GRAND RAPIDS (Aug. 20, 2013) -- Mike Raymond of Jackson and Larry Vaughan, a former Bloomfield Hills resident now living in North Carolina, took turns making good things happen and won the GAM Senior Four-Ball Championship presented by the West Michigan Golf Show.
Raymond, who is 59, and Vaughan, who is 57, teamed up for a final-round 4-under-par 68 Tuesday at Kent Country Club, and matched it with a first-round 63 from Monday for a 131 total. It was good for a two-shot win over Thomas Eberhard and Dan Maudlin of Kalamazoo, who had rounds of 63 and 70 for 133.
“It was awesome,” said Raymond, whose hot summer has included winning the GAM Senior Match Play title and qualifying for the U.S. Senior Amateur later this summer.
“Last year I played with Ian Harris and lost in a playoff. This year it worked in Larry’s schedule, so we went after it. It feels great to win, and nice to come back from losing in a playoff to win. Larry was a great teammate.”
Vaughan said every time he needed help in the tournament Raymond came through, and every time Raymond needed help, he made good shots.
“It was a lot of fun, and we realized after our practice round that it was a great golf course and that the team that mastered the greens would win,” he said. “The greens are as difficult as you find anywhere, and we really had to work at it.”
Three teams tied for third at 138, including the team of Kurt Hassberger and Fred Cahall of Grand Rapids, the duo of Bill Zylstra of Dearborn Heights and Greg Reynolds of Grand Blanc, and the team of Mitch Wilson and Doug Swartz from Portage.
Super Senior champions (age 65 and up) were also crowned. John Richart of Ann Arbor and Neil McQuarrie of Livonia shot rounds of 67 and 69 for 136, and a one-shot win over Dave Kempner and Claud Johnston of Ann Arbor, who teamed up for rounds of 67 and 70 for 137.
John French of Bloomfield Hills and John Lindholm (67-72-139) finished third.
View results for GAM Senior Four-Ball
ABOUT THE GAM Senior Four-Ball
36-hole four-ball stroke play event for Senior Men
(55+) and Super Senior Men (65+). Must be a GAM
member.
View Complete Tournament Information