16th Parent/Child–Middle

Lafonds prevail in playoff at Bala

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Mark and Matt Lafond captured the 16^th Parent/Child–Middle at a hazy Bala Golf Club (par 68, 5,217 yards) Thursday in a scorecard playoff.

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To clarify, it’s a twofold haze. An air quality alert for the Philadelphia region was in effect due to the continuing Canada wildfires. Second, a haze shrouded the Lafond team’s championship status. Playing in the day’s second group, the Blue Bell Country Club members posted a modest 3-over-par 71.

Challengers came. Challengers went.

Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Kevin and Ryan Kelly, the 2019 titleholders, also finished at 71. The Lafond team, however, prevailed in a scorecard tiebreaker. GAP uses the USGA-recommended tiebreaking method, which starts with the back nine. The Lafond team inked 35 (even), the Kelly team 37 (2 over).

Kennett Square Golf & Country Club’s Jeff and Taylor Hollander captured the event’s Father/Daughter Division (par 68, 5,217 yards) with a score of 12-over-par 80. The team also prevailed a year ago at Maple Dale Country Club.

The event’s format is greensomes (selective drive/alternate shot).  

After carding bogeys on three of their first five holes, the Lafond team came to a crucial realization. Be below the hole at Bala.

“It made putting a heck of a lot easier. If you’re above the hole on some of those greens, it just doesn’t work. They were super fast,” Mark, 56, said. “[We said], ‘Let’s be below the hole. Let’s be smart off the tee.’ Matt is much longer than I am off the tee, so my goal was to just hit the fairway and let him go ahead with a driver.”

“He was big with his wedges. That’s always been a staple of his game,” Matt, 21, added. “The wedges definitely saved us five strokes at least today. Even if you missed the green below the hole, the wedge shot isn’t as difficult.”

The aforementioned opening including a pair of three-putt bogeys on Nos. 1 (par 4, 328 yards) and 3 (par 4, 313 yards). The dogleg left, 390-yard No. 5 also proved troublesome. Matt dumped an 8-iron from 172 yards into the right greenside bunker. Short-sided with a narrow runway, Mark left his extrication 30 feet from the flagstick. Another bogey for the Blue Bell, Pa. residents.

Next came a newly adopted strategy, and a steady back nine. The Lafond team’s lone misstep occurred on No. 11 (par 4, 376 yards). Both Mark and Matt ran drives through the fairway. Facing tree trouble, Matt elected to punch an 8-iron, only to see it sail the green. The Lafond team rebounded with a rousing birdie on No. 14 (par 4, 326 yards). Matt’s booming drive left Mark with a manageable 40-yard pitch. He stopped it four feet from the flagstick. Matt deposited the downhiller for 3.

“It was a grind out there. We didn’t have too many birdie looks. We had a lot of good two-putts. That’s kind of what kept us going today,” Matt, an accounting major and incoming senior at La Salle University, said.

Matt, a member of La Salle men’s golf team, will explore an internship at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) this summer. Golf opportunities may be limited as a result. But he still intends to join Mark for rounds on the weekends.

The Parent/Child–Middle trophy is a reminder of how special those can be.

“When the tournament schedule comes out, the [Parent/Child] is the first one I look for,” Mark, who owns an IT consulting firm, said. “The course was in great shape today, and the GAP does a fantastic job. The Parent/Child is an event we always look forward to playing in.”

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 100,000 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.