Mas Matsumoto wins SCGA Super Senior Amateur Championship; Terry Fail takes net division

Mas Matsumoto of Monterey Park won the SCGA Super Senior Championship. Photo by Katie Denbo/SCGA.

By Robert D. Thomas
Southern California Golf Association

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.

(Below) Terry Fail of Santa Maria won the net division. Photo by Robert D. Thomas/SCGA.

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.