Cricket’s Boreland finishes with low score at Caddie Tournament

  EXTON, Pa.- To go along with an overly-impressive golf swing, Paul Boreland also boasts an overly-impressive caddie résumé.| Scorecards | History |

  Boreland, who has worked at Philadelphia Cricket Club for just over five weeks, finished with the low overall score in the 69th Caddie Tournament at Whitford Country Club (par 72, 6,215 yards) after posting a 1-over 73. The 31-year-old native of Scotland began his caddying days on the illustrious greens and fairways of St. Andrews Links.

  ”Back home, I caddied at St. Andrews during the summers. I’ve been in the States for the past 11 years, on and off,” Boreland said. “I then started down at Secession Golf Club in Beaufort, S.C. That’s where I fell in love with America and fell in love with the South. Then, I fell in love with the game.”

  On Monday, Boreland used four birdies to propel his round to the top of the overall leaderboard, which consisted of 122 caddies that are currently working for one of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 150 Member Clubs.

  His first red number of the day came on No. 3 (par 4, 390 yards). Boreland stuck his lob wedge on the green to three feet, then snuck in the short birdie putt over the lip of the cup. No. 9 (par 5, 472 yards) saw Boreland’s next birdie fall after an 8-iron approach and a chip shot was put to inches from the stick. He hit every green in regulation on the front nine, but came away from the round with a total of 38 putts. Boreland finished his round with crucial birdies on both Nos. 15 (par 4, 342 yards) and 16 (par 5, 505 yards) while utilizing his powerful long game to make up for his struggling short game.

  “I wish I could blame the greens but the greens were awesome today. These greens were great, rough was great, fairways were great. It was just me and my short game struggling today,” said Boreland. “The fairways are very big here. If you got in the rough here, it was your own fault. Most importantly, when you got to the green, everything was rolling pure.”

  While Boreland is still new to the Cricket Club, he says the current conditions there are comparable to some of Europe’s finest tracks.

  “The course is amazing. The greens are the best I’ve ever seen,” Boreland said. “The fairways are running as quick as St. Andrews green in terms of pureness. Just everything about it is great, including the members there.”

  Two players finished just one stroke behind Boreland: Chris Legare, another caddie at Cricket, and Chris Tobias, who caddies out of Merion Golf Club.

  Legare, 34, of Haverford, Pa., carded a front nine 39 and back nine 35. He recently served two years in the Army, where he was stationed out of Fort Hood, Texas, and started looping at Cricket on May 25.

  “I absolutely love it. Every member that I’ve talked to and carried for has said that they have fallen even more in love with it since the renovations. It’s an amazing place,” said Legare.

  Tobias, a resident of Perkasie, Pa., currently calls Merion his place of employment, but also caddies at Trump National in Jupiter Fla. during the Philadelphia region’s cold season. He has worked rounds on prestigious courses such as Augusta National, Whistling Straights, and Hamilton Farm.

  The 32 year old fired a 1-under front nine 35 followed by a back nine 39 on Monday.

  “I’m always around the game. Its always go home and watch the Golf Channel for me after I get home from working or playing. It’s an addiction for me.”

  The Caddie Tournament had five flights. There is no overall champion.

Golf Association of Philadelphia
  Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 151 Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.