PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (June 15, 2012) -- Casey Boyns and Mark Miller didn’t post the number they were looking for on Friday, but as it turned out it was still enough to come from behind and win the 14th Annual NCGA Senior Four-Ball Championship. Having started the day five shots off the lead and in a tie for second place, Boyns and Miller thought they would need to post a 64 to have a chance to win. Well, they came awfully close, shooting a 7-under 65 instead, yet won rather easily taking a three-shot margin of victory after posting a 54-hole total of 199, 17-under par.
Teeing off last at 9:50 a.m. with first and second round leaders Mel Collins and David Ujihara, Boyns and Miller made up ground quick with a Boyns’ birdie on the first hole, while their playing partners bogeyed, cutting the lead to three. Then a birdie by Miller on the par-5 fourth cut the lead to two. The fifth hole proved to be critical as Boyns chipped in for birdie, taking away any momentum Collins and Ujihara thought they may have had coming their way with a birdie of their own. After another birdie on the eighth cutting the lead to one, Boyns and Miller took their first lead on the par-5 ninth. With Collins in trouble, Ujihara was on the back of the ninth green in two shots with a long eagle putt ahead as the hole was located at the front of the green. From there Ujihara four-putted his way to a bogey, while Boyns and Miller converted their fifth birdie of the day for a front-nine 31.After getting back into a share of the lead with a birdie on the par-5 10th, Collins and Ujihara bogeyed on the par-3 11th, and lost their lead for good. Boyns and Miller made two birdies coming in on holes 12 and 18 for their back-nine score of 34, while Collins and Ujihara finished with a final round 73.
Interestingly enough on Wednesday right before their opening round Miller was uncertain if he had a partner. With Boyns not at the first tee when play began, Miller had to play the hole alone as Boyns arrived mid-hole, joining him for play on the second hole.
“To sum up the tournament, my partner didn’t show up on the first hole, but he showed up on the last and that’s what matters,” said Miller, who added a second NCGA Senior Four-Ball title to his resume with today’s win. “Casey hit it really well today.”
Boyns, added yet another NCGA major to his playing resume, this is his seventh unique NCGA major championship and 14th overall. However, he is quick to deflect all of the credit his way for this major title.
“In reality you need both guys playing well,” said Boyns. “You need to be freed up on your birdie putts, knowing that your partner is in the hole with a par.”
Besides the top two teams, this year’s defending senior four-ball champions Jim Knoll and Jeff Burda saved their best golf of the week for Friday’s final round. Knoll and Burda carded a 7-under 65 with seven birdies on the day to jump up the leaderboard and finish alone in third place at 203. Joe Beato and Gregory Saiki finished in fourth at a 54-hole score of 205, while Terry Foreman and Tony McBroom rounded out the top five with a score of 206.
View results for NCGA Senior Four-Ball
ABOUT THE NCGA Senior Four-Ball
First played in 1999, the NCGA Senior Four-Ball
Championship is a two-person, better-ball scratch
event
for senior (age 55+) and super senior (65+) golfers.
The format is 54
holes
four-ball stroke play (18 holes per day) over three
days. After 36 holes the field will be cut to the low
30
teams and ties. Max handicap 9.4.
View Complete Tournament Information