MANAKIN-SABOT, Va.(Sept. 10, 2011)
– Mark Bemowski is no stranger to
success at the USGA Senior Amateur
Championship. And at age 65, he’s
playing better than ever.
The 2004 Senior Amateur champion opened
with three birdies on his first five holes en
route to carding the day’s only round in
the 60s – a 4-under 68 at the 6,829-
yard, par-72 Kinloch Golf Club in Manakin-
Sabot, Va.
After Saturday’s first round of
stroke-play qualifying, Bemowski, of
Mukwonago, Wis., leads by two strokes over a
quartet of golfers: Paul Murphy, 60, of
Arlington, Mass.; Rick Woulfe, 61, of Fort
Lauderdale, Fla.; and a pair of Pennsylvanians,
Chip Lutz, 56, of Reading, and Raymond
Thompson, 59, of Drexel Hill.
“It’s great to start out with a
good round,” said Bemowski. “I
struck the ball really well today. Hopefully
that’s a sign of more good things to
come.”
Though Bemowski was pleased with his
start, he acknowledged that shooting a low
qualifying score doesn’t necessarily
translate into a championship title.
“It really doesn’t mean a
thing until you get into match play. But
it’s nice to have a little momentum and
feel like you’re playing pretty well. If I
keep playing like I am now, I’ll be very
competitive.”
In addition to winning the 2004 Senior
Amateur, Bemowski finished runner-up in 2002
and 2005 and was a semifinalist in 2009.
Lutz, who advanced to the semifinals of
the 2010 championship, is looking to continue
his phenomenal summer of 2011. After winning
the Canadian Men's Senior Championship and
the British Seniors Open Amateur Championship
earlier this season, he comes to Kinloch
attempting to equal the feat of Paul Simson,
who won both those championships as well as
the USGA Senior Amateur in 2010.
Lutz played a steady round, making just
one bogey in his pursuit of the Senior Amateur
title in his home country. After an even-par
outward nine, Lutz birdied both par-5s coming
in to post a 2-under 70.
“The course was very soft –
balls were backing up with the driver –
but the greens were still very fast, so
sometimes you become tentative,” said
Lutz. “Starting out I hit the ball past the
hole a few times but was able to navigate
some tricky comeback putts. I can only
imagine when these things dry out,
they’ll be another foot or two faster
which could make things really
interesting.”
That the course was even playable on
Saturday is a testament to the hard work and
preparation by Golf Course Manager Peter
Wendt and his staff at Kinloch.
The Richmond region absorbed more than 6
inches of rain between Tuesday and Thursday
from Tropical Storm Lee, in addition to the
more-than 5 inches that fell from Hurricane
Irene the previous week. The 11-plus inches of
rain that has soaked the Richmond area is
nearly three times the average rainfall for the
area for the entire month of September (3.98
inches, according to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration).
Defending champion Simson, 60, of Raleigh,
N.C., made two birdies and one bogey in an
unspectacular, but solid 1-under 71. Simson is
trying to become the first player to
successfully defend his title since William C.
Campbell in 1980.
In addition to Bemowski and Simson, there
were seven other former Senior Amateur
champions in the field: Mike Rice (2005 winner,
73), George “Buddy” Marucci
(2008 winner, 73), Mike Bell (2006 winner, 75),
Marvin “Vinny” Giles III (2009
winner, 75), Stan Lee (2007 winner, 77), Greg
Reynolds (2002 winner, 78) and Kemp
Richardson (2001 and 2003 winner, 80).
Former USGA president and current
chairman of The Masters Competition
Committee, Fred Ridley, shot an even-par 72
on Saturday. It was Ridley’s first USGA
championship since 1988. His lone USGA title,
the 1975 U.S. Amateur, came just six miles up
the road from Kinloch at the Country Club of
Virginia in Richmond.
Cy Kilgore, 58, of Beverly, Mass., recorded
a hole-in-one on the 185-yard, par-3 5th using
a 3-hybrid. It is believed to be the 16th ace in
USGA Senior Amateur history.
On Sunday, the golfers will compete in the
second round of stroke-play qualifying. The
field will then be cut to the low 64 scorers for
match play, which begins Monday. The final
five rounds of match play will be played over
the next three days, with the championship
scheduled to conclude with an 18-hole final on
Thursday.
Chip Lutz is
attempting to follow in Paul Simson’s
footsteps by winning the Canadian
Men’s Senior, British Seniors Open
Amateur and USGA Senior Amateur
Championships in the same year. (Steven
Gibbons/USGA) |
The USGA Senior Amateur, open to golfers
55 and older, is one of 13 national
championships conducted annually by the
USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.