JUPITER, Fla. – The Virginia team of Pat Tallent, Vienna, and Keith Decker, Martinsville, completed a wire-to-wire performance Thursday at The Dye Preserve to win the National Senior-Junior Amateur Team Championship for the second straight year.
A final round scramble score of 10 under par 62 gave Tallent and Decker a two-stroke margin of victory at 197. That was two strokes higher than their winning score of 195 here last year.
“We had to play hard today, especially on the back nine because Vinny (Giles) and Trip (Kuehne) were shooting a 30,” Tallent said. The winners also closed with 30. They opened with 67, four-ball stroke play, and added an alternate shots score of 68 to move ahead Wednesday. They made 21 birdies in 54 holes, 10 on Thursday, with single bogeys the first and second days.
Giles, of Richmond, Va., and Kuehne, of Dallas, Texas, tied for the first round lead, then added 69-63 for 199. Giles and Kuehne won two years ago at 196. Giles has won the Senior-Junior four times, once as a junior, with four different partners.
The only other team to win the 20-year-old tournament twice, also two years in a row, was Steve Earsley of Hobe Sound and Mike Nealy of Boca Raton in 2004-05.
In the Legends division in which one member of the team is at least 65 years old, the winners were Mark Mulvoy of Rye, N.Y., and David Brookerson of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., scoring 71-73-65—209. They also led after each round and won by six.
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National Senior-Junior Amateur Team Championship
The Dye Preserve, Jupiter, Fla.
(Seniors, 50-older, 6,600 yards, and juniors, 25-49, 6,800 yards; First round, four-ball stroke play, second round, modified alternate shots, third round, scramble)
Champions
Pat Tallent-Keith Decker 67-68-62—197
Vinny Giles-Trip Kuehne 67-69-63—199
George Marucci-Mike McCoy 69-72-60—201
Joe Marx-Joe Gullion 68-69-64—201
Alan Fadel-Rob Gerwin 69-71-63—203
Duke Delcher-Jay McKnight 71-71-63—205
Bob Levy-Tim Hume 69-71-67—207
Norman Swenson-Justin Livonius 68-71-68—207
Jim Graham-Greg Rohlf 71-74-63—208
Skip Runnels-Gordon Rees 73-71-64—208
Legends
Mark Mulvoy-David Brookerson 71-73-65—209
Fred Cox-John Pinkham 72-75-68—215
John Martin-Jerry Nelson 76-75-68—219
Robert Housen-Christopher Housen 76-74-69—219
ABOUT THE National Senior Junior
Mid Amateur, Senior Amateur. Unique three-format
54 hole invitational features a "junior" (mid
am) and a senior paired together. There is also a
Legends division
that pairs legends and super seniors. Started in 1991
by some
Society of Seniors members, the tournament is
played
on a
wonderful course re-done by Pete Dye. One round
each of Best-Ball, Scramble, and
Pinehurst format.
View Complete Tournament Information