Jon Hurst and Evan Beck won the National Senior-Junior Championship by a single shot at The Dye Preserve Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla.
The team from Virginia Beach held off a charge from Gene Elliott (W. Des Moines, Iowa) and Derek Busby (Ruston, La.) on the final day as the scramble format put low numbers all over the leaderboard.
The two teams played together in the final group on Wednesday, with Hurst and Beck (a former Wake Forest golfer) carrying a three-shot lead after taking control of the tournament with an 8-under 64 under the Pinehurst format in round two.
But Elliott and Busby recorded the low final-round score, a 12-under 60, to threaten the leaders. Ultimately the 62 by Hurst and Beck was enough for the win.
Tony Hejna (Cleveland, Ohio) and Jamie Miller (Orchard Park, N.Y.), co-leaders after a first-round 63 in the best-ball format, also shot 62 and finished in solo third, three shots back. James Kirchdorfer (Louisville, Ky.) and Max Mehles (Germany, University of Kentucky) were third, another two shots behind.
The Louisiana-based team of Tommy Brennan and Patrick Christovich, who won this event in 2014 and 2015, finished in a tie for seventh.
Four-time AmateurGolf.com Senior Player of the Year, Doug Hanzel, played with his son Drew and finished tied for 15th.
In the Legends division, Indiana Golf Hall of Famer Skip Runnels teamed up with Gordon Rees for a two-shot win, overcoming a four-shot deficit with a final-round 61.
Paul Quigly (Warren, R.I.) and Bob Rotella (Keswick, Va.) also closed with a 61 to finish two shots back, tied with the overnight leaders, former Walker Cup captain Spider Miller and Pinky Pelham, who shot 67.
View results for National Senior Junior
ABOUT THE National Senior Junior
Mid Amateur, Senior Amateur. Unique three-format
54 hole invitational features a "junior" (mid
am) and a senior paired together. There is also a
Legends division
that pairs legends and super seniors. Started in 1991
by some
Society of Seniors members, the tournament is
played
on a
wonderful course re-done by Pete Dye. One round
each of Best-Ball, Scramble, and
Pinehurst format.
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