(Photo courtesy of The Porter Cup)
Continuing his prolific 2022 campaign,
Kevin VandenBerg has added the Senior Porter Cup to his growing list of accomplishments on the Senior circuit.
Following Wednesday's postponement at Niagara Falls Country Club, the championship was reduced from 54 to 36 holes, meaning VandenBerg was just 18 holes way from a coveted title after carding 3-under 67 on Thursday.
The Pulaski, N.Y. resident suffered an early dent in the opening holes of Friday's final round, making a double-bogey 7 at the par-5 3rd. Additional bogeys at 7 and 9 brought him to 1-over for the tournament and into a four-way tie for the lead with just the back nine remaining.
VandenBerg, after turning at 39, drained three birdies including a clinching 2 at the par-3 18th to claim a one-shot victory over Andy Bernatovicz.
The win is VandenBerg's second major title this year, with the first coming back in January at the Heron Creek Senior Invitational. Overall, it's his eighth top-5, including an impressive 4th-place finish at the Jones Cup Senior — one of the strongest fields of the season.
Defending champion
Steve Maddalena was in Friday's final group alongside VandenBerg and
Michael Hughett. The trio were tied atop the leaderboard on the 10th tee box but Maddalena and Hughett would go on to post 2-over 72 to finish in a tie for fourth place.
Bernatovicz, of Grand Island, N.Y., turned in the round of the day which pushed him into a solo second-place finish. His final-round 68 was the second lowest score of the tournament, and had the potential for more were it not for a pair of closing bogeys at 14 and 15.
The Super Senior title went to Philip Stegemann, who earned a one-shot win over Michael McNulty with rounds of 71 and 74. He began Friday with a two-stroke cushion over McNulty and Bruce McEwen.
ABOUT THE Senior Porter Cup
The Senior Porter Cup is an invitational
amateur
event conducted at stroke play over 54 holes.
The
Tournament Committee reserves the right to
invite players of national and international
reputation to participate. Contestants are
selected
on the basis of their competitive record and
accomplishments in major amateur and senior
amateur tournaments. Players must be at least
55
years of age prior to beginning of tournament.
The Senior division was added to the annual
Porter Cup Invitational in 1992 and has been
played as as a separate tournament since
2008.
View Complete Tournament Information