Robert Rehman has a handicap of 3.5. His son, Ryan, is a 10. When they played in the Maryland State Golf Association Father/Son earlier thismonth, they figured to be a threat for the net title, not the gross.
But after 18 charmed holes at Wakefield Valley Golf Club in Westminster, the Rehmans of Silver Spring were the Father/Son champions. In a field that included several duos with close to scratch handicaps, the Rehmans fired a 3-under-par 69 to win by two strokes.
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“Surprised? I’d have to say we were,” said Robert Rehman, 55. “Ryan probably played one of his best ball-striking rounds ever, and I have a pretty good wedge game.”
That doesn’t begin to explain how the Rehmans stunned a field that included the Tendalls, Ryan and Skip of North Potomac, who had won three times the previous six years; and the Vollmers, John and Kevin of Rockville, who captured it twice the previous four years.
In 2005, when the Rehmans played their first Father/Son, they shot 85, finishing tied for 59th in a field of 73.
“I can’t explain it,” said Ryan Rehman, a senior at Blake High. “This time, I think the format worked well for us.”
In an alternate-shot Pinehurst Scotch tournament, both players hit tee shots. The next stroke is hit by the player whose tee shot is not used.
“Ryan was hitting his drives 300 yards, keeping it in the fairway,” said Robert Rehman. “We were on the green, inside 20 feet on just about every hole. We were actually disappointed we didn’t have a better score. We missed a lot of putts.”
But they made a few too, including three birdies in the first five holes. But their round went in another direction when they double bogeyed No. 12, where Ryan hit a ball into the water, one into a tree, and another over the green.
But Ryan made amends at No. 17, a par-five. From 200 yards out, he laced a 5-iron over water to the green, leading to a two-putt birdie.
Only 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, Ryan Rehman packs a wallop. According to his dad, one of his tee shots traveled 384 yards in the Father/Son. But Rehman’s power comes with a cost. He’s cracked the head of his last two drivers.
“I’m sort of like John Daly,” said Rehman. “Really good, or really bad.”
EVERYBODY LOVES REHMAN
» Ryan Rehman plays on the golf team at Blake, but is better known as a four-year starter on the baseball team.
» As a reserve on the University of Florida golf team, Robert Rehman was never able to crack a lineup that included former PGA Tour players Andy North, Andy Bean, Gary Koch, Phil Hancock, and former U.S. Amateur champion Fred Ridley.
