PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Duke Delcher, playing
in his first Society of Seniors tournament, won
the Spring Classic with pars on the first two
playoff holes Thursday. A real estate agent
from Bluffton, S.C., who turned 55 in
September, Delcher outlasted two other
seniors after they tied at five under par 211 on
the Wanamaker course at the PGA Golf Club.
“I played very well but putted
terribly,” Delcher said. “I don’t think I missed a
green all week. That’s pretty special.” He
scored 70-72-69 with a hole-in-one, 11 birdies
and eight bogeys. He aced the 163-yard sixth
hole Thursday with a 6-iron.
Second
round leader Robert Hess, a veterinarian from
Casselberry, was eliminated on the first playoff
hole, the par-3 17th, when heess, He hit 2-
iron well left and out of play. He would have
had at least a double bogey had he finished
the hole. Hess shot rounds of 73-67-71.
Both Delcher and Mike Bodney of
Jacksonville, recently retired as an official on
the PGA Tour, advanced with two-putt pars.
At the par-4 18th, Bodney three-
putted from some 50 feet, giving Delcher the
title on a two-putt par from 12 feet. Bodney
scored rounds of 74-68-69. Entering the final
round, Delcher and Bodney were tied for third
at 142.
On the adjacent Dye course,
Walter Martin of Oakton, Va., won the Super
Senior division by five shots with 72-71-74—
217, and Dick McClear of Boynton Beach
topped the Grand Masters by 15 strokes at 73-
71-76—220. Martin is the only one of the flight
winners who has earned a Society of Seniors
title, taking age group events in the Fall
Classics of 2007 and 2010.
There were 142 entries, including 76 seniors,
ages 55-64; 60 super seniors, 65-74; and six
Grand Masters, 75-older.
A former
touring pro and club professional, Delcher
regained his amateur status in 1989, qualified
to play in the U.S. Amateur at Merion later
that year, played on the Walker Cup team in
1997 and last year qualified for both the U.S.
Mid-Amateur and Senior Amateur
championships. This was Delcher’s fifth victory
in South Florida, the first on an individual
basis. He was a member of the winning teams
in the Raymond Floyd Cup at Indian Creek in
Miami Beach in 1999 and 2003, and in the
International Four-Ball in 1996 at Emerald
Dunes and in 2009 at Old Trail, both in Palm
Beach County. “I enjoy playing down here,”
Delcher said. “There are a lot of great golf
courses and I have a lot of friends in the
area.”
The Spring Classic is the first
of seven tournaments on the Society of
Seniors calendar this year: Also scheduled:
May 3-5, Ed Tutwiler Memorial Four-Ball, The
Wanderers Club, Wellington, Fla.; May 18-20,
John Kline Super Seniors, Champions GC,
Houston, Texas; July 19-21, The Hesler,
Brookside CC, Worthington, Ohio; Oct. 24-26,
Championship, Mid-Pines Resort and Pine
Needles CC, Southern Pines, N.C.; Nov. 18-20,
West Coast Fall Classic, Sandpiper GC, Santa
Barbara, Calif.; Nov. 30-Dec. 2, Ralph Bogart
Memorial Tournament, John’s Island Club-West,
Vero Beach, Fla.
ABOUT THE
Society of Seniors Spring Classic
54 hole
stroke
play
tournament for Society of Seniors Members only, with Senior (ages 55 and over),
Super
Senior (65+), Legend (70+) and Grand Master (75+)
divisions.
View Complete Tournament Information