JUPITER, Fla. - Virginians Stan Fischer of Richmond and Keith Decker of Abington pulled away on the last nine holes Wednesday to win the 16th annual National Senior-Junior Amateur Team Championship at The Dye Preserve.
A final round scramble score of 10 under par 62, which included six birdies on the inward nine, pushed Fischer and Decker to a 54-hole total of 197. They had opened with 65, four-ball stroke play, on Monday and added 70, modified alternate shots, Tuesday.
Vinny Giles of Richmond, Va., and David Abell of Jupiter, who won with a tournament record 194 here in 2001, had pulled even at the turn but made only one birdie on the inward nine, at the par-5 15th hole.
Tied with Fischer and Decker after the first round and a stroke back after two, Giles, a former U.S. Amateur champion, and Abell, the Palm Beach County Golf Association Player of the Year in 2005, closed at 65-201 to tie for second.
Fischer, 65, and Decker, 45, were the Senior Player of the Year and Player of the Year for the Virginia State Golf Association last year. It was the third time they had teamed up in this event. They missed a playoff by a shot in 2005.
"We both played pretty well," Fischer said, "both hit a lot of key shots today." They birdied Nos. 2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 and 18 the final round. Decker made one of the biggest putts of the day, a 12 footer to save par at the par-3 13th hole, the only green they missed in three days.
The tournament drew 44 teams. The top 10 prize winners (seniors listed first):
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National Senior-Junior Amateur Team Championship
The Dye Preserve, Jupiter, Fla.
First round, four-ball stroke play; second round, modified alternate shots; third round, scramble.
197 - Stan Fischer, Richmond, Va., and Keith Decker, Abington, Va., 65-70-62.
201 - Jack Vardaman and Brian Norton, Washington, D.C., 68-71-62. Charles Green and Allen Barber, Jupiter, 68-70-63. Julian Saul, Dalton, Ga., and David Noll, Eaton, Ga., 69-68-64. Vinny Giles, Richmond, Va., and David Abell, Jupiter, Fla., 65-71-65.
204 - John Martin, Juno Beach, Fla., and R.J. Nakashian, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 68-70-66.
206 - Ted Smith and Skip Runnels, Richmond, Ind., 73-71-62. Ronnie Grove and Hunter Grove, Raleigh, N.C., 71-69-66.
207 - Robert Housen and Thomas Hassel, Brielle, N.J., 72-71-64. Mike Taylor, Jackson, Miss., and Kelly Miller, Southern Pines, N.C., 70-73-64. Bob Daugherty, Carmel, Ind., and Randy Nichols, Connersville, Ind., 70-72-65. William Ploeger and Francois Illovz, Columbus, Ga., 69-69-69.