Don't call it a rivalry.
A better way to describe the competition between Brad Kropp and his son, Will, is "good-natured exhibition." Besides, it can't be a rivalry when the younger Kropp "usually kicks my butt," as Brad tells it.
"He's a notch above me," Brad said. "He's just been injured, but he's coming back."
This week, the father/son duo is taking part in the Dogwood Invitational, one of the few times each year that the two tee off in the same tournament. But the Peach State isn't foreign territory to Will, a member of the Georgia Bulldogs' golf team for one season (2008-09) before transferring closer to home. The Edmond, Okla., native now is a standout for the Oklahoma Sooners, where he was named an honorable mention to PING's All-America team this past season and set a school record for lowest 18-hole score (63) at the 2011 Desert Shootout.
Will said his transfer was an amicable one, since he still talks to many of his former Bulldogs teammates. A bigger factor in his choice to leave was the departure of Ryan Hybl, who was an assistant coach at Georgia before taking over Oklahoma's program in June 2009.
"My game wasn't that great and I was hurt, so I thought that maybe a change wouldn't be the worst thing," he said. "There was nothing with Athens or Georgia at all. ... I definitely miss being at Georgia, but it's just one of those things where it didn't quite work out."
The same could be said of the Kropps' rounds Wednesday. Brad posted a 5-over-par 77, a number he said was not indicative of how well he played.
"I hit it solid, playing smart, [hitting] to the middle of the greens, and a couple of times I had wedges in my hands and made a mistake," he said. "I really only made about three bad swings, but the scores can just bite you with the littlest mistake given how they had the pins today."
And it was the pin placements that Will blamed for his less-than-stellar round of 76. Playing aggressively is at the crux of Will's game, but that proved to be his undoing Wednesday.
"Usually we come out here, and the pins aren't this difficult," he said. "It's like birdies are the thing, so you have to go at it a lot. I had that mentality, and it didn't really pay off at the beginning. At the end I started changing things a little, and it still didn't work out too great, but I think I'll have a better feel of things tomorrow."
With three more rounds to play, both said they want to attain as good a finish as they can. But Brad already has a vision for how he wants this week to end. He wants to make it into a playoff with his son — and lose.
"That would be the ultimate," Brad said.
Will was every bit as generous, saying he would gladly take runner-up honors if it meant his father emerged victorious.
"His window is closing a little faster than mine, so if that is the case, I wouldn't mind," Brad said.
Don't call this a rivalry.
Call it family.
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