junior sportsman of the year I It’s all smiles for Huntingdon Valley Country Club’s Jack Gregor when I’m playing bad, I’m acting the right way and portraying the right image,” the North Wales, Pa. resident said. “I always go into a tournament with the most positive mindset I can. Even when I have a bad hole, on the outside, I always try to stay posi-tive and not let anyone see my emotions.” “This award suits Jack perfectly,” Chris Roselle, the Association’s Tournament Director, added. “He is a good-mannered, polite and re-spectful young man who always expresses an ap-preciation for our staff and volunteers. He sets a high standard when it comes to sportsmanship.” Frustration stays under lock and key when Gregor competes. For evidence, examine the 98th Junior Boys’ Championship at Torresdale-Frankford Country Club. Gregor played his last six holes in 7 over to miss out on qualifying for the Championship flight by a stroke. Fol-lowing the tough finish, Gregor joked with his fellow competitors and thanked GAP officials and staff with an earnest handshake and smile. Regardless of how he performs in a golf tour-nament, the 17 year old makes it a point to ex-press gratitude toward all those involved in its administration. “Without you guys [the Golf Association of Philadelphia], the tournament couldn’t happen,” Gregor said. “We should be grateful that we’re able to play and compete.” Gregor models his sportsmanship after his fa-ther Michael’s. The two won this year’s Father & Son (Younger) at Plymouth Country Club. “My dad shaped and influenced me from a young age—not just as a person, but as a golfer,” Gregor said. “He was very into the sport. It was a mutual subject for us. I try to base my game and my attitude off his.” Upon hearing Jack’s receipt of the Junior Sportsman of the Year Award, Michael congratu-lated his son and explained what it reflects. “He said it’s great because it shows you’re al-ways positive on the golf course and never show any bad behavior,” Jack said. “I have him to thank for it. He taught me all I know.” The sportsmanship distinction joins a pair of prominent achievements in Gregor’s 2012 al-bum. In addition to capturing the Father & Son (Younger), Gregor finished as co-runner-up in the Christman Cup after emerging as the 18-hole leader thanks to a 3-under-par 67 on Merion’s West Course. “That would probably be the best I played in a tournament this year,” he said. Gregor is a junior at La Salle High School. f you see Jack Gregor weaving through a row of trees in search of his golf ball, smile. Doing so doesn’t demean the Huntingdon Valley Country Club youngster; it match-es his expression. Gregor absorbs the bad with a smile and never lets his struggles negatively affect his playing partners’ experience. His ability to “turn that frown upside down,” as the timeless cliché goes, is one of the traits that earned Gregor the Golf Association of Philadel-phia’s 2012 Junior Sportsman of the Year Award. “It feels good because it shows me that even
GAP Magazine 2012 Winter: Page 22
