Two-time defending champion Paul Simson (L) and Jones Cup
Senior champion Walter Todd (R) are tied with one round to go
PINEHURST, NC (August 14, 2017) — Eight-time North & South Senior Amateur champion
Paul Simson of Raleigh, NC is in good position to win a ninth Putter Boy Trophy, but he has company at the top of the 66th Senior North & South Amateur Championship.
Simson shot an even-par 72 on the Pinehurst No. 6 course to complete the first 36 holes at five under par 139.
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He has been joined at the top by
Walter Todd of Laurens, SC who put together a five birdie, two bogey round of three-under 69 after starting the day three shots behind Simson.
At one point Simson's lead was four shots but bogeys at 8 and 9 allowed Todd to tie him at the turn after birdies at 7 and 9. The two players each closed with one-under 35s on the back nine, but their position in relation to each other changed throughout, and in fact Todd took the lead after a three-shot swing on the par-four 14th where Todd birdied and Simson made double. Simson bounced back with a birdie on 15 and they both parred in from there.
Ryan Fox of West End, NC stayed close all day and his one-under round of 71 puts him one shot back of the leaders at four under par.
Fox, Todd, and Simson will play in the final group on Wednesday as the field moves over to the famed Pinehurst No. 2 Course, which will surely separate a crowded leaderboard.
Three golfers--Preston Edmondson (Mooresville, NC), Todd Hendley (Greer, SC), and Macon Moye (Pinehurst)--sit just two shots back at three-under 141, while another three players are three shots back at 142.
Todd (
The Jones Cup Senior) and Hendley (
The Chanticleer National Senior) have both won national senior amateur tournaments this year and will be looking to add a second on Wednesday.
SUPER SENIOR DIVISION:
Robert Hess of Casselberry, FL shot a one-under 70 to take a three shot lead over three players.
Hess started the day one shot behind
Kim Mansfield of High Point, NC but took the lead as Mansfield faded to a 79. Hess recorded five birdies on the round.
Don Donatoni (73-73) of Malvern, PA, who last week
won the Pennsylvania Super Senior, is in the group tied for second at two-over 146. He is joined by Evan Long of Charlotte (74-72) and Bruce Scamehorn (74-72) of Winter Haven, FL.
The North & South Super Senior Championship will conclude Wednesday at the Pinehurst No. 6 Course.
DAY ONE REPORT
For sixty-five years, Pinehurst has hosted many of the nation's most prestigious senior amateur golfers at the North & South Senior Amateur Championship. For six of those years
Paul Simson of Raleigh has held the trophy.
Simson is an eight-time North & South champion, having won the North & South Amateur in 1995 and 1996 in addition to his six senior titles, which came in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2016.
Simson began his campaign for a ninth Putter Boy trophy on Monday, totaling a 5-under par 67 at the Pinehurst No. 5 Course, just one shot over the 66-year-old's age. The two-time defending champion struck quickly with an eagle on the short par-5 3rd hole. He would make his only bogey of the day at No. 5, bouncing back quickly with a birdie to conclude the front nine to go out in 34. Simson went on to birdie both par threes on the back nine, and added another birdie on the par-five 17th for a 33.
The leaderboard behind Simson is packed, with 16 players under par after the first round. A group of five players is tied for second at three under 69: Scott Smith, Steve Hudson, Ryan Fox and Gary Robinson.
Four more players shot 70 and another six shot 71, so Simson will have to keep his foot on the accelerator to stay ahead and win his ninth North & South championship.
The field will move to Pinehurst No. 6 for Tuesday’s second round before finishing the tournament on the famed No. 2 Course (site of the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open) for the final round.
SUPER SENIOR DIVISION:
Kim Mansfield currently holds the 18-hole lead in the Super Senior Division as the only player to shoot even par at Pinehurst’s famed No. 2 layout.
At one point it looked like Mansfield was going low, getting himself to 3-under-par with a birdie on the 8th. Unfortunately for Mansfield, it would be the last birdie he would make, going on to bogey 9, 13, and 15.
Mansfield leads by one shot over Robert Hess and Don Donatoni, who both shot one-over-par 73s. Five players shot 74 and sit just two shots back.
The Super Seniors move to Course No. 5 for the second round, before concluding the tournament on Wednesday at Course No. 6.
ABOUT THE
North & South Senior
Part of the annual North & South series of
tournaments at Pinehurst that include Men's,
Women's, Juniors and Seniors. Entries are open
to
male and female golfers who meet the
requirements below. All applicants must
conform
to the USGA Rules of Amateur Status and meet
the requirements of the USGA Gender Policy.
In the Men's Open Division, applicants must
have
reached 55 years of age by tournament date to
be eligible for competition. All applicants must
have a handicap index of 8.4 or less.
In the Men's Super-Senior Division, applicants
must have reached 65 years of age by
tournament date to be eligible for competition.
All applicants must have a handicap index 10.4
or
less.
FORMAT: 54-holes of stroke play will determine
the Champion. Play will be divided into four
divisions (Men’s Open, Men’s Super-Senior,
Women’s Open, and Women’s Super-Senior)
and
contested with one round each on Pinehurst
No.
1, No. 5, No. 8. A full field will consist of 90
Open
Men and 90 Super-Senior Men.
View Complete Tournament Information