66th Parent/Child–Younger

Smiths, Ziegs win Parent/Child–Younger at Hartefeld

AVONDALE, Pa. — Former Kennett High School golf teammates Kasim Narinesingh-Smith and Drew Zieg joined forces with their dads, Greg and Michael, to share the top spot in the Junior Father/Son Division (par 72, 6,281 yards) of the 66^th Parent/Child–Younger at Hartefeld National Monday.

| Scoring portal | History | Photo gallery |

Both teams carded respective 2-under-par 70s to earn co-champion status. The event’s format is greensomes (selective drive/alternate shot).

The Smith team, playing in the morning wave, did its damage on Hartefeld’s back nine. On No. 13 (par 5, 507 yards), Kasim’s sand wedge from 100 yards drifted right of the hole location. Greg buried an uphill 15-footer for birdie. On No. 15 (par 4, 366 yards), Greg knocked a sand wedge 88 yards to 10 feet. Kasim cleaned up the birdie putt. The Kennett Square, Pa. residents closed their campaign with a cheerful birdie on No. 18 (par 4, 435 yards). After Greg drilled a 6-iron 140 yards to 15 feet, Kasim drained a demanding right-to-left slider.

“I got off the tee pretty well. He helped me around the greens a lot. He was able to chip and putt well,” Kasim, 17, a rising senior at Kennett High School, said. “If someone is messing up in that area, then you can’t really recover. He was good when it mattered.”

Greg isn’t accustomed to the teammate role nowadays. Golf spectator is more appropriate. He travels with Kasim to Junior competitions throughout the Philadelphia region, walking and watching.

“His biggest hurdle was putting. He’s conquered that,” Greg, 58, an 11-time GAP Winter Series Amateur Net Player of the Year, said. “He’s an excellent long-iron player. The next thing is to make chips and to make sand shots. That’s his next hurdle: make them as opposed to getting them close.”

“I was worse than average [in putting] last year. For the high school matches, I’d have 20 shots tee to green and 20 putts,” Kasim added. “I’m happy with putting now.”

In contrast to the Smith team, the Zieg team capitalized on Hartefeld’s front nine by inking a 33 (3 under). An opening bogey (par 4, 360 yards) seemed like a fluke, given how it unfolded. Drew’s four-footer for par “jumped” off a ball mark. The Kennett Square, Pa. residents responded with back-to-back birdies courtesy of Michael’s 7-iron. He hit it160 yards to four feet for a near eagle on No. 2 (par 5, 472 yards). Ditto on No. 3 (par 3, 156 yards) — 7-iron to four feet. But that same 7-iron nearly proved perilous on No. 6 (par 4, 397 yards). Michael saw it sail 167 yards and settle two feet off the green. Thinking lag, Drew instead plopped the quick downhiller for birdie. Dad donned the downhiller drab on No. 8 (par 5, 507 yards). He made a 10-footer for birdie after Drew’s wedge setup from 80 yards.

“We were solid all day. We kept the ball in play everywhere,” Michael, 52, said. “If a couple more putts fell, we could’ve easily been 5 or 6 under. We were inside 100 yards almost all day on par 4s.”

“Our main strategy going in was ‘I hit the drive, he hits the iron shots into the green, I hit the putts.’ Those are our strong suits,” Drew, 18, a recent Kennett High School graduate, said. “It worked well for us all day.”

Drew will attend Arizona State University in the fall, where he will major in finance. Until then, he plans to play plenty of golf. Dad included.

In the Junior-Junior Father/Son Division (par 72, 5,778 yards), Riverton Country Club’s Tom and Jackson Lane carded a 2-over-par 74 to top the 14-team field.

“We had a great time. It was great to be out with my son,” Tom, 39, said. “We had a few ugly holes, but we had a stretch in the middle where we really got it going. Finished a little shaky, but overall it was a great day.”

Starting on the back nine, Jackson initiated the team’s aforementioned scorcher by nearly holing a sand wedge from 50 yards for eagle on No. 18 (par 4, 321 yards). Three straight birdies thereafter brought the Cinnaminson, N.J. residents to 1 under. On No. 2 (par 5, 433 yards), Jackson negotiated a tree with a 9-iron to reach the green in two. Tom’s eagle attempt made for a tap-in birdie. On No. 3 (par 3, 115 yards), Jackson converted a 15-footer for birdie following Tom’s crisp 54-degree wedge. Another two-putt birdie occurred on No. 4 (par 5, 505 yards) after Jackson grabbed the green with a 7-iron from 150 yards.

The Lane team teetered at 2 over — a shot clear — after a double bogey on No. 8 (par 5, 482 yards). Jackson to the rescue. Par imperative for an outright victory, he stood in a swale and studied a front hole location on No. 9 (par 3, 153 yards). His wedge checked as intended, coasting to two feet for a 3.

“There was a hill going to the left, and I knew I couldn’t carry it onto the green. So, I just tried to pitch a sand wedge. It hit just short of the green and had a lot of spin. It kind of stopped,” Jackson, 13, a rising eighth grader at Cinnaminson Middle School, said.

Lookaway Golf Club’s John and Jewel Schaefer carded a 10-over-par 82 to win the Junior Father/Daughter Division (par 72, 5,778 yards). The Junior-Junior Father/Daughter Division (par 72, 5,778 yards) went to Pete and Nicolette Bottos. The Rolling Green Golf Club members posted a 10-over-par 82. Another set of Rolling Green members, Denise Lynam and Max Riviere, won the Junior Mother/Son Division (par 72, 5,778 yards) with a score of 23-over-par 95. Green Valley Country Club’s Kimberly and Henry Sokol took the Junior-Junior Mother/Son Division (par 72, 5,778 yards) with a score of 14-over-par 86.

Formerly known as the Father & Son (Younger), GAP renamed the event Parent/Child–Younger in 2022 to reflect today’s modern family. 

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.