2002 Senior Amateur Champion

Clagett, a Vietnam veteran and a golf cart sales representative, defeated 2004 quarterfinalist Ted Lyford of Redlands, Calif., 2 and 1, despite losing a 3-up lead on the second nine.

"I didn’t think I’d be here talking to you,” Clagett said, who broke the stroke play mark at 10-under-par 134 to earn medalist honors for the second time. “I was down when he birdied the 14th to square the match.”

Both players bogeyed 15th and Clagett regained his edge when he won the 16th with a bogey. On the 17th, Clagett hit his approach shot into the front left greenside bunker. From a good lie in the deep bunker, he exploded his shot to 3 feet and made the putt.

"That’s probably one of the best bunker shots I can remember,” Clagett said. “It was uphill all the way, you couldn’t even see the top of my head.”

Lyford lagged his approach putt from 45 feet to within four feet but missed the comebacker to close the match.

Second-seeded Alan Foster of Manlius, N.Y., the 2005 British Senior Amateur champion who also was a semifinalist in 2004, beat Don Kuehn of Kansas City, Mo., 3 and 2

Mark Bemowski of Mukwonago, Wis., the defending champion, defeated Frank Saxon of Clearwater, Fla., 3 and 2. Bemowski, who holds a 15-3 mark in Senior Amateur match play since 2001, said: “One at a time. The first one is always the toughest.”

Greg Reynolds of Grand Blanc, Mich., the 2002 champion, defeated Bob Hullender of San Antonio, Texas., a two-time medalist and the 1992 runner-up, 4 and 3.

"(Billy) Clagett told me to bring my ‘A’ game because this guy is good,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t know Bob, but I got a good start by birdieing the first two holes.”

In fact, Reynolds won the first three holes and was 5-up through 10 holes and never trailed.

Two-time Senior Amateur champion (2001 and 2003) Kemp Richardson of Laguna Nigel, Calif., moved on with a 4-and-3 victory over A.B. Sisco of Pensacola, Fla., and 1991 U.S. Amateur champion Mitch Voges of Simi Valley, Calif., defeated Fred Lukasik of Rock Island, Ill., 5 and 4.

A four-way playoff on Monday morning yielded the last three berths of the field. Stan Fischer of Richmond, Va., pulled off the comeback of the day with a victory in 19 holes after trailing 6-down through nine holes.

Seven of the 32 matches went extra holes.

The second and third rounds of match play will be played Tuesday, the quarterfinals and semifinals on Wednesday and the final round on Thursday.

The USGA Senior Amateur, for amateurs 55 and older, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Rocky Face, Ga. – Results from Monday’s first round of match play at the 2005 USGA Senior Amateur Championship at 6,737-yard, par 72 The Farm Golf Club:

Billy Clagett, Austin, Texas (134) def. Ted Lyford, Redlands, Calif. (152), 2 and 1

Stan Fischer, Richmond, Va. (148) def. Karl Stewart Sr, Chino Hills, Calif. (148), 19 holes

Ken Benson, Alpharetta, Ga. (150) def. Jules Victor III, Savannah, Ga. (145), 2 and 1

Jack Vardaman, Washington, D.C. (145) def. Roy Vomastek, Cadillac, Mich. (150), 19 holes

Randy Reifers, Columbus, Ohio (142) def. Dick Iverson, Lake Oswego, Ore. (151), 2 and 1

Steve Dallas, Mesa, Ariz. (149) def. Dave Parsons, Benicia, Calif. (146), 19 holes

Charles Bagby, Birmingham, Ala. (151) def. Frank Abbott, Napa, Calif. (143), 3 and 2

Jim Brown, Loudon, Tenn. (146) def. Bill Dorece, Cincinnati, Ohio (149), 6 and 5

Mike Rice, Houston, Texas (140) def. Peter Allen, Rochester Hills, Mich. (151), 4 and 2

James Myers, Oceanside, Calif. (148) def. Michael Bell, Indianapolis, Ind. (147), 3 and 2

Rick Ten Broeck, Chicago, Ill. (144) def. Al Everett, Cumming, Ga. (151), 2 up

Mitch Voges, Simi Valley, Calif. (145) def. Fred Lukasik, Rock Island, Ill. (150), 5 and 4

Martin West, Rockville, Md. (140) def. Francis McFadden, Newtown Square, Pa. (151), 3 and 2

Tim Miller, Kokomo, Ind. (149) def. Douglas Crawford, Wayland, Mass. (147), 3 and 2

