Father & Son (Younger) - The Golf Association of Philadelphia

Jul 01, 2020

Father & Son (Younger)

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HVCC’s Isztwans ink 66, take Father & Son (Younger)

WEST CHESTER, Pa. — The flashbulbs triggered flashbacks for Andy Isztwan Wednesday.

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It happened once he and son Patrick inked a 31 (4 under) on the front nine at Concord Country Club (par 70, 6,217 yards) during the 63rd Father & Son (Younger). Andy’s mind immediately travelled to the 2018 Father & Son (Middle), when he and son Brian made the turn in 5 under. The team stumbled on the back nine and finished tied for third that year.

Andy didn’t let a sore spot stay sore. He and Patrick, members of Huntingdon Valley Country Club, finished at 4-under-par 66 to capture the tournament’s Junior Division. Elmhurst Country Club’s William Pabst, Sr. and his son William placed second at 1-under-par 69.

The event’s format is selective drive/alternate shot.

“It [the 2018 Father & Son] was a sore spot and a spot of humor within the house. We were talking about it last night at dinner again, having a few laughs,” Andy, 51, said.

“Brian always brings it up because he always talks about how well dad was playing that day,” Patrick, 17, added. “There’s no sharing the blame on that one.”

A smile and a quick Andy retort.

“It’s all on me. Once we started getting hot, the flashbulbs started, and that got in my head,” Andy said. “I was thinking about that when I saw [a photographer on No. 10] today. I just tried to focus on the fact that I can still get the ball around. I put the past out of my head.”

Pre-round strategy never departed the Isztwan psyche either. If Andy put the team in position off the tee, then Patrick played the approach, regardless of distance differential.

“We had a plan where if I he hit a good tee shot, we were playing it no matter where mine went. He was putting the ball in play, and I was hitting my irons really well,” Patrick, a rising senior at William Penn Charter School, said. “There were a couple times where we were almost tempted, where I would’ve had a wedge in. But we just stuck to our plan.”

“We routinely would give up 60-80 yards on his tee shot just he could play the approach shot,” Andy added.

Patrick, who won the First Flight in the Junior Boys’ Championship last week, set up three of the team’s four birdies at Concord. On No. 4 (par 3, 164 yards), he burnt the edge with a picture-perfect 9-iron. Andy tapped in for 2. Patrick hit a 7-iron 185 yards to 20 feet on the slight dogleg left No. 7 (par 4, 421 yards). A dicey downhiller from Andy dropped. Patrick converted a 10-footer for birdie on the next hole (par 3, 180 yards) after Andy left a sharp 6-iron below the hole location.

The par 4, 395-yard No. 9 enticed the Huntingdon Valley, Pa. residents to stray from the script. Patrick obliterated a drive, leaving Andy with a favorable wedge in. The Isztwan team resisted temptation, and it paid off. Andy sank a seven-footer for birdie following Patrick’s 9-iron approach from 165 yards.

A clean back nine secured leaderboard status. The Isztwan team flirted with 65 after Andy bumped a wedge to four feet on No. 18 (par 5, 523 yards). Patrick narrowly missed the ensuing birdie putt.

Signing for a 66 is much better than signing for a 105. That’s the score Andy projected if he didn’t consult Brian beforehand.

“This was definitely a family effort,” Andy said. “I was playing some of the best golf I’ve ever played until two days ago. I lost with my swing entirely. So, I spent two hours on the driving range with Brian last night. He finally found something for me that I could play with today. If I didn’t have that, we would’ve shot 105.”

“We were in Hershey [for the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Junior Boys’ Championship], and he left early to come home and see Brian,” Patrick said.

Andy, perhaps out of apprehension, didn’t check his phone whatsoever during the round, therefore eliminating the possibility of any texts seeping into his mind and stirring ghosts. Patrick did receive a message from Brian.

“I expect a dedication for this win,” it read.

Granted.

“I will dedicate it to Brian, for sure. It wouldn’t have happened without him,” Andy said.

Bellewood Country Club’s Greg and Jack O’Connor

Junior-Junior Division
Bellewood Country Club’s Greg and Jack O’Connor carded an 8-over-par 78 to claim the tournament’s Junior-Junior (par 70, 5,794 yards) title.

“We got off to a good start. We were probably overachieving the first nine holes. We hit our first eight greens in regulation and were 1 under,” Greg, 45, said. “Things caught up with us a little bit after that.”

