Ellenwood/Stark win by five at Texas Senior 4-Ball
22 Sep 2011
by Texas Golf Association
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MONTGOMERY, Texas (Sept. 22, 2011) For a third straight day the weather was impeccable at the 2011 Senior Four-Ball Championship which was held at Walden on Lake Conroe. This was the last chance for teams in both the Super Senior and Championship divisions to claim valuable State Senior of the Year points. The team of Chuck Ellenwood and John Stark left no doubt in the Championship division as they claimed the Senior Four-Ball title by a comfortable five shot margin. Finding themselves with a six shot lead heading into today’s final round, the team of Ellenwood/Stark looked to feed off the consistency that they had shown all week. After an opening nine of 36, the team left no doubt as they made back to back birdies on holes #15 and #16. A final round of two under par 70 gave the gentlemen a three day total of 203, thirteen under par. Claiming second was the team of Steve Cribari and Kent Samuel. After struggling to find their rhythm on the front nine the team made a run on the back that included two birdies and a hole in one on the par 3 #17th by Kent Samuel. Their closing round of 69 gave the team a tournament total of eight under par, 208. The team of Richard Hageman and Rhett Morrow rounded out the top three as they posted a tournament total six under par, 210. In all, nine teams in the Championship division carded under par tournament totals.
It was a come from behind victory in the Super Senior division. Howard Knowles claimed his second consecutive Super Senior Four-Ball title, this time with partner, Larry Walsh. Knowles and Walsh started the day just one stroke behind the co-leaders, Don Grider/Mike Schell and Michael Hopson/Richard Cozby. After both co-leading teams opened up with two over par 38’s on their opening nines, Knowles and Walsh quickly found themselves in the driver’s seat. It was their one under par back nine that gave them a three day total of one over par, 217, and the victory. The teams of Grider/Schell and Hopson/Cozby tied for second with a tournament total of two over par, 218. Format for the Championship and Super Senior Divisions is 54 holes of four-ball stroke play. Each will play from different tees/yardage with a separate champion being crowned in each division. Super Seniors must declare on application if they wish to compete in Championship Division. For more details, click on the “Championship Information” link at the top of the page. In 2010 it was the powerhouse team of Jerry Hudgins and Jay Pumphrey who came from five strokes behind at the start of the day to win the State Senior Four-Ball at Cimarron Hills in Georgetown by firing a tournament low 7-under par 65 to take a two stroke victory over Wayne Smith and Ed Hindsman who finished the day at 2-under par 70 putting them at seven under for the championship. The Super Senior Division had a very exciting finish as Howard Knowles and Bert Rogers were able to fend off fellow competitors the Trophy Club pair of B.J. Shaw and Craig Carlisle by one stroke by firing an even par 72 on the day.