24th Christman Cup

LuLu’s Stevenson adds Christman to collection

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. — If the golf benchmarks continue at this rate, then John Stevenson may need to hire a documentarian.

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A tall order for any 17-year-old. Let alone one whose ascent mirrors the likes of a Chris Pratt in Hollywood. Stevenson, the reigning GAP Junior Boys’ Champion, captured the 24^th Christman Cup Thursday at a steamy Gulph Mills Golf Club (par 71, 6,450 yards).

He did so by carding rounds of 66, a personal best in competition, and 71 for a 5-under-par 137. The LuLu Country Club member edged Radley Run Country Club’s Charlie Barrickman and Aronimink Golf Club’s Hunter Stetson by two strokes.

Stevenson is the third individual to win the Junior Boys’ Championship and Christman Cup in the same year (Austin Barbin, 2019; Billy Stewart, 2001).

“I wouldn’t expect this to happen. It’s just crazy, to be honest. It really is,” Stevenson, of Ambler, Pa., said. “There’s no better feeling. My family and friends support me so much. It’s a nice validation for the work that I’ve put in.”

The aforementioned work justifies Stevenson’s rapid rise to Junior stardom. Throughout the winter, rarely a day passed when he didn’t hit a golf ball or roll a putt.

“I was in the Skramble House of Golf [in Horsham, Pa.] every day. From the morning to night. It really paid off,” Stevenson, a rising senior at La Salle College High School, said.

Free admission to Stevenson’s sonata Thursday at Gulph Mills. His competitive-best 66 meant a one-stroke lead over Stenson after Round One.

Starting on the back nine, he made a 12-footer for birdie on No. 12 (par 5, 520 yards) after arriving greenside in two. Stevenson rattled off a trio of birdies approaching the turn. After nearly reaching No. 18 (par 5, 464 yards) green in two with a hybrid, Stevenson lipped a chip for eagle. Gimme 4. His 8-iron from 151 yards on No. 1 (par 4, 415 yards) settled 45 feet above the flagstick. He drained the delicate downhiller. Stevenson converted a five-footer for birdie on No. 2 (par 4, 404 yards) following a sound gap wedge from 108 yards.

Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 4 (par 3, 108 yards) and 5 (par 4, 398 yards) further elevated Stevenson’s status. He spun a 56-degree wedge on the former to a foot. Stevenson’s 52-degree wedge from 106 yards on No. 5 stopped four feet from the hole location. His lone misstep occurred on No. 8 (par 4, 351 yards), where Stevenson missed the green with a 56-degree wedge from 100 yards.

Stevenson registered 16 greens in regulation in Round One. He implemented a basic yet bountiful strategy for Round Two.

“Just play as well as I can, hit as good of shots as I can. I executed that strategy pretty well,” Stevenson said. “The course is amazing. I did pretty much everything well today.”

Stevenson appeared in cruise control at the outset of Round Two. He moved to 6 under following a 12-footer for birdie on No. 4. Then the Stevenson show stopped suddenly after three consecutive bogeys.

Stevenson snapped a drive into the penalty area on No. 7 (par 5, 498 yards). A three-putt from 35 feet on No. 8 added to the aches there. In between clubs on No. 9 (par 4, 370 yards), Stevenson selected pitching wedge from 125 yards, only to pull it atop the left greenside bunker. He failed to get up-and-down.

“I’m not going to lie. I got a little frustrated. The 8^th hole does not like me,” Stevenson said.

Nerves penetrated Stevenson’s typically thick skin. Although he didn’t glance at a leaderboard, he sensed a renewed hope for the field. The Christman Cup, at that point, returned to its post Round One branding as a Stevenson/Stenson showdown.

Stenson, a rising senior at Episcopal Academy, birdied Nos. 9 and 10 (par 4, 408 yards) to move to 5 under.

“I know John is a good player because he won the GAP Junior [Boys’ Championship], so I knew I was going to have to fire a low score. Each hole, I was trying to give myself the best possible chance at birdie without bringing high numbers into play,” Stenson, 17, of Newtown Square, Pa., said. “I think I did a solid job with that at the start. That three-putt bogey [on No. 14] … I let that mentality get away from me.”

A “bad swing” on No. 15 (par 4, 380 yards) — an 8-iron from 170 yards that caught the left greenside bunker — resulted in another bogey. Stenson, playing in the group ahead of Stevenson, looked back at No. 14 as a means of mentally gauging Stevenson’s status.

Leader once again at that point.

After striping a drive on No. 11 (par 4, 315 yards), Stevenson spun a wedge from 43 yards to eight feet for birdie. He added another one on the next hole after flipping a wedge over the left greenside bunker to five feet. Stevenson moved to three shots clear of Stenson and company after a superb gap wedge from the right fairway bunker on No. 16 (par 4, 395 yards) skidded to a foot for birdie. A bogey on No. 17 (par 3, 212 yards) merely reinjected some nerves on Gulph Mills’ closer (par 5, 464 yards).

Prior to his Christman coronation, Stevenson felt frustrated with his ball-striking. The solution?

“This week, I worked so hard on my ball-striking, and it really paid off. I’ve been working on the swing all week,” Stevenson said.

Hard work pays off. The Stevenson sonata.

The Christman Cup is named in honor of J. Fred Christman, former GAP Executive Committee member (1980-89) and Director of Competitions (1989-99). He chaired the organization’s Junior Committee and thereby oversaw the administration of its Junior schedule annually. “Fred has been part of the glue that has held this organization together, making things work and handling many tough situations. Certainly, with the exception of Jim Sykes, no other individual has been as closely identified with GAP activities and players as Fred regardless of their status on the Executive Committee or staff,” former GAP President Ray Cross (1997-99) wrote in a letter published in the October 1999 edition of Philadelphia Golfer. Christman died on Sept. 14, 2019 at the age of 86.

Harry Hammond Award
Stevenson leads Stenson by four strokes in the Harry Hammond Award race. The Harry Hammond Award is comprised of Junior Boys’ Championship Qualifying, Christman Cup and Jock MacKenzie Memorial, set for July 17 at Sandy Run Country Club.

However, neither Stevenson or Stenson is competing in the Jock MacKenzie Memorial. As a result of their respective absences, there is a three-way tie atop the standings at 4 over: Fieldstone Golf Club’s Davis Conaway, Sunnybrook Golf Club’s Ian Natale and Wilmington Country Club’s Jeffrey Homer.

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 340 Member Clubs and 100,000 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.