Huntingdon Valley CC duo wins Father & Son (Younger)

 JAMISON, Pa. – Since R. Morgan Dougherty was 7 years-old, he and his father Michael have participated in the Father & Son (Younger). The Huntingdon Valley CC members consistently compete, clawing their way close to the winner’s circle annually.

  They finally arrived Thursday. The Dougherty team carded a 1-under-par 69 to win the 53rd Father & Son (Younger) at The Bucks Club (par 70, 6,231 yards).

  “It’s great,” Morgan, 16, said. “Every year, we play in this tournament and we go through a few speed bumps. It’s just nice to finally win it. It’s a good win for us. It’s a big deal.”

  “We’ve been in contention a few times and just let it get away, truthfully,” Michael, 61, added. “I’m really happy for Mo. I’ve seen the maturity in him. It’s a great feeling.”

  Six birdies and five bogeys dictated the Dougherty’s day. After Michael smoked his rescue 4-iron 195 yards on No. 2 (par 5, 500 yards), Morgan rolled a 45-footer for eagle just short of the cup. But Nos. 3 (par 4, 335 yards) and 4 (par 3, 181 yards) proved problematic. On the first, the two elected to take 3-wood off the tee and reached the green in two strokes, but three-putted from 15-feet to card a bogey.

  “That was the only decision all day that I didn’t go with the aggressive club. It cost us,” Morgan said.

  Both Michael and Morgan pumped their tee shots on No. 4 into the right greenside bunker and failed to get up-and-down for par. The Dougherty team burrowed back into red figures with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 (par 5, 522 yards) and 8 (par 4, 405 yards). Morgan’s drive settled in the first cut of the No. 7 rough. He then advised his dad to use his 3-wood from 260 yards out.

  “I just told him to go for it (the green),” Morgan said. “That’s when we really got aggressive. That really set the tone.”

  Michael’s 3-wood landed 25-feet left of the flagstick. Morgan ran the eagle effort five feet past the jar, but his dad cleaned up the birdie putt. Morgan rocketed his drive 270 yards on No. 10 (par 4, 358 yards). His dad felt comfortable with the remaining yardage.

  “It was perfect for me for a 58-degree wedge,” Michael said. “I hit it to about eight-feet and Mo made a great putt.”

  Back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 12 (par 4, 392 yards) and 13 (par 3, 200 yards) again threatened the Dougherty team’s scorecard. Morgan missed the green right with a 9-iron from 140 yards out on No. 12. His dad chipped onto the putting surface, but Morgan couldn’t convert a 10-footer to save par. On the following hole, Morgan’s rescue 4-iron bounced to the right of the green. Michael’s putt chugged five-feet behind the cup, and Morgan’s par try lipped out.

  The Dougherty team remained focused, though, and registered consecutive birdies on Nos. 15 (par 4, 430 yards) and 16 (par 3, 138 yards). On the first, Morgan’s approach 9-iron sailed 145 yards and his dad executed a 15-footer. On the latter, Michael drilled his 9-iron to 10-feet, and Morgan cleaned up the under-par chance.

  A sound mentality allowed the Dougherty’s to prevail, according to Michael.

  “Honestly, Morgan’s patience level has improved a lot,” he said. “When we made a bogey, he was encouraged to bounce back and make birdies. He’s very aggressive. On key holes, he hit some strong mid-irons into the green. We fortunately had a lot of holes where we had two choices that were good choices.”

  Junior-Junior Division

  Davis and Randy Mitchell of Wilmington CC carded a 3-over-par 73 to top the Junior-Junior Division. They finished one stroke shy of victory last year at Sunnybrook GC.

  “It means a lot,” Davis, 12, said.

  “He’s been doing really well this year, and he did really well today,” Randy, 49, added. “It means a lot to us. I just love playing with him. We enjoy playing with each other.”

  The Wilmington, Del. residents fired their first birdie on the par 5, 490-yard No. 2. Randy knocked his wedge 60-yards, and Davis cleaned up a six-footer. Another red figure transpired on No. 4 (par 3, 154 yards) when Randy’s 8-iron settled six-feet left of the flagstick. Davis again cleaned up the birdie putt. Three consecutive bogeys (Nos. 9, 10 and 11) dampened the Mitchell team’s day. On the latter, Davis’s drive on No. 11 cleared the right fairway bunker, but his dad’s approach wedge landed short of the green. Davis rolled his uphill birdie putt to 12-feet, but Randy didn’t make the save.

  NOTES

  Two aces, same hole, same club.

  Zach Arsenault of Little Mill CC and Phillip Stewart of Honeybrook GC each posted a hole-in-one on the par 3, 138-yard 16th hole. It was a career-first for both players.

  Arsenault, 16, of Medford, N.J., hit a 9-iron off the tee. It landed behind the flagstick and retracted 15-feet into the cup.

  “I was in shock,” Arsenault, a junior at Shawnee High School, said. “It was the purest shot I hit all day. It definitely made my day.”

  Stewart, 48, of Chester Springs, Pa., also chose to use his 9-iron on No. 16. It landed three-feet to the right of the flagstick, popped up and coasted into the cup. His son Jon posted his first-career ace last week at Raven’s Claw GC.

  “It was exciting. Since he already made one, I needed to do that,” he said. “We got a major chest blast after that.”

  The Father-Son (Younger) tournament is for those father and son teams with sons up to the age of 17. It’s the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s biggest one-day event of 2010 so far. Thursday’s field at The Bucks Club consisted of 206 players.