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Defending
Champion, Medalist Advance
At
2004 USGA
Senior
Amateur
Los
Angeles, Calif. - Defending champion Kemp Richardson, 58,
of Laguna Niguel, Calif., and stroke-play medalist Ronald
Vannelli, 56, of Edison, N.J., each won first-round matches
Monday to advance at the 2004 USGA Senior Amateur Championship,
being conducted at the par-70, 6,491-yard Bel-Air Country
Club.
Richardson
faced Frank Abbott, 61, of Napa, Calif., in a rematch of the
2003 Senior Amateur final, when Abbott held a 2-up lead with
three holes to play, but Richardson came back to win in 19
holes.
"
Frank
is such a nice guy," said Richardson,
who is trying to become just the second golfer to win three
USGA Senior Amateurs and the fourth to win two in a row. "Last
year I didn't play any good, but still won."
In
Monday's match, Abbott
was one down after four
holes when he won three in a row to hold a 2-up edge after
eight holes. But Richardson came back to win four consecutive
holes, starting at the par-4, 338-yard ninth when Abbott missed
a five-foot birdie putt and Richardson then made his four-foot
birdie putt.
At
the 10th hole, a 195-yard par 3 that crosses a canyon to a
two-tiered green, Richardson
hit a 4-iron to three
feet. After Abbott
three-putted from high above the hole, he conceded Richardson's
birdie putt. After winning the 11th and 12th holes, Richardson
held a 2-up advantage.
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| Alex Tarumianz putts during his first-round
match against Bob Lewis Jr. Tarumianz was two down with
two holes to play but came back to win in 19 holes. (Sam
Greenwood/USGA) |
Twice
Abbott
cut the deficit to one, but Richardson
came right back to win
the next hole and return to 2-up. He won the par-3, 180-yard
16th hole, and closed out Abbott,
3 and 1, with a par on the 17th.
"I
felt like I was playing pretty good, but I made a lot of dumb
mistakes," said Richardson,
who had five bogeys and a double bogey to go with five birdies.
Vannelli,
meanwhile, was all square heading to the 418-yard 18th hole
against Larry Walsh, 59, of Buda, Texas, who earlier in the
day survived a playoff to become the 64th and final player
in the match-play draw. On 18, Walsh
missed a six-foot par
putt and Vannelli two-putted for par to take a 1-up victory.
"I
squeaked it out," said Vannelli. "That was just grueling.
Neither one of us played very good. Larry
would play a hole bad
and I'd play it worse. Then I'd play a hole bad and he'd play
it worse. It was just a matter of who could hold on."
Through
18 holes, Alex Tarumianz,
57, of Lookout Mountain,
Tenn.,
never led against four-time USA Walker Cupper Bob Lewis Jr.,
60, of Pepper Pike,
Ohio.
Lewis
held a 2-up lead after 11 holes but lost the 12th when he
called a one-stroke penalty on himself for causing his ball
to move after addressing it. Lewis again built a 2-up edge
at the 16th hole, but Tarumianz came back to birdie the next
three holes, including the par-5, 482-yard first hole (the
19th of the match) to earn the victory.
In
other first-round action, 2002 champion Greg
Reynolds,
57, of Grand Blanc, Mich.,
cruised with a 6-and-5 victory over Tim
Thompson
of Memphis,
Tenn.,
while David Boesel,
56, of Orlando,
Fla.,
a semifinalist a year ago, ousted 1972 U.S. Amateur winner
Vinny Giles, 61, of Richmond,
Va.,
3 and 2. Two-time USA Walker Cupper Marty West, 56, of Rockville,
Md.,
earned a 3-and-1 win over Gene
Ryzewicz
of Westport,
Conn.,
and Joseph
Cristillo
of Crystal River, Fla.,
ousted 1998 and 2000 champion Bill
Shean
Jr.
of Hinsdale,
Ill.,
3-and-1.
