Andrew Keeling, Neshaminy Junior
Golf
Favorite athlete: Tiger Woods
Favorite team: U.S. Ryder Cup team
Favorite memory competing in sports: “At districts last year, I went into a playoff for four spots left to go to regionals. After flying the green with my second shot, I hit a great shot to five feet from atop a little hill where I was shortsided from about 20 feet in front of about 30-40 onlookers. It is now referred to by Neshaminy as the “Flop shot from the mesa.” It’s practically legendary.
Most embarrassing moment competing in sports: “One time I was teeing off with a hybrid on a short par four, and I took a huge divot that somehow shot into my face with the tee, which almost ended up stabbing me in the eye.”
Future plans: Play golf for a school with good academics
Words to live by: “Don’t worry, be happy.”
One goal before turning 30: “To play golf for a good school and get my handicap below scratch.”
One thing people don’t know about me: “I can strum a mean guitar and am real good at stupid games that don’t mean anything like Ping-Pong, pool, and guitar hero."
By Alex Frazier
Andrew Keeling’s golf career started on a putting green that was his living room rug.
It was almost a foregone conclusion that he would become a golfer. His whole family golfed, and his older brother had been a teaching professional.
Having taken up the putter at the age of three, it’s no surprise that putting is one of the Neshaminy junior’s strengths.
Keeling branched out from his living room to the golf course, playing his first round at the Fairless Hills Golf Course when he was eight. Naturally, his father and brother gave him lessons along the way.
“It was a real short nine-hole course,” he said. “It was a good place to get your start.”
Of course, like other kids growing up he also had his share of soccer and baseball, but both of those sports fell along the way by the time he reached ninth grade.
When he was 12, Keeling won his first tournament. There were only three kids in it, he noted, but it was enough to propel him to improve his game.
“You get that win and they give you that first-place medal, it makes you think you can pretty much go anywhere with your game,” he said. “That keeps you going out there.”
Also when he was in eighth grade, his family joined the Yardley Country Club, which did much for his game.
“I got to play whenever I could get a ride over there,” he said. “I hit the range almost every day. That really brought my game up to par.”
His off-season play certainly helped him when he became eligible for the Neshaminy High School team. And still does.
When Keeling became a freshman, he tried out for the golf team and became the No. 3 golfer, quite an accomplishment for an upstart newcomer.
Not only did he do well as a player, he earned his teammates’ respect as well. As a sophomore he came into the season as the No. 3 player behind two seniors, and he was also one of the team’s captains. As the season progressed, so did Keeling, moving up to No. 2 and eventually taking over the top spot.
Keeling liked playing No. 1 because it allowed him to compete against some of the best players and learn from them.
“It’s a lot easier to play good when you’re playing with better players,” he said. “You can watch how they play the game and watch their short game and say, ‘I need to learn how to hit that shot they just hit.’”
Coach Ken Gurysh noted that Keeling’s greatest strength as a golfer is his mental game.
“He is so focused in the now,” he said. “If he has a bad hole, he doesn’t dwell on it; he moves onto the next shot. Not even the next hole, the next shot. He never gets rattled. He’s steady as can be.”
Although not a big kid, Keeling can strike the ball for distance.
“He hits the ball big,” said Gurysh.
Keeling is currently ranked sixth in the Suburban One League.
Not only does Keeling excel on the links, he is an outstanding student, carrying a 4.2 grade point average. And that’s with all honors courses and one advanced placement course in English. He is also vice president of the junior class.
Keeling started playing volleyball last year and is undecided whether he will continue this spring, or use that time to prepare for his summer tournaments.
“I wanted something to do to keep me active in the spring,” he said. “I did all right in that.”
He has been playing summer tournaments in the Philadelphia area and as far away as Hershey to work on his game and perhaps attract the attention of college coaches.
“If you get recognized in AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) tournaments by qualifying or placing, that’s more than how you did on your school team,” he said.
Keeling is looking to play golf in Virginia with the University of Virginia and James Madison high on his list of potential colleges.
“You can play all year round down there,” he said. “If I can play for a team, that would be great or (even) get a scholarship.”
