In Pinehurst, Hurlbert wins the Golfweek Senior Match Play
- Talamore Golf Club photo
Craig Hurlbert (Magnolia, Texas) continued his break-out senior season with a win at the Golfweek Senior National Match Play at Talamore Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C.
Hurlbert defeated Stephen Maddalena (Jackson, Mich.) in the final match 3&1 to complete a four-match sweep and earn his third win of 2020.
The 58-year-old Hurlbert committed himself to national senior golf last year, posting ten top-10 finishes but no wins. This year he has reached a new level.
The former Montana Mid-Amateur champion started the year with back-to-back wins at the Old Corkscrew Senior and Gateway Senior, and threw in top-6 finishes at two other spring events before the coronavirus shut the season down for three months. He returned at the SOS Jack Helser Tournament with a 6th-place finish before winning this week.
The defending champion Allen Peake (Macon, Ga.) made it to the semifinals this year before falling to Maddalena on the 19th hole. Hurlbert edged Jack Hall (Savannah, Ga.) 2&1 in the other semifinal match.
In the Super Senior division, another resident of south Texas, Kent Samuel (The Woodlands, Texas) won a tight final match over John Fritz (Mint Hill, N.C.), 1 up.
Jim Kamis (Marietta, Ga.) defeated Don Kuehn (Kansas City, Mo.) 3&2 to win the Legends Division.
In the Super Legends division, Walt Martin (St. Augustine, Fla.) beat Steve Wilson (Solana Beach, Calif.) 1 up in the final match.
ABOUT THE
The Golfweek Senior National Match-Play
Championship consists of four separate
brackets,
senior (age 55-64), super-senior (age 65-69),
legends (age 74) and super-legends (75+).
Over the
course of three days, players in each bracket
will be
whittled to one Senior National Match-Play
champion
in each division. Unlike other match play
tournaments, The Golfweek Senior National
Match
Play is not a one loss and done tournament. As
players are eliminated from match-play they
will
enter a consolation stroke-play competition
using the
stableford scoring system.
View Complete Tournament Information