Delaware boys top Four-man Team

 MIDDLETOWN, Del. – Robert Volko, Bill Looney and Darrell Clayton, all out of Cavaliers CC, and Robert Bechtold of Fieldstone GC, scorched the Saint Annes Club’s Back Creek Course (Par 71, 6,373 yards) to the tune of a 10-under-par 132 to take 14^th annual Four-Man Team Thursday.

  When asked what was the key to their field-low round, Bechtold immediately pointed to his partner Clayton, who fired a 3-under-par 68, and said, “Talk to Darrell, he’s the one that made everything.”

  “We just made a whole bunch of putts today,” Clayton said. “The course was in great shape and the greens were good, so when we putt the ball on line it just went in.”

  “We made a bunch of birdies at the same time and never really got in any trouble,” added Bechtold.

  As a team, the group’s only blemish came on the par 4 18^th hole (385 yards) where they carded their lone bogey on the day. But they managed to card two birdies on the same hole a total of three times to help give them the title.

  The team’s first double-birdie effort came on the par 3 14^th hole (173 yards) after Volko and Looney hit their 7 and 6-irons to within five feet and 12 feet, respectively. The pair then drained their putts to bring the team to 4-under through their first five holes of the day, as they started off the on the 10^th tee.

  “That was big for us,” said Bechtold, who like his teammates, rarely plays in GAP events.

  However, the fact that this event was set in the First State made it appealing to the Delaware residents.

  “We just decided to play in this today because it was playing golf with four buddies and it was local,” Clayton said. “We also had our state Amateur here a couple of years ago and I have played this course a half a dozen times, so we know the course.”

  “It was just a fun day all around and we all contributed,” Volko said. “It was a good time.”

  “Each of us shot 68, 73 and 73, and then there was Looney [at 81],” he joked.

  Jim Dougherty, Arthur Pollak, Art Gallagher and Bill Kaufmann of Wedgwood CC carded a 15-under-par 127 (net) to take the net division of the Four-Man Team.

—

  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 136 Member Clubs and 56,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. The purpose of the Association is simple: To promote, protect and preserve the game of golf in the region.