MALVERN, Pa. – Just two years ago, Billy Howard was playing some of the best golf he’d ever had.
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Then the sharp blade of his ice skate scraped the ice too deep and by the time he could think, he was in pain. He tore his MCL and ACL. Golf promise pushed back for a year.
He was down and out and so was Applebrook Golf Club. The team was light on players for a week of the BMW GAP Team Matches during 2022. For the love of his club and fellow members, he teed it up.
In 2024, many things have improved for Howard and Applebrook. Following a final-round 66, Howard vaulted to his best finish in a GAP Major, a T4 in the 120th Philadelphia Open (par 70, 6,894 yards).
“This event was one I marked down on my calendar at the start of the year when GAP released it,” Howard, an Applebrook member since 2017, said. “I pegged this event to get my game ready for. This is definitely my best GAP finish. I’ve played in the Open a few times and have made the cut but I have slid down the leaderboard in the second round. I told my wife last night my goal was to move up the leaderboard. Getting a Top 10 this week was my goal. It is nice to see that come to fruition.”
In May, Applebrook successfully challenged Whitemarsh Valley Country Club and returned to Division AA with a 37.6-16.5 victory.
“It’s nice to represent the club,” Howard, 34, of West Chester, Pa., said. “We challenged our way back into Division AA in the GAP Team Matches this year. To be able to show off our course and have a nice representation of guys in this event feels good. In a sense, it backs up being in Division AA. Being there is where we belong. Our success translates on the weekend when we have matches. We have a ton of people under 45 years of age who want to participate. When we were challenging up, a lot of guys changed their plans to play. It is nice to have the full buy-in from the membership.”
Howard’s chances to backdoor a title at home had sticking power for a majority of the day.
After bogeying the opener (par 4, 480 yards), Howard went out in 2-under-par 33. He converted two wonderful wedge shots from 90 yards and 148 yards, respectively, on Nos 10 (par 5, 540 yards) and 14 (par 4, 464 yards), both inside 10 feet.
A last chance 50-footer at the last, to get into the clubhouse at 4 under, slid by, and Howard missed the eventual playoff by a shot.
Howard comes from a family of golfers. His grandmother Gay Howard, originally from Ukraine, competed in the 1968 U.S. Women’s Open at Moselem Springs Golf Club. His father, William Howard, IV, has a golf-ball collection full of relics from many eras of the game.
“I picked up plastic clubs at the age of three and fell in love with the game,” Howard, who qualified for the Open at Spring Ford Country Club, said. “I grew up playing at West Chester Golf & Country Club and they had a great men’s group there. I didn’t play much toward the end of high school because I wanted to play rugby and soccer. But there’s not a lot I enjoy more than golf right now in life.”
Momentum continues for Howard. His best GAP finish will push him forward and Applebrook is the catalyst for future success.
“I think GAP has one of the strongest groups of players in the country,” Howard said. “Guys have played Division I golf and were professionals at some point. I’d like to think I could keep up this good play.”
Through three holes of the final round of the 120th GAP Open, Brockton English went from being just a name on the leaderboard to the leader.
A birdie-birdie-eagle start will do that for you.
English, a redshirt senior at Drexel University used that flame to ignite a T8 finish in his first GAP Open appearance.
“It’s crazy. I scrambled so hard yesterday just to make the cut,” English, 21, of University City, Pa., who grew up in Detroit, Mich., said. “The course was gettable and I figured if a couple things went my way, I would be able to play a good round here. Then my putter went unconscious and I got off to a crazy start.”
Through three holes, English made a total of 90 feet in putts. A 35-footer on No. 1, a 20-footer on No. 2 (par 4, 365 yards) and a 35-footer on No. 3 (par 4, 301 yards) after mashing a drive on the green.
“When you get off to a start like that, you don’t want to lose any momentum,” English said. “But you don’t want to get ahead of yourself either. If you do, things can go sideways a little.”
The rest of his round didn’t follow that same pattern. He played his final 15 holes in 2 over.
English’s motivation comes from seeing his fellow Dragons having GAP success.
“One of my roommates, Drue Nicholas, won the Patterson Cup a couple of years back,” English said. “So there’s always been a motivation for me to play well. I wasn’t expecting to join him as a GAP Major champion but having a Top 10 finish felt good enough for me.”
English’s claim to fame is two-fold. He holds the state of Michigan’s all-time high school state championship scoring record. He shot 10 under for two rounds when he claimed the title in 2021 as a member of Notre Dame Preparatory School.
After taking a year away from the game to regroup, English has quite a bit of momentum heading into the fall season.
“There were a few Drexel guys in the field this week,” English said. “So it was nice to see how I stack up against them. Those guys have been playing a lot of tournaments and I haven’t. It was nice to get the tournament juices flowing again. It’s nice to play this well in my GAP Open debut.”
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 340 Member Clubs and 110,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
