Senior Amateur Tour

3-WAY PLAYOFF, 2 PAR-4 EAGLES HIGHLIGHT SENIOR EVENT

Posted: 5/15/2009 9:22:47 AM

Mebane, NC - (May 14, 2009) Six golfers finished A-Flight play at Mill Creek Golf Club within one stroke of the lead in the second Major Championship on the 2009 Harris Teeter Senior Amateur Tour schedule Thursday. Three of those players, Al Makila and Bob Rudolph of Raleigh, and Clemmons' Doug Masters finished with 76s to tie for the top spot in the flight. The three headed out to hole #10 to decide a winner in a sudden-death playoff. Rudolph encountered some trouble right off the bat with a bogey on the first hole of the playoff, dropping out of contention quickly. Makila and Masters proceeded to par the first four extra holes in regulation. Both golfers however, missed the green with their second shots on the par-4, 14th hole. When Masters was unable to hole his ball in 2 shots from off the green, Makila's successful up & down earned him the victory and the automatic qualification to the year-ending Tour Championship that goes with any flight win in a Major event. The playoff was not the only drama that the A Flight provided during the event. Hillsborough's Cecil Lockley, who only two events earlier, had the first hole-in-one during Harris Teeter Tour play this season, set another milestone in Tour competition as he became the first player to eagle two par 4s in the same event in Tour history. Lockley drove the green of the 314 yard, 11th hole and canned an 18-footer for the eagle. Three holes later, after another monster drive, he chipped in from 10 yards off the green on the 328 yard 14th hole for eagle number two. "We've had a bunch of "aces" during Tour play over the last 11 years" stated Tour Director Bruce Hallenbeck. "As a matter of fact, we've had a number of guys have more than one eagle in the same round. But never has anyone eagled two par-4s during the same round of Tour competition. Cecil can do some amazing things with his length off the tee". The Championship Flight produced some close competition as well with a Tour veteran outlasting a Tour rookie by a single stroke. Durham's Eric Ardery nipped Pinehurst's Rick Luzar, who was playing in his very first Tour event, by a single stroke, 72 to 73, to grab top honors in the flight. Ardery's winning margin came on the strength of a birdie on his 18th hole. "We're gonna hear a lot from Rick in the future", said Ardery, who played in the same group as Luzar. "I could just tell from the very start of the round, this guy wasn't gonna make any mistakes". Another Tour regular, Gene Martin of Apex, fired his best career Harris Teeter round in the B Flight with a 76, good for a two-stroke win over Lawsonville's Dale Rogers. Martin took home first place "money" for the first time since winning last year at The Pit in Pinehurst. James Howard of Raleigh, who has been a Tour member for the past ten years, had not been able to make any events on the 2009 calendar due to schedule conflicts until Thursday. He made his 2009 debut a memorable one as the 80 he shot was good for a relatively comfortable win in the C Flight over second place finisher Jeff Brown of Youngsville, who carded an 83. "Considering his past Tour history, shooting an 80 was amazing for James", said Hallenbeck, "but sometimes that's what it takes - playing well and getting some breaks to win a Major" THE HARRIS TEETER SENIOR TOUR MILL CREEK GOLF CLUB (MAJOR) EVENT TOP FIVE SCORES BY FLIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (6,387 yards) Eric Ardery, Durham 72 Rick Luzar, Pinehurst 73 Mitch Whitley, Zebulon 75 Alan Dirk, Sanford 75 Peter Skalak, Durham 76 A FLIGHT (5,911 yards) Al Makila, Raleigh 76 Doug Masters, Clemmons 76 Bob Rudolph, Raleigh 76 Gene Greenawalt, Carthage 77 Cecil Lockley, Hillsborough 77 Steve Morrelli, West End 77 B FLIGHT (5,911 yards) Gene Martin, Apex 76 Dale Rogers, Lawsonville 78 Joe Burgess, Charlotte 79 Terry Chase, Clemmons 79 Travis Jones, Greensboro 80 C FLIGHT (5,911 yards) James Howard, Raleigh 80 Jeff Brown, Youngsville 83 T J Warren, Greensboro 84 Gary Chapman, Jamestown 85 Gary Ransom, Apex 85

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