Chip Lutz’s mastery of Wade Hampton Golf Club continued into Monday’s first round of match play at the 2013 USGA Senior Amateur.
The stroke-play qualifying medalist and owner of two British Senior Open Amateur and two Canadian Senior Amateur titles, Lutz, 58, of Reading, Pa., played the equivalent of 3-under-par golf, with the usual match-play concessions, in defeating Mike Peck, 56, of Irving, Texas, 4 and 3.
The Lutz match was one of 23 to be completed in a marathon Monday at the Senior Amateur. Play was suspended due to darkness at 7:22 p.m. EDT with nine matches still on the course.
Defending champion Paul Simson, 62, of Raleigh, N.C., returned to the course on Tuesday morning and eliminated Tom Schultz, of Trinidad, Colo., 3 and 2
The first round resumed at 7:40 a.m., with the second round of match play starting at 8 a.m.
Before match play could commence, half the field had to complete the second and final round of stroke-play qualifying on Monday morning. The match-play cut came at 12-over 156, with 13 golfers playing off for the final six spots.
Peck, a member of the 1979 USA Walker Cup Team, was the final man to earn a spot after a five-hole playoff. But his stay was short-lived against Lutz, who posted a pair of 3-under 69s on the 6,842-yard, par-72 layout in earning the qualifying medal by seven shots over Jack Hall.
"I got off to a really great start," said Lutz. "I made three birdies on my first four holes. That got the juices flowing."
Peck birdied the par-5 10th to cut the deficit to 2 down before Lutz made consecutive birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 to push his advantage back to 4 up.
A pair of past Senior Amateur champions, however, weren’t as fortunate.
John Long, of Centreville, Va., beat 2008 Senior Amateur champion Buddy Marucci, of Villanova, Pa., 3 and 1, while Brady Exber, of Las Vegas, needed 19 holes to knock out 2009 champion Vinny Giles, of Richmond, Va.
"Buddy just didn’t have his best day," said Long. "I lost to him the last time I played him in the second round of the championship that he won at Shady Oaks [in Fort Worth, Texas]. He is a gentlemen and I enjoyed playing with him."
Marucci, 61, a two-time USA Walker Cup captain (2007 and 2009) and 1995 U.S. Amateur runner-up, was gracious following his defeat.
"I didn’t play particularly great, but John played well," said Marucci. "He was very steady. The steady guy normally wins. He deserved to win. He played well."
Exber saw a late 2-up lead evaporate against Giles, at 70 the oldest player to make match play. Giles won holes 16 and 17 to square the match before Exber prevailed on the first extra hole, the par-5 first, with a birdie.
"I was really fortunate to win on 19," said Exber. "I’m really happy to be moving on and I am sorry that Mr. Giles is the one that is going home."
Tuesday will be another long day for the competitors who advance, with the Round of 32 and Round of 16 scheduled.
"I am going to try and get some sleep tonight," said Exber, who closed stroke play on Monday with a championship-best 67. "I went 28 holes today."
Five other first-round matches went 19 holes, including a tremendous rally by Patrick Duncan, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. Down two with two to play, Duncan birdied 17, 18 and 19 to defeat Casey Boyns, of Monterey, Calif. Boyns is a caddie at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Doug Hanzel, of Savannah, Ga., the low amateur in the past two U.S. Senior Opens, survived against David Pohlmann, of Louisville, Ky.; No. 2 seed Jack Hall, of Sea Island, Ga., edged by playoff qualifier Thomas Dicinti, of Voorhees, N.J.; Curt Knorr, of Dunwoody, Ga., birdied the par-5 19th to beat Ken Palladino, of Dunedin, Fla.; and Michael Turner, of Woodland Hills, Calif., rallied to beat fellow Southern Californian Craig Calkins, of Manhattan Beach.
Ray Thompson, of Drexel Hill, Pa., also defeated 2011 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Randal Lewis, of Alma, Mich., 2 and 1.
All six of the golfers who advanced out of the playoff were defeated.
Jeff Altstadter is the manager of media relations for the USGA. E-mail him at jalstadter@usga.org.
CASHIERS, N.C. – Results from Monday’s first round of match play at the 2013 USGA Senior Amateur, being conducted at the 6,842-yard, par-72 Wade Hampton Golf Club. Note: Only 23 of the scheduled 32 matches were completed before darkness suspended play for the day at 7:22 p.m. EDT.
