No. 17 — he was in play all day. It’s nice that I can just get up there and swing. With the exception of two or three holes, we played his drive, which is why he was putting all day.”
“I’ve been hitting the ball well recently and I’ve lowered my scores, so I’m expecting my handicap to go down,” Cody said.
Starting on the back nine, the Smith team inked its first circle (birdie) on No. 12 (par 4, 365 yards). After Cody parted the trees accordingly, Gary hit a wedge 80 yards to eight feet. His son cleaned up the birdie putt. The Smith team immediately relinquished that stroke after failing to get up-and-down from the left fairway bunker on No. 13 (par 4, 380 yards). Cody returned to red by draining a 12-foot slider on No. 15 (par 4, 404 yards). Gary’s lob wedge from 135 yards set up the tense conversion.
“That wasn’t exactly an easy one. The green was sloping pretty hard there,” Cody said.
The undulating No. 6 (par 4, 412 yards) green wasn’t easy, either; the Huntingdon Valley, Pa. residents walked away with another bogey thanks to a three-putt from 45 feet. But the par 5, 481-yard No. 9 revealed that championship mettle exemplified throughout the day.
Standing 192 yards from the flagstick, Cody, in between clubs for a millisecond, forcefully retrieved his 5-iron, addressed his golf ball and swung without hesitation.
“I figured that I’d rather be middle and short of the green than long. I had confidence that I could get it on the green, and I ended up getting it on,” Cody, a senior at Bryn Athyn College majoring in business, said. “It took a very generous bounce forward and got much closer.”
Thirty feet, to be exact. Gary’s eagle attempt drifted three feet left of the jar. Cody, again demonstrating a swagger a la Leonardo DiCaprio on the red carpet, deposited an ultimately triumphant birdie.
Credit a new putter — a red Odyssey mallet — and an altered stance for Cody’s awakening on the greens of late.
"I spent a lot more time working on my putting,” he said. “I believe I tended to stand too far from the ball. I just tried to make sure I got my head over the ball when I putted. I use to have nine three-putts a round. Now I have one or two, sometimes none."
"I think that in the past in this event, we tended to shoot in the mid-70s and always had a few three-putts or a double bogey on one hole or something bad happens,” Gary, who also let smirks slip post-round, added. “Today we just both seemed to be in a good frame. We stepped up and hit shots with confidence.”
The Smiths hope it's a light of confidence that never goes out.
The Father & Son (Middle) tournament is for those father and son teams with sons 18 to 29 years old. The event was conceived in 2008 because of the high demand for participation in both the Father & Son (Younger), which celebrates its 61st anniversary this year, and the Older tournament — an event in its 107th year.
Golf Association of Philadelphia
Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 260 Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
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Gross
results
|
|
Name,
club
|
Score
|
|
Gary
Smith/Cody Smith, Pine Valley Golf Club/Philadelphia Publinks
GA
|
69
|
|
Steve
Ebersole/Greg Ebersole, The Ridge at Back Brook
|
70
|
|
Matt
Krass/Jim Krass, Radley
Run Country Club
|
70
|
|
Jef Fogel/Ryan
Fogel, Penn Oaks Golf Club
|
71
|
|
Buddy
