21st Chapman Cup

Carlisle’s Frazier prevails at French Creek

ELVERSON, Pa. — French Creek Golf Club, at face value, feels like love-hate for Jeff Frazier.

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Two years ago, he suffered a stinging defeat in the Brewer Cup Quarterfinals. Frazier fell in 19 holes to Neil Gordon.

At the time, Frazier held the Francis B. Warner Cup and Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup titles. His chance at a Senior seasonal sweep stopped at French Creek.

The script flipped Wednesday. Frazier carded a 3-under-par 68 to capture the 21^st Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup at an overcast French Creek (par 71, 6,070 yards). Burlington Country Club’s Merv Smith finished a shot back at 2-under-par 69.

Frazier also won the Warner Cup a month ago at Cherry Valley Country Club. The Senior sweep remains in play, French Creek a conduit.

The spools in Frazier’s 2024 cassette tape surprisingly stayed still Wednesday. He never replayed the golf course in his mind. Never reflected on a particular French Creek feature.

Memories? More like life lessons.   

“I don’t look at it as the course. I look at it as I hit a wall,” Frazier, 61, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., said. “It pisses me off that I couldn’t play because I’d like to think that I’m in good shape. It was a long day. I was dehydrated. That’s all I took away from [The Brewer Cup at French Creek]. I’ve got to be in better condition. I’ve got to make sure I’m taking care of my body when I’m out there.”

Frazier is in peak condition.

C’est la vie for the GAP Senior Division.

The French Creek love-hate leaned more toward the latter when Frazier opened double bogey-bogey. On No. 1 (par 4, 353 yards), Frazier, tilting on a mound for his approach, saw his 9-iron from 130 yards drift right. A gusting wind aided direction. His golf ball hit the cart path. Frazier never found it. A lackluster drive on No. 2 (par 4, 444 yards) left Frazier some 220 yards from the hole location. He attempted to chase a 5-hybrid onto the green, but the brakes intervened too early. Frazier missed a five-footer to save par.

“After the start where I’m 3 over after two holes, it’s like, ‘Let’s bear down.’ By the turn I’m 2 under. How crazy is that?” Frazier said.

Bonkers. Like five birdies, seven holes bonkers.

On No. 3 (par 3, 120 yards), Frazier lifted a wedge to 12 feet. A French Creek recollection surfaced on No. 4 (par 5, 484 yards). Frazier, factoring the hole’s penalty area on the right, aimed left with a hybrid from 210 yards. It found a favorable spot 15 feet from the hole location. He tallied two putts for a 4.

Credit his 60-degree wedge for back-to-back conversions on Nos. 6 (par 5, 550 yards) and 7 (par 4, 355 yards). He equipped it for a 60-yard approach to eight feet on the former, a 69-yard approach to 15 feet on the latter. Frazier capped his outward tour by drilling a 7-iron 188 yards to 20 feet for birdie on No. 9 (par 4, 362 yards).

“That calmed me down,” Frazier said. “It looked like every putt was going right in the middle.”

And they continued to fall.

Frazier nearly holed out for an albatross on No. 11 (par 5, 475 yards). His 8-iron from 152 yards flirted with the flagstick. He converted the eagle attempt. On No. 12 (par 4, 440 yards), Frazier buried a 15-footer following a 6-iron from 186 yards.

Six straight 3s on the scorecard. Frazier felt like the Al Capone to the field’s Elliott Ness.

Then the Chapman plot crossed the Hollywood threshold. Frazier bogeyed No. 13 (par 4, 420 yards). Although he missed the green, Frazier sensed bump-and-check, not bump-and-release. He missed a 20-footer to save par. On No. 14 (par 4, 338 yards), Frazier tugged a 9-iron from 140 yards. He chopped out of fescue and logged two putts from 25 feet for another bogey.

Déjà vu at French Creek? Property can’t be held responsible for a player’s plight, can it?

Not in Frazier’s case. He didn’t even remember that French Creek’s 16^th hole featured a pair of bunkers on the left side of the fairway.

“I hit this bullet hybrid from 258 yards, and it just missed bunkers right and rolled all the way up onto the green to 20 feet. I’m like, ‘I just hit a 258-yard 5-hybrid,’” Frazier said. “If I would’ve pushed it just a hair, I would’ve been in those bunkers. [During the Brewer Cup in 2024], I hit it in the fairway, and I hit it on the green. I didn’t even pay attention that there could be bunkers there.” Frazier birdied No. 16.

French Creek tried to get the figurative last laugh. Frazier flagged an 8-iron from 157 yards on No. 18 (par 4, 390 yards). It, however, escaped the green and entered the penalty area. Frazier then extricated himself from a serviceable lie and nearly dropped a 20-footer for par.

Wednesday marked Frazier’s 11^th victory on the GAP Senior circuit. The rollcall is as follows: Brewer Cup (2020-21, 2025), Chapman Cup (2022, 2024, 2026), Senior Amateur Championship (2025), Senior Silver Cross Award (2023-25). He also earned Senior Player of the Year honors in 2022 and 2024.

Furthermore, Frazier is on track for a fourth consecutive Senior Silver Cross Award. He leads Heidelberg Country Club’s Chris Fieger, Sr. by six strokes. The Senior Silver Cross Award is comprised of the Warner Cup, Chapman Cup and Senior Amateur Championship.

French Creek’s logo is the fleur-de-lis, a symbol connected to French culture.

There’s the Tour de France. Then there’s the Tour de Force that is Jeff Frazier.

“I know that if I play well I’m going to be tough to beat,” Frazier said. “I know there’s a couple of guys who can beat me. If I play OK, I’m still going to finish Top 10.”

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.

NOTES
Play was suspended at 3:55 p.m. due to severe weather. It resumed at 6:45 p.m. … Little Mill Country Club’s Brad Jankowski aced No. 3 with a pitching wedge. It marked his first career hole-in-one. Jankowski, 61, of Shamong, N.J., finished tied for 10^th place.  

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 140,000 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.