6th Mixed Foursomes Championship: Medford Lakes

Kittelson, Casselbury capture title

Medford Lakes, N.J. — Anna Kittelson and Blaise Casselbury met one another on the golf course.

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During 2023 GAP Middle-Amateur Championship Qualifying at Coatesville Country Club. Kittelson, a 12-month P.J. Boatwright Fellow at the Association at the time, was fulfilling her ball-spotting responsibilities on Coatesville’s 17th hole. Casselbury required Kittelson’s assistance that day, and the pair established a friendship. From there, their relationship grew into a romantic one, and shortly after, into a golf one. 

In Friday’s 6th Mixed Foursomes Championship at Medford Lakes Country Club (par 71, 6,034 yards), the Lancaster Country Club members’ golf partnership shined even brighter. The duo carded a 4-under 67 to take the title by four shots.

The event’s format is selective drive alternate shot.

“The way we typically play golf is Blaise hits the ball really far and I hit really good wedges. Today was the total opposite,” Kittelson, 24, of Lancaster, Pa., said. “Today I hit my driver very well and really straight, and the course played short enough to where Blaise had a ton of wedges in and he hit them really close. I don’t think we had a birdie putt outside of seven feet.” 

Leslie Lewis and Brendan Mannix of Huntingdon Valley Country Club captured the Net Division of the event with a score of 5-under 66.

A quartet of birdies closed out the front nine and bled into the back for the Lancaster team. Kittelson hit the team’s choice drives on Nos. 7 (par 4, 305 yards), 8 (par 4, 307 yards) and 9 (par 5, 448 yards). A greenside chip by Casselbury on No. 7 settled two feet away. His approach on No. 8 from 65 yards with a 60-degree wedge stuck four feet away. The pair found another low-stress birdie on No. 9 after Casselbury’s 9-iron from 165 yards set the team up for a two putt from 50 feet. 

After Casselbury’s drive on No. 10 (par 4, 365 yards), Kittelson unfortunately chipped her 54-degree wedge over the green. No problem. Casselbury chipped the next one in from 30 yards. 

The regime’s only trouble occurred on No. 13 (par 4, 313 yards). After a big drive by Casselbury, Kittelson’s ensuing chip from a tight lie unfortunately found a penalty area directly in front of her. Within the red-paint marked area stood a dried up creek with rocks and mud. The team’s ball had found a spot up against one of the rocks. Casselbury swiped at the ball but was unsuccessful in advancing it altogether. Kittelson extricated the team from the penalty area 15 yards away to a spot on the green 35 feet from the hole. The side two-putted for double bogey. 

They righted the ship with a birdie on the next, No. 14 (par 5, 501 yards), after Kittelson’s 3-wood from 233 yards settled 30 yards short of the green. Casselbury chipped to four feet and Kittelson holed the shortie.

Kittelson, who serves as GAP’s Manager of Adaptive Golf, is adding more hardware to an already championship-winning season. In June, she successfully defended her title in GAP’s Women’s Championship at Overbrook Golf Club. The 2023 University of Delaware graduate is set on building a championship legacy.  

“I work at GAP and we hear about these names all the time of people who keep winning, winning and winning. I would love 10 to 15 years from now to be recognized as one of those people,” Kittelson said. “When you finish college golf and you don’t play professionally, there’s only so much you can look forward to.” 

Casselbury is also feeding a post-collegiate competitive hunger. He represented the Blue Hens on the Men’s Tennis team from 2015-2019.

The couple support one another in their title-chasing quests. Casselbury caddied for Kittelson during her victory in the Women’s Championship earlier this year. They switched roles for Casselbury’s Lancaster Country Club Men’s Club Championship win in August. 

“We’re constantly talking about our shots, talking about our lies and talking about lines on the green. It’s really natural for us to go out there and be supportive of each other and just make sure we’re committing to the shots and doing the right thing,” Casselbury, 28, of Lancaster, Pa., said.

Casselbury and Kittelson live together in the Lititz section of Lancaster, Pa.. Although they enjoy other activities such as fitness and pickleball, golf remains on the pedestal. 

“We have a ton of fun. We’ve learned since we’ve been dating. We play a lot of team games together, and we set little goals for ourselves,” Casselbury, whose family owns Universal Athletic Club, said. “Whenever we’re playing golf, we’re trying to play together because we both love the game.” 

In an effort to further promote women’s golf, GAP created a Mixed Foursomes Championship in 2019. The event’s format is selective drive/alternate shot. Open to one female and one male golfer teams who are 19 years of age and who have 36.0 handicap index or less. Only one player from each two-person team must be a member of a Member Club with a GAP handicap.

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.