WAYNE, Pa. — Wilmington Country Club’s Davis and Randy Mitchell look forward to the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Father & Son (Younger) each year, and for good reason. They won the event’s Junior-Junior Division in 2010 and 2011 and finished as runner-up in the Junior ranks a year ago.
The Mitchell’s impressive run continued Thursday; they fired a 3-under-par 67 to capture the tournament’s 56th edition at a sunny St. Davids Golf Club (par 70, 6,229 yards).
“It’s always a pleasure playing with him,” Davis, 15, an incoming sophomore at The Tatnall School, said. “This is a big event. Whenever we play, we just try our best and bear down. We seem to play well every year. We just had a good time. It’s nice to spend quality time with him.”
“There are no other events like this,” Randy, 52, added. “You can’t beat playing golf with your sons. Davis is a competitor. He hit a lot of high quality shots. I was just along for the ride.”
The Wilmington, Del. residents created scoring chances throughout their tour of the Donald Ross design. On No. 3 (par 4, 338 yards), Randy drilled a wedge 60 yards to 10 feet, and his son cleaned up the birdie putt. Randy stopped a pitching wedge at three feet for a 2 on No. 6 (par 3, 137 yards). Once the Mitchell’s made the turn, Davis’ flatstick caught fire. He executed a 20-footer for birdie on the par 3, 144-yard 10th hole following an 8-iron from his father that settled left of the flagstick. On No. 11 (par 5, 526 yards), Davis smashed a downhill 4-iron 228 yards onto a fairway alcove on the left side. Randy beamed a wedge 40 yards that grabbed the front fringe, and Davis then rolled in a left-to-right breaking 25-footer for birdie.
“I was trying to make it. I felt pretty confident after making the one on No. 10,” Davis said. “I tried to give it a good stroke, and it was a little slow coming out of the fringe and going up the hill.”
A pair of par saves courtesy of dad allowed the Mitchell’s to maintain momentum. Randy swept in a downhill 10-footer on the dogleg left, 402-yard 13th hole and a clutch five-footer on No. 15 (par 4, 425 yards). The Mitchell’s lone blemish occurred on the par 4, 427-yard No. 7. Randy’s drive splashed into the water hazard while Davis caught the right fairway bunker with his strike. Randy’s extrication effort from 175 yards left the team short of the putting surface for its third stroke. Davis didn’t fully accelerate on his uphill chip, and Randy missed a 10-footer to save 4.
“We were fine with it. We knew there were plenty of opportunities out there,” Davis said.
Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Kevin and Ryan Kelly filed an even-par 70 in the morning to place second.
“Ryan drove it great today. He put us in a lot of great spots,” Kevin, 47, said. “With him being 17 [years old], it’s the last year we could play, so it’s nice to put a good round together.”
Jacob & Edward Hanzel
“We had a lot of fun. Dad had a lot of short irons, and he’s good with them,” Ryan, a recent Hatboro-Horsham High School graduate, said.
Junior-Junior
Running Deer Golf Club’s Edward and Jacob Hanzel posted a 3-over-par 73 to win the Junior-Junior Division. The Sewell, N.J. residents carded four birdies against seven bogeys on the day.
“It’s awesome to win with dad,” Jacob, 13, an incoming freshman at Washington Township High School, said.
“The weather was beautiful, the golf course was great and being with your son playing golf [was the best part],” Edward, 45, said. “We made a couple of bomb putts and didn’t miss any short ones.”
One of those bomb putts occurred on the par 3, 127-yard 10th hole. Jacob’s pitching wedge landed 50 feet below the hole location, and Edward canned the ensuing birdie try.
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 143 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.
Junior Division
Name, club
Score
Randy Mitchell/Davis Mitchell, Wilmington Country Club
67
Kevin Kelly/Ryan Kelly, Philadelphia Cricket Club
70
Jack Gergel/Tom Gergel, West Chester Golf & Country Club
72
Carlos Fullerton/Jim Fullerton, Brookside Country Club of Allentown
73
Kevin Levitsky/Neal Levitsky, Wilmington Country Club
73
Jack Quirk/John Quirk, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
73
Scott Elwell/Justin Elwell, Running Deer Golf Club
74
Andrew Desjardins/Jay Desjardins, Waynesborough Country Club
74
Paul Altieri/Daniel Altieri, Hopewell Valley Golf Club
75
Jack Gregor/Michael Gregor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
75
Mark Hogan/Mark Hogan, Spring Ford Country Club
77
Wally Swiger/Cole Swiger, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
77
Trey Croney/Kenneth Croney, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club
77
Donald Dissinger/Peter Dissinger, Merion Golf Club
78
Kevin Dolan/Quinn Dolan, Rolling Green Golf Club
78
Christopher Chizauskie/Thomas Chizauskie, Concord Country Club/The Springhaven Club
78
Jake Fazio/Michael Fazio, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
79
Connor Ruyak/Michael Ruyak, Kimberton Golf Club/French Creek Golf Club
79
Frankie Brigidi/Frank Brigidi, III, Philadelphia Cricket Club
80
Perry Landis/Tucker Landis, Moselem Springs Golf Club
80
Christopher Ade/Matthew Ade, Riverton Country Club
