Justin and Jackson Bode won their third consecutive championship Sunday at the 54th National Father-Son Invitational at The Country Club of North Carolina (CCNC).
The Bodes, of Pinehurst, who are CCNC members, shot 279 and took a three-stroke victory in the championship division over Larry and Austin Lis of Avello, Pa. Jackson Bode, who is a member of the Davidson College golf team, birdied three of the last four holes to propel the team to victory.
“It’s a three-peat for us,” said the elder Bode, Justin. “I just ride my horse and don’t do anything too stupid. Even when’s he not on, he is still better than Pops. The event only gets better and better. It is a fantastic weekend with the great people we get to meet and play golf with.”
The three-peat matched the only other time it happened when Ronnie and Hunter Grove won the division in 1990, 1991 and 1992.
John and Jeffrey Long of Murrell’s Inlet, S.C., won their second straight super senior division title with a 286, two strokes better than Rick and Dan Gossin, CCNC members from Pinehurst. The Longs also won the senior division in 2021.
In the senior division, Andy and Bo Andrews of Raleigh/Knoxville, Tenn., won with a 273 to defeat Doug and Drew Hanzel of Savannah, Ga., by four strokes. The Hanzels have a tournament-record seven combined titles in the championship and senior divisions.
The field consisted of players from 13 states, who played both the Cardinal and Dogwood Courses in the three-day competition: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia,
The tournament format was three flights, all gross – Championship, senior (fathers must be 55 or older), super senior (fathers must be 70 or older). The scoring format was better ball of each team for the first two rounds from division-designated tees (July 21-22) and then combined score on the event’s final day (July 23). The Cardinal Course was used on July 21 and 23 and the Dogwood Course on July 22.
Notable past winners of the National Father-Son Invitational, which began in 1970, include Tom and Tom Kite, Jr; Arthur and Scott Hoch; Rod and Steve Spittle; and Kelly and Blair Miller.
The tournament was conceived by Dale Morey, a CCNC member and a noted amateur player who was also a basketball All-America at LSU. He won the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship in 1974 and 1977.
Feature photo: Justin (right) and Jackson Bode.
Courtesy photo/Contributed.
