52nd Four-Ball Stroke Play Championship

Bent Creek duo wins 52nd Four-Ball

ROYERSFORD, Pa. — At the last minute, Conor Gilbert decided to compete in the Lancaster County Golf Association Better-Ball Championship. One problem. He needed a partner.

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Fortunately, good friend and fellow Bent Creek Country Club member Zak Drescher was available and answered the call. The Lancaster, Pa. residents went on to win the tournament at Overlook Golf Course. Perhaps the luster of their Lancaster County triumph spilled into Spring Ford Country Club (par 72, 6,508 yards) Thursday.

Drescher and Gilbert carded a 9-under-par 63 to prevail over 48 teams in the 52^nd Four-Ball Stroke Play Championship. The event’s format is better-ball-of-partners.

“I think we’re a really good team,” Gilbert, 30, said. “Being paired with him and seeing the level of confidence he has definitely rubs off on me. It definitely frees me up and gives me a level of confidence whenever I’m out there.”

The Bent Creek team appeared astoundingly confident after heading out in 29 (7 under).

“We got hot in the beginning,” Gilbert said.

“You got hot, and I tried to catch up,” Drescher, 34, added. “We hammed and egged it pretty good.”

Drescher opened the sensational scoring with a birdie on No. 3 (par 4, 378 yards), where he knocked a wedge 75 yards to 12 feet. Gilbert complimented with a 25-footer for birdie on No. 4 (par 3, 118 yards) following a crisp pitching wedge. He added a “gross” (think teenage slang) eagle on the par 5, 513-yard No. 5. With limbs in his line of sight, Gilbert faded a hybrid from 220 yards to six feet.

“Such a good shot,” a smiling Drescher said.

Then Drescher returned to the podium with back-to-back birdies. He hit a wedge 90 yards to four feet on No. 8 (par 4, 354 yards). After sending a 2-iron short right on the uphill No. 9 (par 5, 530 yards), Drescher pitched it to 12 feet.

Give-and-take is what both Drescher and Gilbert credited toward their Lancaster County victory. Neither birdied the same hole. Well, the two happened to follow each other in a not-so-endearing way on No. 10 (par 4, 406 yards). Both found the right fairway bunker off the tee. Both crashed into the lip upon extrication, their golf balls two inches apart. “Wrong type of cart golf,” as Gilbert framed it for a team bogey.

However, Gilbert immediately cleansed the pallet with a birdie on the next hole (par 4, 340 yards). He lifted a wedge 84 yards to 10 feet. Drescher next capitalized on Spring Ford’s par 5s. Standing underneath a tree right of No. 15 (502 yards) green, he carefully crafted a wedge that careened into a ridge and coasted to three feet. Drescher’s 5-iron from 205 yards on No. 18 (500 yards) pinched a groove too low, thereby falling short of the green by a yard or two. Facing a fluffy lie, Drescher eased a chip to 10 feet. He buried the birdie putt. Internally, Gilbert rejoiced. Externally, he embraced his teammate.

Drescher is in the midst of a strong GAP season. He finished sixth in the Middle-Amateur Championship at Old York Road Country Club and cracked the Top 10 in the Joseph H. Patterson Cup at Llanerch Country Club. He currently ranks 21^st in the William Hyndman, III Player of the Year standings. Drescher won the Lancaster County Golf Association’s Middle-Amateur Championship a week ago at Foxchase Golf Club.

“Consistency [is his biggest strength]. He just doesn’t make mistakes,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert, a Millersville University alum, believes his game is trending upward as well.

“Over the past couple of years, I’ve been playing some of the best golf of my life outside of college. So this year, I decided to start expanding into more regional events,” Gilbert, who will be inducted into Millersville’s Athletics Hall of Fame in October, said. “I want to start testing my game against better competition.”

“He never quits. I’ll tell you that,” Drescher said.

A moment of silence passes before Drescher offers putting as another plus in the Gilbert column. To that point, the two crossed paths in the semifinals of Bent Creek’s men’s championship a year ago. Drescher pointed to his opponent’s flatstick and posed a question.

“Do you sleep with that thing?”

With another team trophy in tow, Drescher and Gilbert will rest easy tonight.

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.