Doug Hanzel, Buzz Fly hang on for Southern States Four-Ball win
Doug Hanzel
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 11, 2015) — After frittering away their three-shot overnight lead, former PGA TOUR journeyman Buzz Fly and Dr. Doug Hanzel won the senior division Sunday in the 12th Southern States Four-Ball at Mayacoo Lakes Country Clyb when Fly, of Memphis, holed a birdie putt on the final hole for a one-shot victory over two teams. The clutch shot gave the winners a 15-under total of 198.
The Orlando pair of Randy Elliott and Bret Voisin finished second, along with Bob Mathers and Mike Mercier. Elliott made a spectacular par save on the 18th hole to make Fly's birdie manatory to avoid a playoff.
In the Mid-Amateur division, John Pickett of Lake Worth and John Reynolds of Palm Beach overcame a two-stroke deficit to win with a 12-under total of 201.
Fly, a one-time PGA TOUR journeyman from Memphis, and Hanzel, the 2013 U.S. Senior Amateur champion from Savannah, each contributed four birdies to take a 15-under-par 127 total into the finale. Central Floridians Randy Elliott and Bret Voisin, playing alongside the leaders, put up a strong 65, only to lose ground at 130.
Chris Reeves of Jupiter and Keith Decker of Martinsville, Va. shot 65 to take the lead in the Mid-Amateur division by a shot over a trio of pursuers. Jupiter's D.J. Morris and partner Mike Stamberger, the first-round leaders, fell back when they double-bogeyed the finishing hole.
In the Super Senior division, John Baldwin, a former British Senior Amateur winner and partner Don Gundermann, both of West Palm Beach, won when Gundermann holed a 50-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole to beat Van Lefferdink and Lenny Loyd.
The tournament, featuring 54 teams of mostly national-class amateurs, was first launched by legendary Bobby Jones in the '40s and revived four years ago by the Southern Golf Association.