The Collegeville, Pa. residents finished the front nine at even before struggling on the back. It’s during the inward tour, however, when the O’Connor team experienced a highlight a la Tiger Woods in the 2005 Masters.

“I had a 60-footer for birdie on No. 11 (par 3, 152 yards). It ended up hanging on the lip,” Jack, 13, a rising eighth grader at Spring-Ford Middle School, said.

NOTE — Play was suspended at 3:21 p.m. due to weather. It resumed at 3:31 p.m.

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 Association’s 288 Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey and Delaware. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.

Gross results
Junior Division
NameClubScore
Andy Isztwan/Patrick IsztwanHuntingdon Valley Country Club66
William Pabst/William Pabst, Sr.Elmhurst Country Club69
Christian Matt/Ken MattTalamore Country Club71
Colman Mitchell/Randy MitchellWilmington Country Club72
Fran McCabe/Ryan McCabeThe Springhaven Club73
David Woods/Nicklaus WoodsConcord Country Club73
Eric Fryer/Steven FryerCommonwealth National Golf Club74
Michael Gradisek/James GradisekPhiladelphia Country Club74
Mark Lafond/Matt LafondBlue Bell Country Club74
Jacob Sokalsky/Lee SokalskyPenn Oaks Golf Club75
Bill Kearns/Jack KearnsTrenton Country Club75
Brendan Nolan/Darren NolanLuLu Country Club76
Greg Hanna/Alex HannaOverbrook Golf Club76
Christopher LaRosa/David LaRosaCedarbrook Country Club77
Brian Block/Michael BlockOverbrook Golf Club77
Matt Gilbert/Eric GilbertHershey Country Club77
David Guertler/Nathan GuertlerTavistock Country Club77
Benjamin Griffaton/George GriffatonBellewood Country Club78
Brad Cantwell/Bradyn CantwellConcord Country Club78
Kevin Roberts/Gary RobertsLuLu Country Club78
Andrew Damico/Phillip DamicoMcCall Golf Club79
Jim Dalzell/James DalzellGalloway National Golf Club79
Luke Watson/Troy WatsonRiverCrest GC & Preserve, Raven’s Claw Golf Club80
Ken Resuta/Kyle ResutaSpring Ford Country Club80
Jack Fialko/Jeff FialkoAronimink Golf Club80
Rand Mendez/Will MendezFieldstone Golf Club81
Robert Powelson/Shane PowelsonBidermann Golf Club81
Bryce Fazio/Michael FazioHuntingdon Valley Country Club82
Marc Shaffer/Reilly ShafferLlanerch Country Club82
Bruce Robertson/Travis RobertsonSunnybrook Golf Club83
Michael Schafer/Mike SchaferLlanerch Country Club83
Jack Benedetto/Larry BenedettoConcord Country Club85
Andrew Ranaudo/Andrew RanaudoChester Valley Golf Club86
Rich Biborosch/Richie BiboroschAronimink Golf Club87
Thomas DiGiulio/Stephen DiGiulioWedgwood Country Club88
Edward Maul/Owen MaulConcord Country Club93
David Kay/Lance KayGreen Valley Country Club94
Bob Harnish/Evan HarnishPhoenixville Country Club103
Tim Yenawine/Zachary YenawineLehigh Country Club103
Simon Blake/Sachin BlakeWhite Manor Country ClubNS
Junior-Junior Division
NameClubScore
Greg O’Connor/Jack O’ConnorBellewood Country Club78
E.J. Legarda/Ethan LegardaWoodcrest Country Club79
Nick Linkchorst/Rich LinkchorstGolf Course at Glen Mills79
Liam McFadden/Brad McFaddenOverbrook Golf Club, Merion Golf Club80
Dave Pender/Nick ShoemakerColonial Golf & Tennis Club85
Brian McDonald/Conor McDonaldLlanerch Country Club86
Charlie Isler/Josh IslerRadley Run Country Club86
Geoffrey Cooper/Grant CooperNorth Hills Country Club86
Chong Moua/Zach MouaSt. Davids Golf Club87
Jackson Puskar/John PuskarKennett Square G&CC88
