Huntingdon Valley’s Gregors win Father & Son (Younger)

  PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. — Even though the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Father & Son (Younger) is a riding-only event, Michael Gregor walked a lot Thursday. And it wasn’t to search for countless lost golf balls. He let his son Jack operate the golf cart as a last-minute preparation for his driver’s license test.

  Although the Huntingdon Valley Country Club members used different modes of transportation for most of the day, they collectively navigated Plymouth Country Club (par 72, 6,388 yards) with precision and power. Michael and his son Jack carded a 2-under-par 70 to take the tournament’s 55th edition. The North Wales, Pa. residents captured the Father & Son (Younger) Junior-Junior Division in 2006 and 2009.

   “He’s getting better with scoring and understanding not always to hit driver,” Michael said. “He hits fairway woods off tees to keep himself under the hole sometimes. He’s figuring out that pars are just fine and you don’t have to hit it at every flag and try to birdie every hole. He’s working harder at it. That’s what I’ve noticed the most.”

  Starting on the back nine, the Gregors opened their championship quest with a birdie. Jack crushed a drive on No. 10 (par 4, 296 yards) to the end of the fairway. Michael knocked a wedge 60 yards to five feet. The Gregors fired consecutive red figures on Nos. 12 (par 3, 170 yards) and 13 (par 5, 493 yards). Jack, an incoming junior at La Salle High School, hit a 7-iron to 20 feet and Michael executed the birdie putt on the first. Jakc’s powerful 5-iron shot on No. 13 traveled 210 yards and stopped 20 feet from the flagstick. A two-putt for birdie moved the duo to 3 under.

  Before the pedal reached the floor, however, the Gregors swerved a bit on No. 15 (par 4, 400 yards). A pair of errant tee shots led to a double bogey.

   “It was a community of bad shots on the entire hole,” Michael, 49, said.

  The downhill par 5, 523-yard 17th marked another bump in the road. Michael tried to punch a 4-iron along the right, but pulled it left into the hazard. After taking a drop, Jack nestled a wedge onto the green to 15 feet, but Michael couldn’t convert the par putt. The Gregors avenged the error with a birdie on No. 18 (par 5, 503 yards). Jack again hammered a drive, leaving Michael with a 180-yard 7-iron shot that reached the putting surface. Two putts for a 4 gave the Gregors subpar status to begin their inward trek.

  Jack’s length again boosted the team on No. 6 (par 4, 322 yards). A “perfect” 3-wood from the youngster put Michael 50 yards from the flagstick. He knocked a wedge to 10 feet, and Jack cleaned up the birdie putt. The Gregors detoured from their red figure road after a three-putt bogey on the par 3, 146-yard No. 7, but returned to the pavement with a birdie on No. 9 (par 4, 389 yards). Standing underneath a tree, Jack punched a pitching wedge 100 yards to 30 feet below the hole location.

   “I had no fear and got lucky on that one,” Michael said of the birdie putt. “We talked about it and went with the straight read. Luckily, it hit the back of the hole and stayed in.”

  A rash of injuries have hampered Jack’s golf game over the last year. At the outset of the 2011 tournament season, he suffered an upper-back/shoulder injury that doctors couldn’t diagnose. (“It was kind of a freak accident that sort of healed itself,” Jack said). Lower back problems later that year limited his effectiveness on the course. Jack dislocated his shoulder last month to add injury to, well, injury.

  Health-wise, Jack now appears to be back on track. He qualified for match play in the First Flight of the GAP Junior Boys’ Championship earlier this week. Thursday’s victory alongside his dad Michael is perhaps a sign that the physical setbacks are long gone.

   “I’m better now, so hopefully it stays that way,” Jack said.

Junior-Junior Division

  Colman and Randy Mitchell of Wilmington Country Club and Louis and Louis John Giovi of Yardley Country Club carded respective 5-over-par 77s to finish as co-champions in the Junior-Junior Division.

  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 145 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.