McKeones shoot 66, snag Father & Son (Older) at Moselem Springs

FLEETWOOD, Pa. — Matthew McKeone left Moselem Springs Golf Club Wednesday to continue preparing for a future family member, but not before making a memory with a current one.

| Scoring portal | Photo gallery | History |

  He and his father Guy carded a 4-under-par 66 to win the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 106th Father & Son (Older) at Moselem Springs Golf Club (par 70, 6,382 yards). Following their round together, Matthew drove to meet his wife Kelli at a childbirth class. The two are expecting their first on Nov. 7.

  “Things have been a little crazy. We have our last class tonight and she said, ‘I don’t care if there’s a playoff. I’ll see you at class,’” Matthew, 32, of Mount Arlington, N.J., said. “I said, ‘I’ll be there.’ I’m excited. We can’t wait.”

  Prior to the class, Guy and Matthew teamed to put on a clinic of their own. They carded seven birdies against three bogeys on the day. Course knowledge, and a comfort with the event’s selective drive/alternate shot format, aided their effort.

  Matthew, a Moselem Springs member of the last six years, is a former club champion (2014). He and his dad annually compete in the club’s Member-Guest. Furthermore, the McKeone team earned runner-up honors a year ago in its Father & Son (Older) debut at Schuylkill Country Club.

  “I think we were hoping just to play well. We played better than we thought,” Matthew said. “Anything around par we would have been happy with; usually par is good here.”

  “I don’t think we had a number in mind,” Guy, 62, of Reading, Pa., added.

  Matthew’s crisp ball-striking meshed well with Guy’s lasered approaches Wednesday. Starting on the back nine, Guy hit an 8-iron 130 yards to six feet for birdie on No. 11 (par 4, 406 yards). The McKeone team painted back-to-back red on Nos. 16 (par 4, 398 yards) and 17 (par 4, 388 yards). Guy knocked a gap wedge 85 yards to 10 feet on the first. On the 17th hole, Matthew pleaded for his drive to carry the right fairway bunker. It did, and his dad then stepped up and drilled a 9-iron 120 yards to 20 feet. Matthew bounced a delicate downhiller off the back of the cup and into the jar. The only outward misstep occurred in the form of a three-putt bogey on No. 13 (par 3, 190 yards).

  A four-footer for birdie courtesy of Matthew on No. 2 (par 4, 382 yards), made possible by dad’s 95-yard wedge approach, washed out a bogey on the previous hole. Guy thrived in the set-up role. He stopped a rescue-five at two feet on the drop par 3, 173-yard No. 5. Matthew cleaned up the birdie putt. On No. 6 (par 4, 375 yards), Guy nearly holed a wedge from 100 yards for eagle.

  “I never play into greens from [less than 100 yards]. It was a whole new course,” Guy, a Reading Country Club member, said.

  An approach anomaly on this day led to a bogey on No. 8 (par 4, 451 yards). Guy redeemed that rarity by sending a 52-degree wedge 95 yards to three feet for a closing birdie on No. 9 (par 4, 335 yards).

  Although they live nearly two hours apart, Guy and Matthew typically convene twice a month for golf. They cherish that time together.

  “He’s my best friend. I don’t think it gets any better, just being on the course with your son and playing,” Guy said. “Up until the last couple of years, I think we both pushed and overdid it because we were playing with each other. We’re finally getting comfortable when we play together. I always look forward to it.”

  “We’ve always been really close. We’ve been best friends. It’s just fun playing golf with him, whether in competition or just fun on a Saturday or Sunday,” Matthew added. “We’ve learned how to play with each other. We used to get nervous. Spending four or five hours catching up … hopefully a long time from now, my boy and I will do the same thing.”

Super-Senior Division
Whitford Country Club’s Chris and Scott Yard erased a near two-decade absence from the winner’s circle Wednesday. The Downingtown, Pa. residents filed an even-par 70 to take the tournament’s Super-Senior (par 70, 5,904 yards) title.

  They won the 18 & Over crown in 1998.

  “We’ve been doing this for at least 30 years, and it’s always a different experience,” Scott, 72, said. “We missed [short par putts] on Nos. 4 and 5, and I wasn’t real sure I was going to finish.”

  “We hit the first 10 greens in regulation and were 1 over,” Chris, 46, added.

  Scott executed a 15-footer for birdie on No. 13 (par 3, 150 yards) following a 9-iron tee shot from Chris. After Chris blocked a drive right on No. 16 (par 4, 348 yards), Scott, with an angle to the green, lifted a wedge to 15 feet. Chris cleaned up the birdie putt. A bogey on the next hole (par 4, 380 yards) prevented a subpar finish.

  Golf is commonplace among the Yard family.

  “We just came back from a father and son trip to Scotland with my brother and his son. That was at the top of my bucket list,” Scott said.

  NOTES — Play was delayed an hour and 45 minutes due to weather … The Father & Son (Older) tournament is for those father and son teams with sons 30 years of age and older.

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 153 Full Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. 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.