Senior Amateur Blog

Hole 18: par 4, 396 yards

Both players were within five yards of each other off the tee. Pleat's approach stopped 8 feet past, while Lee went through the green and almost found the water to the rear of the tee. He then chipped 3 feet past. Pleat barely missed his birdie attempt to the right, and Lee snuck his par putt just in the left edge to win the championship.

Lee wins, 1 up

 Hole 17: par 3, 197 yards 

Pleat and Lee were both clean off the tee. Lee's birdie putt from 15 feet went 2 feet by, while Pleat left his 8-foot birdie attempt just short. Lee conceded Pleat's par, and promptly sunk his own come-backer to sent the match to dormie, heading to 18.

Lee, 1 up 

 Hole 16: par 4, 436 yards 

Both players had makeable birdies from 15 feet. Pleat sent his birdie attempt 4 feet past. Lee just missed his birdie, much to his obvious dismay. Pleat conceded Lee's par putt, and then drained his own from 4 feet to halve the hole and stay 1 down, but with only two holes to go.

Lee, 1 up 

Hole 15: par 4, 279 yards 

Both players were in good position off the tee. Lee shot to the center of the green, 25 feet from the hole. Pleat was a little left, 50 feet away, and sent his birdie putt 10 feet past. Lee lagged his birdie attempt, and his par was conceded. Pleat then made a clutch par save to halve the hole and remain 1 down with three to play.

Lee, 1 up 

Hole 14: par 3, 149 yards 

Lee's struggles continued, as he sent his tee shot into the water on the par-3 14th. Pleat had already made a poor tee shot of his own, sending into a bunker. Lee took a drop and pitched to 4 feet, but he missed his bogey putt and conceded Pleat's par. After winning three consecutive holes, Lee has now dropped three straight to Pleat to tighten the match going to the final four holes.

Lee, 1 up 

 Hole 13: par 5, 522 yards 

Pleat has started making a comeback. He drove just short of the green and chipped up in two for a conceded birdie. Lee was in trouble down the right side the entire hole. He hit his second shot into a bunker, and then missed his 40-foot birdie putt. Pleat took his second consecutive hole to cut his deficit to 2 down.

Lee, 2 up 

Hole 12: par 4, 431 yards 

Pleat found the fairway off the tee, while Lee's tee shot ended up in a bunker to the left of the fairway. Lee hit his approach to the center of the green, 20 feet from the hole. Pleat went to the right of the green and chipped 10 feet past the hole. Lee then blasted his birdie putt 12 feet past the hole and missed his comebacker for par. Pleat made his par putt to cut one hole from Lee's lead.

Lee, 3 up 

Hole 11: par 5, 481 yards 

Lee hit just over the green in two. He putted from the fringe to 2 feet and his birdie was conceded. Pleat missed his 15-foot birdie putt to give Lee his third consecutive hole won.

Lee, 4 up 

Hole 10: par 4, 403 yards 

Both players found the right side of the fairway. Pleat hit his approach to 30 feet, and two-putted for par. Lee hit in to 20 feet and converted his birdie putt to extend his lead.

Lee, 3 up 

Hole 9: par 5, 564 yards 

Lee's third shot went over the green and into a bunker, but he successfully punched out to 2 feet. Pleat made it cleanly onto the green, but three-putted for bogey and conceded Lee's winning par putt.

Lee, 2 up at the turn 

Hole 8: par 4, 430 yards 

Lee missed the fairway to the left, but hit a great approach shot across the water and onto the green. Both Pleat and Lee two-putted from 25 feet for another halved hole.

Lee, 1 up 

Hole 7: par 3, 217 yards 

Lee's tee shot found a bunker, but he got out cleanly and gave himself a 4-footer for a converted par. Pleat teed to the fringe, and two-putted for par to halve the hole with 3s.

Lee, 1 up 

 Hole 6: par 4, 409 yards 

Lee missed his first fairway of the day, sending his tee shot wide right, but made a nice approach shot to the front of the green. Pleat was down the center and also onto the green in two. Lee sent his 25-foot birdie putt 8 feet past, and left the par attempt just short for a three-putt bogey. Pleat two-putted for par and won the hole.

