WILMINGTON, Del. – Chris Parrish practiced the tee shot and the approach of No. 10 at DuPont Country Club’s Nemours Course over and over Friday.
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But it wasn’t that practice that saved him. It was his trusty flatstick.
After a nine-day layoff from the conclusion of the second round of the Delaware Junior on July 31 at Kings Creek Country Club another timely putt, a 10-footer for par, pushed Parrish into the Winner’s Circle. He is the 74th Delaware Junior Boys’ Champion.
“I thought this long layoff would be more stressful than it was,” Parrish said. “I was chilling. I was thinking about it but it wasn’t really on my mind too much. I was waiting for the day and kept playing and practicing like usual. Not much changed.”
Play was suspended at Kings Creek due to severe weather just after the second round was complete. Both Barrickman and Parrish tied at 5 under. A champion still needed crowning.
For logistical reasons, Parrish of Running Deer Golf Club and Charlie Barrickman, of Radley Run Country Club, agreed to complete the playoff at a Delaware course closer to their respective homes. The pair teed off at 7:50 a.m. Saturday on No. 10 at DuPont.
“It is an awesome feeling to be the Delaware Junior champion,” Parrish, 17, of Woolwich, N.J., said. “I prepared for this a lot yesterday. I never won in a playoff. So to win this one it feels good.”
Barrickman missed a 5-footer for par to extend the playoff.
In regulation at Kings Creek, Parrish drained an 18-footer for par on No. 9, the last hole of the championship routing, to erase a two-shot deficit and force a playoff after Barrickman made a double bogey. Barrickman rolled in a 30-footer on the prior hole for birdie and Parrish three-putted for bogey.
“Going into that last hole, I thought I needed a birdie,” Parrish said. “After Charlie hit his tee shot left, I saw little sign of hope. I hit a good approach but the wind pushed it left. I had such a hard chip and somehow I got it up and down. I never thought par would get me into a playoff.”
At Nemours, both Parrish and Barrickman missed the green on No. 10 (par 4, 347 yards). While Barrickman was sitting with a good lie about 10 yards from the hole, Parrish was panicking. He couldn’t find his ball in a similar area after about 90 seconds. Once the glare from the early-morning dew and sunshine faded, he found his ball.
“The lie was nasty,” Parrish said. “It took us a minute or two to find it. The ball was sitting down in the wet rough. I just took a wider stance and put the heel of the club into the ground so the club would glide through the rough better. I hit it perfectly. It got a weird bounce but it was still a good shot.”
His 10-footer for par was a flashback to the last hole at Kings Creek. Make the putt and apply pressure. Both times it worked. Barrickman missed both of his ensuing putts.
“I got into the field the day before it started,” Parrish, a rising senior at Kingsway Regional High School, said. “I wanted to play in this so bad. Kings Creek looked so nice and I enjoyed the course. Winning this tournament gives me a ton of confidence. It feels great to take advantage of the opportunity.”
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 130,000 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.
