Albers Takes Kansas City Masters Title
Doug Albers of Prairie Village smiled as he thought about his week. Five days of tournament golf and two victories, not bad, not bad at all! Earlier in the week, Albers teamed up with Jason Seeman, and won the Kansas Mid Am Team and then finished off the week with an individual win at the Kansas City Masters at Blue Hills Country. “It feels good,” stated Albers, “last time I played in a championship here at Blue Hills I blew my lead over the last three holes, so this is redemption.” Heading into the final three holes Albers was three under par for the championship thanks in part to an eagle on the 502-yard par 5 No. 13 and a solid birdie on No. 15. With a couple of hiccups on the final three holes Albers finished with a 1-under par 143 for the 36-hole elite field championship.
Finishing four shots back of Albers were three players, Brett Iliff of Olathe, Clay Ederer of Olathe, and Jamie Schmitt of Grain Valley. Iliff was co-leader with Albers heading into the final round but fell back with a 4-over par 76. Jamie Schmitt stumbled on the front nine, but recovered on the back and with his runner-up earned enough points to put him over the top and earn Player-of-the-Year honors and take over the number spot on the Bushnell Standings.
In the Senior Division, Steve Groom of Raytown continued his strong play and added to his lead to win the championship over Kevin Handlan of Leawood. Groom struggled on the front nine and posted a 39, but regained his momentum on the back nine with a 1-under par 35 and finished the championship with a one-under par 143. Handlan shot the best round of the day with an even par 72 and passed Andy Smith of Gladstone who struggled during the final round. With the victory, Groom passed Smith on the Player-of-the-Year points list and will be honored as the Senior Amateur Player-of-the-Year.
View results for Kansas City Masters
ABOUT THE Kansas City Masters
36 Holes Stroke Play. Invitations based
upon the Kansas City Amateur Player
Rankings. The top 32 players plus the club
champion of the host venue receive
invitations.
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