Doug and Drew Hanzel, of Savannah, Ga. won their record seventh championship Sunday, and past winners swept honors in all three divisions of the 53rd edition of the National Father-Son Invitational at The Country Club of North Carolina.
“In the second round, we didn’t have any bogeys and played really well,” said father, Doug. “Eight under is outstanding and gave us some cushion. Winning for the seventh time says that our games have aged OK. We are undefeated in the senior division. We team up well. I am steady, and Drew throws in a timely birdie or two.”
The elder Hanzel, who first played at CCNC in the 1980 U.S. Amateur (won by Hal Sutton), loves coming back to the Sandhills.
“The tournament is so well run, and the golf courses are so good,” Hanzel added. “We just really enjoy playing in it.”
The Hanzels had won six past competitions (Championship division in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2011 and Senior division in 2019 and 2020) and were tied with Tim and Chris Miller of New Philadelphia, Ohio for the most victories in the event’s history.
The elder Hanzel is the 2013 U.S. Senior Amateur champion and was the low amateur at the 2012 and 2013 U.S. Senior Open. Both Hanzels played college golf at Kent State University. Doug, a physician, endowed a golf scholarship at their alma mater.
The Hanzels carved out a 10-stroke victory over Doug and John-Logan Taylor of Charleston, W.Va. in the Senior division with scores of 68-64-147—279, which was 9 under par.
In the Championship division, 2021 winners Justin and Jackson Bode of Pinehurst and CCNC members, repeated as champions edging Randy and Scott Hanna, also of Pinehurst, by one stroke. The Bodes shot 69-65-149 for a 5-under total of 283 and have won in both of their appearances. The younger Bode plays college golf at Davidson.
John and Jeffrey Long of Murrells Inlet, S.C. captured the Super Senior division by three strokes over Skip and Connor Tendall of North Potomac, Md. and Washington, D.C., respectively. The Longs, who won the Senior division in 2021, shot 65-67-143 for a 13-under total of 275.
The field of 44 teams consisted of players from 13 states: Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia who will play both the Cardinal and Dogwood Courses in the three-day competition.
The format for the 53rd Invitational had three flights, all gross – Championship, Senior, Super Senior. The scoring format was better ball of each team for the first two rounds from division-designated tees (July 22-23) and then combined score on the event’s final day (July 24) on CCNC’s highly rated Dogwood and Cardinal course.
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: Jackson (left) and Justin Bode.
Courtesy photo/Contributed.
