Lewis W. Oehmig

Lewis W. Oehmig, 60, of Lookout Mountain, Tenn., who had won the Tennessee Amateur in 1937 at 21, won the Senior Amateur Championship for the second time.

He defeated John Richardson, 55, of Laguna Niguel, Calif., 4 and 3 in the final round at the Cherry Hills Country Club, Englewood, Colo. Oehmig won previously in 1972. The Championship was played in erratic weather-showers and temperatures in the 50s.

Oehmig and Dale Morey, High Point, N.C., were the only former Champions among the 32 who qualified for match play. Richardson eliminated Morey in the second round.

Richardson also defeated Ed Tutwiler, of Indianapolis, the medalist. In the final round, Richardson, 1961 California Amateur Champion, consistently outdrove Oehmig, but he could not match Oehmig's short game.

In the 15 holes played, Oehmig had five conceded birdies and lost only two holes. He three-putted both. On the first hole Richardson drove into a lateral water hazard and conceded a birdie to Oehmig. Holes two and three were halved, then Richardson drew even when Oehmig three-putted the fourth green.

Oehmig then won four holes in sucession to go 4-up. Oehmig three-putted again, on the 10th, to stand 3-up. Both players birdied the 11th and halved the 12th, 13th and 14th with pars. The match ended on the 15th, where Oehmig put his tee shot within 12 feet of the hole and Richardson hit into a bunker.

The entry reached 833, breaking the record 743 set in 1974.