Durham, NC (November 3, 2011) - Jim Stanley of Raleigh, a 13 year veteran of the Senior Amateur Golf Tour, and Durham's Bill McGee, a Tour rookie this season who has enjoyed recent success in the C Flight, finished tied at the Duke University Golf Club after 18 holes with identical 90s for the Flight lead. As in all Senior Tour events, these combatants headed out for extra holes in a sudden-death format.
Both bogied the 1st playoff hole and it looked like Stanley was in good shape to come away with the win as they both reached the green on their 2nd hole in the same number of strokes - Stanley 12 feet away and McGee barely on the green with a putt of over 60 feet. But as happens all the time in golf, the tables can turn quickly. McGee hit his lag putt to within 2 feet. Stanley said "I just got greedy then - I went to firm in my 12 footer and ran it 4 feet past, missed the comebacker and just handed the win to Bill".
Franklinton's Bob Williams cruised to a 2-shot win in the Championship Flight with a 73, edging out Cary's James Dill and Jim Guidici of Carrboro. By far the widest margin of victory came in the B Flight competition, as Durham's Twig Avent fired the second lowest round of the event with a 75, good for a 5 stroke margin over Charles Smith, another Durham resident. "Both of these guys have placed well recently in Tour play" stated Tour Director Bruce Hallenbeck, but Twig's score today was still pretty remarkable, considering how scores were up all over the board. This course was in perfect shape, but it did play tough".
In A Flight play Zebulon's Gus Alford continued his stellar play of late with a 77 that nipped John East of Rockingham by a single stroke. "Alford has come around late in the season and is a factor in every event he enters" noted Hallenbeck.
The Seniors will wrap up the 2011 season on November 15th & 16th in Pinehurst with the National Senior Amateur Golf Tour Finals which will bring the top players together from the 12 Senior Tours up and down the East Coast. "Our guys are ready" stated Hallenbeck. "We're gonna show 'em how we play golf in Carolina".
THE SENIOR AMATEUR GOLF TOUR
DUKE UNIVERSITY GOLF CLUB EVENT
TOP FIVE SCORES BY FLIGHT
CHAMPIONSHIP (6365 yrds)
Bob Williams, Franklinton 73
James Dill, Cary 75
Jim Guidici, Carrboro 75
Doug Michal, Raleigh 77
Chuck Taubersmith, Pinehurst 78
A FLIGHT (6002 yards)
Gus Alford, Zebulon 77
John East, Rockingham 78
Joe Cox, Apex 79
Turner Church, Gibsonville 81
Dexter Barbee, Burlington 81
B FLIGHT (6002 yards)
Twig Avent, Durham 75
Charles Smith, Durham 80
Tim Ward, Grensboro 83
Mark Campanella, Greensboro 84
James Herndon, Hamlet 86
Travis Jones, Greensboro 86
Tom Whatley, Durham 86
C FLIGHT (6002 yards)
Bill McGee, Durham 90
James Stanley, Raleigh 90
Barry Whitesell, Greensboro 92
WE Heasley, Denton 93
James Eatmon, Sims 95