Rick Woulfe captured his sixth State Championship winning the 2007 Senior Amateur Championship as Terry Louis fought back from three strokes down to claim the Super Senior division at TPC at Eagle Trace in Coral Springs on April 10-12.
Rick Woulfe, of Fort Lauderdale, captured his first Individual State Championship winning the Senior Amateur Championship by three strokes. After 36 holes, Woulfe held a four stroke lead shooting rounds of 72-70. “I couldn’t have played any better,” said Woulfe. “In the first two rounds, I hit 16 greens.” With the morning shotgun called due to bad weather, the leaders went off in the afternoon for the final round. “It was a tough day,” said Woulfe. “The weather got better but the golf course played really hard.” Woulfe’s final round 77 was enough to secure him the title. “It’s about time,” said Woulfe. In the first two rounds, Woulfe three putted only once while in the final round, he three putted four times. “I didn’t play poorly,” said Woulfe. “I just wasn’t as aggressive as I was the first two days.” Woulfe, the 2005 and 2006 Senior Player-of-the Year, has won five team State Championships and has also had a successful run with The Society of Seniors. Last season, he won all three major Championships, the first time anyone has accomplished such a feat. In second place, Steve Earsley, of Hobe Sound, shot consistent rounds of 75-72-75—222 as John Darr, of Gainesville, placed third shooting a 72-75-76—223.
In the Super Senior division, Terry Louis came back from three strokes down to edge out the field by one. Louis, of Palm Beach Gardens, was in second place after two rounds carding a 77-73. In the final round, Louis moved in front posting a 76 to win the Super Senior Championship with a 226 total. Louis, an alternate for the Championship, got into the tournament on Monday, the day before the first round. Brian Sachs, of Newberry, recorded a 74-79-74 to finish in second place just one stroke shy of Louis. In a three-way tie for third place, Jim DuBois, of Coral Springs, Rennie Law, of Tampa, and Russ Berkoben, of Naples, each shot a tournament total of 230. DuBois, the leader after two rounds of 73-74, fell to third place with a final round 83.
Since the number of entries received has always surpassed the capacity of the Championship, a qualifying stage was instituted in 2005. While 70 players earned exempt status through a variety of different means, over 300 competitors attempted to qualify to complete the 156 player field. Qualifying took place at six sites across the state as competitors played 18 holes of stroke play hoping to advance to the Championship. Participants must be 55 or older to participate in the Championship and enter one of the age divisions, 55-64 and 65 & over. Competitors play 54 holes of stroke play over the course of the three-day Championship.
Please see www.fsga.org for a complete list of pairings, tee-times and results.
Organized in 1913, the Florida State Golf Association is a not-for-profit organization that governs amateur golf in the state of Florida. In addition to conducting 25 championships for amateur golfers in the state, the FSGA is responsible for more than 40 qualifying tournaments for USGA National Championships. The FSGA also maintains the USGA Handicap System, performs course ratings throughout Florida and assists in junior programs and scholarships.
