Picture Butte, Alta. Canada (July 6, 2006) -– American Steve Earsley of Stuart, FL., is the man to beat heading into the first set of matches after claiming low medalist honours at the 2006 Canadian Senior Match-Play Championship conducted by the Royal Canadian Golf Association.
Earsley, 58, strolled to another 68 with a three-day total of 70-68-68—206 (-10) and earned the top seed in match play. Norman Swenson of Linville, N.C. who qualified for match play with the second seed was five-strokes behind at 211.
Earsley, currently 41st on Golfweek magazine’s US senior amateur rankings, was optimistically confident about his chances.
“I like being the first seed, you certainly aim for it, however it’s one of those things that can go both ways,” said Earsley. “A lot of guys you face believe they have nothing to lose and play tougher. I’ve seen a lot of first seeds get eliminated in the first round… too many actually. I’ve done that [been eliminated] once or twice myself. We’ll try not to make that happen tomorrow.”
“I’ve slowly cut down on some errors in each round.” Earsley continued. “I’ve gotten better as we’ve gone along, but unfortunately for me it’s like a brand new tournament now. What I did the last three days doesn’t matter; everyone starts fresh.”
Although the top 30 seeds in match play were determined by regular stroke play, the final two-spots needed to be decided by a sudden-elimination playoff. Seven players tied for 31st position at nine-over par, 225.
Three-time champion, Billy Graham of Pensacola FL., was the first to qualify by making birdie on the opening playoff hole and four others were eliminated after they bogeyed. Ray Henry of Victoria, B.C. was the last to qualify after ousting last year’s runner up Jack Ramsey of Germantown, TN., USA., on the second playoff hole.
Prior to the start of the playoff there was a 45 minute delay due to a thunderstorm that moved through the greater Lethbridge area.
The top Canadian heading into match play is Merv Dusyk of Red Deer, Alta., who shot a 69 on the day to secure the third seed at 212. Other top Canadians qualifying in the top-10 include Jim Scissons of Saskatoon, Sask., as well as Calgary natives Howard Broun and Albert Dowdell. In all 14 Canadians advanced to match play.
Defending champion Gary Shimmin of Okatie, S.C., USA, just missed the cut finishing one stroke back with a three day total of 77-75-74—226.
As part of the RCGA’s Pathway to Champions, the Canadian Senior Match-Play Champion will earn an exemption into the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. The pathway could very well continue next month with two Canadian Open exemptions awarded to the Canadian Men’s Amateur champion and runner-up. Mississaugua Golf & Country Club will host the Canadian Men’s Amateur this year from August 11-18. This year’s Canadian Open will be played September 4-10 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.
Additionally, the Senior Match-Play Champion will also receive an exemption into the 2006 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, held September 18-21 in Winnipeg, and a coveted exemption to compete 2006 USGA Senior Men’s Championship contested September 16-21 at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh Indiana.
Opening-round morning matches get under way at 7:30 am (MDT) on Friday with second-round matches to follow in the afternoon beginning at 12:45 pm (MDT).
The following are opening-round matches for Friday, July 7, 2006
7:30 AM #1 Steve Earsley (Stuart, FL) vs. #32 Ray Henry (Victoria, BC)
7:39 AM #16 Gus Kozina (Beach Park, IL) vs. #17 J. David Carroll (Napa, CA)
7:48 AM #8 Kemp Richardson (Laguna Niguel, CA) vs. #25 Frank Abbott (Napa, CA)
7:57 AM #9 Bill Wilms (Delta, BC) vs. #24 T. Craig Robertson (Chilliwack, BC)
8:06 AM #4 James Scissons (Saskatoon, SK) vs. #29 Terry Campbell (Victoria, BC)
8:15 AM #13 Todd Lusk (Baton Rouge, LA) vs. # 20 Real Gamache (Quesnel, BC)
8:24 AM #5 Bob Lutz (Jerome, ID) vs. #28 Gerald White (Cranbrook, BC)
8:33 AM #12 Sid Segsworth (Sudbury, ON) vs. #21 Dave Raabis (Calgary, AB)
8:42 AM #2 Norman Swenson (Linville, NC) vs. #31 Billy Graham (Pensacola, FL)
8:51 AM #15 Rick Weihe (Bellingham, WA) vs. # 18 Joel Hirsch (Chicago, IL)
9:00 AM #7 Howard Broun (Calgary, AB) vs. # 26 Peter Howe (Crawford Bay, BC)
9:09 AM #10 Albert Dowdell (Calgary, AB) vs. # 23 Earl Stewart (Fairfax, CA)
9:18 AM #3 Merv Dusyk (Red Deer, AB) vs. #30 Alex Tarumianz (Lookout, TN)
9:27 AM #14 Pat Vincelli (Burnsville, MN) vs. #19 Joseph Pavoni (Prospect, KY)
9:36 AM #6 Richard Stevens (Middlebury, CT) vs. #27 Russ Berkoben (Perrysburg, OH)
9:45 AM #11 Dwight Sandquist (Calgary, AB) vs. #22 John French (Bloomfield Hills, MI)
The following are final stroke play qualifying results for Thursday, July 6, 2006.