Lee, 1 up 

Hole 5: par 3, 185 yards 

Lee made a beautiful tee shot that nearly went into the hole, ending with a 5-footer for birdie. Pleat sent his tee shot into a bunker, and when when his blast out went 10 feet past, Pleat conceded Lee's birdie.

Lee, 2 up 

Hole 4: par 4, 329 yards 

Lee's wedge shot came to 10 feet and he converted his birdie opportunity. Pleat missed his birdie attempt, giving the first win of the day to Lee.

Lee, 1 up 

Hole 3: par 5, 541 yards 

For the second consecutive hole, both Lee and Pleat just missed 15-foot birdie putts. Another hole is halved at par.

All square  

Hole 2: par 4, 371 yards 

Both players left their 15-foot birdie putts just short, halving another hole at par.

All square  

Hole 1: par 4, 420 yards 

Both Pleat and Lee found the green in two shots, after sending their tee shots down the middle of the fairway. Pleat's birdie attempt from 35 feet came up 5 feet short, and Lee also missed his 18-foot attempt. The hole was halved with pars.

All square  

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Good morning from a bright and sunny Kinloch Golf Club. The rains of last week are just a vague memory as we look out of the windows here in the media center at today's sunny skies. We are looking forward to bringing you a live blog of today's 18-hole championship final at the Senior Amateur. At age 55, both competitors, Philip Pleat and Louis Lee, are in their first USGA Senior Amateur and had quite an interesting Wednesday to advance to this final. Pleat, from Nashua, N.H., had to defeat two pre-championship favorites, defending champion Paul Simson and Chip Lutz, who had already taken national senior titles in Britain and Canada this year. And Lee, from Heber Springs, Ark., had to get past his older brother, 2007 Senior Amateur champion Stanford, in yesterday's quarterfinals.

Overall, it's been a fabulous week here at Kinloch. Keep hitting your refresh button, as we'll have the entire championship final for you right here.

 

The average age of the 64 match-play competitors is exactly 59, with 42 players under the age of 60. The youngest player in match play is Tom Brandes (55, DOB 8/25/56), while the oldest is Jack Vardaman (71, DOB 4/22/40).

There are 29 states represented: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.

Texas has the most players with six: Michael Booker, William Thomas Doughtie, John Grace, Ronald Kilby, Hunter Nelson and past champion Mike Rice.

Canada has one representative, Mike Jackson.

The two brothers in the field, Stanford and Louis Lee, both advanced to match play. They are in the same portion of the bracket, and would meet in the quarterfinals.

There are six past USGA champions left in the field: Mark Bemowski (2004 Senior Amateur); Marvin “Vinny” Giles (1972 Amateur, 2009 Senior Amateur); Stanford Lee (2007 Senior Amateur); Mike Rice (2005 Senior Amateur); Paul Simson (2010 Senior Amateur); and George Zahringer (2002 Mid-Amateur).

 

 

 

The playoff for the final eight positions in the match-play bracket finished in one hole.

Bobby Barden: 4

Steve Whittaker: 4

Casey Boyns: 5

Rich Tolly: 5

Ian Harris: 5

Mike Rice: 5

William Thomas Doughtie: 5

Armen Dirtadian: 5

Ken Larney: 6

Larney was eliminated from the playoff, and the remaining eight men have moved into today's first round of match play. Dirtadian will face medalist and defending champion Paul Simson at 11:30 a.m., while 2005 Senior Amateur champion Rice will meet third-seeded Mike Woulfe at 12:42 p.m.

Welcome to the 2011 USGA Senior Amateur Championship, being conducted at the sunny, but soggy, Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, Va. As anyone who lives along the East Coast knows well, the past few weeks have been very interesting, with an earthquake, hurricane and tropical storm to deal with. The past two storms alone have dropped nearly 12 inches of rain in the greater Richmond area. The grounds crew at Kinloch and the USGA staff have worked incredibly hard to get this course into playable conditions, and under today's sunny skies, the pristine course looks to be in fine condition. Michael Trostel and I will be here all week, bringing you stories and information about the 156 players gathered here at Kinloch to compete for this national championship.