Tom Brandes
DUPONT, Wash. (Sept. 27, 2012) -- After the fog lifted on Thursday morning, Tom Brandes of Bellevue, Wash. was once again at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the day after firing an even-par round of 72 to take a two shot lead into tomorrow’s final round of the 26th Washington State Senior Men’s Amateur Championship, held at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash.
Players were greeted at the course this morning by heavy fog, and after a two hour and 10 minute delay, play resumed. Brandes, playing in the final group of the day, got off to a slow start with bogeys at holes three and four to drop to even-par for the championship. Ever the competitor, he responded four holes later with a birdie on the par-5 eighth hole to get back to 1-under-par, which was where he remained through nine holes. On the back nine, Brandes sandwiched a bogey on the 14th hole with birdies on the 10th and 16th holes for a 1-under-par 35. His two-day total of 2-under-par 142 is good enough for a two shot lead over Gudmund Lindbjerg of Port Moody, B.C., who sits alone in second place.
Lindbjerg posted the round of the day in the Senior Men’s Championship, a sparkling 2-under-par 70 that included four birdies to only two bogeys. He started his round with pars on the first five holes before dropping a shot on the sixth hole to fall to 3-over-par for the championship. Over the final twelve holes, however, Lindbjerg turned his game around with birdies on holes seven, 10, 11, and 16. His 3-under-par 33 on the back nine moved him to even-par 144 for the championship.
Brandes and Lindbjerg will be joined in the final group tomorrow by John Gallacher of Burnaby, B.C., whose even-par round of 72 on Thursday gave him a two-day total of 2-over-par 146. Gallacher was 2-under-par through today’s front nine, but could not keep the pace, as he double-bogeyed the 17th hole and bogeyed the 18th hole to slip to solo third.
Three players sit five shots back entering the final round, including 2010 champion Keith Crimp of Ellensburg, Wash., Paul Harris of Vancouver, Wash., and Bob Christensen of Post Falls, Idaho.
In the Washington State Super Senior Men’s Amateur Championship, Travis Gamble of Gig Harbor, Wash. surged into the lead after firing an even-par 72 that included two birdies and two bogeys. Gamble, who entered Wednesday’s second round trailing first round leader and fellow Gig Harbor native Bill Montgomery by three strokes, used steady play on the 6,192 yard, par-72 layout to take the lead. His birdie on the par-4 18th hole made him the only player in the Super Senior field to birdie the difficult finishing hole and propelled him to a two-day total of 2-over-par 146, good enough for a three stroke lead over three players entering Thursday’s final round.
Hot on the heels of Gamble are Jeff Remington of Edmonds, Wash., Ron Petersen of Coquitlam, B.C., and Bruce Richards of Seattle, Wash., who all finished in a second place tie with a two-day total of 5-over-par 149. Petersen, the defending champion, made his move on the back nine after a colorful front nine left him at 2-over-par for the day. Birdies on 10, 13, 15, and 16 vaulted Petersen up the leaderboard, as he finished at even-par 72. Richards, who won the Washington State Super Senior Men’s Amateur Championship in 2009 and 2010, is once again in the hunt after posting a 2-over-par 74 that included two birdies and four bogeys.
The final round will commence Thursday morning, with a two tee start beginning at 8:30 a.m. For more information about the championship, including second round results and final round tee times, go to www.thewsga.org.
View results for Washington Senior Amateur
ABOUT THE
Washington Senior Amateur
54-hole gross stroke play competition (overall
and by age division). Senior Division 55 years of
age or older. Super Senior Division 65 years of
age or older.
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