(Par: 72 Yardage: 6445)
1 Steve Earsley, Stuart, FL 70-68-68--206
2 Norman Swenson, Linville, NC 74-67-70--211
3 Merv Dusyk, Red Deer, AB 72-71-69--212
4 Jim Scissons, Saskatoon, SK 75-71-68--214
5 Bob Lutz, Jerome, ID 74-66-75--215
6 Richard Stevens, Middlebury, CT 72-72-72--216
T7 Howard Broun, Calgary, AB 73-76-68--217
T7 Kemp Richardson, Laguna Niguel, CA 69-75-73--217
9 Bill Wilms, Delta, BC 76-71-71--218
T10 Albert Dowdell, Calgary, AB 76-72-71--219
T10 Dwight Sandquist, Calgary, AB 72-75-72--219
T10 Sid Segsworth, Sudbury, ON 73-73-73--219
T10 Todd Lusk, Baton Rouge, LA 69-77-73--219
T14 Pat Vincelli, Burnsville, MN 74-76-70--220
T14 Rick Weihe, Bellingham, WA 74-72-74--220
T14 Gus Kozina, Beach Park, IL 70-75-75--220
T14 J. David Carroll, Napa, CA 72-70-78--220
T18 Joel Hirsch, Chicago, IL 74-73-74--221
T18 Joseph Pavoni, Prospect, KY 76-70-75--221
T18 Real Gamache, Quesnel, BC 73-71-77--221
21 Dave Raabis, Calgary, AB 76-73-73--222
T22 John French, Bloomfield Hills, MI 74-76-73--223
T22 Earl Stewart, Fairfax, CA 74-75-74--223
T22 T. Craig Robertson, Chilliwack, BC 74-77-72--223
T22 Frank Abbott, Napa, CA 73-74-76--223
T22 Peter Howe, Crawford Bay, BC 76-71-76--223
T22 Russ Berkoben, Perrysburg, OH 77-74-72--223
T22 Gerald White, Cranbrook, BC 74-79-70--223
T29 Terry Campbell, Victoria, BC 75-75-74--224
T29 Alex Tarumianz, Lookout, TN 71-76-77--224
*T31 Billy Graham, Pensacola, FL 73-78-74--225
*T31 Ray Henry, Victoria, BC 74-77-74--225
--missed cut--
T31 Ron Green, Weston, ON 76-73-76--225
T31 Walt Martin, Oaktown, VA 72-75-78--225
T31 Chris Ingram, Brampton, ON 76-76-73--225
T31 Fred Silver, Lewiston, NY 78-74-73--225
T31 Jack Ramsey, Germantown, TN 79-73-73--225
T38 James AG Sutton, Cranbrook, BC 79-75-72--226
T38 Richard Anderson, Minneapolis, MN 81-76-69--226
T38 Kenneth Eichele, Pinehurst, NC 74-77-75--226
T38 Gary Shimmin, Okatie, SC 77-75-74--226
T42 Richard Senetchko, Edmonton, AB 76-73-78--227
T42 Karl Stewart, Hemet, CA 79-72-76--227
T42 Denis Eamon Murphy, Amherstburg, ON 79-74-74--227
T45 Mike Nixon, Nashville, TN 76-73-79--228
T45 Jim Lotwin, Calgary, AB 74-78-76--228
T45 Gary McReynolds, Calgary, AB 78-76-74--228
48 Phil Kerbrat, Calgary, AB 77-77-75--229
T49 Jim Mapey, Campbell River, BC 76-78-76--230
T49 Leif Petersen, Kootenay Bay, BC 80-74-76--230
T49 Bill Cvengros, San Juan Capo, CA 76-79-75--230
T49 Eric Sprigings, Saskatoon, SK 74-77-79--230
T49 Phillip Leckey, Tampa, FL 75-77-78--230
T54 Mike Toller, Calgary, AB 77-79-75--231
T54 Russ Bentley, Kelowna, BC 82-75-74--231
T54 Gregory Mokler, La Quinta, CA 77-74-80--231
T54 Barrie Reagan, Calgary, AB 76-77-78--231
T58 Ronald Petersen, Coquitlam, BC 79-77-76--232
T58 Tom Liljeholm, Palm Springs, CA 78-77-77--232
T58 Bill Simmons, Burlington, ON 79-78-75--232
T61 Stuart Nicholson, Calgary, AB 81-74-78--233
T61 Roger Larson, Medicine Hat, AB 76-81-76--233
