Bill Hyndman

Bill Hyndman, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., won the Senior Amateur Championship at the Onwentsia Club, Lake Forest, Ill., defeating Harry Welch, of Salisbury, N.C., 3 and 2.

This victory marked the end of a long quest for Hyndman; for more than 20 years he had been one of the country's leading amateurs, but he had never won a national Championship. He had been runner-up in the 1955 U.S. Amateur and had been the finalist in the British Amateur Championships of 1959-69-70. He had also reached the semi-finals in the Senior Championship, 1971 and 1972.

The defending Champion, Lew Oehmig, of Lookout Mountain, Tenn., was eliminated in the first round, Hyndman defeated Bill Trepsas, Stoughton, Mass., 2 and 1 in his first match, then Ernest Pieper, San Juan Bautista, Calif., by the same margin in his second round.

Two down to Pieper after nine holes, Hyndman scored four birdies in eight holes for a four-under par 31 to win the match. Pieper was even with par on the second nine.

In the final round against Welch, Hyndman won the first hole and was never behind. Hyndman either won or saved holes on three occasions by brilliant recoveries from greenside bunkers. It should be noted that Hyndman and Welch played their match-16 holes-in only two hours and 20 minutes. Co-medalists were the new Champion and Sam Friedman, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., with scores of 73-74- 147. A total of 633 entered the Championship.