John Wright (Fairhope, Ala.) rode a first-round 64 to victory at the Golfweek Senior Player-of-the-Year Classic at the Reunion Resort in Reunion, Fla.
Wright fashioned an eight birdie, no bogey round at the Watson Course, opening up a three-shot lead over Keith Decker (Martinsville, Va.). Play then moved to the Nicklaus Course for the final two rounds, where scoring was much more difficult, with just two under-par rounds recorded. Wright shot a 77 on day two to bring him back to the pack, tied with Jerry Rose (Sarasota, Fla.) for the lead.
When Wright doubled the par-three 5th in the final round, he suddenly found himself one shot behind Steve Harwell (Mooresville, N.C.), but he steadied himself from there, going one under the rest of the way, while Harwell dropped four shots in the middle of his round to fall back.
Harwell's birdie and Wright's bogey at the par-four 17th made it a one-shot margin heading to the final hole, where Wright was able to match his opponent's closing birdie to seal the win.
Wright closed with a 73 for a 2-under 214 total, with Harwell (71) one shot back in solo second.
Decker shot 73 to finish third, with Jack Kearney (Peachtree City, Ga.) and Rusty Strawn (McDonough, Ga.) rounding out the top five.
Craig Hurlbert (Magnolia, Texas) continued his fine play to start 2020, finishing 6th to go along with two wins and a tie for fifth so far.
Mark Weston (Windermere, Fla.) won the Super Senior division by four shots over Bev Hargraves (Little Rock, Ark.).
Fred Clark (Mobile, Ala.) was the Legend division winner, edging out John Osborne (Vero Beach, Fla.) by two shots.
In the Super Legends division, Charlie Busbee (Stockbridge, Ga.) completed a one-shot win over Steve Wilson (Solana Beach, Calif.).
ABOUT THE
Golfweek Senior POY Classic
Premier tournament featuring the world’s elite senior
amateurs age 55 and up, in
three separate divisions: Senior (age 55-64), Super
Senior (age 65-69), Legends
(age 70-74) and Super Legends (age 75+). Max
handicap 8.0.
The tournament honors Golfweek's top three
nationally ranked players in the Senior,
Super Senior and Legends division. The "Yancey
Ford Award" is also presented,
honoring an individual who has made significant
lifetime contributions to amateur
golf.
Formerly known as the Golfweek Senior National
Championship.
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