Phil Over, Jr./Matthew OverPenn Oaks Golf Club88
Ari Flaisher/Jonah FlaisherLlanerch Country Club89
Charles Meadows/Hayden MeadowsWhitford Country Club93
Ethan Clouser/Randall ClouserMerion Golf Club95
Keith Zdimal/Kooper ZdimalFrench Creek Golf Club97
Michael Mannon/Walker MannonPhoenixville Country Club100
Jackson Armstrong/Rob ArmstrongGAP Youth on Course, Phoenixville Country Club101
Gavin Toto/Mark TotoRadley Run Country Club103
Dan Delaney/Ryan DelaneyStonewall104
Ben Marie/Jason MarieFive Ponds Golf Club108
Joey Ferenchick/Joe FerenchickSkippack Golf Club132
Benjamin Branche/Cameron BrancheNorthampton Valley Country ClubNS
Net results
Junior Division
NameClubScore
Andy Isztwan/Patrick IsztwanHuntingdon Valley Country Club63
Eric Fryer/Steven FryerCommonwealth National Golf Club67
David Woods/Nicklaus WoodsConcord Country Club67
Fran McCabe/Ryan McCabeThe Springhaven Club68
Brian Block/Michael BlockOverbrook Golf Club68
William Pabst/William Pabst, Sr.Elmhurst Country Club69
Colman Mitchell/Randy MitchellWilmington Country Club69
Bill Kearns/Jack KearnsTrenton Country Club69
Jacob Sokalsky/Lee SokalskyPenn Oaks Golf Club70
Greg Hanna/Alex HannaOverbrook Golf Club70
Matt Gilbert/Eric GilbertHershey Country Club70
Kevin Roberts/Gary RobertsLuLu Country Club70
Ken Resuta/Kyle ResutaSpring Ford Country Club70
Mark Lafond/Matt LafondBlue Bell Country Club71
Brad Cantwell/Bradyn CantwellConcord Country Club72
Christian Matt/Ken MattTalamore Country Club72
Robert Powelson/Shane PowelsonBidermann Golf Club72
Benjamin Griffaton/George GriffatonBellewood Country Club73
Brendan Nolan/Darren NolanLuLu Country Club73
Christopher LaRosa/David LaRosaCedarbrook Country Club73
Andrew Damico/Phillip DamicoMcCall Golf Club73
Michael Gradisek/James GradisekPhiladelphia Country Club74
Luke Watson/Troy WatsonRiverCrest GC & Preserve, Raven’s Claw Golf Club75
David Guertler/Nathan GuertlerTavistock Country Club75
Michael Schafer/Mike SchaferLlanerch Country Club75
Bryce Fazio/Michael FazioHuntingdon Valley Country Club76
Bruce Robertson/Travis RobertsonSunnybrook Golf Club76
Marc Shaffer/Reilly ShafferLlanerch Country Club76
Jim Dalzell/James DalzellGalloway National Golf Club76
David Kay/Lance KayGreen Valley Country Club77
Rand Mendez/Will MendezFieldstone Golf Club77
Jack Fialko/Jeff FialkoAronimink Golf Club77
Jack Benedetto/Larry BenedettoConcord Country Club78
Andrew Ranaudo/Andrew RanaudoChester Valley Golf Club78
Thomas DiGiulio/Stephen DiGiulioWedgwood Country Club79
Rich Biborosch/Richie BiboroschAronimink Golf Club80
Edward Maul/Owen MaulConcord Country Club82
Bob Harnish/Evan HarnishPhoenixville Country Club85
Simon Blake/Sachin BlakeWhite Manor Country ClubNS
Junior-Junior Division
NameClubScore
Brian McDonald/Conor McDonaldLlanerch Country Club62
Greg O’Connor/Jack O’ConnorBellewood Country Club67
Dave Pender/Nick ShoemakerColonial Golf & Tennis Club69
Nick Linkchorst/Rich LinkchorstGolf Course at Glen Mills70
Liam McFadden/Brad McFaddenOverbrook Golf Club, Merion Golf Club73
E.J. Legarda/Ethan LegardaWoodcrest Country Club73
Chong Moua/Zach MouaSt. Davids Golf Club76
Jackson Puskar/John PuskarKennett Square G&CC82
Michael Mannon/Walker MannonPhoenixville Country Club85
Dan Delaney/Ryan DelaneyStonewall86
Keith Zdimal/Kooper ZdimalFrench Creek Golf Club94
NS — no show

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