By Ron Salsig
CARMEL, CALIFORNIA (October 16, 2005) -
- This one is for the seniors.
Paul Simson of North Carolina, age 54, held
off much younger golfers at The
Preserve Golf Club to win the Stocker Cup by
one slim stroke.
“I’ve been invited to play here the past few
years but it’s
a long way to come,” Simson said. “I am so
glad I finally did. I
fell in love with this place the first time I saw
it, and that was no doubt
a key to winning.”
Simson shot a final round 73 for a 1-under-
par 287 total, the only player in
red numbers at the end of the day. Tripp
Davis of Oklahoma made a run at Simson,
but three-putted the final hole for bogey to
post a 2-under-par 70 for the day
and a 288 total.
Jeff Wilson (73) of Vallejo took third place at
290. Terrence Miskell (73),
a Salinas native who now lives in Texas, was
fourth at 291 and Gene Elliott
(73) of Iowa took fifth at 294.
Simson started the day with a three-shot
lead at 2 under par. He cruised through
the front nine with a 1-under 35, playing
steady. But he had a start when he
heard on the 13th tee that Tripp Davis had
closed to within one shot.
“I was surprised to see Tripp at two under,”
Simson said. “We’ve
butted heads a few times at the U.S. Mid-
Am. So I knew I was in for a fight.”
Davis made his move with birdies on four of
the last five holes on the front
nine, but the birdie barrage stopped at the
turn. Simson said the key to his
win was two putts – a six-foot putt for birdie
on the 13th, and an eight-footer
for par on the 14th.
“The bird on 13 gave me a two-stroke lead,”
Simson said. “And
the par putt on the next hole was real
big.”
Simson held his two-shot lead to the final
hole, where he hit his second shot
left of the slick green. Knowing that he had a
shot to play with, he chipped
well to the left of the hole, which startled
the gallery.
“There was no way I could get it close going
straight for the hole,”
he said. “I could have tried a flop shot, but
then anything can happen.
So I played it thirty feet from the hole and
trusted my putter to get me a two-putt.”
His downhill putt from 30 feet tickled the
front lip of the cup before breaking
off, and Simson had a tap-in for the victory.
Simson had only one three-putt the entire
tournament, a stat that usually points
to victory.
“I play better on courses that are real fast so
I was pleased when I saw
this golf course the first time on
Wednesday,” he said. “It was
my kind of golf course. Now it’s my favorite
golf course.”
When someone mentioned Pebble Beach,
Simson was quick with his response.
“Why play Pebble Beach when you’ve got The
Preserve?” he said.
Stocker Notes: Simson
was given the Sandy Tatum trophy for
the low senior player at Saturday’s dinner
since he was the only senior
to make the cut, and he acknowledged the
trophy but said he wanted that big
cup on the table … Tripp Davis said the golf
course broke his momentum
and his run of birdies. “The twelfth and
thirteenth holes played very
tough and fifteen is as tough a par-4 as you’ll
find,” he said …
Terrence Miskell wowed the gallery on the
18th hole by making par from the hay
left of the fairway. “I’ve never seen anyone
get out of there,”
said a member of the club … Simson admitted
to some nerves after watching
Miskell’s tee shot on that hole. “He hits it
four miles left, and
then I’ve got to hit,” he said. But Simson
found the left side of
the fairway with a good drive … Jeff Wilson
was satisfied with third place.
“This is only my second tournament of the
year,” he said. “I’ve
been busy.” … Simson said the land around
The Preserve reminded
him of home. “It’s a lot like the Smokey
Mountains,” he said
… Simson also predicted that the Stocker
Cup will be a very hard invitation
to get in the near future. “I’ll spread the
word around, and so
will these other players,” he said. “The
Stocker Cup will be very
popular, soon.”
* * *
Final results from the Stocker Cup
Invitational, played at the 7067 yard, par-72
Preserve Golf Club. (Note: The top 20 A
players advanced to Sunday's final round,
while the 54 hole team competition concluded
on Saturday)
Pos |
Player |
Club |
Scores |
1 |
Paul Simson |
North Ridge Country Club |
74-71-69-73--287 |
2 |
Tripp Davis |
Belmar Golf Club |
73-74-71-70--288 |
3 |
Jeff Wilson |
Green Valley Country Club |
72-75-70-73--290 |
4 |
Terrence Miskell |
Dos Rios Golf Club |
71-73-74-73--291 |
5 |
Gene Elliott |
Glen Oaks Country Club |
76-76-69-73--294 |
6 |
Dave Nelson |
Montreux Golf & C.C. |
75-73-74-73--295 |
7 |
Bob Niger |
Serrano Country Club |
78-73-75-70--296 |
T8 |
Craig Doell |
Victoria Golf Club |
79-72-73-74--298 |
T8 |
Nick Ushijima |
Olympic Club |
71-73-77-77--298 |
10 |
Mike Goodes |
Pennrose Park C.C. |
75-75-73-76--299 |
11 |
Chip Lutz |
Pine Valley |
72-76-78-74--300 |
T12 |
Jimmy Bryan |
Latrobe Country Club |
80-72-75-74--301 |
T12 |
Kenny Weixel |
New Albany Country Club |
73-74-76-78--301 |
T12 |
Alex Stamey |
Olympic Club |
74-75-73-79--301 |
T15 |
Bowen Osborn |
Windsong Farms |
77-75-75-77--304 |
T15 |
John Balfanz |
Stockdale Country Club |
80-72-72-80--304 |
T16 |
John Pate |
The Valley Club |
78-75-74-78--305 |
T16 |
Steve Nichols |
Walnut Hills Country Club |
73-76-77-79--305 |
T16 |
Chris Carlson |
Highlands Ranch |
72-77-74-82--305 |
20 |
Phil Huff |
Olympic Club |
72-75-79-81--307 |
TEAM COMPETITION:
Nick Ushijima of Japan and partner Jon
Reynolds of Oakland held on to win the
team championship, which ended Saturday, by
one stroke over the team of Simson
and John Rodenburg. Ushijima and Reynolds
posted a 69 for a 194 total. Simson
and Rodenburg had a 64 for a 195 total. Trent
Tessler and Robby Robinson tied
for third at 199 with Phil Huff and Keith
Anderson.
ABOUT THE
Stocker Cup
The Stocker Cup was founded in 1991 to
honor
the
memory of Peter Stocker. Peter and his
partners Bill
Harlan and John Montgomery founded San
Francisco's
Pacific Union Company, a highly successful
real
estate
development company. The firm initiated the
development of The Santa Lucia Preserve, a
20,000
acre residential and golf community located
above
Carmel. Meandering through the winding road
to
The
Preserve's centerpiece -- the top-100 rated
golf
course -- has been described as "driving
through a California postcard." The Stocker
Cup
was played from 1991 to 1999 at Pebble
Beach
and
its
surrounding golf courses, before moving to
the
Tom
Fazio and Sandy Tatum designed Preserve
G.C.
In
the
words of former USGA President Tatum:
"Peter
Stocker was the quintessential amateur golfer.
He
loved golf with a passion. He would have
loved
this
tournament."
FORMAT:
54-hole individual
competition
with
a
simultaneous best-ball event, similar to the
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Invited Mid-
Amateur
players are either paired with a single digit
amateur
or
can propose their own partner to be
introduced
and
invited by the Committee.
View Complete Tournament Information