Gene Elliot leads after a 3-under 69
(Iowa Golf Association Photo)

The No. 5 player in the AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings dominated the field from start to finish posting 11-under and finishing 14 shots clear of runner-up Steve Hudson, the fourth-ranked player in the AGC Senior Rankings.

Elliot took the lead on day one with a 3-under 69 before posting the same score on Saturday. His round on Saturday included a hole-in-one on the 16th hole. Beginning the day ahead by seven shots Elliot extended his lead with a 5-under 67 for his third consecutive sub-par round of the tournament. Elliot accounted for three of the six under-par rounds at the Floridian.

The victory for Elliot was his third AGC ranking event win of the season to go along with wins at the Canadian Senior Amateur and Trans-Mississippi Senior.

Hudson, 3-over, was second, George Zahringer took third at 6-over, the 7-over Grady Brame was fourth while 12th ranked Brady Exber, Todd Roberts and Bradley Kropp shared fifth at 8-over.

Defending champion Pete Williams took eighth with a 12-over showing.

ROUND TWO RECAP

Propelled by a second consecutive 3-under 69 that included a hole-in-one on the 16th hole hole Gene Elliot moved to 6-under and extended his lead at the Crane Cup Senior Invitational to a commanding seven-strokes.

Through 36-holes at the Floridian there have only been three sub-par rounds and two of them belong to the fifth-ranked AmateurGolf.com Senior. Elliot will now look to close out his third AGC ranking event win of the season on Sunday in the final round. The star from Iowa has already won the Canadian Senior Amateur and Trans-Mississippi Senior this season.

With a 2-under 70 defending champion Pete Williams moved into second place at 1-over. Williams' day two performance was the third under-par round of the tournament.

George Zahringer and No. 4 Steve Hudson are sharing third at 4-over while in fifth it is Bradley Kropp at 5-over.

ROUND ONE RECAP

On day one of the Crane Cup Senior fifth-ranked AmateurGolf.com Senior Gene Elliot was the only player under-par and he will carry a three shot lead into second round play at the Floridian.

Elliot, the 36-hole leader, in the mid-amateur division last year, is in search of his third AmateurGolf.com Senior Ranking title of the year after picking up wins at the Canadian Senior Amateur and Trans-Mississippi Senior.

11th ranked Jim Starnes will begin the middle round in second place following a even-par 72, No. 4 Steve Hudson is third at 1-over while Charlie Jabbia and Gary Durbin are sharing fifth at 2-over.

Starnes is looking for his first AGC Senior win of the year although, he has a strong year with 11 top-10 finishes in 16 events. Like Elliot, Hudson is looking for his third ranking win of the year. Hudson has won the Senior Masters and jus recently the Society of Seniors Fall Classic.