The kids aren't just tagging along anymore: how father-son golf became the toughest division in the Two Man Links

When we added a Father & Son division to the Two Man Links at Bandon Dunes in 2019, it was meant to be a tournament within a tournament — a way to recognize the dads who'd been coming back for years and had started showing up with their sons in tow. A perpetual trophy, a couple of extra prizes, a nice moment at the awards dinner.

Seven years later, the tournament within the tournament has a habit of producing the lowest score in the whole tournament.

From sentimental subplot to the top of the leaderboard

The numbers tell the story. When AmateurGolf.com first took the Two Man Links to Bandon Dunes in 2002, 24 players showed up. Fields have averaged around 80 players since, and in recent years the Bandon, Sand Valley and Pebble Beach events have sold out early — driven in large part by the Father & Son division.

But the field size is only half of it. What's changed is who's winning.

Jacob and Mark Phillips didn't just win the Father & Son division at Bandon Dunes in 2022 and 2023. They won the Championship Division — the open, gross, everybody-in-the-pool division — both years, against a field that has historically included nationally ranked mid-amateurs and seniors. When the Two Man Links opened its 2025 season at Streamsong, the two teams tied for the Championship Division lead heading into the final round were Gettys and Garrett Glaze and Donald and Zachary Miller. Both father-son teams.

At Pebble Beach's Two Man Links debut in 2025, Brian and Max Pidgeon of San Diego shot 73-71-70 in tough conditions to finish 2-under and win the Father & Son by five — the best golf played by any team in any division that week.

Then last December at Torrey Pines, Aiden and Darren Canada went 69-68-67, lower every single day, to post 12-under across Torrey North, Torrey South and Coronado. In the Open division that week, 1-under won.

Pebble Beach, March 2026: a rental driver and an eagle on 18

And then there's what happened this past March.

Cory and Henry Hurley arrived at Pebble Beach with a problem: Henry's driver had been broken in transit. A high school junior with a Division I future, he played all three rounds with a rental. It didn't slow him down. The Hurleys shot 66 at Poppy Hills, 69 at Spyglass Hill and 65 at Pebble Beach to finish 15-under-par 200 and win the Father & Son gross by seven shots. Henry made eagle on the 11th at Spyglass on Saturday, and then — with the title all but secured — made eagle on the 18th at Pebble Beach on Sunday.

Behind them, Ethan and Tony Hejna finished second in gross at 9-under and won the net division at 15-under. Casey and Chris Craig closed with a 64. Five father-son teams finished under par in the gross division alone.

Ask Cory Hurley what stood out, though, and it wasn't the scores.

"That was pretty cool," he said afterward. "More importantly, it's fun for me to be here with my son in the Father Son. I think that was the top of the mark for an opportunity for us to be together."

That's the thing about this division. It has gotten seriously competitive — the golf is real, and the leaderboards prove it — and somehow it hasn't lost the reason it exists.

Why it works

Part of it is format. Better-ball golf rewards exactly what a father and son bring to a team: one player who's been around long enough to know when to take his medicine, and one who's young enough to take the driver over the corner anyway. Part of it is the net division, which uses 80% of course handicap (max 18 per player) so a 12-handicap dad and a plus-1 son are a legitimate team, not a mismatch.

And part of it is the trophy. The Father & Son perpetual trophy carries the names of George Stevens Jr. and his son Michael, who were lured to Bandon in 2005, won team titles together in 2008 and 2010, and paired for the last time in 2013 before Michael's death in 2015. When we asked George whether we could put their names on it, he said the tournament had provided "some of our richest father/son moments." Every team that has won it since has understood exactly what he meant.

Next up: Pebble Beach, March 19–22, 2027

The next name goes on the trophy at Pebble Beach next spring, and registration is open now.

• Friday, March 19: Arrival day, optional golf available

• Saturday, March 20: Round 1 — Poppy Hills

• Sunday, March 21: Round 2 — Spyglass Hill

• Monday, March 22: Final round — Pebble Beach Golf Links, with the awards ceremony immediately after play

The package includes three nights of lodging at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, all three tournament rounds, $10,000 in tee gifts and prizes, awards for division winners and welcome gifts for every player. The Father & Son and Open divisions each award Low Gross and Low Net, and teams where both players are 50-plus compete for a bonus senior gross prize.

Entry is $6,595 per player, single occupancy. A $1,000 deposit per player holds your team's spot; the balance is billed December 17, 2026, and full refunds (less a $300 administrative fee) are available through that date.

Pebble Beach's 2025 debut sold out. The 2026 edition filled. If you and your dad — or you and your son — have been talking about doing this for a few years, this is the one.

Register your team for Pebble Beach here, or see the full 2026–27 Two Man Links schedule — Pinehurst (Nov. 8–11), Torrey Pines (Dec. 15–18), Bandon Dunes (April 22–26, 2027) and Sand Valley (May 14–17, 2027) — at amateurgolf.com/two-man-links.

Can't wait until March? Torrey Pines is this December — and entries close September 18

Questions? Reach us at membership@amateurgolf.com.

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Hurleys Capture Father & Son Gross at Pebble Beach; Hejnas Win Net Title
FINAL RESULTS: Two Man Links and Father & Son at Torrey Pines
New Father Son Division at Bandon Dunes Two Man Links (2019)