12th Senior 27-Hole Challenge

Rothaus, Smith scorch Senior 27-Hole Challenge

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WYOMING, Del. — After watching Gary Smith make a 10-footer for birdie, Brian Rothaus used a wedge to retrieve his teammate’s billowing cigar from the green. It slipped off the clubface. Again. Again, and again.

That moment represented the only golf fail for Rothaus — and Smith, for that matter — Monday at Wild Quail Golf & Country Club (par 72, 6,242 yards). The Huntingdon Valley, Pa. residents carded a record 9-under-par 135 to capture the event’s Senior Division.

The format is as follows: four-ball (better-ball of partners), greensomes (selective drive/alternate shot) and team aggregate.

“I’m better with a golf ball. [A stogey] doesn’t have a lot of bounce to it,” Rothaus, 63, said.

He and Smith, figuratively speaking, smoked the field Monday.

The team’s hot start served as a sign of things to come. Smith, a Pine Valley Golf Club member, executed a six-footer for birdie on No. 1 (par 5, 500 yards) following a driver-5-iron-wedge combination. Rothaus added a birdie on No. 3 (par 4, 375 yards) before Smith laid his red groundwork on Nos. 4 (par 3, 138 yards) and 5 (par 5, 517 yards).

“We were 4 under after five holes,” Smith, 59, said.

“I haven’t been that many under par that fast. That was fun,” Rothaus, a Philmont Country Club member, added.

The Rothaus and Smith team made its move during the greensomes portion. A chip-in eagle on the par 5, 510-yard 15^th hole came courtesy of Smith. His teammate established such a chance by nearly reaching the green in two strokes with a 3-wood from 230 yards. Smith’s 9-iron on the par 3, 148-yard 17^th stopped inches from the jar, assuring a tap-in birdie.

“You can get sideways in [the selective drive/alternate shot] format. We were never in trouble,” Smith said.

Trouble? No trouble when you stand at 7 under and three strokes in front of the field through 18 holes. A 3 under from Rothaus coming in secured an event scoring record. He knocked a pitching wedge to two feet on No. 4. That conversion followed Smith’s 15-footer for birdie on the hole. On the sharp dogleg left No. 7 (par 4, 270 yards), Rothaus hit a gap wedge 100 yards to three feet for birdie. A 5-iron to 25 feet on No. 8 (par 3, 185 yards) capped his sensational stretch.

Rothaus looked at the seat next to him when reflecting on his heroics.   

“Gary’s a great player. You just try not to make a fool out of yourself and to hold up your end of the bargain,” Rothaus said. “I’ve struggled with back issues this year. It’s fun playing with a good player in a partners event versus you’re struggling with your own game.”

Monday marked the first time Rothaus and Smith paired together in competition. Although the two connected through golf years ago, they only discussed the possibility of collaborating in an event while spending time together at the Father & Son (Middle) last year. Smith’s son Cody plays golf for Bryn Athyn College, where Rothaus’ son Zachary serves as head coach.

Rest assured more team competition awaits Rothaus and Smith. Monday’s success is a smoking gun.

“We’ll definitely have to look at the calendar,” Smith said.

McCool, Scott claim Super-Senior crown

A playoff didn’t determine the fate of Robin McCool and Craig Scott this time.

The longtime friends made their case in regulation, carding a 2-under-par 142 to take the event’s Super-Senior (par 72, 5,812 yards) title. McCool and Scott fell to White Manor Country Club’s Don Donatoni and Spring Ford Country Club’s Steve Tagert in a sudden-death playoff a year ago at Lebanon Country Club.

“We played really well today. We did OK in the better-ball portion, which is our normal thing. In the alternate shot, we were really good,” McCool, 68, of Center Valley, Pa., said.

Prospects didn’t seem so good when McCool’s drive on No. 14 (par 4, 389 yards) sailed out-of-bounds. Four birdies — three of which from gimme range — more than made up for it.

“We almost jarred three of them,” Scott, 70, of Marshalls Creek, Pa., said.

McCool, a Saucon Valley Country Club member, and Scott, a Great Bear Golf Club member, joined forces for team competitions three years ago. The Super-Senior stalwarts seem to bring out the best in one another.

Not to mention a victory.

“Anytime you win a GAP event, it’s big. I will say that this format is one of the best GAP has done in a long time. It’s fun to play,” Scott said.

“You have to golf your ball. And at the end, you’re on your own,” McCool said.

The Senior 27-Hole Challenge replaced the Senior Net Championship on the tournament schedule.

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 Association’s 274 Full Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey and Delaware. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.