Senior Amateur Tour

HARRIS TEETER EVENT PROVIDES MANY HIGHLIGHTS!

Posted: 7/18/2009 10:11:25 AM

Elby Hatfield wins "C" Flight!

Fuquay-Varina, NC (July 16, 2009) - So many different story lines emerged from today's Harris Teeter Senior Tour event held at Bentwinds Country Club that's it's hard to decide which to highlight first. There was a four-man, five hole playoff to determine 1st place in the A Flight. The Championship flight saw one member rack-up 7 birdies during his round, including 5 in-a-row, enroute to a 5-under 67 and a runaway victory. A B - Flight Tour member posted a Harris Teeter scoring record with a 72 which also resulted in a blow-out win. But even with all those fireworks going off, probably the most improbable effort of the day belonged to Spring Lake's Billy Lunsford. Due to the shotgun-start format of the event, Lunsford's 1st hole to play was the par-3, 139 yard, 11th. On his first swing of the tournament, he arched the ball over a mound guarding the front of the green with a 7-iron. When he and his playing partners got to the green, nobody saw Lunsford's ball. There was a good reason - it had nestled nicely into the cup for his 1st career "ace". "I started first playing when I was 18", said Lunsford, "but I didn't really start playing seriously until about 3 years ago. This is quite a thrill". Lunsford also picked the right hole to do it on, as this was one of the closest-to-the-pin holes. Needless to say, it also held-up for a "skin". The Championship Flight "birdie-machine" was Sanford's Alan Dirk, a past Harris Teeter Tour National Champion. His score also left him only 2-strokes short of the course record. Chuck Ingram, also from Sanford, and Brent Massey of Zebulon were both 5 strokes back at an even-par 72. Four players tied for the top spot in the A Flight, which, as in all Harris Teeter events, means the combatants headed back out to the course for a sudden death playoff. Greenville's Pat Kelly and Durham's Phil Solesky dropped out of contention quickly, but Raleigh's Al Makila and Lewisville's Mike Smith played on for 5 holes with Makila emerging as the winner. Marshall Wolfe of Clemmons not only won the $180 gift certificate for finishing 1st in the B Flight, he also won a "battlefield-promotion" to the A Flight with his stunning 72. Wolfe, who had previously competed in the A Flight until a rash of high scores moved his Tour Handicap into B Flight range, shot his lowest all-time Tour score by 4 strokes (including his "A" Flight tenure). His even-par score gave him a more than comfortable 7 stroke cushion over 2nd place finisher Michael Kang of Cary, who was competing in his very first Tour event. "Looks like Michael is going to be very competitive out here", mentioned Tour Director Bruce Hallenbeck. One of the Tour's most veteran players, Elby Hatfield of Archdale took top honors in the C Flight with an 82. He didn't have a stroke to spare either, nipping Youngsville's Jeff Brown by only 1. THE HARRIS TEETER SENIOR GOLF TOUR BENTWINDS COUNTRY CLUB EVENT TOP FIVE SCORES BY FLIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (6,355 YDS) Alan Dirk, Sanford 67 Chuck Ingram, Sanford 72 Brent Massey, Zebulon 72 Austin Overby, Raleigh 74 Bruce Barnhart, Fayetteville 76 Rick Luzar, Pinehurst 76 Frank Boone, Apex 76 A FLIGHT (5,988 YDS) Al Makila, Raleigh 75 Mike Smith, Lewisville 75 Pat Kelly, Greenville 75 Phil Solesky, Durham 75 Fred Hollinger, Cary 77 Jimmy Jarrell, Greensboro 77 Dee Blankenhorn, Raleigh 77 B FLIGHT (5,988 YDS) Marshall Wolfe, Clemmons 72 Michael Kang, Cary 79 David Teal, Fayetteville 80 Matthew Allen, Raleigh 81 Neil Bleau, Durham 82 Richard Pfister, Pittsboro 82 C FLIGHT (5,988 YDS) Elby Hatfield, Archdale 82 Jeff Brown, Youngsville 83 TJ Warren, Greensboro 86 Benny Miller, Raleigh 86 Charlie Williams, Autryville 86

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