81
James Ryan/Luke Ryan, Waynesborough Country Club
81
Brent Schoeller/Mark Schoeller, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
81
Ron Fisher/Thomas Fisher, North Hills Country Club
81
Michael Barychewsky/Michael Barychewsky, Yardley Country Club
82
Patrick Walsh/Michael Walsh, III, Aronimink Golf Club
82
Anthony Cinelli/T.J. Cinelli, Talamore Country Club/Skippack Golf Club
83
Thomas Finn/Patrick Finn, Back Creek Golf Club/Cavaliers Country Club
83
Chris Binet/Brian Binet, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
83
Jack Hirsh/Laurence Hirsh, Philadelphia Cricket Club
83
Matt Loeb/Trevor Loeb, Cherry Valley Country Club
83
Jeff Garrett/Scott Garrett, The Bucks Club
84
Jack Concannon/John Concannon, Concord Country Club
84
Ron Hipple/Hank Kaufmann, Bensalem Township Country Club/Yardley Country Club
84
Ralph Fallows/Trey Fallows, Moorestown Field Club/Laurel Creek Country Club
84
Chase Armor/Greg Armor, Spring Ford Country Club
84
Jeffrey Mehallick/Tyler Mehallick, RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
85
Jack Henderson/Jeffrey Henderson, Gulph Mills Golf Club
85
Joseph Rueter/Joseph Rueter, Jr., Huntingdon Valley Country Club
85
Greg Ebersole/Steve Ebersole, The Ridge at Back Brook
86
Ken Jones/Timothy Jones, Riverton Country Club
86
Charles Clark/John Clark, West Chester Golf & Country Club
86
Hudson Green/Kyle Green, Bellewood Country Club
87
E. Hansen, III/Buddy Hansen, IV, Blue Bell Country Club
87
Christopher Mezzanotte/James Mezzanotte, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
87
Michael Patterson/James Patterson, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
88
Daniel Lenhardt/Stephen Lenhardt, Plymouth Country Club
88
John Hunter/Cory Hunter, Commonwealth National Golf Club
89
Hugh Farris/John Farris, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
89
Douglas Gregor/Andrew Gregor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
90
Dan Duffey/Daniel Duffey, The Bucks Club
90
Ryan McHugh/Stephen McHugh, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
91
Ryan Brennan/Matthew Brennan, Sr., Rolling Green Golf Club
91
James Berg/Paul Berg, The Springhaven Club
92
John McCarthy/Matt McCarthy, Tavistock Country Club
92
James Greenhalgh/Alexander Linn, Manufacturers Golf & Country Club
92
Jack Farris/John Farris, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
93
Harold Yahr/Jordan Yahr, Talamore Country Club
94
Brian Gabbett/Colin Gabbett, Bellewood Country Club
94
Tim Irvine/Timothy Irvine, Philadelphia Country Club
95
James Gillespie/James Gillespie, Jr., Concord Country Club
97
James Quinn, III/Jim Quinn, St. Davids Golf Club
97
Gerald Haggerty/Max Haggerty, Little Mill Country Club
98
Patrick Loftus/Patrick Loftus, Manufacturers Golf & Country Club/North Hills Country Club
99
James Kline/David Kline, Applecross Country Club
110
Junior-Junior Division
Name, club
Score
Edward Hanzel/Jacob Hanzel, Running Deer Golf Club
73
Andrew Wallace/Gregg Wallace, Green Valley Country Club
76
Colman Mitchell/Randy Mitchell, Wilmington Country Club
76
Matthew Civitella/Matthew Civitella, Waynesborough Country Club
77
Billy Civitella/Bill Civitella, Aronimink Golf Club
77
Bill Thomas/Win Thomas, Reading Country Club
79
Brad George/Heyward George, Golf Course at Glen Mills
83
Matthew Lafond/Mark Lafond, Blue Bell Country Club
83
Joe Morganti/Joseph Morganti, Llanerch Country Club
84
Andrew Isztwan/Brian Isztwan, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
85
Brendan Clark/Christopher Clark, Old York Road Country Club
86
David Pfeiffer/Scott Pfeiffer, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
87
Douglas Gregor/Wade Gregor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
87
Frank Gregor/Frankie Gregor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
87
Austin Patton/Richard Patton, Jr., Concord Country Club
87
Andrew Gallagher/Edward Gallagher, Laurel Creek Country Club
88
Jackson Tappen/Roger Tappen, Cedarbrook Country Club
88
Blaine Deppen/Jack Deppen, Blue Bell Country Club
88
Carter Valerio/Chris Valerio, Philadelphia Country Club
88
Liam Loftus/Patrick Loftus, Manufacturers Golf & Country Club
89
Joseph Bonini/Frank Bonini, Jr., Phoenixville Country Club
90
Mark Lafond/Kevin Lafond, Blue Bell Country Club
90
Brendan Nolan/Darren Nolan, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
90
Dennis Burton/Jack Burton, Stonewall/Overbrook Golf Club
92
Nicholas LaRosa/David LaRosa, Talamore Country Club
92
Bennet Scauzzo/Vincent Scauzzo, St. Davids Golf Club
93
Michael Castaldi/Thomas Castaldi, Llanerch Country Club
95
Dean Bleiler/Russ Bleiler, Manufacturers Golf & Country Club
95
Chuck Clifford/Drew Clifford, Spring Ford Country Club
95
John McClatchy/Tim McClatchy, Whitford Country Club
96
Paul Bizzaro/Paul Bizzaro, II, Makefield Highlands Golf Club/Deerwood Country Club
96
Max Hansen/E. Hansen, III, Blue Bell Country Club
96
Rob Moses/Robbie Moses, Concord Country Club
98
Jack Fialko/Jeff Fialko, Aronimink Golf Club
99
Harry Bitzberger/Harrison Bitzberger, Penn Oaks Golf Club
99
Brendan Deppen/Brian Deppen, Paxon Hollow Country Club/Skippack Golf Club
101
Michael Bednar/Michael Bednar, Penn Oaks Golf Club
104
Brendan Stang/Eric Stang, Cedarbrook Country Club
107
