67th Parent/Child – Younger

Cotters capture title at Chesapeake Bay

RISING SUN, Md. — Patrick and Brian Cotter missed the registration deadline for the Parent/Child – Younger a year ago. They didn’t make the same mistake twice.

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The Legacy Club members circled the 67^th Parent/Child – Younger on the calendar. Once registration opened, they signed up … and ultimately succeeded at Chesapeake Bay Golf Club (par 72, 6,062 yards) Monday.

The Cotter team carded a 1-over-par 73 to win the event’s Junior Father & Son Division. The event’s format is greensomes (selective drive/alternate shot).

The Parent/Child – Younger is open to teams with sons or daughters 18 years of age or younger.

“We like playing in parent/child events at our club [or elsewhere]. We saw that GAP had one, but we were too late for it last year,” Patrick, 54, said. “We targeted it this year. We said, ‘We have to play before Brian isn’t a junior anymore.’”

“We thought it would be fun,” Brian, 18, added.

The Cherry Hill, N.J. residents enjoyed every bit of their debut — and finale. From the road trip (a seamless 70-minute drive) to the golf course (first time Chesapeake Bay visitors) to the farewell with trophies in hand.

The Cotter team registered 14 greens in regulation amid relatively cool and windy conditions. A bogey and a birdie lined the outward nine. On No. 3 (par 4, 341 yards), the Cotter team failed to complete a sand save from the front bunker. Birdies lipped here, burnt the edge there until No. 9 (par 5, 462 yards). After both Patrick and Brian lashed lengthy drives, the latter tugged an 8-iron from 160 yards to greenside left. Patrick’s pitch set up a five-footer for birdie, which Brian canned.

“We both drove it very well, so we had options on pretty much every hole,” Brian, a recent Cherry Hill East High School graduate, said. “We hit a lot of fairways and greens. That was the biggest part of the day. We were hitting good putts. A lot of times, we were just off on the read.”

“We did have a lot of good looks at birdie. We felt we even left a few shots out there,” Patrick added. “Hitting fairways was paramount, and we managed to do that today.”

A pair of poor wedges on Chesapeake Bay’s back nine put the Cotter team on tilt. Patrick thinned a 58-degree wedge on No. 12 (par 4, 305 yards). Bogey. Brian garbled a 60-degree wedge from 98 yards on an uphill lie on No. 14 (par 5, 500 yards). Bogey. The Cotter team regained a stroke with a fist-pumping birdie on the last. Brian’s towering drive carried the water and chewed off the corner on the dogleg right, 530-yard 18^th hole (par 5). Patrick then lifted a wedge 115 yards to the juice of the cherry green. Thinking eagle for even, Brian rammed his 20-footer six feet past the cup. Patrick, without batting an eye, made the birdie putt.  

“Golf has been in our family a long time. It’s great that Brian picked up the game,” Patrick said. “It’s great that golf is something we can do together. I’m not dragging him along. He got good at golf, and he can help me now. He helps me read putts, helps me with where to hit it. It’s a great feeling that he enjoys the game.”

“We get to spend three to four hours together. It’s a good time,” Brian, who will major in business at Drew University in the fall, added. “I play better with him. He calms me down. He makes sure I’m doing the right things on the range, on the course. He makes sure I’m not being an idiot.”

Junior-Junior Father/Son Division
Gavin Lane noticed the trophies and offered congratulations.

A year ago, his brother Jackson and father Tom won the event’s Junior-Junior Father/Son Division at Hartefeld National. The family accomplishment motivated Gavin.

“I wanted to get the same trophy as Jackson,” Gavin, 12, an incoming eighth grader at Cinnaminson Middle School, said.

And he did. Gavin joined Tom to post a 4-under-par and a four-stroke victory in the event’s Junior-Junior Father/Son Division (par 72, 5,130 yards).

“We started off with a double bogey, so we were both a little nervous I guess,” Tom, 41, said. “I was driving it nice, and his wedges were awesome. He hit every one into tap-in range. All I had to do was knock in five-footers.”

The Riverton Country Club members and Cinnaminson, N.J. residents erased that double bogey on No. 1 (par 4, 304 yards) immediately. Erased as in four birdies and an eagle on No. 6 (par 5, 370 yards), illuminated by Gavin’s exquisite flop shot over the bunker.

“It was really fun. I like spending time with him,” Gavin said.

Lookaway Golf Club’s John and Jewel Schaefer carded a 3-over-par 75 to win the Junior Father/Daughter Division (par 72, 6,062 yards). The Junior-Junior Father/Daughter Division (par 72, 5,130 yards) went to Huntingdon Valley Country Club’s Sean and Stella Seese, who carded a 5-over-par 77. Rolling Green Golf Club members Denise Lynam and Max Riviere, won the Junior Mother/Son Division (par 72, 5,778 yards) with a score of 16-over-par 88.

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 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.