Senior Amateur Tour

PLAYOFFS DECIDE SENIOR TOUR FOREST OAKS EVENT

Posted: 4/3/2009 10:48:25 AM

Milt deReyna (Champ Flight) & Randy Bunn (A Flight)

Greensboro, NC (April 2, 2009) - 18 holes weren't enough to decide a winner in the B Flight of the Harris Teeter Senior Tour event at Forest Oaks today. Mark Rice of Seven Lakes and Lewis Burgman of Greensboro both shot 80 in regulation to tie for the flight's top spot. They then headed back to the course in a drizzling rain for a sudden death shoot-out. As it turned out, the playoff was anything but "sudden". After both players matched each other with pars on their first 4 playoff holes, Rice emerged as the winner with a bogey 5 on the 381 yard, 14th hole for his first victory of the 2009 season. "In those (weather) conditions, I think it was more a battle of attrition than anything else", stated Tour Director Bruce Hallenbeck. High Point's Danny Keever only needed one playoff hole to settle things in the C Flight. Keever struck a 145-yard 7-iron to within 6 feet and calmly stroked the birdie home to shut out Raleigh's John Hall and Al Tobin of Cary. The threesome all posted 87s over their initial 18 holes. Keever did "dodge-a-bullet" though, as Hall's chip from just off the green narrowly missed going in, which would have forced the playoff to continue. The outcome was a little clearer in both the Championship and A Flights as Milt deReyna of Hope Mills (Championship) and Randy Bunn of Zebulon finished 2 strokes clear of their nearest competitors. deReyna edged Durham's Eric Ardery, while Bunn got past Southern Pines Wiley Barrett, and John Lyda of Advance to seal their victories. Any one interested in getting information on The Harris Teeter Senior Tour, which is open to any amateur golfer over 50 can contact Tour Director Hallenbeck at 336-495-6556, or emailing him at behgolf@aol.com. THE HARRIS TEETER SENIOR TOUR FOREST OAKS COUNTRY CLUB EVENT TOP FIVE SCORES BY FLIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (6,360 yds) Milt deReyna, Hope Mills 72 Eric Ardery, Durham 74 Brent Massey, Raleigh 75 George Tsiolkas, Winston-Salem 76 John East, Rockingham 77 A FLIGHT (5,835 yds) Randy Bunn, Zebulon 74 Wiley Barrett, Southern Pines 76 John Lyda, Advance 76 Gil Ro, Pinehurst 78 Gene Greenawalt, Carthage 78 Peter Crook, Burlington 78 B FLIGHT (5,835 yds) Mark Rice, Seven Lakes 80 Lewis Burgman, Greensboro 80 Dan Whalen, Greensboro 82 Jerry Weadon, Eden 82 Frank Bland, Augusta GA 82 Sonny Gill, Trinity 80 C FLIGHT (5,835 yds) Danny Keever, High Point 87 Al Tobin, Cary 87 John Hall, Raleigh 87 Jim Stanley, Raleigh 88 Charles Pace, Lexington 88 Tony Johnson, Greensboro 88 IN MEMORIUM It is with a very heavy heart that I have to report that one of our own, and one of our best as well, has passed away recently. Harry "Butch" Jones of Rockingham, a longtime Tour member, and great guy, succumbed to complications from cancer on March 27th. As other B Flight members can attest, Harry was always fun to play with and a great competitor. Soft spoken, with a dry wit and friendly demeanor, everyone who found out he was paired with Harry in one of our events made the same comment - "Great". As one of his closest friends on Tour said to me, "Harry was the ultimate stand-up guy". I couldn't agree more wholeheartedly - Harry, we'll miss ya buddy. The Tour will be making a donation in Harry's name to his favorite Charity - The Oxford Orphanage. Any Tour member who remembers Harry can send their contributions as well.

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