North rallies to defeat South in North-South team competition

Winning members of the NCGA Senior team include (l-r) Jeff Burda, Mark Miller, Gary Vanier, Rob Thompson, and Captain Vaughan Kezirian. Below, the SCGA Senior team of (l-r) Captain Steve Titus, Rich Tolly, Clark Heath, Boyd Martin, and Warren Caves. Photos by Scott Seward/NCGA and Robert D. Thomas/SCGA.

With reigning NCGA Senior Amateur champion Jeff Burda and defending CGA Senior Amateur titleholder Gary Vanier leading the way, the North rallied from a two-shot deficit and scored an eight-shot victory in the annual North-South Team Competition held concurrently with the first two rounds of the 17th CGA Senior Amateur Championship at Poppy Hills GC.

With the best three of four scores counting each day, the North shot 216 today and finished with a 439 total to regain the Senior Cup. The South slipped to a 226 today and finished at 447.

Burda, who was a quarterfinalist at this year’s California Amateur Championship, shot a 1-under-par 70 today, while Vanier came in with a 72. Rob Thompson, the 2004 CGA Senior Amateur champion, filled out the team total with a 74 today.

Clark Heath, the reigning SCGA Senior Amateur champion, paced the South team with a 1-over-par 72 today, while Boyd Martin, the 2008 SCGA Senior Match Play champion finished with a 75 today.

The North now has a 9-5 margin since the matches were begun.

California Golf Association
North-South Senior Team Championship at Poppy Hills GC; Pebble Beach, Calif.
6,413 yards, par 71

FINAL 36-hole results (best three of four scores each day count for team total):

439 — North, 223-216.
Jeff Burda, 74-70; Mark Miller, 74-76; Rob Thompson, 75-74; Gary Vanier, 75-72

447 — South, 221-226
Warren Caves, 79-78; Clark Heath, 75-72; Boyd Martin, 76-75; Rich Tolly, 70-79.