Ron Carter birdied the final hole to win the
Jim Rivers Senior Invitational by one stroke.
(Margaret Croft/The News-Star)
by Keith Prince, TheNewsStar.com
CHOUDRANT, LA (May 23, 2009)--Monroe native Robert Shelton shot the round of the tournament with a 5-under-par 67 but Indiana’s Ron Carter answered with a winning birdie on the 18th hole to capture the 16th annual Jim Rivers Senior Invitational Saturday.
Playing at top ranked Squire Creek Country Club, the epic battle came on the birthday of the late Jim Rivers, who won this inaugural event. It was a match that provided exactly the national caliber senior competition that Rivers envisioned when he started the event in 1994.
Shelton, a financial advisor in Lafayette, put together a masterful bogey-free performance that featured five birdies while Carter posted one-under-par, providing him a winning total of 3-under-par-216 thanks to rounds of 73-69-71.
Starting the day five shots behind, Shelton had pulled to within a single shot at the turn thanks to birds on No. 8 and No. 9 for 2-under-34 while Carter was shooting 2-over 38 with bogeys at No. 3 and No. 7.
Both men birdied the par-5 No. 11 before Shelton pulled even on No. 12 when he made birdie from 18-feet. "I can’t really say I missed a putt today," said the 2007 Rivers champion, who went to a cross-headed putting style mid-way in Friday’s round.
"I had practiced cross-handed when I was a kid but never used it in competition until Friday," he remarked, saying he used the same bull’s eye putter throughout the week.
After both men parred No. 13 and No. 14, Carter went back ahead with a birdie on No. 15 before Shelton caught up again with birdie at 17, playing a tough pitch over the left bunker to within four feet.
That set the stage for No. 18.
Shelton hit 7-iron from 167 yards and said immediately, "I’ll be disappointed if it isn’t close." But the ball rolled to the back fringe and Shelton faced a 25-footer for birdie. His putt was just wide right, giving him a par.
Meanwhile, Carter powered a hook off the right side of the fairway and it rolled to the bottom of the hill, leaving him just 124 yards to the pin. He "backed down on a 9-iron" and it was virtually perfect, leaving him a mere three-footer, which he converted to win the match.
Leaderboard - Senior Final Results
Ron Carter 73 69 71 213
Robert Shelton 72 75 67 214
Mike Rice 76 77 69 222
Jerry Hudgins 73 75 77 225
Ted Smith 73 75 78 226
Doug Baker 74 76 76 226
Jim Lipe 76 78 73 227
Doug Farr 76 73 78 227
Bob Howe 76 72 79 227
Gerald Siemons 79 76 74 229
Greg Mokler 73 78 78 229
Joe Pavoni 79 77 74 230
Ford Cartwright 74 77 79 230
Dennis Smith 77 76 77 230
Mike Hopson 82 73 76 231
Eddie Lyons 78 75 78 231
Brad Mosing 82 78 72 232
Danny Alexander 78 74 80 232
Ronnie Moore 78 77 79 234
Van Stewart 74 84 76 234
Herb Fisher 78 81 75 234
Corky Nelson 74 85 76 235
Gary Kirwin 78 81 77 236
Jim Wheeler 81 76 80 237
David Netherton 85 76 76 237
Doug Chandler 79 78 81 238
Mark Tolson 80 80 78 238
John Kennedy 78 85 76 239
Knox Ridley 78 85 76 239
Sandy McCall 84 80 76 240
Roy Holloway 81 81 79 241
Bobby Smith 81 85 76 242
Richard Hubbard 80 85 81 246
David Sibley 80 85 81 246
Jay Pierson 82 80 84 246
Robert Woodward 87 78 81 246
Bruce Meyer 80 84 88 252
Orie Hunter 90 86 78 254
Stewart Causey 89 88 77 254
Jean Hall 86 84 87 257
Herbie Schilling 86 87 86 259
Rik Procter 78 78
Leaderboard - Super Senior Final Results
Bob Hullender 73 71 74 218
Richie Anderson 73 72 74 219
Lewis Jones 77 73 69 219
Andy Wall 76 74 72 222
Richard Tatum 78 75 73 226
Curt McClure 79 76 74 229
Todd Lusk 80 74 76 230
Guss Kozina 79 72 81 232
Kwan Choo 82 75 79 236
Ed Turner 79 79 79 237
Curtis Wagner 80 82 76 238
Stephen Reid 80 80 78 238
Doug Smith 82 75 82 239
Don Allen 83 77 79 239
Coy Jones 83 78 78 239
Charlie Busbee 86 77 77 240
Ron Goldburg 84 77 80 241
Yancey Ford 87 78 76 241
Jack Rivers 78 81 83 242
Bob Twadell 78 81 83 242
Leon Miletello 80 85 78 243
Chuck Ribelin 83 86 74 243
Jim Wetzel 85 81 78 244
Roger Null 87 78 81 246
Carey Schulten 85 79 84 248
Tom Vickers 86 80 82 248
Sonny Holt 89 80 82 251
Ed Shobe 89 80 84 253
Brian Hirsch 84 92 88 264
Jack Brown 95 84 91 270