20th Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup

Little Mill’s Armagost triumphs at Spring Ford

ROYERSFORD, Pa. — Golf’s fickleness stirs a laugh out of Adam Armagost minutes before he tastes the beef lentil soup at Spring Ford Country Club.

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In the Francis B. Warner Cup at Little Mill Country Club, Armagost’s golfing home of five years, he failed to break 80. A month later, he sees Spring Ford (par 72, 6,392 yards) for the first time Tuesday, shoots 69 (3 under) and wins the 20^th Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup.

“This is a crazy, pull your hair out game,” Armagost, 62, who splits his time between National Park, N.J. and Jupiter, Fla., said. “I got into town the day before [the Warner Cup] and crapped the bed. Awful. I wanted to play well there. I just did not play well. I’ve never seen [Spring Ford], but it seems like a lot of the courses [in the Philadelphia region] are hilly, and that’s not my forte growing up in South Florida. But I enjoy it.”

A North Palm Beach, Fla. native, Armagost edged Bidermann Golf Course’s Bill Jeremiah by a stroke at Spring Ford. Defending champion Jeff Frazier of Carlisle Country Club finished tied for third at 1-over-par 73.

It is Armagost’s third GAP Senior title (2020 Francis B. Warner Cup, Senior Silver Cross Award).

Warner Cup woes aside, Armagost felt his game trending in the right direction. Not because of a singular swing thought or mechanical adjustment. It’s the overall body of work that’s working of late.  

“I felt like I was playing well. The scores weren’t where I wanted it. You just have to keep doing what you’re doing,” Armagost, who won the New Jersey Senior Amateur in 2021, said. “I kept the ball in front of me all day. I never had any issues until I missed [a three-footer for par] on the last hole. For 17 and a half holes, it was down the middle, on the green, and that was it.”

Armagost, who started on the back nine Tuesday, registered 15 greens in regulation. He made the turn in a modest 1 under. His lone birdie occurred on 16^th hole (par 3, 212 yards), the third most difficult on this day with field scoring average of 3.70. Armagost holed out from the front right bunker.  

“I had a decent lie. It wasn’t a great rake job,” he said. “I hit it clean and it landed about seven feet short of the hole and tracked.”

Armagost continued trending on the Chapman leaderboard. On No. 3 (par 4, 374 yards), he hit an 8-iron 150 yards to 12 feet and buried the uphill putt for birdie. A focused Armagost, robotic yet rhythmic in routine, lifted a wedge 78 yards to six feet for a 4 on the par 5, 509-yard No. 5. The programming nearly glitched on the next hole (par 4, 269 yards). Armagost, unversed in Spring Ford’s schematics, played a conservative 3-wood off the tee. His ball forged in an former divot in the right rough, leaving Armagost with one of those tricky lies and squeamish distances: 43 yards over a guarding bunker. His wedge “came out hot” and settled in the back left rough. Armagost then finessed a wedge to two feet. Par — and Chapman prominence — preserved.

Armagost added to his advantage with a birdie on No. 8 (par 4, 352 yards). Debating on a gap wedge or pitching wedge, he ultimately selected the latter. Good call. Armagost knocked it 116 yards to four feet.

The bogey on No. 9 (par 5, 527 yards) left Armagost stewing over soup. As scores posted with each spoonful, the admonishing faded. Armagost, like steam rising from that bowl of beef lentil, resurfaced in the Senior conversation Tuesday.

Expectations weighed since his 2020 GAP success. His demeanor may suggest stoic, impenetrable. Trust Armagost. He’s happy on the inside. However, mental and physical vultures circle.  

“I want to play well up here. Expectations come from myself. I can’t control what anyone else does. I just get in my own way. And today, I did not,” Armagost said. “This feels great. I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting. I guess patience pays off. It’s fun to go through the process of practice and everything, and it finally pays off.”

Armagost works as a caddie at both Pine Valley Golf Club and Seminole Golf Club. He eyes to practice what he preaches for his profession.  

“I should try to play like I can for members and guests. Steer away from the big numbers. Try to open the hole up. If it’s a dogleg right and the guy’s a slicer, aim down the left side, hit that cut and make it bigger,” Armagost said. “That’s what I should start doing from now on.”

Vultures vanquished, he may start winning from now on.

NOTES
G. Patrick Dougherty, winner of the aforementioned Warner Cup at Little Mill, aced the par 3, 152-yard 14^th hole with an 8-iron. It marked his 10^th career hole-in-one and fifth in competition. Dougherty, 59, of North Wales, Pa., carded a 1-over-par 73 Thursday. He leads the Senior Silver Cross Award standings by two strokes over reigning Senior Player of the Year Jeff Frazier of Carlisle Country Club. The race culminates with the Senior Amateur Championship Sept. 2-3 at Berkshire Country Club.

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 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.