The
championship continues with the second and third rounds of
match play Tuesday. The quarterfinal and semifinal matches
will be played Wednesday, and the 18-hole championship final
will be held Thursday.
The USGA Senior Amateur is one of 13 national championships
conducted annually by the United States Golf Association,
10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Story
written by Beth Murrison of USGA media relations. You
can reach her at bmurrison@usga.org.
Results
Los
Angeles, Calif.
- Results from the Monday's
first round of match play at the 2004 USGA Senior Amateur
Championship, being conducted at the par-70, 6,491-yard Bel-Air
Country Club.
Round
of 64
Upper
Bracket
Ronald
Vannelli,
Edison,
N.J.
(144) def. Larry Walsh,
Buda,
Texas
(156), 1 up
Martin
West,
Rockville,
Md.
(152) def. Gene Ryzewicz,
Westport,
Conn.
(152), 3 and 1
Roger
Gunderson,
Aurora,
Colo.
(154) def. Gary Hardin,
Fort Worth,
Texas
(150), 1 up
Edward
Fletcher,
Mashpee,
Mass.
(150) def. Bob Heaton,
Oakley,
Calif.
(154), 19 holes
David
Boesel,
Winter Park,
Fla.
(149) def. Vinny Giles, Richmond,
Va.
(155), 3 and 2
Tony
Lehman,
Santa Barbara,
Calif.
(153) def. John Baldwin,
Palm Beach,
Fla.
(151), 6 and 5
Mark
Bemowski,
Mukwonago,
Wis.
(149) def. Tom
Grady, Marshall,
Va.
(155), 5 and 4
Spencer
Sappington,
Alpharetta,
Ga.
(151) def. Bob Blomberg,
Alameda,
Calif.
(154), 19 holes
Timothy
Miller,
Kokomo,
Ind.
(155) def. Steve Bogan,
Placentia,
Calif.
(146), 19 holes
Stephen
Yavorsky,
Capistrano Beach,
Calif.
(152) def. Johnny Stevens,
Wichita,
Kan.
(153), 5 and 4
Chip
Stewart,
Dallas,
Texas
(149) def. Fred Cox,
North Palm Beach,
Fla.
(155), 6 and 4
Ted
Lyford,
Redlands,
Calif.
(154) def. R Scott Carnes, Cedar
Rapids, Iowa
(151), 1 up
Roy
Smethurst,
England
(155) def. Billy Clagett,
Austin,
Texas
(147), 3 and 1
Alan
Foster,
Manlius,
N.Y.
(153) def. David Lind,
Burr Ridge,
Ill.
(152), 3 and 2
Kent
Christopher,
Farmington,
Utah
(149) def. Dick Iverson,
Lake Oswego,
Ore.
(155), 3 and 1
Gregory
Scurlock,
Augusta,
Ga.
(154) def. Roy Holloway,
Monroe,
La.
(151), 3 and 2
Lower
Bracket
Ernie
Newton,
High Point,
N.C.
(145) def. David Carrera,
Latrobe,
Pa.
(156), 5 and 3
Jim
Ruschioni,
Leominster,
Mass.
(152) def. Jim Dines,
Albuquerque,
N.M.
(152), 4 and 3
Greg
Shaw,
Little Rock,
Ark.
(155) def. Dick Van
Leuvan, Roswell,
Ga.
(150), 1 up
Rick
Weihe,
Bellingham,
Wash.
(151) def. Jim Mc
Murtrey, Fair
Oaks, Calif.
(154), 1 up
Alex
Tarumianz,
Lookout Mountain,
Tenn.
(155) def. Robert Lewis
Jr,
Pepper Pike,
Ohio
(149), 19 holes
Joseph
Keller,
Osterville,
Mass.
(153) def. Woody Thames,
Dallas,
Texas
(151), 6 and 5
Michael
Walters,
Tampa,
Fla.
(149) def. John Seehausen,
Palatine,
Ill.
(155), 3 and 1
David
Brookreson,
Huntingdon Valley,
Pa.
