Joseph Deraney (L) and Derek Meinhart (Trans-Miss)
After three days of play, three teams were crowned champions at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Mid-am champions Joeseph Deraney (Belden, Mississippi) and Derek Meinhart (Mattoon, Illinois) overcame a four shot deficit thanks to a final round 9-under 63 to claim the mid-am title by a stroke over round one leaders Richard Bradsby and Brian Dorfman (Denver, Colorado).
“We thought we had to get to 10 (under) and needed some help,” Meinhart told AmateurGolf.com. “We got to nine, and I had an eagle putt on 18 from about 10 feet that I thought we had to make. I put it on the edge and missed it but it ended up being enough.”
The winning tandem met a little over four years ago on the mid-am circuit and immediately hit it off. So much so that Meinhart and his wife traveled to the Candian Open one year to caddie for Deraney.
“[Meinhart] is one of those guys you beat and end up having a good relationship with and stay around with,” Deraney said.
Their 16-under 200 total featured just two bogeys over 54 holes and their final round 63 tied the tournament low which was also posted on Thursday by third-place finishers David Klaudt (Aledo, Texas) and Blake Vinson (Dallas, Texas).
SENIOR DIVISION
In the senior division, it was a two horse (or four, depending on the way you look at it) race between 36 hole leaders Don Dean (Austin, Texas) and Mike Lohner (Southlake, Texas) and Greg Greenbaum and Jack Larkin (Atlanta, Georgia).
Dean and Lohner held a two shot lead over the Georgians and a six shot lead over the rest of the field, making the final round play like a match play event.
The Texas tandem met just a few years ago when Lohner became a member at Spanish Oaks in Austin. Just a day before the Trans-Mississippi practice round, Dean took second place at Spanish Oaks club championship as he was just three shots off the leader and ten clear of the championship field.
As the two teams battled down the stretch, Dean and Lohner used their two shot lead they had at the beginning of the day to win the senior division at 13-under 203 (68-66-69). Matching their playing partners’ 69, Greenbaum and Larkin could not overcome the deficit when the dust settled as they finished in second place at 11-under 201.
SUPER SENIOR DIVISION
Among the super seniors, Doug Hopton-Jones (Mansfield, Texas) and Ed Turner (Richardson, Texas) built upon their three shot lead through 36 holes. Firing a final round 1-under 71, the two man crew are bringing a the second of two Trans-Mississippi Four-Ball trophies back to Texas. Their 5-under 211 (73-67-71) helped them cruise to a five stroke win over round one leaders Lester Devitt (Concord, Massachusetts) and Charles Landell (Cashiers, North Carolina).
View results for Trans-Miss Four-Ball
ABOUT THE Trans-Miss Four-Ball
One of four annual championships hosted each
year
by
the historic Trans-Mississippi Golf Association. Each
player must be a member of a Trans-Mississippi
member
club, but not necessarily the same club. Players who
do
not belong to a Trans-Miss member club can speak
to
their club's manager or board of directors to
encourage
them to join (dues are very reasonable and support
the
Trans-Miss Turf Scholarship Fund). Alternatively,
entrants may make a contribution in lieu of club
membership to the Turf Scholarship Fund.
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