Lofland, Debusschere take Delaware Four-Ball

Wilmington’s Adams and McCrery take Women’s title

WILMINGTON, Del. – Morgan Lofland and Jackson Debusschere spent their high school golf careers as rivals. 

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Lofland went to Conestoga High School and Debusschere went to Strath Haven High School. Both schools are members of the Central Athletic League, schools in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

“Morgan and I met a few years ago through mutual friends and competing,” Debusschere, 20, of Wallingford, Pa., said. “We have become good friends and thought it would be fun to get out here and compete to get ready for the GAP summer season.”

Wednesday at White Clay Creek Country Club, the rivals, turned teammates, blistered the field to claim the Delaware Four-Ball Championship at White Clay Creek (par 72, 6,191 yards) with a best-ball round of 65.

Sakima Country Club’s Dan Ayars and Sean Flanigan took second with a 68.

“I thought of no better partner to compete with,” Debusschere said. “We both wanted to try to compete before the Philadelphia Amateur next week at Huntingdon Valley Country Club. That was a good reason for us to come down to Delaware.”

Lofland will tackle Lookaway Golf Club at 7:50 a.m. Monday for the first half of #BMWPhillyAm qualifying. Debusschere will tackle Huntingdon Valley first at 7:10 a.m.

The collegiate duo, Lofland, a rising junior at Penn State University, and Debusschere, a rising junior at Cornell University, wasted no time.

Lofland lit the fuse with a birdie on the opener (par 4, 375 yards). He rolled in a 20-footer to get the team under par.

Debusschere threw a dart to gimme range on No. 3 (par 5, 562 yards) with a wedge from 110 yards. 

Lofland countered with a precision 7-iron from 175 yards to a foot on No. 5 (par 4, 340 yards).

“We played aggressive today,” Lofland, the 2021 Pennsylvania Junior champion, said. “We didn’t hold back. For the most part we left it all out there. We wanted to get a ball in play and give ourselves good looks from the fairway.”

Debusschere did just that on No. 8 (par 5, 484 yards). He lasered a 6-iron from 200 yards to 20 feet for eagle to get the tandem to 5 under through eight holes. He added a birdie of the tap-in variety on No. 10 (par 5, 520 yards).

A team bogey on No. 12 (par 4, 314 yards) hurt the clean card, but two birdies coming in highlighted by Debusschere driving in greenside on the last (par 4, 337 yards) sealed the deal.

“When I looked at the scores and saw we had a two-shot lead, I knew it was fine to be aggressive,” Debusschere said. “Morgan hit a beautiful tee shot and had a little pitch left. I trusted that he wasn’t making worse than par from there. I was feeling good with my driver all day. Felt good to get up and in for birdie to cap it off.”

Debusschere isn’t a stranger to facing a challenge head on. When he was in high school he was diagnosed with giant cell myocarditis, which is a rare type of heart muscle inflammation. Inflammatory cells form cells that attack the heart muscle and cause scarring. It can lead to problems with the heart pumping blood properly.

To help recover through therapy, he needed a low-impact exercise. Insert golf.

“Golf has helped me get through those dark times,” Debusschere said. “Early on I was struggling on how to get around the golf course. My friends have inspired me to get better and golf has been there for me emotionally and physically.”

He said he is feeling better than he ever has. And his golf game feels the same.

“We came down here feeling good about our games and played well enough today,” Debusschere said. “We are grateful to have pulled it off in the end. Excited for the summer ahead.”

“Winning this with Jackson is fantastic,” Lofland, 20, of Paoli, Pa., said. “There is nothing better than getting a little good energy before the Philadelphia Amateur.”

Women’s Division

Meghan Adams and Pam McCrery took the Women’s Division with a best-ball score of 84 at White Clay Creek (par 72, 5,241 yards).

“We work well together because we both are easy to be around and have been friends for a long time,” Adams, 42, of Wilmington, Del., said. “We place a priority on being supportive of each other. It was a fun day for us.”

They beat out French Creek Golf Club’s Muffy McCabe and White Manor Country Club’s Josie Anthony by two shots.

“We ham and egged well,” McCrery, 66, of Wilmington, Del., said. “When I struggled on a hole Meghan stepped up and when she struggled I helped out.”

The Wilmington Country Club members started with a triple bogey but managed to remain patient. 

Adams made a clutch birdie on No. 9 (par 4, 274 yards). A crisp gap wedge from 100 yards to 25 feet helped turn things around and ultimately put them in the winner’s circle.

“I had seen the line of the putt on a similar putt that was rolled in front of me,” Adams said. “So I said to Pam, ‘Let’s make a birdie.’ Since there were only two teams competing, that was a huge momentum swing in our direction.

“I think it is great that there are more opportunities for women to compete. We just don’t get to play together that much with work and life happening. We were texting each other and thought this was a great opportunity for us. I’m glad we decided to play.”

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 organization’s 340 Member Clubs and 100,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.