(151) def. Gary Daniels,
Center Valley,
Pa.
(154), 3 and 1
Kemp
Richardson,
Laguna Niguel,
Calif.
(146) def. Frank Abbott,
Napa,
Calif.
(156), 3 and 1
Van
Salmans, Chicago,
Ill.
(152) def. Jerry Cundari,
Portland,
Ore.
(153), 3 and 1
Joseph
Cristillo,
Crystal River,
Fla.
(155) def. Bill Shean
Jr,
Hinsdale,
Ill.
(150), 2 and 1
Jack
Vardaman,
Washington,
D.C.
(154) def. Gary Koprivica,
Missoula,
Mont.
(151), 5 and 4
Steven
Hakes, San
Diego, Calif.
(147) def. Brian
Sachs,
Gainesville,
Fla.
(155), 2 and 1
Steven
Hoffman,
Savannah,
Ga.
(151) def. James Smith,
Orchard Park,
N.Y.
(153), 19 holes
Ronnie
Tumlin,
Saint Augustine,
Fla.
(149) def. Joseph Schmidt,
Mchenry,
Ill.
(155), 6 and 5
Greg
Reynolds,
Grand Blanc,
Mich.
(151) def. Tim Thompson,
Memphis,
Tenn.
(154), 6 and 5
Pairings
Los
Angeles, Calif.
- Pairings for Tuesday's
second round of match play at the 2004 USGA Senior Amateur
Championship at the par-70, 6,491-yard Bel-Air Country Club.
Round
of 32
Upper
Bracket
7:30
a.m. Ronald
Vannelli,
Edison,
N.J.
(144) vs. Martin West,
Rockville,
Md.
(152)
7:38
a.m. Roger
Gunderson,
Aurora,
Colo.
(154) vs. Edward Fletcher,
Mashpee,
Mass.
(150)
7:46
a.m. David
Boesel,
Winter Park,
Fla.
(149) vs. Tony Lehman,
Santa Barbara,
Calif.
(153)
7:54
a.m. Mark
Bemowski,
Mukwonago,
Wis.
(149) vs. Spencer Sappington,
Alpharetta,
Ga.
(151)
8:02
a.m. Timothy
Miller,
Kokomo,
Ind.
(155) vs. Stephen Yavorsky,
Capistrano Beach,
Calif.
(152)
8:10
a.m. Chip
Stewart,
Dallas,
Texas
(149) vs. Ted Lyford,
Redlands,
Calif.
(154)
8:18
a.m. Roy
Smethurst,
England
(155) vs. Alan Foster,
Manlius,
N.Y.
(153)
8:26
a.m. Kent
Christopher,
Farmington,
Utah
(149) vs. Gregory Scurlock,
Augusta,
Ga.
(154)
Lower
Bracket
8:34
a.m. Ernie Newton, High Point, N.C. (145) vs.
Jim Ruschioni, Leominster, Mass. (152)
8:42
a.m. Greg Shaw, Little Rock, Ark. (155) vs. Rick
Weihe, Bellingham, Wash. (151)
8:50
a.m. Alex Tarumianz, Lookout Mountain, Tenn. (155)
vs. Joseph Keller, Osterville, Mass. (153)
8:58
a.m. Michael Walters, Tampa, Fla. (149) vs. David
Brookreson, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. (151)
9:06
a.m. Kemp Richardson, Laguna Niguel, Calif. (146)
vs. Van Salmans, Chicago, Ill. (152)
9:14
a.m. Joseph Cristillo, Crystal River, Fla. (155)
vs. Jack Vardaman, Washington, D.C. (154)
9:22
a.m. Steven Hakes, San Diego, Calif. (147) vs.
Steven Hoffman, Savannah, Ga. (151)
9:30
a.m. Ronnie Tumlin, Saint Augustine, Fla. (149)
vs. Greg Reynolds, Grand Blanc, Mich. (151)
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