Roger Erdely was playing the good dad and taking his son, Nixen, around to play in Junior golf events.
Nixen, a sophomore at Frazier, challenged his dad to play in a tournament.
“He told me, ‘You take me everywhere, and when we play, you beat me,’ ” Roger Erdely said. “He wanted me to enter to see how I did.”
Roger Erdely, who is a member at Cedarbrook Golf Course, decided to play in the Westmoreland County Golf Association’s Senior Amateur on Friday at Latrobe Elks Golf Course. He made his son proud.
Erdely birdied the first playoff hole to edge Super Senior champion Dave DeNezza and Brandon Antus, both Hannastown Golf Club members. The trio finished the 27-hole event at 1-over-par 109.
During the playoff, Erdely drove over the No. 1 green, chipped up the fringe and sank an 18-foot putt.
DeNezza was on the green in two and just missed a 20-foot birdie putt. Antus pulled his drive in the left rough. His second shot just missed the green to right. He chipped to within 4 feet.
“I hadn’t played in a golf tournament for more than 20 years,” said Erdely.
“He said you need to play in a tournament to see how you do.
“I apologized to the high school kids (from Derry and Southmoreland) for driving into them. They said no problem, that it rolled on to the green. I got it on the fringe, and I wasn’t going to leave the putt short. I knew it had a chance when I hit it.”
Erdely, 52, is a 1987 Frazier graduate.
Antus said he left some shots out there on the first 18 holes. He had a chance to win it on the final nine, but he just missed an eagle putt on No. 18.
“He made a putt,” Antus said. “Dave and I wanted to win it for Hannastown, but give the guy credit.”
