Gene Elliott posted this photo of the course when rain suspended play Wednesday
SUNNINGDALE, England (August 10, 2017) -- The British Senior Amateur leaderboard is looking Red, White and Blue again as four of the top five positions -- with round two play at Sunningdale still underway on Thursday -- occupied by Americans.
An American player has one each of the last seven years, and there is no sign of that streak ending, with many of the top senior ams choosing a tournament trip to the U.K. over the typical golf holiday offered by golf travel agencies.
Leading the way is Steve Groom, at even par for the tournament through 15 holes of his second round. Steven Williams from South Africa trails him at 1-over, but he has a late tee time at 6:45pm local time (yes, it gets dark late there but times were pushed back because of the rain delay in round one).
Matthew Sughrue, who was runner-up in 2015, is in the clubhouse at 2-over and stands in third place. The Virginian is a perennial top finisher in mid-am and senior standards like the Coleman (Seminole) and the Crump Cup at Pine Valley. Sughrue, who just played in the U.S. Senior Open, is followed by Gene Elliott of Iowa continuing his strong play at 3-over through 36 holes. We expect the 2017 Trans-Miss Senior champ to be "right there" on Friday when the 54-hole championship finishes up.
"No golf for me today," Elliott posted Wednesday on Facebook. "I go about 7:30 tomorrow morning. Then will tee off again around 1:30. They'll try to get in as many holes as possible before Friday's finish. Thursday & Friday is supposed to be good weather."
ROUND ONE NOTES
Chip Lutz finished low amateur at the British Senior Open just over a week ago, which was a good omen for the defending champ of the British Senior Amateur, which got underway at Sunningdale Golf Club today.
And he was faced with some unbelievably challenging weather, acclimating his body and golf game to the conditions that some of his other American counterparts are just experiencing for the first time.
It's been a cold summer in the U.K.
Lutz leads a contingent of 55 Americans who have made the trek to compete at Sunningdale this week, including former champions Paul Simson, Brady Exber, Pat Tallent and George Zahringer.
View the scoring link as the defending champ (and three time winner of the title) from Pennsylvania tries to keep his run going at Sunningdale -- we will have a wrap-up later today if play continues.
Update: Play has been abandoned due to overly wet conditions and will resume at 7:00am local time on Thursday. Only 45 players were able to complete their rounds, with only one--Doug Park of England--able to match the par of 70.
Of the Americans who were able to finish their rounds, the low score was a 74 (+4) by Kenneth Bakst.
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.
View Complete Tournament Information