108th Father & Son (Older)

Lebanon duo returns to Father & Son glory

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PITTSGROVE, N.J. — After losing in a GAP Father & Son playoff for the second straight year, Alan and Craig Kliewer aired their frustrations during the car ride home.

“I said to Alan, ‘This isn’t happening again. We’re not going to lose in a playoff. We’re going to go out and just win it,” Craig, 59, of Ephrata, Pa., said.

That they did Tuesday.

The Kliewers carded a 2-under-par 70 to capture the 108^th Father & Son (Older) at a magnificent Running Deer Golf Club (par 72, 6,440yards). In 2017, they lost in a sudden-death playoff for the Father & Son (Middle) crown at Concord Country Club. The Kliewers also fell in overtime a year ago at North Hills Country Club.

“It’s nice to win straight up and not have to go back out and grind over another shot. It feels good to get the news that you’ve won and don’t have to go back out,” Alan, 31, of Ephrata, Pa., said. “We have a good record in this event. It suits both of our game. To return to the winner’s circle feels good.”

The Kliewers captured consecutive Father & Son titles in 2013-14. A hot start at Running Deer allowed the Lebanon Country Club members to rekindle that triumphant tact.

Alan opened the red run by hitting a wedge 105 yards to eight feet below the flagstick on No. 1 (par 4, 384 yards). The Kliewers logged back-to-back birdies on Nos. 5 (par 3, 120 yards) and 6 (par 4, 375 yards): Craig hit a wedge to 18 feet on the former, Alan a gap wedge 138 yards to five feet on the latter.

“We were 3 under through six holes and feeling pretty good,” Alan said.

“We were thinking, ‘Let’s go after our 5 under,’” Craig, referring to the team’s scoring record set in 2014, added.

As the round progressed, the Kliewers continued to effectively enforce speed management on Running Deer’s racy and rigid greens. The lone exception occurred on No. 13 (par 3, 170 yards), where Alan ran an 18-footer for par eight feet past the jar. Craig missed the comebacker.

The pressure mounted once playing partners and former Father & Son champions (2009-10) David and Zach Smith birdied No. 15 (par 4, 305 yards) to move to 1 under.

“We realized we were 1-up. The shot on No. 18 that clinched it was his 5-iron from 170 yards,” Alan said. “He hit it to six feet. That was the most clutch shot of the round. It basically secured the victory.”

Coincidentally, to secure a different victory earlier this year, father needed to defeat — not join — son.

“I won the club championship at Lebanon. I had to beat Alan in the semifinals,” Craig said. “It was one of the toughest things you could ever do. I was emotional.”

“To lose to that guy isn’t a bad thing. There are no hard feelings,” Alan said. “We go out to win. That’s just how we are.”

They went out and won Tuesday.

Super-Senior Division
Like the Kliewers, Rob and Robert Billings erased a Father & Son hiatus Tuesday. The two-time champions (2012-13) carded a 2-over-par 74 to take the event’s Super-Senior (par 72, 6,095 yards) title.

“With Rob now having a family, he only plays three times a year. But the fact is he can still play and make the critical putts when he needs to, and he did today,” Robert, 69, of Media, Pa., said.

“There is only a couple of times on the calendar that I play anymore, and the GAP Father & Son is one we circle every single year. We embrace the event’s spirit,” Rob, 49, of Cherry Hill, N.J., added. “It was a beautiful day. We had a great time. It’s a big day for us.”

The Billings immediately pointed to the dogleg-left No. 14 (par 5, 500 yards) as the round’s highlight. Both blasted poor drives — Rob to the left, Robert to the right. The Billings elected to used Rob’s tee ball.

“Dad tried to punch it through to the corner. It hits a tree and goes dead left, two inches from a tree,” Rob, a Philadelphia Publinks GA member, said. “I punch it toward another tree, and it ends up an inch from a tree. Dad hit that one 50 yards, so we were 147 yards behind another tree [for our fifth shot], and I hit a cut 8-iron to eight feet. Dad poured it in for probably the greatest bogey we both ever made in our lives. That had a chance of blowing our whole day up.”

“We were behind five trees on that hole and made 6,” Robert, a Rolling Green Golf Club member, added.

Robert’s 7-iron on No. 7 (par 3, 132 yards) all but secured a one-stroke victory for the Billings, who started on the back nine. Rob cleaned up the ensuing five-footer for birdie there.

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 274 Full 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.