Westmoreland Victorious in Point Clear
POINT CLEAR, AL. (Oct. 7, 2021) – The Gulf Coast Chapter Championship was played on the Azalea Course at Lakewood Golf Club in Point Clear, Alabama. Heavy rains and flooding early Monday morning caused the cancellation of play for the day. The rescheduled format called for a 36-hole Tuesday for the Open and Senior Divisions, while the Super Seniors would play 18 holes to determine the champion.
The Super Seniors played in the morning shotgun, with the outcome hanging in the balance on the final hole. PGA Life Member Butch Sheehan sat at even par, one shot in front of Ed Davis as they went to play the par 3, 4th hole on the Azalea Course. Both players hit good tee shots to within 15-feet. After Sheehan narrowly missed his birdie attempt, Davis rolled his in to match Sheehan’s even par round. On the first playoff hole, Davis was able to make a great up and down from the greenside penalty area and when Sheehan’s par putt slid by the hole, Ed Davis was the Super Senior Champion.
The Senior Division did not have as much drama at the end. Neil Thompson took the lead after the morning round by posting a four-under par 68 to lead Michael Brisbane by one stroke. After posting his career tournament low in the morning, Brisbane, the Director of Instruction at Azalea City GC, fell off the pace in the afternoon and finished 7th. Thompson’s closest challenger was Rea Schuessler who followed up a morning 73 with the afternoon low senior round of 71 to finish in second place at even par. Thompson, the Director of Instruction at Thompson Golf Academy, battled through the afternoon rain to post an even par round to give him a four-stroke victory.
In the Open Division, Henry Westmoreland an assistant professional at Pensacola Country Club, jumped out to the morning lead by making six birdies on his way to a five-under par round of 67. A group of seasoned veterans tried to chase Henry down in the afternoon, but he was able to hold them off with an even par afternoon round for the victory. Mike Genovese had disaster strike in the morning with a quadruple bogey on the 5th hole but was able to stay close by offsetting that with seven birdies. In the afternoon he caught Henry at one point but settled in with a three-under par total and a tie for second place. Todd McCorkle tied Genovese by posting identical rounds of 70-71. Rounding out the top five were Todd Bailey at one-under par and Jake Greer finishing at even par.
A big thank you goes out to Lakewood GC and their staff for helping to make the event as good as possible while fighting all the rain, and also to all the players for battling through it.
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