Ferriters, Kruegers Share Lead At Father & Son Championship
A pair of teams with championship pedigree tied for the lead at the NJSGA 94thFather and Son Championship, sponsored by McRae Capital Management, on Thursday, August 4, at Maplewood Country Club.
Last year’s champions ,Drake and Ken Ferriter of Darlington, and 2013 champions Bobby and Bob Krueger of Rockaway River shared the lead in the gross division at two-under-par 69 .
A playoff at a date to be determined will decide the 2016 championship team.
One stroke behind were 2015 champions Anthony and Rick Campanile of Deal, Cyrus III and Cyrus Whitney Jr. of Hackensack and Brian and Stephen Boyd of Baltusrol.
In the net division, Carmen and Carmine Spinazzola of Tamarack took first place at 75-11-64, followed by the Campaniles at 70-5-65, and Kevin and Tim Macken of Darlington at 71-6-65. Nick and William Dudes of Panther Valley took fourth place at 77-11-66.
The Kruegers combined the long hitting of young Bobby with the crafty play of dad Bob.
“In this format, you need golfers who can complement each other. It really helps to have someone like my son who can really bang it,” dad bob said.
The Kruegers, runners-up in 2014, were done in by a double bogey on the 16thhole, as a chip shot hit a tree branch and a bogey putt rimmed out.
“There’s something to be said about holding a wedge in my hand on the long holes after my son’s drives,” Bob said. “Up until the last four holes, we used every one of his drives. He did a nice job, hitting it with a draw.”
The Kruegers counted six birdies against a double and two bogeys.
The Ferriters relied on the smooth shots around the green by Drake, 19, a rising sophomore on the Monmouth University golf team.
“Around the greens, what you see is what you get,” said Drake, a member of Bergen Catholic’s state championship team in 2015. “You could read the greens pretty well.”
The Ferriters pretty much split their drives.
“Last year in winning at Forest Hill, we made a lot of putts. We had no bogeys and made less mistakes,” Drake said.
At Maplewood, the Ferriters claimed four birdies and two bogeys.
“This year, my strength is my putting and my irons. I’m putting a lot of putts in since last summer when I switched to a mallet putter. I’ve been consistent and happy with it,” Drake said.
