*Results
Dunphy duo teams up for BMW GTM win in Week OneFather-son duo Dennis and Michael Dunphy forged the foundation of Waynesborough Country Club’s convincing second-team victory over The Springhaven Club in Week One of the BMW GAP Team Matches. They also forged a lifelong memory en route to victory. Both of the Dunphy’s have been playing in the BMW GAP Team Matches for more than 20 years, but Sunday marked the first time Dennis, 69, and Michael, 41, were able to call themselves playing partners. “We were never on the same teams together. He was always first, I was always second,” Dennis said. “He kind of slipped this past year and my handicap went down, so we ended up playing together, which was kind of interesting.” Dennis, of Malvern, Pa., spent this past winter fine-tuning his game at Punta Espada Golf Club in the Dominican Republic, where he played more than 60 rounds of golf and managed to lower his handicap index to 9.4. Michael, of Newton Square, Pa., has dedicated more time to his son’s athletic interests, including basketball and soccer, meaning less time to work on his game. His handicap index has risen to 4.3. The game of golf was originally introduced to Michael at Medford Village Country Club, where Dennis was a member before joining Waynesborough 15 years ago. The younger Dunphy, who won Medford Village’s club championship at the age of 17, has been playing in the Team Matches since he was 16 years old. “Getting a chance to play with your Dad in any event is a great experience. He taught me the love of the game and we were able to share that together,” said Michael. “We had a great match, it went both ways. We had a matching set of birdies on 12 which ended up being the defining moment in the match. It was just nice to see great play by everybody and it was a lot of fun.” The pair won their respective match, 7-2. Waynesborough’s No. 2 team went on to defeat Springhaven’s No. 2 team, 32.5-21.5. While Dennis has been the one swinging the hot club, it was Michael who was instrumental down the stretch against Springhaven. “The birdie on No. 15 (par 5, 520 yards) by Michael closed out the match for us. He was greenside in two, chipped within three feet and sunk the birdie,” Dennis said. If Week One was any indicator of BMW GAP Team Matches-success for Dennis and Michael, they may be looking to play as the Dunphy duo more often. “We’ve got a long history in the Team Matches. We’ve both had our goods and our bads,” Dennis said. “But being able to play with my own son this weekend was something really unique.”
Golf Association of Philadelphia
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A Walk Through Time
GAP is the oldest state or regional golf association in the country. It started courtesy of a friendly competition – the Team Matches – and has grown into the preeminent golf association in the country. Along the way, golf history has been made.
