Super-Senior Amateur Match Play
- Sugar Mill County Club, White/Red Courses - New Smyrna Beach
- Yardages and Ratings
- 65 & Over Division - 6,224 yds. 70.7/125
- 70-74 Division - 5,997 yds. 69.6/123
- 75 & Over Division - 5,643 yds. 68.1/120
NEW SMYRNA BEACH - You could feel the hot and humid air of summer in Florida during the inaugural Super-Senior Amateur Match Play. Sixty-one players across three divisions teed it up at Sugar Mill Country Club to test their stamina and skills in match play competition.
65 & Over Division
STROKE PLAY - Thirty seven players set out during Monday's Stroke Play Seeding round to battle for the top sixteen spots in the Championship bracket and play for the title. Bob Casamento and Bobby Lundquist tied for stroke play medalists with even par rounds of 72. A USGA score card match broke the tie, making Lundquist the first seed. Peter Gibbons, Rick Meli, and Nicholas Bogannam tied for 16th, forcing a play-off to determine the final two spots in the Championship bracket. The remaining 19 players were flighted into brackets of eight and one bracket of three.
PLAY-OFF- With the Florida heat came the typical afternoon storms, delaying the play-off nearly two hours for inclement weather. At one point, 435 lighting strikes had occurred within a ten mile radius of the golf course. When play resumed, Rick Meli birdied the first play-off hole, a par five, and quickly secured his place as the 15th seed. Nicholas Bogannam and Peter Gibbons continued onto the par four 11th hole where both players struggled on the green, three putting for bogey, to extend to a third and final hole. Nicholas Bogannam bogeyed hole 12, a par four, to take the 16th spot.
MATCH PLAY - On Tuesday morning, first seed Bobby Lundquist, of Sandford, won his match in the Round of 16, 9 & 8. An impressive feat. He was then eliminated during the quarter finals, 6 & 5 to Donald Staton. It was not the first or second seed who would eventually take the title, but rather the third seed, Bruce Scamehorn. Scamehorn, of Winter Haven, carded a one over-par, 73, during the stroke play seeding round. In the Round of 16, Scamehorn defeated the 14th seed, George Goldsmith, 5 & 4. In the quarterfinal match, he stuck his approach shot on hole 18 to an inch to win 1 up over Steve Boswell. He then went on to win the semifinal match on Wednesday against number seven seed, Pete McDade, 3 & 2. The number five seed, Tom Grady of Lakewood Ranch, won his first three matches 2 & 1, 2 up, and 1 up respectively to advance to Thursdays final match but Scamehorn was on a mission. He was three-under in Thursday's final match when he secured his first FSGA title since 2004, winning 6 & 5.
- First Flight Winner - John Latowski over Keith Keister in 19 holes
- Second Flight Winner - Terry Swartz over Bob Hinkle, 2 & 1
- Third Flight Winner - Gene Smith over Craig Pirrello, 5 & 3
70-74 Division
Fourteen players were divided into a bracket of eight and six after stroke play seeding. Jim Mason, of Freeport, was the stroke play medalist after a score card match against Jack Ramsey, of Tennessee. Both players carded four over-par, 76, and took the top seeds in the Championship bracket. Mason won his first two matches 4 & 3 and 2 & 1 to advance to the Championship match against Ramsey. Ramsey won his first two matches 2 & 1 and in 20 holes. In the final match, Ramsey was 3 up through seven, but then lost his groove until making par on hole 12. Ramsey says this was the turning point in the match, and would eventually win 2 up.
- First Flight Winner - Shaun Donnellan over Brian Carroll, 2 up
75 & Over Division
Jerry Rodeheaver was the stroke play medalist in 75 & Over Division, carding a four over-par, 76. Players were seeded into a single bracket of eight players for Tuesday's quarterfinal matches. Bob Rogoff won the second flight by default, and did not compete in matches. Number two seed Jim DuBois, of Coral Springs, never saw the 18th hole after carding a 77 during Monday's seeding round. DuBois won the quarter and semifinal matches 6 & 5 and 3 & 2, made only one bogey, and was six under-par for all three matches. DuBois won the final match against number four seed, Walt Martin, 5 & 4.
