40th Jock MacKenzie Memorial

Brown takes title in playoff

ORELAND, Pa. – The Jock MacKenzie seems to be the measuring stick for Harrison Brown’s golf game. In 2021, the event served as the Philadelphia Country Club member’s first foray into the competitive junior golf scene. Last year, he carded a 2-over-par 74 to set a personal best competitive round of golf. This year’s edition offered even greater glory, a win in the 40th Jock MacKenzie Memorial at Sandy Run Country Club (par 72, 6,547 yards).

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In a three-way tie at 2-under 70 following regulation, Brown made a par on No. 18 (par 4, 335 yards), the first playoff hole, to take the title. He outlasted DuPont Country Club’s Robbie Lohkamp and GAP junior stalwart John Stevenson of Sunnybrook Golf Club. 

“I feel like this tournament has shown my progression well over the years from it being my first ever golf tournament to winning today,” Brown, 17, of Villanova, Pa., said. “I think the course fits my game well. I hit it pretty far off the tee, [I] know where to miss and I putted it well today, so that was helpful.” 

Brown’s win is even more impressive as he’s only been taking golf seriously since his family became Philly Country members in 2021. 

“I played baseball my whole life, then I hurt my elbow in the summer of 2021,” Brown, a rising senior at The Haverford School, said. “I was still able to golf, [so] I spent the summers playing. I quit baseball after my freshman year just to focus on golf.”

Common pitching ailments, not requiring surgery, drove Brown to take a break from baseball to allow for some much needed healing. Increased interest and development in golf led him to leave baseball behind for good. 

“I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better this year since last year, but I’ve been struggling my last six tournament rounds. I feel good, I just haven’t been scoring lately,” Brown, Philly Country’s 2023 Junior Club Champion, said.

Scoring certainly wasn’t an issue today. An even-par front nine left Brown an open canvas to make some magic coming in. On No. 11 (par 5, 594 yards) his 56-degree wedge from 75 yards stopped eight feet from the hole. He rolled in the birdie try with confidence. He found another red figure on No. 13 (par 4, 367 yards) after his 52-degree wedge settled 15 feet away.

A bogey on the par 4, 425-yard, 14th hole after a failed up-and-down attempt from the sand bunker beyond the green briefly stalled the long-hitting lefty. Birdies flowed again on Nos. 16 (par 4, 386 yards) and 17 (par 4, 386 yards). A 56-degree from 65 yards to 20 feet did the trick on the former, while a 52-degree from 105 yards to 15 feet got the job done on the latter.

Holding the solo lead at 3 under, Brown, playing in the day’s second-to-last group, came to No. 18. His tee shot stopped under a large tree in the right rough. His approach, a 52-degree wedge from 110 yards, caught a low hanging branch and left him 70 yards away for his third. His 60-degree wedge stopped 30 feet away. He promptly two-putted for a spot in the playoff. 

Following the final putts of the final group, Brown, Lohkamp and Stevenson headed to the tee for the playoff. After serviceable tee shots, Stevenson’s and Lohkamp’s approaches landed long and left in the rough beyond the green. Brown’s ball found a similar position on the right side after his 9-iron from 137 yards landed long. After chipping onto the putting surface, Stevenson failed to make his 23-footer for par. Lohkamp had an identical fate with his putt from 15-feet. Both players salvaged bogeys. Brown, with much more green to work with being that the hole stood in the rear left quadrant of the green, executed a chip shot that stopped four feet away. He sunk the ensuing putt for the victory. 

Harry Hammond Award 

Following the Christman Cup, the second leg of the Harry Hammond Award, Stevenson possessed a four-shot lead over North Hills Country Club’s Sebastian Botero. With his performance Monday, Stevenson topped the Harry Hammond leaderboard by nine shots over Wilmington Country Club’s Jack Homer.   

“I’m really excited. These have been my favorite events every year,” Stevenson, 18, of Ambler, Pa., said. “I worked really hard this off season, and I was blessed to win this year. I’m really happy with it.” 

Last year, despite winning the Junior Boys’ Championship and the Christman Cup, Stevenson opted not to participate in the Jock MacKenzie. Instead, he decided to test his skills in U.S. Amateur Qualifying administered by GAP. 

“Last year, I honestly didn’t know much about the Harry Hammond,” Stevenson said. “I was disappointed that I didn’t play in [the Jock MacKenzie] last year. I made it a point in my schedule this year to play in all three events.”

Junior-Junior Division

Llanerch Country Club’s William Quartermain carded a 2-over-par 38 to prevail in the Junior-Junior Boys’ Division (par 36, 2,729 yards). He deemed his win a confidence builder ahead of other junior tournaments he’s playing in this summer.  

“I played pretty good. I missed a short putt for par but I came back with an eagle on 15,” Quartermain, 13, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., said. “It was a tough course, but I made some good swings to help.” 

On the aforementioned No. 15 (par 5, 368 yards), the rising eighth grader at Haverford Middle School steered a 7-iron from 164 yards to 20 feet. 

Girls’ Division 

Kayla Maletto of Berkshire Country Club carded a 9-over-par 81 to take the Junior Girls’ Division (par 72, 5,609 yards). As her junior golf career comes to a close, she is looking ahead to her freshman year at Creighton University where she will study finance and represent the Bluejays on the women’s golf team. 

“Junior golf, as stressful as it may be, is such a good experience,” Maletto, 18, of Reading, Pa., said. “It helped me gain mental toughness for other things in life like school and the workplace.” 

Jock MacKenzie
Jock MacKenzie served as Sandy Run Country Club’s golf professional for three decades (1941-71). He previously worked as an assistant professional under George Lowe at Huntingdon Valley Country Club and Denny Shute at Llanerch Country Club. A Scotland native, MacKenzie started a Junior program at Sandy Run in 1947 that soon generated acclaim within the Philadelphia golf community. “The children don’t hit the golf ball for five weeks. They do calisthenics to build up the left wrist and arm. The left arm is key to a good swing,” MacKenzie told The Philadelphia Bulletin. MacKenzie taught participants in Sandy Run’s Junior program how to hit and chip the golf ball with irons. A mechanical mind, he stressed a slow count for the backswing and downswing. During the program’s final week, MacKenzie conducted a golf tournament and awarded prizes to all participants. “MacKenzie readily admits that he doesn’t make money, but gets rich on the satisfaction of helping youngsters learn the game he loves,” Joe Schwendeman wrote.

Harry Hammond
Harry Hammond, an ardent supporter of Junior golf both locally and nationally, served as the Philadelphia PGA Section’s Junior Golf Chairman for 29 years. He is the Director of Golf at Penn Oaks Golf Club. A 55-year member of the PGA of America, Hammond received the organization’s Bill Strausbaugh Award for leadership and service to the game of golf in 2012.

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.