In photo; Brian Miller, left, and Bob Carson, pose with the Gus Cosmos Trophy.
JACKSON – It took
two sudden-death playoff holes for Bob Carson and Brian Miller of Lake Orion to
emerge as champions in the 12th GAM Senior Four-Ball Championship presented by
Global Golf Post Tuesday at Country Club of Jackson.
They were tied at
133 with John Anderson and Michael Fitzstephens of St. Joseph after shooting a
66 in the final round. Anderson and Fitzstephens also shot 66. The Lake Orion
duo won with a par on the second hole.
Two teams tied next
at 135. They were Mike Raymond and Steve Maddalena of Jackson, and Ray Emsley
of Davisburg and Mark Eriksen of Clarkston.
Carson said it didn’t end with dramatics, but
it felt dramatic for them.
“We had finished
second two years in a row, so it was pretty cool for a couple of old guys to
win this one,” he said. “We are long-time Indianwood (Golf & Country Club)
guys who have been playing together and battling each other for a long time. We’ve
gassed away a few other wins, but we got this one and it was exciting.”
Carson, who is 65,
and Miller, who is 58, played a bogey-free final round with six birdies.
“We made three each,”
Carson said. “It was really good to play at Jackson, too. I’ve played quite a
few times there with GAM events and customer golf.”
Carson said the best
part was getting to take the Gus Cosmos Trophy home.
“It’s in my
backseat, and it’s going to Indianwood tomorrow,” he said. “We’re going to
celebrate this.”
The super senior division title also was
determined by a playoff, and the defending champions, Bill Zylstra of Dearborn
Heights and Ned Bacon of Lansing, repeated. It took an eagle on the third hole
of the playoff by Zylstra to turn the trick this time.
The duo shot a
closing 64 for 133 and tied Daniel Gregg and David Gordon of Ann Arbor, who
shot 64 in the first round and 69 in the second.
Third place in the
super senior division went to Douglas Swartz and Dan Maudlin of Portage. They
shot a closing 67 for 134.
A field of 48
two-golfer teams, including 28 teams in the senior division (age 55-plus) and
18 in the super senior division (age 65-plus), battled over two days and 36
holes on the course that has hosted seven Michigan Amateur Championships.
-Greg Johnson, [email protected]
