Manakin-Sabot, Va. – Defending champion Paul Simson, 60, of Raleigh, N.C., was among 32 players to advance through Monday’s first round of match play at the 2011 USGA Senior Amateur Championship, being conducted at 6,829-yard, par-72 Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-Sabot, Va.
Simson, who took stroke-play medalist honors on Sunday, never trailed en route to a 5-and-4 victory over Armen Dirtadian, 58, of Tucson, Ariz.
It’s always nice to get the first one under your belt, said Simson, who is trying to become the first person since William C. Campbell in 1980 to defend his Senior Amateur title. You’re always worried.
Dirtadian bogeyed the par-4 first hole to give Simson an early 1-up lead. The match remained close, however, as Dirtadian, who advanced out of Monday morning’s playoff, did not let his opponent get more than 2 up over the first 10 holes.
That development was too close for Simson’s comfort.
I like cruising along at three or four up, said Simson. It’s a lot easier to play.
A clutch 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 11th, combined with another Dirtadian bogey on the ensuing 13th, gave Simson the 3-up lead he sought.
Following a successful 2010 campaign that yielded victories at the USGA Senior Amateur, Canadian Men’s Senior and British Seniors Open Amateur Championship, Simson was understandably weary. His game faltered, causing him to take several weeks off leading up to this year’s Senior Amateur. To his delight, the break is paying dividends.
It’s all coming together here, so I’m pretty pleased with the way things are going, said Simson.
Chip Lutz, 56, of Reading, Pa., needed 20 holes to win his match against playoff-survivor Ian Harris, 58, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. The round was certainly a struggle for Lutz, who did not hold a lead until Harris’ bogey on the final hole gave him the victory.
I hit the ball good, but just really struggled with my putter, said Lutz, who is attempting to join Simson as winner of the three major senior championships in the same season. I hit a few too aggressively, and then I started coming up short.
Tuesday was not so kind to the two players directly behind Simson in the stroke-play standings. William Thomas Doughtie, 58, of Amarillo, Texas, upset 2004 Senior Amateur champion Mark Bemowski, 65, of Mukwonago, Wis., 1 up, while 2005 champion Mike Rice, 71, of Houston, Texas, eliminated Rick Woulfe, 61, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., by a 4-and-3 margin.
Doughtie found himself 1 up over Bemowski heading to the 11th hole, and the putts started falling from there. The players combined for six birdies over the final eight holes, with Doughtie’s birdie on the par-4 16th accounting for the final 1-up margin.
When I three-putted 10, I said, ‘Alright, you need to start knocking it by,’ said Doughtie, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2009 Senior Amateur. I putted good from there in.
Marvin Vinny Giles, 68, of Richmond, Va., the 2009 Senior Amateur champion and a co-designer of Kinloch, defeated Robert Shelton, 59, of Lafayette, La., 3 and 2. Buddy Marucci, 59, of Villanova, Pa., who won the 2007 championship, lost in 19 holes to Richard Marlowe, 60, of Youngstown, Ohio.
Last year’s runner-up Patrick Tallent, 58, of Vienna, Va., advanced with a 2-up victory over Jack Kearney, 56, of Peachtree City, Ga. Also advancing were 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion George Zahringer, 58, of New York, N.Y., and brothers Stanford Lee, 59, and Louis Lee, 55, both of Heber Springs, Ark. Stanford Lee won the 2007 Senior Amateur.
The next four rounds of match play will be conducted over the next two days, with the championship scheduled to conclude with an 18-hole final on Thursday.
The USGA Senior Amateur, open to golfers 55 and older, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Manakin-Sabot, Va. – Results from Monday’s first round of match play at the 2011 USGA Senior Amateur Championship, played at 6,821-yard, par-72 Kinloch Golf Club.
