Klagholz team captures Father & Son (Older) in three-hole playoff

  BLUE BELL, Pa. – Martin Klagholz of Aronimink GC sunk a downhill 15-foot slider for birdie on the third playoff hole to propel him and son Marty Klagholz of Rolling Green GC to victory over Jesse and David Brookreson of Huntingdon Valley CC in the 99th Father & Son (Older) at Blue Bell CC (par 71, 5,831 yards) Thursday.

  “It feels pretty awesome. It’s an honor,” Marty, of Wayne, Pa., said. “To be a pretty big underdog and come up and win is a pretty good feeling.”

  The elder Klagholz converted the red figure putt after Marty smacked his sand wedge 96 yards on No.1 (par 4, 315 yards). For the Brookreson team, Jesse crushed his drive 10 yards shy of the green. David knocked a soft chip to 12-feet, but Jesse’s putt to match the Klagholz team stopped short.

  “Having known and watched David Brookreson for so many years and knowing what a great competitor and gentleman he is, to win in a three-hole playoff against him is an honor,” Martin, also of Wayne, Pa., added. “We know we had a little bit of luck. I’m proud of my son. Marty had a serious motorcycle accident two years ago. It got his golf game off a little bit. He’s on his way back, and there’s no better way to win than this.”

  Martin, 59, has competed alongside Marty, 31, in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Father & Son tournaments for 15 years. He also plays alongside sons Jeff and Tim in the Father & Son (Middle) event. To finally earn hardware felt truly rewarding.

  “This was really an accomplishment today,” Martin said.

  The Brookreson and Klagholz teams both registered 1-over-par 72s in regulation. Both squads began their championship quests on the back nine and experienced trouble on their final holes to fall into a deadlock. On the demanding par 5, 510-yard No. 9, Jesse decided to hit the team’s second shot, although it was farther away from the hole location.

  “I thought I could get it closer in two (strokes) than he could,” Jesse, of Warrington, Pa., said. “And I would rather have him hit the third shot than me hit the third shot.”

  However, Jesse blocked his 3-wood right from 272 yards out. It ricocheted off a mound and screeched out-of-bounds. After David chipped back onto the fairway, Jesse dumped his wedge 100 yards into the right greenside bunker. David’s sand shot stopped 16-feet above the flagstick. Jesse’s putt to preserve a double bogey didn’t fall.

  The Brookresons also fell short in last year’s tournament at Indian Valley CC. They, along with the team of Michael Brown, Sr. and his son Michael of Lookaway GC, were unable to return for a sudden-death playoff, thereby decalring Jay Howson, Jr. and his son Gregory, both of St. Davids GC, the victors.

  The Klagholz team closed its round with a bogey. Marty pulled his 9-iron left of the green. His father ran a delicate chip to six feet, but Marty watched his par effort stop short of the cup. Their round ended the same way it began. On the downhill par 3, 145-yard 10th hole, Martin, 59, saw his 9-iron tee shot settle in the front fringe. Marty, 31, chipped up to six feet, but his dad couldn’t save par for the team. The next hole proved to be “the key to the round,” according to Martin. After Marty steered his 6-iron approach into the hazard, Martin poked his 60-degree wedge to eight feet.

  “We managed our game very well,” Martin said. “What I tried to do is try to get the ball in positions where he could hit the shots he’s comfortable with. We tried to have me hitting into the green if we could play his drive. And what he did was make a lot of putts.”

  During its inward trek, the Klagholz team returned to the birdie bank for three more transactions. Martin complimented his son’s monstrous drive on the par 4, 320-yard 5th hole by striking his 60-degree wedge 72 yards to eight feet. Marty converted the left-to-right breaker. On No. 6 (par 3, 165 yards), Martin launched a 5-iron to 20-feet. The upcoming downhill putt didn’t faze Marty as he rolled in a fierce double-breaker.

  “I was thinking I didn’t want to let it blow by and leave him with a six-footer coming back,” Marty said. “I just wanted to get the speed right and happened to hit the putt where I wanted to. It went in at the last possible second.”

  The Klagholz team carded its final birdie on the par 4, 410-yard 8th hole. Marty laced his 9-iron 137 yards to three feet.

  The Brookresons’ displayed power and finesse throughout the day.

  “We both drove it pretty well, and with his extra length, it was a little bit advantageous because I like hitting 110 yard shots more than 170 yard shots,” David, the 2009 Senior Amateur Champion, said.

  “We did everything pretty well,” Jesse added. “We hit it close a lot. We didn’t necessarily make a whole lot of putts.”

  The Brookreson team fired back-to-back birdies on Nos. 11 (par 4, 430 yards) and 12 (par 3, 150 yards). David hammered his 7-iron 153 yards to six feet on No. 11. Jesse’s 9-iron on No. 12 stopped 30 feet from the flagstick, and his father converted the challenging birdie putt. The Brookreson team also carded a birdie on the par 5, 480-yard 17th hole. David’s pitch from just left of the green settled three feet from the jar.

  Super Senior

  Herbert Gordon of Doylestown CC and his son Neil, who plays out of Five Ponds GC, carded a 2-under-par 70 to win the Super Senior Division.

  “He made a lot of putts,” Neil, 42, said. “We really weren’t in trouble at all. We didn’t have one ball that we were trying to hook around a tree to get onto a green. Somebody was always in the fairway.”

  The Gordon team posted five red figures on the day. Herbert, of Doylestown, Pa., powered his 3-wood 200 yards to 25-feet on No. 14 (par 5, 470 yards), and Neil, of Warrington, Pa., executed a right-to-left breaker. A difficult bogey one hole later (par 4, 370 yards) somewhat soured that spectacular moment. The Gordon team couldn’t get up-and-down from the greenside bunker to save par. They did fire a birdie on No. 16 (par 3, 151 yards) after Neil’s 9-iron landed 10-feet from the flagstick. Neil’s 9-iron again came through on No. 18 (par 4, 370 yards) as he pierced it 140 yards to 10-feet. Herbert, 71, sunk a 40-footer for birdie on No. 3 (par 3, 153 yards) following yet another smooth 9-iron from Neil. The Gordon squad closed its run with three consecutive bogeys.

  The Father & Son (Older) is open to father and son teams with sons 30 years of age and older.