New 9/30: View FINAL ROUND pairings for the SCGA Super Senior Mas Matsumoto wins SCGA Super Senior Amateur Championship; Terry Fail takes net division
By Robert D. Thomas SOLVANG, October 1 — Mas Matsumoto of Monterey Park rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 9th SCGASuper Senior Amateur Championship at The River Course at The Alisal. The 69-year-old Matsumoto, who bettered his age by a shot yesterday with a 4-under-par 68, posted a 74 today in the tournament for golfers ages 65 and older. His total of 142 was a shot better than Peter Daley of Newport Beach, who shot 72-71 — 143. Marty Temple of Anaheim and 1998 SCGA Senior Amateur champion Frank Merhar of La Jolla tied for third at 145, two shots ahead of Ken Kirkpatrick of Whittier, whose 2-under-par 70 was the best gross round today. Matsumoto also finished with the best score in the net division, an 8-under-par 134, but Terry Fail of Santa Maria took home the champion’s plate with after shooting net 68-68 — 136. Bob Tyler of Helendale finished third at 138, a shot ahead of Daley and Kirkpatrick. Golfers could win plates in only one division and gross took precedence.
Although Matsumoto began the day with a three-shot lead, he bogeyed two of his first seven holes, while Merhar and Daley each rallied to share the lead at that point. Matsumoto played the next eight holes in 1 under par and appeared to be in command, before bogeying the 16th and 17th holes to see his lead cut to one shot. “I choked a little on those holes,” admitted Matsumoto afterwards. On the 354-yard 18th hole, which was playing downwind, Matsumoto drove in the fairway but left his 103-yard sand-wedge shot 30 feet from the hole before draining the putt. “We [he and Merhar] hung in there until 18,” said Matsumoto, a member at California Country Club, “and I made a big putt to win.” Daley played steady golf in the warm, windy conditions, making two birdies and a bogey on the front nine and a birdie and a bogey on the backside. Merhar had a birdie and eight pars on the front side but a double-bogey 6 on the 411-yard 10th hole and his final-hole bogey proved too much to overcome. Temple made a strong back-nine charge with three birdies against a lone bogey but could not overcome a 2-over-par 38 on the front side. This was the first year that the event was played as a stand-alone championship; in the first eight years, it was a division of the SCGA Senior Amateur. For complete, hole-by-hole scores, click HERE. For a photo gallery of the top five plate winners from the gross and net divisions, click HERE. Mas Matsumoto of Monterey Park leads SCGA Super Senior Amateur Championship by three shots
By Robert D. Thomas SOLVANG, Sept. 30 — Mas Matsumoto of Monterey Park had quite a day at The River Course at the Alisal today. He fired a 4-under-68 to take a three-shot lead over Herb Weber of Tucson, AZ in the gross division after the first round of the 9th Southern California Golf Association Super Senior Amateur Championship, and his 4-under-par 64 is good for a three-shot lead over Robert Irwin of Whittier in the net division. Moreover, Matasumoto’s 68 beat his age by one shot. Matsumoto and Weber were the only players whose scratch scores were under par today over the picturesque Solvang layout. A trio of golfers — Irwin, 1998 SCGA Senior Amateur champion Frank Merhar of La Jolla and Peter Daley of Newport Beach — are tied for third at even par-72. In the net division, Terry Fail of Santa Maria posted a net 68 and is in third place, a shot behind Irwin and a shot ahead of Weber, Larry Sheldrup of Fallbrook and Bob Tyler of Helendale. The final round will be played tomorrow; tee times will begin at 8 a.m. and the leaders will tee off at 10 a.m. The tournament, for golfers age 65 and older, is being played for the first time as a separate event (in the previous eight years, it was part of the SCGA Senior Amateur). This is also the first time the Super Senior has contained both gross and net divisions. Matsumoto was hotter than the warm temperature today. He began on the 10th hole and posted five birdies, including four in a row before making bogey 5 on the 18th hole. A birdie and bogey on the front nine completed his solid round. For complete, hole-by-hole scores, click HERE. For a photo gallery of the entire field, click HERE. Six past SCGA senior champions looking to collect SCGA Super Senior win at The River Course at The Alisal on Sept. 30 In its first year being held separate from the SCGA Senior Amateur, many notable past SCGA senior titleholders, including 2006 SCGA Super Senior champion Ray Vanyo of Banning, will tee it up at the 9th SCGA Super Senior Championship September 30-October 1 at The River Course at The Alisal in Solvang. Vanyo, 70, tied for fifth at the 2005 CGA Senior Amateur, placed second at the 2005 SCGA Senior Four-Ball Match Play and tied for third at the 2005 SCGA Senior Amateur championships before winning his title at the neighboring Ranch Course at The Alisal in 2006. Defending champion Robert Carver, 73, of Fullerton was scheduled to compete, but withdrew this morning. Carver would have been vying for his record fourth super senior title (he won the 2004-05 event)...MORE |
