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Family legacy: Fergusons hope youngest brother caps amazing run

Greg Ferguson sits among his three sons (from left) Andrew, Jimmy and Gregory

For more than a decade, the Ferguson name has generally been at the top of most high school golf leaderboards across the area.

Whether it was Jimmy, Gregory or Andrew, Tyrone coach Greg Ferguson has regularly had the best and most respected player on the course since 2007 when his oldest son, Jimmy, was a freshman.

“The respect part of the name is everything,” Gregory, Greg’s middle son, said. “Putting up the scores we’ve all had is really special, and it’s something I’ve been able to hang my hat on proudly and be recognized for even after high school.”

Jimmy Ferguson was named to the first team of the Mirror’s All-Star squad four times, and both of his brothers made it three times. All three were Mountain League Most Valuable Players, and each one at least won a share of the prestigious Wheeling Invitational at Sunnehanna Country Club.

Between the three, they’ve accounted for three District 6 individual championships and qualified for the PIAA Western Regional nine times.

But for whatever reason, excellence at the state-championship level has always eluded them.

As the youngest of Greg Ferguson’s three boys prepares to play in his final high school golf tournament Monday in the Class 2A PIAA Championships at York’s Heritage Hills Golf Resort, he does so trying to win the family’s first medal on that stage.

“It’s definitely something I think about,” Andrew said. “My brothers Gregory and Jimmy both went to states and neither played the type of golf they wanted to once they were there. I want to do better than they did. I want to be the best finisher at states out of all the Fergusons.”

Heartbreak begins

The heartbreak in the state finals began for the Fergusons before any of Greg’s sons were born.

Playing in his first state championship as a junior, Greg lost a playoff and finished 11th, one spot outside of winning a medal, after losing a ball when darkness began to fall over the course. He never got that close again, finishing 14th as a senior.

Another lost ball

Many years later, Greg Ferguson was back at the PIAA Championships, this time watching his son Jimmy make a run at a gold medal as just a sophomore in 2008.

With more than half his first round finished, Jimmy was among the leaders before disaster struck on the 11th hole.

“That particular year, Jimmy’s drive was right down the middle,” Greg said. “He was 1-under par through 10 or 11 holes. The hole slopes right and goes down around some trees. There were leaves on the ground, and they looked around and found a golf ball.”

Jimmy Ferguson looked down at the ball through the leaves and saw it was a Titleist 3, the brand of ball he was playing, and it appeared to have his markings on it, though they had dulled as his round progressed.

So he hit that ball toward the green.

When he approached it for his next shot, he realized there was a logo on the ball that had not been on his original ball.

He immediately informed officials that he’d played the wrong ball, knowing he’d be given a penalty.

“It never entered my mind to just play it out, even though no one would have known,” Jimmy said. “My heart sank. I just thought of where I had to go back to, but at that point, I knew I hit the wrong ball. I realized I was going to make a big number, but all I wanted to do was go back and find my ball and go to work from there.”

That never happened.

“They went back over to where his original ball would have been and never found it,” Greg said. “He was accessed a penalty for hitting the wrong ball and for a lost ball. So he makes a 10 on the hole.”

Greg Ferguson said District 6 golf official Mike Hudak told him it was one of the most admirable moments he’d ever witnessed from an athlete and that he was proud of Jimmy, but that didn’t take the sting away.

“If I remember correctly, it was an overwhelming feeling at the time,” Jimmy said. “I could have shut down after I had just made a 10. It’s one of those things that has always been part of my game that I could recover quickly and go make a birdie. I did that and played even from there on, but it was too big of a hole.

“Whether or not it killed me, I think we can all agree it did, I didn’t recognize it was as detrimental as it was until later. I just wanted to make par on the next hole. I had never dealt with anything like that before, and to have it happen on that stage was something.”

Jimmy Ferguson finished 16th that year, 15th as a junior and 14th as a senior. He entered both of his final two years just three strokes back of the leader going into the final round but could never put together a magical 18 holes.

“It was kind of heartbreaking but really admirable,” Gregory said. “It was something I was able to look up to with the way he handled it. It was a good thing for me coming up with that level of integrity. It was his toughest moment, but it was a special thing he did at the time.”

Gregory, who is two years younger than Jimmy, finished 33rd in his only trip to the PIAA Championships, and Andrew finished 24th a year ago. Gregory lost in a playoff for the final spot in regionals in two of his four years. Andrew lost a playoff to go to the state championship in regionals in his sophomore year.

“To me, I’m already pretty proud of all three of them with what they’ve done with golf,” Greg said. “I know that on any given day, all three had the capability of not just medaling, but winning.”

Andrew’s shot

Some brothers become rivals, and the Fergusons certainly compete against one another, but when Andrew hits his first tee shot on Monday at 9:20 a.m., he’ll be doing so with his family serving as his biggest fans.

“It would be really fulfilling to see Andrew medal,” Jimmy said. “After playing in the state championship three years and being on the top of my game but never finishing it off, it was tough. Gregory had some tough times, but if Andrew can play well and keep it going, it would be a great way to close it out for all of us. He’s the last on that stage for our family name, and it would be the sweetest icing on top of a pretty cool cake.”

Andrew Ferguson won the District 6 Class 2A championship as a junior and was the runner-up at the PIAA Western Regional last Monday.

“We always said Jimmy had natural ability,” Gregory said. “I had the mind, and Andrew has the mixture of both.”

Andrew Ferguson’s 74 at Tom’s Run on Monday may have been one of his best rounds of the year, considering he had 12 birdie putts and had to play in a strong wind and consistent rain.

He says he learned plenty by shooting an 89 in the first round of the state championships last year before rebounding on the second day with a 77. The course has never treated any of the Fergusons well, but that hasn’t stopped Andrew from making winning a medal his goal.

“It would mean something to everyone in the family,” Andrew said. “My brothers bust on me, but they want to see me do well. They want me to finish better than they did. If I were able to go down there and medal, you look at all the high school golfers in the state, to know you are one of the top ones, that would be special.”

Greg Ferguson plans to step down as Tyrone’s coach after 14 years following the state championships.

“For Andrew to go down and play well, it would be perfect way to send off Dad,” Jimmy said. “I know he’s done everything and then some for the three of us, and it would be something great for both Andrew and Dad if he’d medal, and it would be the send off he deserves.”

No matter what happens during the final two rounds of high school golf from this era of Fergusons, the accomplishments Jimmy, Gregory and Andrew have already made is enough for their father.

“Just being there is a great accomplishment,” Greg said. “Getting a medal? It would mean a lot. It would mean a lot to him and to his brothers simply because they did fall short down there and didn’t have their best performances at states even though they were great players.

“More than that, they’ve all played with such great integrity and class while being tremendous people, and that’s more important than anything.”

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