Paul Simson (John Patota/Pinehurst Resort Photo)
Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C., continues to add to his amateur golfing legacy.
Simson won the Super Senior Division of the 72nd North & South Senior Men's Championship with a final 2-under score after rounds of 73-71-70. Simson was the only golfer in the Division to finish under par. Steve Humphrey of Ocala, Fla., finished in solo second place at even par, and Marcus Beck of Tallahassee, Fla., finished in solo third place at 2-over.
Stephen Fox of Pinehurst, N.C., finished in solo fourth place at 3-over, and Fred Mccord of Collierville, Tenn., finished in solo fifth place at 4-over to round out the top five.
With the victory, Simson added to his record North & South victory totals. He’s now up to 10 across Men’s, Senior Men’s, and Super Senior Men’s over the years, the all-time winningest player in Pinehurst history. He birdied the last three holes on No. 7 to win.
Simson is a 29-time champion of Carolinas Golf Association events, including 2 Carolinas Amateur titles. He turned 55 in 2006 and won the North Carolina Senior Amateur in May, then added the British and North and South Senior titles to his resume to vault to the No. 2 rank in the US among Senior players. In 2010 won the British Senior Amateur, Canadian Senior Amateur, and the US Senior Amateur in a span of 55 days.
In the Senior Open Division, Bob Royak of Alpharetta, Ga., won with a final score of 2-under as well. The leaderboard was a little more crowded in this Division, with four golfers finishing one shot back of Royak at 1-under and T2.
Eddie Hargett of Blythewood, S.C., Greg Sanders of Anthem, Az., Robert Gerwin II of Cincinnati, OH., and Rick Cloninger of Rock Hill, S.C. all finished at 1-under.
Royak shot rounds of 69-74-71 to win the Division. The deciding shot can be traced back to hole No.6 on the final day, when Royak made a hole-in-one. Outside of that shot, Royak made no birdies and just one bogey in his final round.
Hargett, Sanders and Gerwin all shot rounds of 3-under 69 in the final round, but they could not fully close the gap on Royak. Cloninger entered the final round with a one-shot lead at 2-under, but a final round 1-over 73 knocked him back into a tie for second place.
ABOUT THE North & South Senior
Part of the annual North & South series of
tournaments at Pinehurst that include Men's,
Women's, Juniors and Seniors. Entries are open
to
male and female golfers who meet the
requirements below. All applicants must
conform
to the USGA Rules of Amateur Status and meet
the requirements of the USGA Gender Policy.
In the Men's Open Division, applicants must
have
reached 55 years of age by tournament date to
be eligible for competition. All applicants must
have a handicap index of 8.4 or less.
In the Men's Super-Senior Division, applicants
must have reached 65 years of age by
tournament date to be eligible for competition.
All applicants must have a handicap index 10.4
or
less.
FORMAT: 54-holes of stroke play will determine
the Champion. Play will be divided into four
divisions (Men’s Open, Men’s Super-Senior,
Women’s Open, and Women’s Super-Senior)
and
contested with one round each on Pinehurst
No.
1, No. 5, No. 8. A full field will consist of 90
Open
Men and 90 Super-Senior Men.
View Complete Tournament Information