Wilmington’s Mitchell brothers sweep Jock MacKenzie Memorial

  ORELAND, Pa. — The Mitchell family needs to clear more space in its rapidly expanding trophy case.

  Four days after Randy and his son Davis captured the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s 56th Father & Son (Younger), Davis and his younger brother Colman won their respective divisions in the 29th Jock MacKenzie Memorial at a steamy Sandy Run Country Club (par 72, 6,405 yards). The Wilmington Country Club members became the second set of brothers in the last three years to sweep the event; Trenton Country Club’s Reilly and Reagan Erhardt did so in 2011.

   “It means more than winning individually,” Davis, 15, said. “We’re pretty close and play a lot of golf together. We just try to come out and have fun. I’ve been working pretty hard on my game, and to see the results is a great feeling. I’ll always remember today. I’ve talked to past champions about this tournament and know how big it is.”

   “It’s really awesome to have us win together because we’ve been playing for a long time,” Colman, 11, said. “I try to practice a lot of things he does. This is really cool.”

  Playing in the day’s third group, Davis Mitchell fired a 3-under-par 69 to put the Junior Division on notice immediately. A dialed-in wedge game provided the Wilmington, Del. resident with a plethora of tap-in birdie opportunities. For example, on the par 4, 384-yard No. 5, he knocked a wedge 105 yards to five feet. Davis nearly jarred a 40-yard wedge for eagle on No. 7 (par 4, 317 yards). The straightaway par 5, 564-yard 11th hole showed a similar story as he stopped a 70-yard wedge at a foot. Davis inked red on the next par 5 (No. 15, 487 yards) as well, powering a 4-iron 210 yards to a fairway upslope 30 yards from the flagstick. A tight-wedge tactic translated into a two-footer for birdie.

   “My wedges were my strong point today,” Davis, 15, an incoming sophomore at The Tatnall School, said. “My ball-striking and irons were pretty good too, so everything’s clicking right now.”

  Sensing his contentious status on the leaderboard, Davis found the No. 18 (par 4, 322 yards) fairway and hit a gap wedge 125 yards to 12 feet right of the hole location.

   “I was kind of nervous,” he said. “I heard Andrew [Carber of Talamore of Country Club] was playing well, so I was just trying to play it smart. I got lucky.”

  A focused Davis sunk a right-to-left breaker for birdie, retrieved his golf ball from the jar, grabbed the flagstick and shed an uncharacteristic smile.

   “I usually keep my emotions in check,” he said. “I’m a competitor and I’m just trying my hardest on each shot. I’m trying to get the best result out of it. Once I start getting confident, I feel like I can hit every shot.”

  The red figures more than made up for a pair of missteps for Davis. He reached the No. 6 (par 4, 377 yards) green with a 75-yard wedge shot to 10 feet and proceeded to three-putt. Unfamiliarity on the par 4, 324-yard No. 9 led to a bogey as well. Davis steered a 5-iron into the right tree-line, and with his view to the flagstick obscured, missed the green on his second stroke.

  Although he’s been eligible to compete in the Jock MacKenzie for a few years, Davis didn’t enlist.

   “I felt like I needed to improve my game to play in a tournament like this,” he said.

   Colman fired a 4-over-par 40 to take the tournament’s Junior-Junior Division by a stroke.

  “It feels really good. I was just thankful that I played really well,” Mitchell, an incoming sixth grader at The Tatnall School, said.

  Colman, also of Wilmington, Del., played his first three holes in 1 under. On the par 5, 564-yard No. 11, he drilled an 8-iron 110 yards to 20 feet for birdie.

  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.