Jim Lehman (AGC photo)
Jim Lehman had a slow start in the final round of the SOS Spring Classic, but he did exactly what was need on Wednesday for a come-from-behind win at Hammock Dunes Resort in Palm Coast, Fla. Lehman, the Plymouth, Minn., native, piled on the mid-round birdies for a final-round 3-under 69 on the Conservatory Course and a four-shot win.
Lehman started the final day two shots off the pace, but he outscored the rest of the field by at least three shots. A final birdie on the 18th hole sealed his victory. After rounds of 70-74-69, he finished the tournament at 3 under.
Lehman last won this title in 2013. He also has three Minnesota Senior Amateur titles to his credit and several starts in USGA championships.
Richard Kerper, from Oldsmar, Fla., had a final-round 72 and finished solo second at 1 under.
Keith Decker, the three-time Senior Porter Cup winner from Martinsville, Va., also had a final-round 72 but at 3 over for the week, was third.
Other notable finishers include Allen Peake, a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives, (
click here to read more about Peake’s 2018 senior golf marathon) and Ken Kinkopf, the top-ranked player in the AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings, who both tied for sixth.
Bill Barnes, of Bonita Springs, Fla., won the senior division with rounds of 71-71-75 while Jim Grubbs of Austin, Texas and John Osborne of Vero Beach, Fla., were co-champions in the grand master division.
ROUND TWO
Mark Weston took over the lead in the second round of the SOS Classic as scores rose. Weston had a 1-over 73 at Hammock Dunes Resort’s Conservatory Course. He started and ended with a birdie, and the latter of the two pushed him one shot ahead of the field.
Weston, of Windermere, Fla., opened with 2-under 70. At 1 under for the tournament, he leads a group of three players by one shot. Among those chasers is Michael Dunsmore of Elizabethtown, N.Y. Dunsmore had the best second round of the day. His 3-under 69 was the only score under par.
Jim Lehman of Plymouth, Minn., is also at even par after rounds of 70-74 and first-round co-leader Greg Sanders of Anchorage, Alaska, backed up his opening 69 with 75 to land at even par, too.
Peter DeTemple, who shared the first-round lead with Sanders, is another shot back in a tie for fifth with two other players.
Bill Barnes of Bonita Springs, Fla., leads the senior division at 2 under. Don Russell, the next-closest player, is 3 over.
In the grand master division, John Osborne of Vero Beach, Fla., and Rusty Napier of Shallmar, Fla., are tied for the lead at 4 over.
ROUND ONE
There’s a two-man tie atop the Society of Senior Invitational after 18 holes at Hammock Dunes Resort’s Conservatory Course in Palm Coast, Fla. Greg Sanders and Peter DeTemple each turned in a round of 3-under 69 to top a tight leaderboard. There are 15 players within five shots of each other.
Sanders, who hails from Anchorage, Alaska, went bogey-free on Monday. DeTemple, from Lexington Park, Md., had two bogeys and five birdies. DeTemple played last year’s U.S. Senior Open (but missed the cut) and was runner-up at the Canadian Senior Amateur. He won the Senior Masters and the Virginia Senior.
A group of three players at 2 under, and tied for third, include Jim Lehman, Mark Nickerson and Mark Weston.
Steven Fox leads the super senior division with a 2-under 70. The West Virginia resident is one ahead of Bill Barnes from Bonita Springs, Fla.
Two men are tied for the leader in the grand master division. Both Rusty Napier, of Shalimar, Fla., and John Osborne, of Vero Beach, Fla., opened with 1-over 73.