B. Shawn McLoughlin, Bethel, Conn. (144) def. Harcourt Kemp, Louisville, Ky. (151), 3 and 2

Gayle Sanchez, Baton Rouge, La. (150) def. James Wittenberg Jr, Memphis, Tenn. (145), 19 holes

Alan Foster, Manlius, N.Y. (138) def. Don Kuehn, Kansas City, Mo. (152), 3 and 2

Gary Hardin, Ft. Worth, Texas (148) def. Logan Jackson, Winston Salem, N.C. (148), 2 and 1

Chip Campion, Salinas, Calif. (145) def. Greg Shaw, Little Rock, Ark. (151), 6 and 4

Ken Redfern, Austin, Texas (145) def. Ed Chylinski, Gulph Mills, Pa. (150), 3 and 2

John Hogden, Black River Falls, Wis. (141) def. Michael Reuther, Auburn, Calif. (151), 1 up

Robert Kulp Jr, Winston-Salem, N.C. (149) def. Rick Woulfe, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (147), 4 and 3

Robert Mielcarz, Concord, N.H. (143) def. Bob Kain, Hunting Valley, Ohio (151), 20 holes

Mike Brummer, Rapid City, S.D. (149) def. Ernie Newton, High Point, N.C. (146), 2 up

Mark Bemowski, Mukwonago, Wis. (139) def. Frank Saxon, Clearwater, Fla. (152), 3 and 2

Jack Forbes, Morgantown, W.Va. (147) def. David Lind, Burr Ridge, Ill. (148), 19 holes

Kemp Richardson, Laguna Niguel, Calif. (144) def. A..B. Sisco, Pensacola, Fla. (151), 4 and 3

Spencer Sappington, Alpharetta, Ga. (150) def. Robert Morris, Great Falls, Va. (145), 3 and 2

Danny Yates, Atlanta, Ga. (151) def. Larry Barnacle, Mahtomedi, Minn. (141), 3 and 2

Ronald Vannelli, Edison, N.J. (149) def. John DiMuccio, New Castle, Pa. (147), 20 holes

Greg Reynolds, Grand Blanc, Mich. (144) def. Bob Hullender, San Antonio, Texas (151), 4 and 3

Larry Boswell, Jamestown, N.C. (146) def. William Best, Jacksonville, Fla. (150), 5 and 4

Rocky Face, Ga. – Pairings for Tuesday’s second round of match play at the 2005 USGA Senior Amateur Championship at The Farm Golf Club (6,763 yards, par 72) all times EDT:

8:15 a.m. Billy Clagett, Austin, Texas (134) vs. Stan Fischer, Richmond, Va. (148)

8:23 a.m. Ken Benson, Alpharetta, Ga. (150) vs. Jack Vardaman, Washington, D.C. (145)

8:31 a.m. Randy Reifers, Columbus, Ohio (142) vs. Steve Dallas, Mesa, Ariz. (149)

8:39 a.m. Charles Bagby, Birmingham, Ala. (151) vs. Jim Brown, Loudon, Tenn. (146)

8:47 a.m. Mike Rice, Houston, Texas (140) vs. James Myers, Oceanside, Calif. (148)

8:55 a.m. Rick Ten Broeck, Chicago, Ill. (144) vs. Mitch Voges, Simi Valley, Calif. (151)

9:03 a.m. Martin West, Rockville, Md. (140) vs. Tim Miller, Kokomo, Ind. (149)

9:11 a.m. B. Shawn McLoughlin, Bethel, Conn. (144) vs. Gayle Sanchez, Baton Rouge, La. (150)

9:19 a.m. Alan Foster, Manlius, N.Y. (138) vs. Gary Hardin, Ft Worth, Texas (148)

9:27 a.m. Chip Campion, Salinas, Calif. (145) vs. Ken Redfern, Austin, Texas (145)

9:35 a.m. John Hogden, Black River Falls, Wis. (141) vs. Robert Kulp Jr, Winston-Salem, N.C. (149)

9:43 a.m. Robert Mielcarz, Concord, N.H. (143) vs. Mike Brummer, Rapid City, S.D. (149)

9:51 a.m. Mark Bemowski, Mukwonago, Wis. (139) vs. Jack Forbes, Morgantown, W.Va. (147)

9:59 a.m. Kemp Richardson, Laguna Niguel, Calif. (144) vs. Spencer Sappington, Alpharetta, Ga. (150)

10:07 a.m. Danny Yates, Atlanta, Ga. (151) vs. Ronald Vannelli, Edison, N.J. (149)

10:15 a.m. Greg Reynolds, Grand Blanc, Mich. (144) vs. Larry Boswell, Jamestown, N.C. (150)