16th Francis B. Warner Cup Super Senior

Rothaus shoots age, takes title

NORTH COVENTRY, Pa. – Brian Rothaus is no stranger to super-senior success. On Wednesday, the Five Ponds Golf Club member added even more hardware to his already robust trophy case after carding a 3-under-par 68 to capture the 16th Francis B. Warner Cup Super Senior at Bellewood Country Club (par 71, 6,069 yards).

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A special milestone is attached to his victory. 

“I was more focused on trying to shoot my age [for the first time],” Rothaus, 68, of Elkins Park, Pa, said. “On the last three holes I was thinking to myself, ‘Come on man, just make one birdie.’”

Today’s competition was split into two divisions not including the overall title: Super Senior (65 years of age or older) and Legends (70 years of age or older).

Greg Osborne of Overlook Golf Course, who accompanied Rothaus in the day’s 9:54 a.m. group, captured the Legends title after carding 1-under-par 70. Osborne and Rothaus were the only two players in the field who managed under-par scores. 

For Rothaus, the day began with much less luster than it ended with. A “bad bogey” via a pulled sand wedge from 75 yards on his first hole (No. 1, par 4, 339 yards) got things off to a rocky start. A trio of birdies on the second half of his outward nine seemed to get things back on track. On No. 5 (par 4, 370 yards), he steered a pitching wedge from 125 yards to 15 feet resulting in his first red figure. On No. 6 (par 3, 135 yards) his gap wedge settled 25-feet away for another birdie. The birdie train rang it’s bell again on the par 5, 503 yard, 7th when his sand wedge stopped 20-feet from the hole location. 

“My chipping wasn’t that good today. I really struggled with the pace,” Rothaus, who owns Colonial Floor, said. “My putting was good. I got it going when I made those three birdies on the front.” 

Osborne, who went out in 34, led Rothaus by one heading to Bellewood’s back nine. Osborne carded a bogey on No. 17 (par 3, 155 yards), and the pair were tied at 2 under heading to the final hole of regulation. 

Rothaus’ sand wedge from 50 yards settled 20 feet from the hole location on No. 18 (par 5, 505 yards). His down-hill, left-to-right breaker tumbled over the front edge of the cup without hesitation. Osborne made bogey.

“[Greg and I] have good battles,” Rothaus, who lost to Glenn Smeraglio of LuLu Country Club in a playoff for the 2018 Warner Cup Senior title, said. “I didn’t know how we stood, but I knew we were close.”

Competitive atmosphere is partly to blame for Rothaus’ score.

“I don’t shoot as [low] in regular golf.” Rothaus said. “I just feel more focused. I grind more. If I’m just out playing, I don’t really care.”

Not only does competition bring out Rothaus’ best, it seems to be where he feels most at home. Last year, the 2021 GAP Super-Senior Player of the year won GAP’s 18th Super-Senior Amateur. Additionally, he won the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Super-Senior Amateur, the Super-Senior Division of its Art Wall, Jr. Memorial, the Super-Senior Division of its George Dressler Memorial and its Super-Senior Match Play. He ended his season by capturing his second PAGA Super-Senior Player of the Year title. 

“I can’t duplicate playing in four state events, winning them all and then winning the [GAP Super-Senior Amateur]. I’m not even trying to think about it,” Rothaus said. “I’ve played in the Warner Cup a million times. It’s just nice to win.” 

Today Rothaus captured his third GAP Super-Senior Major. He won the super-senior division of the 2021 Brewer Cup and the aforementioned 2023 Super-Senior Amateur.  

Francis B. Warner of Philadelphia Cricket Club served as GAP secretary-treasurer for 18 years. After his death in 1933, the Association started the Francis B. Warner Cup as an ongoing tribute in his memory. To meet the needs of its members, GAP, in 2022, separated a Super-Senior Division from its traditional Warner Cup counterpart.

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 345 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.