“You just don’t go out there to grind it out and live and die on every shot,” said Arthur, 17, from Marlton, N.J. “You also go out there to have fun and meet people. You always want to respect everybody on the golf course.”
And although the Tavistock CC member admitted to some struggles on the course early in his last season on the junior circuit, he carried that positive attitude throughout the year while advancing to the quarterfinals of the Junior Boys’ Championship and accepting an invite to be on the Williamson Cup team.
“It was nice to go out there as a team and compete,” he said of his Williamson Cup experience. “Everybody was rooting for each other and that’s what I liked about it. We had a nice team.”
Even after the team lost its first-round lead to finish third, Arthur’s team-first mentality only solidified the Association’s decision to present him with the sportsmanship honor.
“Bobby Arthur’s attitude on and off the course is widely considered the ethos of sport,” said Mike Sharp, Junior Coordinator for the GAP. “It was easy to see why we would name him the Junior Sportsmanship Award winner for 2007.”
Arthur, who said this award came as a surprise to him, was pleased to be recognized by the Association with the accolade but he was still humble even after its presentation.
“There are so many good guys out there that are a joy to play a round of golf with that I didn’t expect this for me,” said the Cherokee High School senior. “This was definitely a surprise.”
Arthur, who hopes to play on Tavistock CC’s first team in the GAP Team Matches next spring, is looking forward to next season, his first away from the junior golf ranks.
“Not being a junior [golfer] next year should be different,” he said, “but it’s something I’m looking forward to.”
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 135 Member Clubs and 60,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. The purpose of the Association is simple: To promote, protect and preserve the game of golf in the region.