Hansen, IV/E. Hansen, III, Blue Bell Country Club
|
71
|
|
Andrew
Isztwan/Brian Isztwan,
Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
71
|
|
Dwight
Dudas/Matt Dudas, Indian
Valley Country Club
|
72
|
|
Neal
Levitsky/Kevin Levitsky,
Wilmington Country Club
|
73
|
|
Daniel
Pinciotti, Jr./D.J. Pinciotti, III, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
73
|
|
John
Barry/Jack Barry, Lancaster Country Club
|
73
|
|
Ken
Croney, Jr./Trey Croney, Applebrook Golf Club
|
74
|
|
Joe
Hoban/Joey Hoban, Radley Run Country Club
|
74
|
|
Jim
Fullerton/Carlos Fullerton, Brookside CC of Allentown
|
74
|
|
Robert
Galbreath, Sr./Evan Galbreath, Huntingdon Valley Country Club/Philmont
Country Club
|
75
|
|
Robert
Wurtz, Jr./Bobby Wurtz,
Philadelphia Cricket Club
|
75
|
|
Matt
Smith/Greg Smith, Wilmington Country Club
|
75
|
|
Paul
Altieri/Daniel Altieri, Makefield Highlands Golf
Club
|
75
|
|
Michael
Gregor/Jack Gregor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
76
|
|
Bill
Miller/Tyler Miller, Stonewall
|
76
|
|
Gene
Carroll/Ryan Carroll, Chester Valley Golf Club
|
76
|
|
Stephen
McNamara/Sean McNamara, Bent Creek Country Club
|
77
|
|
Kevin
Conners/Kevin Conners,
Jr., Whitford Country Club
|
77
|
|
Ryan
Tall/John Tall, Spring Ford Country Club
|
77
|
|
Thomas
Dzwonczyk/Thomas Dzwonczyk,
Country Club of Scranton
|
78
|
|
Jeff
Garrett/Scott Garrett, The Bucks Club
|
78
|
|
Glenn
Meyer/Cory Meyer, Philmont Country Club
|
78
|
|
Joe
Romano/Nick Romano, Cedarbrook Country Club
|
78
|
|
Joseph
Templin/Drew Templin, LedgeRock Golf Club
|
78
|
|
Phillip
Villari, Sr./Phillip Villari,
Jr., Riverton Country Club
|
78
|
|
Brian
Rothaus/Zachary Rothaus,
Five Ponds Golf Club/Philmont Country Club
|
79
|
|
James
Gillespie/James Gillespie, Jr., Concord Country Club
|
79
|
|
Samuel
Leech/John Leech, Jr., Brookside Country Club
|
79
|
|
Jeffrey
Hilton/Kevin Hilton, Northampton Valley Country Club
|
79
|
|
Jack
Bellwoar/Jay Bellwoar,
Hidden Creek Golf Club
|
80
|
|
Perry
Landis/Tucker Landis, Moselem Springs Golf Club
|
80
|
|
Luke
Morgan/Doug Morgan, Schuylkill Country Club
|
80
|
|
James
Jesikiewicz/Eric Jesikiewicz,
Wyoming Valley Country Club
|
81
|
|
Dennis
Wysocki/Chris Wysocki, Makefield Highlands Golf
Club
|
81
|
|
Joseph
Templin/Jakob Templin, LedgeRock Golf Club
|
82
|
|
John
Tierney/John Tierney, Merchantville Country Club
|
82
|
|
Hudson
Green, Jr./Kyle Green, Stonewall
|
83
|
|
Thomas
Finn/Patrick Finn, Loch Nairn Golf Club/Rock Manor
Golf Club
|
84
|
|
Joseph
Finley/Andrew Finley, Union League Golf Club at Torresdale
|
85
|
|
Christopher
Knox/Michael Knox, Applecross Country Club/Downingtown Country Club
|
86
|
|
Greg
Welsh/Karl Welsh, Talamore Country Club
|
86
|
|
Mark
DiPrinzio/Brayden DiPrinzio,
Chester Valley Golf Club
|
91
|
|
Kevin
Davies/Sean Davies, Stonewall
|
97
|
|
Nick
Matteo/Christopher Matteo, Lu Lu Country Club
|
104
|
|
Domenic
Matteo/Nick Matteo, Lu Lu Country Club
|
116
|
|
Matthew
Bastian/Matthew Bastian, Jr., Rolling Green Golf Club
|
NS
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Robert
Galbreath, Sr./Daniel Galbreath, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
WD
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Net results
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|
Name, club
|
Score
|
|
Gary Smith/Cody Smith, Pine Valley Golf Club/Philadelphia Publinks GA