Round of 64
Upper Bracket
Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa. (138) def. Mike Peck, Irving, Texas (156), 4 and 3
Paul Schlachter, Pittsburgh, Pa. (152) def. James Lehman, Minnetonka, Minn. (152), 2 and 1
Robert Valerio, Hawthorne, Calif. (150) def. Neil Vanleeuwen, Tarpon Springs, Fla. (154), 3 and 1
Hill Adams, Katy, Texas (150) def. James Gallagher, Yorktown, Va. (154), 5 and 3
Brady Exber, Las Vegas, Nev.(147) def. Vinny Giles, Richmond, Va. (155), 19 holes
John Long, Centreville, Va. (154) def. George Marucci Jr., Villanova, Pa. (152), 3 and 1
Ray Thompson, Drexel Hill, Pa. (155) def. Randal Lewis, Alma, Mich. (148), 2 and 1
Bev Hargraves, Helena, Ark. (151) def. Michael Mercier, Juno Beach, Fla. (154), 4 and 3
Rick Cloninger, Fort Mill, S.C. (146) def. Jon Tingley, Flemington, N.J. (156), 2 and 1
Don Erickson III, Dubois, Pa. (153) def. David Holmes, Sutton, Mass., 7 and 5
Bill Leonard, Dallas, Ga. (149) def. Rusty Brown, Phoenix, Ariz. (154), 1 up
Mike Booker, The Woodlands, Texas (151) def. Mark Macejko, Vass, N.C. (154), 3 and 2
Daniel Arvanitis, Manchester, N.H. (146) def. Greg Congdon, Great Barrington, Mass. (156), 1 up
Peter Wegmann, Sea Ranch Lakes, Fla. (153) def. Mickey Jones, Odessa, Texas (152), 4 and 3
Douglas Hanzel, Savannah, Ga. (149) def. David Pohlmann, Louisville, Ky. (155), 19 holes
Mike Poe, Athens, Tenn. (151) def. Mike Greer, Birmingham, Ala. (154), 5 and 4
Lower Bracket
Jack Hall, Sea Island, Ga. (145) def. Thomas Dicinti, Voorhees, N.J. (156), 19 holes
Robert Parmar, Fairhope, Ala. (153) def. Larry Daniels, Seattle, Wash. (152), 6 and 5
Curt Knorr, Dunwoody, Ga. (154) def. Ken Palladino, Dunedin, Fla. (150), 19 holes
Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va. (150) def. Ted Smith, Wilkinson, Ind. (154), 2 up
Buzz Fly, Memphis, Tenn. (147) def. Stephen Sharpe, Greensboro, N.C. (155), 5 and 4
Patrick Duncan, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (152) def. Casey Boyns, Monterey, Calif. (153), 19 holes
Allan Small, Florham Park, N.J. (155) def. Peach Reynolds, Austin, Texas (148), 3 and 2
Edward Steiber, Cincinnati, Ohio (151) def. Mark Burden, Atlanta, Ga. (154), 3 and 2
Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C. (146) def. Tom Schultz, Trinidad, Colo. (156), 3 and 2
Pat O'Donnell, Happy Valley, Ore. (152) def. Mike Raymond, Jackson, Mich. (153), 1 up
Michael Turner, Sherman Oaks, Calif. (154) def. Craig Calkins, Manhattan Beach, Calif. (150), 19 holes
David Nelson, Reno, Nev. (150) def. Harry Ramirez, San Antonio, Texas (154), 3 and 2
David Szewczul, Farmington, Conn. (146) def. David Schultz, Canada (156), 3 and 2
Jim Rollefson, Franklin, Wis. (153) def. Neil Spitalny, Chattanooga, Tenn. (152), 4 and 3
Michael Hughett, Owasso, Okla. (149) def. Don Donatoni, Malvern, Pa. (155), 6 and 5
George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. (154) def. Tom Norton, Muscatine, Iowa (151), 3 and 2
CASHIERS, N.C. – Pairings and starting times for Tuesday’s second round of match play at the 2013 USGA Senior Amateur, being conducted at the 6,842-yard, par-72 Wade Hampton Golf Club. Note: third round scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. (All times EDT)
Round of 32
Upper Bracket
8 a.m.: Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa. (138) vs. Paul Schlachter, Pittsburgh, Pa. (152)
8:08 a.m.: Robert Valerio, Hawthorne, Calif. (150) vs. Hill Adams, Katy, Texas (150)
8:16 a.m.: Brady Exber, Las Vegas, Nev. (147) vs. John Long, Centreville, Va. (154)
8:24 a.m.: Ray Thompson, Drexel Hill, Pa. (155) vs. Bev Hargraves, Helena, Ark. (151)
8:32 a.m.: Rick Cloninger, Fort Mill, S.C. (146) vs. Don Erickson III, Dubois, Pa. (153)
8:40 a.m.: Bill Leonard, Dallas, Ga. (149) vs. Mike Booker, The Woodlands, Texas (151)
8:48 a.m.: Daniel Arvanitis, Manchester, N.H. (146) vs. Peter Wegmann, Sea Ranch Lakes, Fla. (153)
8:56 a.m.: Doug Hanzel, Savannah, Ga. (149) vs. Mike Poe, Athens, Tenn. (151)
Lower Bracket
9:04 a.m.: Jack Hall, Sea Island, Ga. (145) vs. Robert Parmer, Fairhope, Ala. (153)
9:12 a.m.: Curtis Knorr, Dunwoody, Ga. (154) vs. Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va. (150)
9:20 a.m.: Buzz Fly, Memphis, Tenn. (147) vs. Patrick Duncan, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (152)
9:28 a.m.: Allan Small, Florham Park, N.J. (155) vs. Edward Steiber, Cincinnati, Ohio (151)
9:36 a.m.: Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C. (146) vs. Pat O'Donnell, Happy Valley, Ore. (152)
9:44 a.m.: Michael Turner, Woodland Hills, Calif. (154) vs. David Nelson, Reno, Nev. (150)
9:52 a.m.: David Szewczul, Farmington, Conn. (146) vs. Jim Rollefson, Franklin, Wis. (153)
10 a.m.: Michael Hughett, Owasso, Okla. (149) vs. George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. (154)