17th Frank H. Chapman Cup

Carlisle’s Frazier prevails in playoff at Indian Valley

TELFORD, Pa. — Jeff Frazier defeated Bob Gill in a sudden-death playoff to capture the 17^th Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup at a pleasant Indian Valley Country Club (par 72, 6,613 yards) Monday.

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Both players finished regulation tied at 1-under-par 71. On No. 2 (par 4, 422 yards), the second playoff hole, Frazier converted a testy four-footer for par to secure his third GAP trophy in as many years of Senior Division eligibility. He is also the two-time reigning Brewer Cup Champion (2020-21).

“It’s pretty cool,” Frazier, a celebratory Stella Artois in hand, said afterward.

Indian Valley’s second hole, the most difficult on this day at a full stroke over par, demands calculated precision from any approach angle. Frazier, aware of the green’s ability to manipulate, landed an 8-iron from 168 yards on the green’s front. It didn’t coast as he expected, instead stopping some 40 feet below the hole location. Gill’s 7-hyrbid from 170 yards rolled off the speedy, sprawling surface and settled in a swale. He tried to navigate the undulation ahead, but his putt raced 10 feet past. Gill left the downhill curler short.

“I feel good about my game. It was a great day,” Gill, 63, of Shavertown, Pa., said. “I knew before we teed off that 1 over was the low score [from the morning wave]. I figured even par would have a chance. I played well all day except I made a stupid double bogey on No. 3 (par 5, 515 yards). I’m 100 yards away, and I hit what I thought was a good shot. It landed just short of the green and spun back up against heavy collar. I left that short of the green, then I putted up and missed a three-footer [for bogey].”

Bob Gill

The miscue Gill bemoans mirrors a pair of Frazier missteps in regulation. On No. 15 (par 5, 536 yards), Frazier missed the green with a 60-degree wedge from 80 yards in the right rough.

“I was kind of blocked because the pin was tucked on that right side,” he said. Frazier bumped a wedge to five feet but missed the par putt.

On No. 16 (par 3, 119 yards), Frazier again missed the green, this time with a 52-degree wedge.

“I thought I had to lean on it a little bit. Then I got ahead of it a little bit and caught it thin. It went over the green,” Frazier, 57, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., said. “I chipped up to eight feet and missed [the par putt]. The two bogeys were bad. Just not paying attention.”

Frazier brought his name to the Chapman field’s attention when he moved to 3 under thank to an eagle on No. 12 (par 5, 514 yards). After splitting the fairway with a drive, he decided “driver off the deck” given an uphill, upwind scenario. Frazier then nuked a driver 267 yards to the fringe — some 65 feet from a back hole location.

“I did get lucky making eagle. It was pretty amazing,” Frazier, a Carlisle Country Club member, said.

The about-face of Frazier’s driver is equally startling. In the Harrisburg District Golf Association’s Individual Championship at Country Club of Harrisburg over the weekend, Frazier’s ball-striking disappeared like a rabbit in a magician’s hat.

“I puked on myself. I played really bad. I couldn’t put the ball in play,” Frazier said. “I was spraying it all over the place. So, I came here with no expectations. Today I was just like, ‘Whatever happens, happens. I’ll have a couple of beers and see how it goes.’ And I started really well, so that changed my mojo a little bit.”

Frazier opened his Chapman quest with a birdie on No. 1 (par 4, 386 yards), where he hit a wedge 100 yards to 10 feet. He made an eight-footer for birdie on No. 8 (par 5, 506 yards) after thumping a 4-iron from 220 yards to the green’s exit. Overall, Frazier totaled 14 greens in regulation.

“As the driver goes, I go. You put me in a fairway with a wedge in my hand, and I’m as good as anyone,” he said. “I hit the driver really well all day. I was 50 yards in front of the guys I was playing with, so it was a big advantage. And I kept piping it.”

Frazier, who finished as runner-up in the Chapman a year ago, is off to another strong Senior season. He won the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Senior Match Play Championship presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods at his home club last month. He ranks fourth in the Senior Silver Cross Award race. The Senior Silver Cross Award is emblematic of the Francis B. Warner Cup, Chapman Cup and Senior Amateur Championship.

“If I’m playing well, then I can play with anyone,” Frazier, a technology leader for Fiserv, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Wisconsin, said. “But I can also go south.”

Starting on the back nine, Gill, who won the Tournament of Champions in 1997, reversed his leaderboard direction with a birdie on No. 7 (par 4, 432 yards). The Fox Hill Country Club member drilled a 7-iron from 150 yards to 20 feet. That conversion brought Gill, who played in the day’s final group, into a tie with Frazier. Indian Valley’s No. 7 ranked as the second most difficult hole with a stroke average of 4.83.

NOTES
Olde Homestead Golf Club’s Jeff Hudson, the event’s two-time defending champion, finished tied for sixth at 2-over-par 74.

Frank H. Chapman, a Whitemarsh Valley Country Club member, served as the Association’s secretary-treasurer for 23 years. He died on June 7, 1955 at the age of 88. It is held in his honor.

To meet the needs of its members, GAP separated a Super-Senior Division from its traditional Chapman Cup counterpart. The Chapman Cup – Super Senior, set for June 30 at Merion Golf Club (West), will feature two divisions: 65 years of age or older (Senior) and 70 years of age or older (Legends). It will be limited to 78 individuals.

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 330 Member Clubs and 90,000 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.