|
63
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Steve Ebersole/Greg Ebersole, The Ridge at Back Brook
|
64
|
|
Buddy Hansen, IV/E. Hansen, III, Blue Bell Country Club
|
65
|
|
Neal Levitsky/Kevin Levitsky, Wilmington Country Club
|
66
|
|
Matt Krass/Jim Krass,
Radley Run Country Club
|
66
|
|
Andrew Isztwan/Brian Isztwan, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
66
|
|
Stephen McNamara/Sean McNamara, Bent Creek Country Club
|
67
|
|
Jim Fullerton/Carlos Fullerton, Brookside CC of Allentown
|
67
|
|
Gene Carroll/Ryan Carroll, Chester Valley Golf Club
|
68
|
|
Joseph Templin/Drew Templin, LedgeRock
Golf Club
|
68
|
|
Samuel Leech/John Leech, Jr., Brookside Country Club
|
68
|
|
Bill Miller/Tyler Miller, Stonewall
|
69
|
|
Jef Fogel/Ryan Fogel, Penn Oaks Golf Club
|
69
|
|
Dwight Dudas/Matt Dudas,
Indian Valley Country Club
|
70
|
|
Joe Hoban/Joey Hoban, Radley Run Country Club
|
70
|
|
John Barry/Jack Barry, Lancaster Country Club
|
70
|
|
Dennis Wysocki/Chris Wysocki, Makefield
Highlands Golf Club
|
70
|
|
Matt Smith/Greg Smith, Wilmington Country Club
|
71
|
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John Tierney/John Tierney, Merchantville Country Club
|
72
|
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Daniel Pinciotti, Jr./D.J. Pinciotti, III, Huntingdon Valley
Country Club
|
72
|
|
Joe Romano/Nick Romano, Cedarbrook Country Club
|
72
|
|
Ken Croney, Jr./Trey Croney, Applebrook Golf Club
|
72
|
|
Paul Altieri/Daniel Altieri, Makefield
Highlands Golf Club
|
72
|
|
Phillip Villari, Sr./Phillip Villari, Jr., Riverton Country Club
|
72
|
|
Joseph Templin/Jakob Templin, LedgeRock
Golf Club
|
73
|
|
Robert Wurtz, Jr./Bobby Wurtz, Philadelphia Cricket Club
|
73
|
|
Glenn Meyer/Cory Meyer, Philmont Country Club
|
73
|
|
Jeffrey Hilton/Kevin Hilton, Northampton Valley Country Club
|
73
|
|
Jack Bellwoar/Jay Bellwoar,
Hidden Creek Golf Club
|
74
|
|
Christopher Knox/Michael Knox, Applecross Country
Club/Downingtown Country Club
|
74
|
|
Perry Landis/Tucker Landis, Moselem
Springs Golf Club
|
74
|
|
James Gillespie/James Gillespie, Jr., Concord Country Club
|
74
|
|
Kevin Conners/Kevin Conners, Jr., Whitford Country
Club
|
74
|
|
Luke Morgan/Doug Morgan, Schuylkill Country Club
|
74
|
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Michael Gregor/Jack Gregor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
75
|
|
Hudson Green, Jr./Kyle Green, Stonewall
|
75
|
|
Thomas Finn/Patrick Finn, Loch Nairn
Golf Club/Rock Manor Golf Club
|
76
|
|
Brian Rothaus/Zachary Rothaus, Five Ponds Golf Club/Philmont Country Club
|
77
|
|
James Jesikiewicz/Eric Jesikiewicz, Wyoming Valley Country Club
|
77
|
|
Joseph Finley/Andrew Finley, Union League Golf Club at Torresdale
|
77
|
|
Kevin Davies/Sean Davies, Stonewall
|
79
|
|
Mark DiPrinzio/Brayden DiPrinzio, Chester Valley Golf Club
|
80
|
|
Nick Matteo/Christopher Matteo, Lu Lu
Country Club
|
88
|
|
Domenic Matteo/Nick Matteo, Lu Lu
Country Club
|
95
|
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Matthew Bastian/Matthew Bastian, Jr., Rolling Green Golf Club
|
NS
|
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Robert Galbreath, Sr./Daniel Galbreath, Huntingdon Valley
Country Club
|
WD
|
|
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NS — no show; WD — withdrawal
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