Chip Lutz
ABERDEEN, Scotland (Aug. 7, 2013) -- America’s Chip Lutz could become only the second player to win three consecutive Seniors Open Amateur Championship titles if he secures victory at Royal Aberdeen this week.
A place in next year’s Senior Open at Royal Porthcawl in Wales is at stake for the winner of the 45th championship.
Lutz will tee it up at 9.01am on Wednesday, in the company of Andrew Stracey from Denham and Adrian Morrow from Portmarnock, knowing that he could emulate the achievements of the late Charlie Green, who passed away earlier this year. The Scot won the championship six times in all and four times consecutively from 1988 to 1991.
The 58-year-old from Reading, Pennsylvania won at Royal Portrush in 2011 and the Machynys Peninsula in Wales last year and will be looking to lift the trophy once again in the north east of Scotland.
He will face stiff competition from a strong field including former champions David Lane from Goring & Streatley, Arthur Pierse from Tipperaray, Robert Vallis from the Mid Ocean Golf Club in Bermuda and Americans John Baldwin and Paul Simson, who won the event in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
Simson, the reigning US Senior Amateur Champion, finished three shots adrift of Lutz last year along with fellow Americans Douglas Pool and Steve Rogers and all three will be expected to once again mount a strong challenge this year.
The recently crowned 2013 European Seniors Amateur Champion, Lorenzo Sartori from Italy, will be another contender along with runner-up, Switzerland’s Markus Frank.
Among the home hopes will be Derek Murphy, from Kinross, who was the runner-up in last year’s Scottish Seniors Order of Merit, and Gordon MacDonald, who captained the Scotland side in last year’s Senior Home Internationals.
Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, said, “The stage is set for another great Seniors Open Amateur Championship. Royal Aberdeen is a wonderful venue that will provide a real test of links golf for the players. We have a strong field with past champions and a strong American and overseas contingent so it promises to be a closely fought and exciting championship.”
The 2013 Seniors Open Amateur Championship takes place at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club from 7-9 August 2013. A field of 144 players will play the first two rounds on 7 and 8 August after which the leading 60 players, and ties, will play a further 18 holes on 9 August. The championship is open to players aged 55 years and over before 7 August 2013.
Reports and scores will appear on championships.randa.org throughout the three days of competition.
ABOUT THE British Senior Amateur
The British Senior Amateur, called the "Seniors
Amateur Championship" in the United Kingdom,
was launched by The R&A in 1969 to help select
a Great Britain & Ireland side to play in the
World Senior Amateur Team Championship.
Though the British Senior Amateur, played for the
first time at Formby, was an instant success, the
team event did not survive beyond 1969. Charlie
Green has been the most successful player in
the history of the event, winning six times in
seven years beginning in 1988. Like the U.S.
Senior Amateur, players must be over the age of
55 to play. Notable courses played over the
years include Royal County Down, Royal
Portrush, Royal Aberdeen, and Walton Heath.
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