Golf is an amazing sport. One in which people who never would have the chance to meet, play a round of golf, and become fast friends. That happened with two of our long-time WGAP members, Bonnie Kay and Jan Albert. Bonnie shared the story about meeting Jan at the Nonna Barlow. We wanted to share it with all of you.
In Bonnie’s words:
“51 years ago Jan and I met and played our first tournament…the Nonna Barlow at Merion! I had just moved to Philadelphia and a neighbor ‘fixed us up’ when she heard I was a golfer. As new ‘partners’ that year, we really did not know each other well, particularly as competitors. When Jan arrived she found me on the putting green. She said: “what are you doing?” I said: “just practicing putting.” She said: “Why? we have no chance.” You know the rest of the story: fast forward…we actually did win the Nonna Barlow several years later!. (I wish I could remember exactly). We also tied for first one more year, losing in a three way play-off.
The human side of this story is that I came to our partnership as a natural competitor…sometimes too fierce, and Jan came to our partnership very laid back…sometimes too laid back to actually compete as she should. Over the years we have met in the middle…both of us learning so much from each other and enjoying many good times in WGAP and invitational tournaments. However, the Barlow will always be special for us as it was our first tournament together and on hallowed ground!”