7th Mixed Foursomes Championship: The 1912 Club

Casselbury and Kittelson repeat

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – For 15 holes, Anna Kittelson and Blaise Casselbury were in cruise control.

| Scorecards | History | Photos |

At 2 under, well on their way to a repeat Mixed Foursomes title, they made a double bogey from 130 yards on No. 17 (par 4, 463 yards) after Casselbury airmailed the green from a flier lie in the rough.

With two holes to play, they started on No. 2 (par 3, 173 yards) in the shotgun format, Kittelson had a 35-footer on No. 18 (par 4, 408 yards) for a bounce-back birdie. 

“That double bogey was a killer for us,” Casselbury said. “After that, I looked at the scores and knew we needed to make one or two birdies in our final two holes. I looked at Anna and told her, ‘I think we need this putt, so be aggressive.’ She came through big time.”

Casselbury and Kittelson, GAP’s Manager of Adaptive Golf, successfully defended their Mixed Foursomes title with a score of 1-under-par 69 Tuesday at The 1912 Club (par 70, 6,340 yards) in the seventh edition. It was the lone under-par round.

The event’s format is selective drive alternate shot.

Mike Minter and Rachael Matreale of Trenton Country Club captured the Net Division with a score of 5-under-par 65.

“This is the third time we’ve played in this and each of the first two years, we went into it with a strategy that we thought was best,” Kittelson, 25, of Lititz, Pa., said. “This year we knew it was all about how we can drive the ball well and putt well rather than trying to overthink who would hit the second shot. Our expectations weren’t high but you always want to repeat. I think there is always pressure with that.”

The Lancaster Country Club duo, set to get married next summer, took full advantage of the three par 5s at The 1912 Club. Using Kittelson’s drive on all three, Casselbury stepped up with crisp iron shots on Nos. 3 (490 yards) and 6 (550 yards). He hit an 8-iron from 183 yards to 20 feet on No. 3 and a 9-iron from 172 yards to 30 feet on No. 6. Kittelson nipped a 40-yard pitch to five feet on No. 12 (par 5, 512 yards).

“If you look at us as a team, Anna is definitely the better wedge player,” Casselbury said. “If I am able to drive the ball well and give her a lot of wedges, that is going to be our best chance of scoring. It so happened today that she was driving the ball awesome and giving me a lot of wedges. We both played our part to give each other enough looks to be successful.”

No stone was unturned for Kittelson and Casselbury in the quest for consecutive titles. Kittelson won back-to-back titles in the BMW GAP Women’s Championship (2023-24).

“We played at Lancaster on Sunday preparing for this,” Casselbury, 29, of Lititz, Pa., said. “This format is fun. It’s also challenging because you feel like you are hitting shots for two people so there is added pressure there. We don’t get upset with each other after bad shots. We’ve played a lot of golf together so we know each other’s games and feel like we can complement each other well when we get in those positions.”

Both Kittelson and Casselbury are University of Delaware alums. Casselbury played on the men’s tennis team from 2015-19. Kittelson played on the women’s golf team from 2021-23. A GAP event was the reason they met and started dating. Golf is a huge part of their story.

“Winning this tournament is incredibly special for us,” Casselbury said. “These are really awesome memories for us and ones we can bond over for a long time as we grow together. Having these memories can remind us who we were and where we are going. This is the stuff we love doing together. We put our phones away and get as much quality time together as we can.”

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 130,000 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.