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Knoll upset at NCGA Senior Match Play
(NCGA)
(NCGA)

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (August 14, 2013) – With the event moving over to the more familiar Spyglass Hill GC, excitement continues to build at the 7th Annual NCGA Senior Match Play Championship. The round of 16 took place in the morning with eight players being eliminated from the competition. Those moving on to the quarterfinals held in the afternoon had a test of endurance to see who would move on to the semifinals Thursday.

Perhaps the biggest upset in the quarterfinal round came from the 26th seed, Greg Olson who beat the No. 1 seed, Jim Knoll, 3 & 1.

“It was a great and competitive match,” Olson said. “It is hard not to cheer for Jim [Knoll], we are great friends.”

The match began with Knoll 2-up after three, but Olson fired back winning holes five and seven. At the turn, Knoll held a 1-up lead over Olson. Olson brought the match to all-square with a par on No. 12, but his true turning point came when he went 1-up at No. 13 after a sinking a 15-foot putt.

“I made a good up-and-down on 13 to go 1-up and that was where things turned around in our match,” Olson said.

The Gold Hills GC member won holes 12, 13 and 14 and closed the match with another on 17.

“I felt fatigued when the second match started, but the adrenaline kicked in and I was able to keep playing well,” Olson said. “I am going to get some good rest tonight and try to improve my rhythm tomorrow for better ball striking.”

Olson is the only qualifying seed left in the event.

Terry Foreman of Roddy Ranch GC is set to face off Olson in the semifinals after winning his quarterfinal match 2 & 1. Foreman didn’t have many good things to say about his Wednesday rounds.

“I felt like those were the worst rounds of golf I could have played,” Foreman said.

He must have had some luck on the course however. In his quarterfinal match he won the opening two holes and eventually made the turn at 3-up in the match. He narrowly avoided penalty on the sixteenth hole after moving loose impediments to check if his ball was in a burrowing animal hole. Luckily, the decisions had him covered and he was able to replace the loose impediments and play without penalty under 23-1/7.

The 2012 Senior Amateur Match Play Champion looks for a repeat but will first have to out Olson in the semifinals. Foreman and Olson tee off at Spyglass Hill GC at 8 a.m. Thursday.

Casey Boyns found a way to make a long day short.

The Pasadera CC member won both the round of 16 and the quarterfinal matches handily – finishing 6 & 5.

“Both of my matches were short – which is one way to make the day go by quick,” the 2011 Senior Amateur Match Play Champion said. “I didn’t feel I was playing my best, but I played solid and I kept the pressure on my opponents.”

In the quarterfinals started his match going 1-up on the first hole. From there, he was never down in the match.

“36 holes is a lot of golf,” Boyns said. “You get tired out there. I took it one hole at a time, had a lot of situational targets and just kept the ball in play.”

Boyns will rest up tonight and prepare to take on Scott Anderson of Roddy Ranch GC at 8:15 a.m. tomorrow.

Anderson had the longest day of all. In the round of 16, Anderson was down the entire match before getting back to all-square on No. 18. His match went to 20 holes before he beat out Robert Fulton. With the quarterfinals already beginning, Anderson only had a small amount of time between his matches.

“I had a really quick turn around,” Anderson said. “Luckily I played consistently all day.”

Unlike his first match of the day, Anderson quickly took control of his semifinal and never let his opponent go 1-up.

“I made a change in my address position on the 12th hole in my second match,” he said. “After that I was feeling much more confident in my swing and it seemed to change everything for me.”

All-square after 17, Anderson’s match was the only one to see No. 18 in the semifinals. He won the match with a par on 18.

The Senior Amateur Match Play Championship semifinals will take place at Spyglass Hill GC, Thursday, August 15 at 8 and 8:15 a.m.

View results for NCGA Senior Match Play

ABOUT THE NCGA Senior Match Play

The NCGA Senior Match Play Championship was historically an invite-only event in which the top 16 players on the NCGA Senior points list were invited to participate in the Senior Match Play Championship, held concurrently with the NCGA Amateur Match Play at Spyglass Hill, over a three- day period. However, beginning in 2012 the event was modified to a 32-player match play field, still allotting 16 spots to the top 16 of the NCGA Senior points list, while allowing the other half of the field to qualify.

Senior players (ages 55+) must have a handicap index of 7.4 or less. There is no handicap limit for super seniors (ages 65+).

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