Chapman Cup (Gross): Little Mill’s Roeder lands first Senior title

GLENSIDE, Pa. — Joseph Roeder played the worst golf of his career last spring. It’s an about-face in 2017.

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  Roeder, coming off a co-runner-up performance in the Francis B. Warner Cup (Gross), captured the Senior crown in the Frank H. Chapman Memorial Cup (Gross) at Lu Lu Country Club (par 71, 6,308 yards) Thursday. He and Tavistock Country Club’s Michael Tash finished regulation tied at even-par 71. Tash wasn’t available for a sudden-death playoff.

  “In any GAP tournament, there’s so much good competition. It feels really good to be able to just compete with all of the guys who play here and even better to win,” Roeder, 56, of Marlton, N.J., said. “I usually shoot 80 in GAP events, so having two good ones in a row feels good. I’m playing well this year finally. It does mean a lot. I don’t really think about winning; I just kind of think about trying to play as good as I can play. Let the chips fall where they fall.”

  They fell in Roeder’s favor on Thursday.

  An atypical start to the season, an atypical start to his round at Lu Lu. Roeder, an imposing ball-striker at 6’4”, didn’t register his first par until the 171-yard No. 6 (par 3, 171 yards), an uphill par 3 with a demanding two-tier green. Roeder left his hybrid on the lower shelf and rolled his par putt into tap-in territory.

  Three squares and two circles filled the scorecard prior. Roeder, a retired Air Force pilot who works in flight simulation at Fort Dix, opened with a birdie on No. 1 (par 5, 475 yards) by knocking a sand wedge 85 yards to five feet. Roeder also birdied the distinguished No. 4 (par 3, 116 yards), stopping a gap wedge at 10 feet. A three-putt from 30 feet on No. 2 (par 4, 353 yards), and a pair of wayward drives and forced punch-outs on Nos. 3 (par 4, 424 yards) and 5 (par 4, 429 yards), led to bogeys.

  Relying on a steady putter to overshadow an inconsistent driver, Roeder soon settled from a wild start. He registered 14 greens in regulation to remain on the leaderboard.

  On the par 4, 345-yard 11th hole, Roeder returned to even thanks to a five-foot birdie. He hit a sand wedge from 70 yards and learned his line from playing partner Mark Cubberley, who faced an identical downhill putt. Seemingly cleared for championship takeoff, a three-putt on the par 4, 360-yard 14th kept Roeder on the runway. He redeemed the error with a feel-good birdie on the par 4, 333-yard 16th hole. Roeder knocked a sand wedge 80 yards to four feet.

  When asked to cite a reason for a turnaround in 2017, Roeder first credits his equipment. He’s finally getting comfortable with a set of Mizuno irons acquired a year ago. Roeder quickly adds his clubmates to the list.

  “Playing all of those games at Little Mill has made me play better. Either you play well or you lose money,” he said. “There’s a lot of good competition there. Playing with those guys, I think that’s really helped me.”

  Roeder and his Little Mill friends also played a practice round at Lu Lu last week. He dutifully jotted down notes that proved beneficial.

  “There are some pins out here that you don’t want to be above. There are spots where you don’t want to miss,” Roeder said.

  It’s been a series of missed cuts and opportunities for Roeder over the years. He finally arrived at a victorious Senior destination Thursday.

  Tash, who played in the morning, carded 16 pars, a birdie and a bogey in regulation.

  “My round was good but I didn’t hit anything close at all. I really had one opportunity for birdie today and I made it,” Tash, 55, of Thorofare, N.J., said. “Most of my [birdie putts] were 30 feet today. But I putted the ball well enough not to make any mistakes.”

  Frank H. Chapman, a Whitemarsh Valley Country Club member, served as the Association’s secretary-treasurer for 23 years. He died on June 7, 1955 at the age of 88. The Gross tournament, now in its 11th year, is held in his honor.

Golf Association of Philadelphia
Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 151 Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.