Picture Butte, Alta., Canada (July 9, 2006) -– American Kemp Richardson of Laguna Niguel, Calif., defeated John French of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 6 and 5 to claim the 2006 Canadian Senior Match-Play Championship at Picture Butte Golf Club in Picture Butte, Alta.
Richardson had no trouble defeating French going 4-UP after the opening nine and then moved 5-UP after French bogeyed the 11th. At that point it was only a matter of time given the combination of French’s poor putting and Richardson’s long drives.
“To an extent you play the competitor, but sometimes you have to block out what he’s doing,” said Richardson. “I’ve been 4-UP and dormie before and have it go the other way. I just had to keep doing my own thing and not worry about John.”
French, the No. 22 seed, had pulled off several upsets to reach the final but couldn’t beat Richardson who was ranked eighth after the stroke-play qualifying. French had ousted four of the top-12 seeds including the second, third, six and 11th seed before struggling in the final match.
The 60-year-old Richardson has had an accomplished amateur career highlighted by winning the US Senior Amateur in 2001 and 2003 as well as the US British Senior in 2001 and 2004. Additionally, when he was younger he attended the University of Southern California and was an All-American on their golf team.
With all those distinguished championships under his belt, Richardson says he’ll hold the Canadian title close to his heart.
“This is a special one for me.” said Richardson. “My dad was Canadian, and I’ve had a lot of relatives come by and watch this week. It’s just been a treat to come up here and catch up with family I haven’t seen in years. I’ve always said I’ve got a lot of Canada in me, so winning this is great.”
Richardson’s biggest coup this week had been knocking off the top seeded Steve Earsley of Stuart, FL. Earsley, who had owned the Picture Butte course being 10-under and five strokes ahead of any other competitor during the qualifying round, lost to Richardson to 2-UP in a close quarter final match.
With the win, the 60 year-old Richardson earned his first Canadian Senior Match-Play title as well as a coveted exemption into the 2006 USGA Senior Men’s Championship contested September 16-21 at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh Indiana. As part of the RCGA’s Pathway to Champions he will also receive an exemption into the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, one that he hopes to use.
“I’ve never been to the Toronto area and it would be fun to run it against the young guns,” said Richardson. “I just learned about the exemption, but I might just do that.”
On Saturday, the final three Canadians were eliminated from play during the quarter-final matches. No. 3 seed Merv Dusyk of Red Deer, Alta., No. 4 seed James Scissons of Saskatoon, Sask., and No. 7 seed Howard Broun of Calgary were the remaining Canadians. The last time a Canadian played in the final match was in 2001, when Scissons faced off against Todd Lusk of Baton Rouge, L.A. losing on the 19th hole.
Only two Canadians have ever captured the Canadian Senior Match-Play Championship with Robert Fugère of Hull, Que., and George Strokes of Victoria, B.C., earning the title in 1999 and 1997 respectively.
MATCH PLAY RECAP (Champion’s path in bold)
The following is the final-round match up for Sunday, July 9, 2006
(8) Kemp Richardson, Laguna Niguel, CA. def. (22) John French, Bloomfield Hills, MI 6 and 5
The following are results for semi-final matches for Saturday, July 8, 2006.
(8) Kemp Richardson, Laguna Niguel, CA def. (5) Bob Lutz, Jerome, ID - 22nd
(22) John French, Bloomfield Hills, MI def. (2) Norman Swenson, Linville, NC – 1UP
The following are results for quarter-final matches for Saturday, July 8, 2006.
(8) Kemp Richardson, Laguna Niguel, CA def. (1) Steve Earsley, Stuart, FL – 2UP
(5) Bob Lutz, Jerome, ID def. (4) James Scissons, Saskatoon, SK – 1UP
(2) Norman Swenson, Linville, NC def. (7) Howard Broun, Calgary, AB - 19th
(22) John French, Bloomfield Hills, MI def. (3) Merv Dusyk, Red Deer, AB – 20th
The following are results for second-round matches for Friday, July 7, 2006.
