LEE BOOKER TAKES SENIOR AMATEUR TOUR PLAYOFF WIN AT CAROLINA TRACE
Posted: 9/17/2010 10:56:23 AM
Sanford, NC (September 16, 2010) - Lee Booker of Fuquay-Varina, playing on the Senior Amateur Golf Tour, was one of only two B Flight participants to break 80 today on the Carolina Trace Country Club Lakes Course layout. Unfortunately for Booker, a longtime Tour member, the other guy who broke that barrier, Charles Forbes of Greensboro, matched his 78 with one of his own.
Back to the course they went for a sudden death shoot-out. Forbes, a Tour rookie, playing in only his 3rd Tour event, matched Booker in reaching the 336 yard, par-4 1st hole in regulation, but failed to get down in 2 putts. Booker converted his par for the win. "I can lose a playoff pretty fast" quipped Forbes.
While Forbes did miss out on the $170 Mastercard that went to the flight winner, 2nd place was worth a $100 card. To ease the pain just a little more, he also won a cash skin in the friendly "Skins Game" that's a part of every Senior Tour event.
"This isn't the last we're gonna hear from Charles. Booker is a really tough B Flight player, and Forbes gave him all he could handle", stated Tour Director Bruce Hallenbeck.
The A Flight, which went from tees that were almost 300 yards further back than that which the B Flight played, was also won with a 78. Lewisville's Mike Smith beat Galax, VA's John Ashby by 2 shots. "Normally we're likely to have a number of guys in the A Flight break 80, but this course is challenging and the winds whipped up considerably, making it even more of a test", said Hallenbeck.
In C Flight action Durham's Brian Costine nipped 2 players - Archdale's Elby Hatfield and Raleigh's Harold Booker (Lee's brother) - by a single stroke with his 88. Out of 25 C Flighters competing, they were the only golfers to break 90.
Alan Dirk of Sanford, playing on his home course, won the Championship Flight by 3 strokes over Tommy Lee of Knoxville, TN, with a 75. Dirk, no stranger to the winner's circle on-Tour, started fast and looked like an easy victor early, but Lee birdied 2 of his last 4 holes to make a contest of it.
THE SENIOR AMATEUR GOLF TOUR
CAROLINA TRACE (LAKES COURSE) EVENT
TOP FIVE SCORES BY FLIGHT
CHAMPIONSHIP (6,283 yards)
Alan Dirk, Sanford 75
Tommy Lee, Knoxville, TN 78
A FLIGHT (6,283 yards)
Mike Smith, Lewisville 78
John Ashby, Galax, VA 80
Cecil Lockley, Creedmoor 81
Fred Berman, Sanford 82
Mark McKenna, Fuquay-Varina 82
B FLIGHT (6,014 yards)
Lee Booker, Fuquay-Varina 78
Charles Forbes, Greensboro 78
Mike Johnson, Knightdale 81
Charles Smith, Durham 81
Twig Avent, Durham 83
James Herndon, Hamlet 83
C FLIGHT (6,014 yards)
Brian Costine, Durham 88
Elby Hatfield, Archdale 89
Harold Booker, Raleigh 89
Earl Roe, Whitsett 90
John Hall, Raleigh 91
James Howard, Raleigh 91
Geoff Foss, Lillington 91