T63 Al Brownridge, Winnipeg, MB 79-82-73--234
T63 Kevin Hughes, Ajax, ON 79-79-76--234
T65 Jeff Remington, Edmonds, WA 81-74-80--235
T65 Tom Desmarais, Calgary, AB 81-78-76--235
T65 Ray Madison, Calgary, AB 78-75-82--235
T68 Frank Sutton, Calgary, AB 83-72-81--236
T68 William Karbashewski, Lethbridge, AB 80-78-78--236
T70 Dennis Bleackley, Calgary, AB 82-74-81--237
T70 Noel Pumfrey, Victoria, BC 78-83-76--237
T72 David Rovick, Edina, MN 80-75-83--238
T72 Clifton Stroh, Lethbridge, AB 78-78-82--238
T72 Richard Mercier, Taber, AB 77-81-80--238
T72 André Jetté, Mt. St-Hilaire, QC 84-75-79--238
T76 Ross Ballantyne, Midland, ON 80-77-82--239
T76 Kwan Choo, West Vancouver, BC 82-79-78--239
T76 Bob Edmunds, Calgary, AB 76-82-81--239
T79 Reg Masuda, Lethbridge, AB 81-84-75--240
T79 Larry Fender, Lethbridge, AB 84-80-76--240
T79 J. C. Kelly Steuart, Silver Star Mountain, BC 77-81-82--240
T82 Eric Wiltzen, Cranbrook, BC 79-83-79--241
T82 Laurie Scott, Edmonton, AB 83-79-79--241
T82 Joseph Orgill, Woodbridge, ON 77-84-80--241
85 Dan Layton, Calgary, AB 74-85-83--242
T86 Robert Laflen, Houston, TX 78-87-78--243
T86 Robert Reynolds, Calgary, AB 87-78-78--243
T86 George Granger, North Vancouver, BC 80-81-82--243
T89 Bill Klym, Calgary, AB 85-79-80--244
T89 Paul Schoenhals, Calgary, AB 75-86-83--244
T91 Charles McCaffree, Victoria, BC 84-81-80--245
T91 Rene Grivel, San Juan Capistrano, CA 83-81-81--245
T93 Monte Turner, Taber, AB 82-84-80--246
T93 Pat Nairn, Calgary, AB 83-82-81--246
95 Daniel Tolley, Picture Butte, AB 85-78-85--248
T96 Ron Newman, Calgary, AB 84-87-78--249
T96 Tom Orr, Whistler, BC 80-82-87--249
T98 Larry Cornwell, Garibaldi Highlands, BC 84-85-81--250
T98 Gerald Manale, North Gower, ON 83-84-83--250
T100 George Hevenor, Toronto, ON 84-87-83--254
T100 Bill Bugbee, Innisfail, AB 83-85-86--254
T100 Robert Callan, San Francisco, CA Withdrawn
T100 Ted Smith, Taber, AB Withdrawn
T100 Rob Bannister, Calgary, AB Withdrawn
T100 Lonnie Tate, Calgary, AB Withdrawn
* Qualified for match-play in a sudden elimination playoff
Conducted by the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA), the Senior Match-Play Championship consists of both stroke and match-play. The stroke-play portion of the event will be played over 54 holes. The field will be reduced to 32 players after 54 holes qualifying for the match-play portion of the championship. A competitor’s qualifying score will determine his position in the match-play draw. The first two rounds of 18-hole matches will take place Friday, July 7th with the quarterfinal and semi-final matches on Saturday, July 8th and the championship final on Sunday, July 9th. The competition is open to male amateur golfers who have reached the age of 55 by July 4th, 2006.
A full listing of players, match-play pairings, seedings and start times 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.