(1) Steve Earsley, Stuart, FL def. (17) J. David Carroll, Napa, CA – 3 and 2
(8) Kemp Richardson, Laguna Niguel, CA. def. (9) Bill Wilms, Delta, BC – 19th
(4) James Scissons, Saskatoon, SK def. (13) Todd Lusk, Baton Rouge, LA – 4 and 2
(5) Bob Lutz, Jerome, ID def. (21) Dave Raabis, Calgary, AB – 19th
(2) Norman Swenson, Linville, NC def. (18) Joel Hirsch, Chicago, IL – 1UP
(7) Howard Broun, Calgary, AB def. (23) Earl Stewart, Fairfax, CA – 6 and 5
(3) Merv Dusyk, Red Deer, AB def. (19) Joseph Pavoni, Prospect, KY - 2UP
(22) John French, Bloomfield Hills, MI. def. (6) Richard Stevens, Middlebury, CT – 5 and 4
The following are results for opening-round matches for Friday, July 7, 2006.
(1) Steve Earsley, Stuart, FL def. (32) Ray Henry, Victoria, BC - 3 and 2
(17) J. David Carroll, Napa, CA def. (16) Gus Kozina, Beach Park, IL. - 4 and 2
(8) Kemp Richardson, Laguna Niguel, CA def. (25) Frank Abbott, Napa, CA - 2 and 1
(9) Bill Wilms, Delta, BC def. (24) T. Craig Robertson, Chilliwack, BC - 1UP
(4) James Scissons, Saskatoon, SK def. (29) Terry Campbell, Victoria, BC 4 and 3
(13) Todd Lusk, Baton Rouge, LA def. (20) Real Gamache, Quesnel, BC 1UP
(5) Bob Lutz, Jerome, ID def. (28) Gerald White, Cranbrook, BC – 2 and 1
(21) Dave Raabis, Calgary, AB def. (12) Sid Segsworth, Sudbury, ON - 6 and 4
(2) Norman Swenson, Linville, NC def. (31) Billy Graham, Pensacola, FL - 3 and 2
(18) Joel Hirsch, Chicago, IL (15) def (15) Rick Weihe, Bellingham, WA. - 1UP
(7) Howard Broun, Calgary, AB def. (26) Peter Howe, Crawford Bay, BC – 5 and 4
(23) Earl Stewart, Fairfax, CA def. (10) Albert Dowdell, Calgary, AB – 1UP
(3) Merv Dusyk, Red Deer, AB def. (30) Alex Tarumianz, Lookout, TN - 2 and 1
(19) Joseph Pavoni, Prospect, KY def. (14) Pat Vincelli, Burnsville, MN - 5 and 4
(6) Richard Stevens, Middlebury, CT def. (27) Russ Berkoben, Perrysburg, OH 4 and 2
(22) John French, Bloomfield Hills, MI def. (11) Dwight Sandquist, Calgary, AB 23rd
- Stroke-play ranking in parenthesis
Conducted by the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA), the Senior Match-Play Championship consisted of both stroke and match-play. The stroke-play portion of the event was played over 54 holes the field was cut to 32 players qualifying for the match-play portion of the championship. A competitor’s qualifying score determined his position in the match-play draw. The championship was contested from July 3-9th 2006 with the competition open to male amateur golfers who have reached the age of 55 by July 4th, 2006.
A full listing of players, match-play seedings and results for the 2006 Canadian Senior Match-Play Championship can be found online at www.rcga.org.
ABOUT THE ROYAL CANADIAN GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing close to 400,000 members at over 1550 clubs across the country. Some of the RCGA’s core services include the Rules of Golf, handicapping and course rating, support of turfgrass and environmental research, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum and CN Future Links, Canada’s national junior golf program. In addition, the RCGA conducts Canada’s most prestigious golf championships. The Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women’s Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while six regional junior championships, 10 national amateur championships and the CN Canadian Women’s Tour showcase the best of Canadian golf. For more information please visit www.rcga.org.