ABERDEEN, MD (August 29, 2005) -- Last year, it took a playoff for Bobby Morris and Marty West to win the MAGA Mid-Am Four-ball championship with a score of 63. This year, Morris, from Congressional Country Club, and West, from Columbia CC, made sure there would be no playoff. The two combined for 11 birdies in posting a bogey-free round of 31-29--60, and won the fifth annual event by six shots at Beechtree Golf Club in Aberdeen, August 29. With an overnight rain, the course played longer than its listed 6,846 yards to a par of 36-35--71.
"Magical," Morris reported of the tournament-record round. "All the wuddas and cuddas went in the hole. It was a case of two players attacking the golf course and playing well." Both have been playing well of late, as West won the MAGA Seniors in a playoff and Morris was the medalist in area qualifying for the U.S. Senior Amateur championship.
"Bobby got us off on the right foot with birdies at the first two holes, and after I made a couple, we were in kind of a lull for awhile," West said. "Going to 12 [five under par, the same as they had been through the first seven holes], I told him we had to get going. So, he birdied 12, I birdied 13, he birdied 14 with a long, breaking putt, and we went on to birdie five in a row, and got the last one at 18."
Turning five under -- the tournament's low score at that point midway in the afternoon half of play -- it was almost a foregone conclusion they would win, but several of the teams at 66 stayed to the end just to be sure. Cards were matched to determine the prize winners, with Bryan Borda and Vance Welch, fresh from his appearance in the U.S. Amateur at Merion GC last week, placing second on 36-30--66. The tour included seven birdies and two bogeys.
The other 66's in the 82-team field were the pairings of Chuck Freedman, a playoff loser last year, and Tim O'Neill, 35-31 (also seven birdies, two bogeys); Tom Lewandowski-Bill Palko, 34-32; Maryland State Mid-Am champion Greg Killian and Michael Tydings, 33-33; Jason Pool-Rob Menefee, 33-33, and Ken Lampard-Mike Printz, 31-35.
Among the seven teams at 67 was the pairing of Robert Feinstein-Rick Wakefield, who highlighted their 32-35 with bookend-eagles at the par-4 first and par-5 18th holes.
For complete results, click on the tournament link above (amateurgolf.com premium membership requested).
ABOUT THE Middle Atlantic Mid-Am - Senior Four-Ball
18-hole four-ball stroke play championship for teams of
mid-amateurs and seniors. Open to members of MAGA
member clubs.
View Complete Tournament Information