19th Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup

Carlisle’s Frazier claims second Chapman crown

VILLANOVA, Pa. — The last time Jeff Frazier didn’t know where he stood on the leaderboard, he lost.

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On the 18^th tee Tuesday, he wanted to know. And once he knew, Frazier did what he’s done before: win with conviction.

Frazier executed a clutch 12-footer for birdie on No. 18 (par 4, 400 yards) to post a 1-under-par 69 in the 19^th Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup at Radnor Valley Country Club (par 70, 6,333 yards) Tuesday. He was the only player to break par. Eight players tied for second at 1-over-par 71.

Frazier, who also won the Chapman in 2022, became only the second individual to win the Francis B. Warner Cup and Chapman Cup in the same year. Ray Thompson did so in 2007.

“I don’t even think about [the significance]. I try to win every time I play,” Frazier, 59, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., said. “I just try to play my best, play solid. All I can control is playing solid golf.”

The Carlisle Country Club member didn’t think twice when groupmate Chris Storck posed a question on the 18^th tee Tuesday.

“Do you want to know where you stand?”

“Usually I want to know. I just didn’t think I had a chance because I was behind and didn’t really turn it on until the end,” Frazier said. “At the Pennsylvania Senior Open [last month], I didn’t even look at the leaderboard until after I hit my tee shot [on the last hole]. I was playing in the last group and figured I was in the lead. I didn’t worry about it.

“I got to No. 18 and didn’t know what to hit off the tee. And I hit it right where I wanted to, but it was the wrong club. The ball ran through the fairway and into the bunker. I hit a 5-iron really solid, and I miss the green right. I miss a 25-footer [for par]. I lost by a shot. Had I known [where I stood on the tee], I probably would’ve hit 3-wood.”

Frazier stood at even, tied for the lead, on Radnor Valley’s closer. Then the 2022 GAP Senior Player of the Year, who can play a cut with his eyes closed, played his first cut of the day. A pristine one that left Frazier 129 yards from the target. He then hit a 9-iron 129 yards to 12 feet below the flagstick. Frazier, unthwarted by greens that challenged the Chapman field, watched his putt hold the line and plummet for 3.

“You deserve it,” Storck said after.

The birdie or the win?

Perhaps both, but Frazier references the hole prior. On No. 17 (par 4, 418 yards), Frazier watched his 125-yard approach, out of thick rough and off a downslope, arrive on the runway. Bump a chip, let it check, he figured.

“I hit it perfect. Two feet from the hole, it’s dead center. It moved right, caught the lip, and stopped behind the hole. I couldn’t believe it didn’t go in,” Frazier said. “I knew I needed it. I never played [No. 18] here. I didn’t know the hole.”

His prior Radnor Valley visit came in 2021. Frazier lost to David Brown, 2&1, in the final of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Senior Match Play Championship. None of Frazier’s four matches reached the 18^th hole.

He netted the debut he needed Tuesday. Frazier recorded one of four birdies on No. 18, which ranked as third most difficult on the day. He, in fact, birdied three of his last six holes to surge.

Frazier’s 3-wood on the gettable 13^th hole (par 4, 240 yards) found the putting surface; he two putted from 25 feet for birdie. On No. 15 (par 4, 402 yards), Frazier knocked a pitching wedge 116 yards to 10 feet.

“It was a good finish. I hit qualify shots on every one,” Frazier said. “I had five birdie putts [in the 10 to 15-foot range] on the last six.”

Only a few “bad mistakes” on the front nine prevented Frazier from a full leaderboard onslaught. A failed knockdown on No. 2 (par 3, 170 yards), misfortune on the lip of a fairway bunker on No. 5 (par 4, 356 yards) and an unkempt three-putt on No. 8 (par 3, 206 yards).

“I felt like I was hitting it better than making three bogeys,” Frazier said.

The 12^th hole (par 4, 426 yards) was the last straw.

“I was afraid to hit driver, so I tried to bunt one and I hit a horrible shot. I had 230 yards into the green and made bogey there,” Frazier said. “Then I was fired up. I’m just ripping the driver no matter what. I hit it perfect every hole coming in.”

As if Frazier needed more motivation. He embodies a grind mentality. Never out of a tournament. Leaderboard, schmeaderboard.

Now with two wins on the season, Frazier is well-armed for what lies ahead.

“I want to get back to the U.S. Senior Amateur. That’s my goal,” Frazier, a semifinalist in the 2022 U.S. Senior Amateur, said. “The GAP is great because it gives some really good competition. But I feel like if I cut out the mistakes, throwing a couple away every round, I’ll be tough to beat.”

Already is.

Notes
Frazier leads Lancaster Country Club’s Ken Phillips by three strokes in the Senior Silver Cross Award race. The Senior Silver Cross Award is given the individual with the lowest aggregate score in the Warner Cup, Chapman Cup and Senior Amateur Championship … 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. The Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup is held in his honor.

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.