Upper Bracket
Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C. (139) def. Arman Dirtadian, Tucson, Ariz. (151), 5 and 3
Sam Till Jr., Fort Wayne, Ind. (148) def. Joe Sommers, Stamford, Conn. (148), 4 and 3
Joe Viechnicki, Bethlehem, Pa. (146) def. Ronald Carpenter, Creedmoor, N.C. (150), 2 and 1
Emile Vaughan, Pike Road, Ala. (146) def. Duke Delcher, Bluffton, S.C. (150), 2 and 1
Andrew Congdon, Great Barrington, Mass. (144) def. Bobby Barben, Avon Park, Fla. (151), 5 and 4
Pat Vincelli, Rosemount, Minn. (147) def. Bill Palmer, Bluffton, S.C. (149), 3 and 2
Philip Pleat, Nashua, N.H. (144) def. Neil Spitalny, Chattanooga, Tenn. (150), 1 up
Jack Vardaman, Washington, D.C. (147) def. Dave Ryan, Taylorville, Ill. (149), 19 holes
Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa. (142) def. Ian Harris, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (151), 20 holes
Kent Frandsen, Lebanon, Ind. (148) def. Jay Sessa, Garden City, N.Y. (149), 1 up
Hunter Nelson, Houston, Texas (150) def. James Grainger, Charlotte, N.C. (146), 2 up
Pat O'Donnell, Happy Valley, Ore. (146) def. Chris Maletis, Portland, Ore. (150), 3 and 2
Raymond Thompson, Drexel Hill, Pa. (142) def. Rich Tolly, Laguna Hills, Calif. (151), 4 and 3
Richard Marlowe, Canfield, Ohio (149) def. Buddy Marucci, Villanova, Pa. (148), 19 holes
Michael Booker, The Woodlands, Texas (150) def. Gary Brewster, New Orleans, La. (145), 2 up
Jeff Burda, Modesto, Calif. (147) def. Alan Fadel, Toledo, Ohio (149), 3 and 2
Lower Bracket
William Thomas Doughtie, Amarillo, Texas (151) def. Mark Bemowski, Mukwonago, Wis. (140), 1 up
Tim Miller, Kokomo, Ind. (148) def. Bob Kain, Hunting Valley, Ohio (148), 3 and 2
Bill Leonard, Kennesaw, Ga. (146) def. Buzz Fly, Memphis, Tenn. (150), 2 and 1
John Grace, Fort Worth, Texas (150) def. Bill Zylstra, Dearborn Heights, Mich. (146), 3 and 2
Ronald Kilby, McAllen, Texas (143) def. Steve Whittaker, Becker, Minn. (151), 3 and 2
Vinny Giles, Richmond, Va. (147) def. Robert Shelton, Lafayette, La. (149), 3 and 2
David Anthony, Jacksonville, Fla. (145) def. Michael Weiner, Kiawah Island, S.C. (150), 1 up
John Sajevic, Fremont, Neb. (149) def. Paul Murphy, Arlington, Mass. (147), 6 and 5
Mike Rice, Houston, Texas (151) def. Rick Woulfe, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (141), 4 and 3
Steve Poulson, Draper, Utah (148) def. Mike Jackson, Canada (148), 1 up
Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va. (146) def. Jack Kearney, Peachtree City, Ga. (150), 2 up
Louis Lee, Heber Springs, Ark. (150) def. Tom Brandes, Bellevue, Wash. (146), 1 up
George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. (143) def. Casey Boyns, Pacific Grove, Calif. (151), 2 up
Stanford Lee, Heber Springs, Ark. (149) def. Martin West, Rockville, Md. (148), 19 holes
James Pearson, Charlotte, N.C. (145) def. Peter Metzler, Killington, Vt. (150), 6 and 4
Tony Green, Kingsport, Tenn. (147) def. Eddie Lyons, Shreveport, La. (149), 2 up
Manakin-Sabot, Va. – Pairings for Tuesday’s second round of match play at the 2011 USGA Senior Amateur Championship, played at 6,821-yard, par-72 Kinloch Golf Club.
Upper Bracket
8:15 a.m.: Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C. (139) vs. Sam Till Jr., Fort Wayne, Ind. (148)
8:23 a.m.: Joe Viechnicki, Bethlehem, Pa. (146) vs. Emile Vaughan, Pike Road, Ala. (146)
8:31 a.m.: Andrew Congdon, Great Barrington, Mass. (144) vs. Pat Vincelli, Rosemount, Minn. (147)
8:39 a.m.: Philip Pleat, Nashua, N.H. (144) vs. Jack Vardaman, Washington, D.C. (147)
8:47 a.m.: Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa. (142) vs. Kent Frandsen, Lebanon, Ind. (148)
8:55 a.m.: Hunter Nelson, Houston, Texas (150) vs. Pat O'Donnell, Happy Valley, Ore. (146)
9:03 a.m.: Raymond Thompson, Drexel Hill, Pa. (142) vs. Richard Marlowe, Canfield, Ohio (149)
9:11 a.m.: Michael Booker, The Woodlands, Texas (150) vs. Jeff Burda, Modesto, Calif. (147)
Lower Bracket
9:19 a.m.: William Thomas Doughtie, Amarillo, Texas (151) vs. Tim Miller, Kokomo, Ind. (148)
9:27 a.m.: Bill Leonard, Kennesaw, Ga. (146) vs. John Grace, Fort Worth, Texas (150)
9:35 a.m.: Ronald Kilby, McAllen, Texas (143) vs. Vinny Giles, Richmond, Va. (147)
9:43 a.m.: David Anthony, Jacksonville, Fla. (145) vs. John Sajevic, Fremont, Neb. (149)
9:51 a.m.: Mike Rice, Houston, Texas (151 vs. Steve Poulson, Draper, Utah (148)
9:59 a.m.: Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va. (146) vs. Louis Lee, Heber Springs, Ark. (150)
10:07 a.m.: George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. (143) vs. Stanford Lee, Heber Springs, Ark. (149)
10:15 a.m.: James Pearson, Charlotte, N.C. (145) vs. Tony Green, Kingsport, Tenn. (147)