Mike McCoy
PALM CITY, Florida (Nov 16, 2014) – Mike McCoy
of
Des Moines , Iowa , went double bogey-bogey-
bogey
on the 18th hole Sunday. But as disastrous as
that
sounds, it was just enough for the 2013 US Mid-
Amateur champion to win the fourth annual
Crane
Cup golf tournament at Floridian.
That’s because Patrick Christovich of New
Orleans,
McCoy’s playing partner all day, made bogey-
bogey-
double bogey on the same three trips around the
par-5 18th.
The first pair of misplays allowed Christovich to
catch McCoy on the 54th hole at 69-208. They
had
started the final round tied at three under par
139.
Both bogeyed 18 the second time through, the
first
playoff hole, then Christovich went from hazard
to
trees to the front of the green to hitting the
flagstick
and caroming away about four inches.
That putt for double being a given though
concessions are not part of a stroke play
tournament, McCoy got down quicker if not
sooner
with driver, 4-iron, a 70-yard wedge shot and a
three putts from 40 feet including a four-foot
bogey-
save.
“Imagine that, double bogey-bogey-bogey finish
and
still win,” McCoy said. “And I hadn’t made a
bogey
all day.” He had four birdies Sunday, five
Saturday
enroute to 67, “and a bunch of birdies and a
bunch of
bogeys” in Friday’s opening round of 72, he said.
The finish was similar in a way but with a
different
outcome to the second Crane Cup in January,
2013,
before the tournament was changed to the end
of the
year a November ago. In the early-season event
in
2013, Christovich butchered the final hole of
regulation, then birdied 18 as the first playoff
hole to
edge Todd Burgan of Knoxville , Tenn. , after
they
had tied at 211.
Aaron Hickman of Tyler , Texas , was the only
other
player in contention at the end Sunday with 67-
209.
Colby Harwell of Waco , Texas , the mid-
amateur
winner a year ago, by nine strokes at 206,
finished
at 217 this year.
In the senior division, Rick Woulfe of Fort
Lauderdale
won his third straight tournament. After a pair of
69s, Woulfe made a birdie and a bogey on each
nine
Sunday for 71-209. He totaled nine birdies and
five
bogeys the first two rounds and won by three
strokes.
“I played well all weekend but I really played
well
today,” said Woulfe, who turns 65 in two weeks.
“I
just missed a bunch of putts today.”
Woulfe and Gordon Marshall of Sarasota won the
Florida State Senior Four-Ball in October at Sara
Bay
CC in Sarasota , then 10 days ago, Woulfe
captured
the Society of Seniors Championship at Quail
Ridge
CC in Boynton Beach . Next on his calendar in
his bid
for four or five in a row will be the Society of
Seniors’ Ralph Bogart Memorial, Dec. 8-10 at
Jonathan’s Landing GC at Old Trail, Jupiter, and
the
Dixie Amateur, senior division, Dec. 12-14 at
Heron
Bay GC, Coral Springs.
Doug Hanzel of Savannah , Ga. , was second on
212.
Duke Delcher of Beaufort , S.C. , the winner last
year in a playoff at 211, shot 221 this weekend.
The Crane Cup drew 50 players in the mid-
amateur
division, ages 25-54, and 30 seniors, 55 and
older.
SENIOR NOTES
Woulfe topped a leaderboard that looks like a
"who's-who" of senior amateur golf, as the next
three names included
the last two years' winners of the USGA Senior
Am
(this year's winner
Pat Tallent in 4th,
and
2013 champ
Doug Hanzel in 2nd) along
with
Chip Lutz in third place.
-- story courtesy Treasure Coast Newspapers
ABOUT THE
Crane Cup
**Will not be held in 2019
54-hole scratch stroke play event
with Mid-Amateur and Senior Divisions, hosted
by
the recently redesigned (Tom Fazio) Floridian
in Palm City, Florida. Tournament Director
Kevin Marsh is a USGA Mid-Amateur
champion and has helped attract a strong
field of committed players for this invitational
tournament.
View Complete Tournament Information