Manufacturers’ Mullers capture Father & Son (Older) in playoff

GLENSIDE, Pa. —   A pair of former champions dueled in a playoff for the Father & Son (Older) Tuesday at a crisp North Hills Country Club (par 71, 6,216 yards).

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  Lebanon Country Club’s Craig and Alan Kliewer, two-time victors in the Middle event (2013-14), and Manufacturers’ Golf & Country Club’s James and Maximillian Muller (Older winners in 2015, Ages 15-17 in 2002) carded respective 1-under-par 70s in regulation. In the extra session, Maximillian brushed in a two-footer on No. 1 (par 4, 339 yards), the third playoff hole, for par-and-triumph.

  “I was thinking that 1 under might be good. I was content sitting on my butt, and then we had to come back [to North Hills for the playoff],” Maximillian, 33, of Fort Washington, Pa., said. “It’s nice to win in a playoff. It was probably better than winning flat out. It was exciting.”

  “That was the best. It’s pretty special to win on your ex-home course,” James, 65, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., added.

  More on James and his North Hills history in a moment.

  In the playoff, the Mullers intended on following a formula that worked all day: Maximillian’s driver, James’ wedges. However, on No. 1, Part I, James inadvertently picked up his son’s superb drive, forcing Maximillian to execute a wedge from 92 yards. It landed five yards beyond an ideal spot and ran into the rough. James nudged a wedge to six feet, and Maximillian matched the Kliewers’ 4 to stay alive.

  “That was a huge putt,” James said.

  On No. 1, Part II, Maximillian again needed to play the team’s approach — only because his drive uncharacteristically traveled into tree territory right. With a guarding bunker and minimal greenspace at his disposal, he lifted a wedge 117 yards onto the green; its firmness ushered the Mullers golf ball into the rough greenside right. Craig, too, missed the green with his approach. The Kliewers soon faced a 12-footer for par, which Craig missed on the low side. James’ chip shot stopped two feet from the jar. A tap-in and an emotional hug between father and son followed.

  The Mullers, playing in the morning, set the day’s subpar standard. Starting on the back nine, Maximillian decimated a drive on No. 10 (par 4, 325 yards). James followed with a 60-yard wedge shot to 15 feet. Another monstrous Maximillian drive on the par 4, 407-yard 17th hole gave James a favorable wedge approach. He hit it 95 yards to three feet. A three-putt bogey from 20 feet on No. 7 (par 3, 149 yards) prevented a win in regulation.

  Kicking off the afternoon wave, the Kliewers made the turn in even par before unearthing a clutch birdie on No. 14 (par 3, 212 yards). Alan launched a 5-iron to five feet. Chances to overtake the clubhouse leaders arose; none more anticipatory than the 18th hole (par 4, 304 yards). Craig’s 10-footer grazed the right edge for fleeting seconds to drifting into the par sea.

  As for the Mullers, mixed memories surround North Hills. The good? James grew up at the club, gracing every blade of grass since the age of 5. The bad? Robin, his wife of 20 years, died in 2003 in the venue’s dining facility — a sudden, tragic choking incident.

  “I haven’t set foot on the property since then. When I drive past here, I put my hand up [so I can’t see the club]. I try to avoid it at all costs,” James said. “The only reason I came here is because I’m getting older and don’t have many more opportunities where I can compete. If this event wasn’t here, I would never come back.

  “This is better than the last time.”

Super-Senior Division

  Nothing like an ace to assure a victory.

  Daniel Chernosky notched his second career hole-in-one on No. 14 (par 3, 191 yards) with a fabulous 5-iron. That conversion proved key as he and his dad Harvey carded a 4-over-par 75 to prevail in the Super-Senior Division (par 71, 5,872 yards) by a stroke.

  “I said to Dan as we drove up, ‘Are you on the green?’ He said, ‘Let’s not talk about it,’” Harvey, 72, of Towanda, Pa., said. “When we got up to the green, our playing partner Ryan Lumbatis was walking in front of me. He looks in the hole, turns back to Dan and says, ‘Nice shot.’”

  “I had a feeling it was down there because I could see the ball mark in the front of the green where I thought I hit,” Dan, 44, of Cranford, N.J., added. “I was pretty sure it was the right club. I thought there was no way it rolled all the way off the green, but you hate to jinx it. Once they told me it was in, that was pretty cool.”

  Another sensational golf shot occurred on the par 4, 374-yard No. 8. After Daniel left a 9-iron from 163 yards short of the green, Harvey bumped a wedge that tracked, crashed into the flagstick and dropped for a birdie.

  “He put that in with a little speed,” Daniel said. “I said, ‘Just chip it in,’ and he did. That was fairly miraculous. That lie wasn’t real pretty, either.”

  The Chernoskys earned runner-up honors in the Super-Senior Division of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Father & Son Championship earlier this year. Tuesday is a safe 1-up.

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