Booker Captures his 4th Carlton Woods Senior Title

THE WOODLANDS, TX (May 3, 2018) - Mike Booker became a four-time Carlton Woods Senior Invitational champion on Thursday, shooting his third straight under par round and pulling away from the field at the Fazio Course at Carlton Woods. Booker, who won the event in 2011, 2012 and 2014, took a one-shot lead into the final round with a 69 on Wednesday. First-round co-leaders Lawrence Field (Tulsa, OK) and Scott Smith (Houston, TX) were one shot back. In a tournament known for its difficult scoring--last year's champion Jeff New (Scottsdale, AZ) won with a 4-over 220 total--the normal task for a third-round leader would be to grind out pars and dare the field to catch him. But with an abundance of low scores this week (11 players would finish ahead of New's winning total from last year), Booker had to keep making birdies, and he did just that at the first hole to extend his lead to two. Field and Smith would each get a shot back at the par-five 4th, and when Booker made his only real stumble of the day, a double at the par-4 5th, Field had grabbed the lead. Booker got even again with a birdie on the 7th, and then took the lead for good with a birdie, and a two-shot swing, at the 8th. Both players birdied both 12 and 13, and Booker maintained his two shot lead through fifteen holes. Needing a fast finish to put pressure on Booker, Field instead suffered a double-bogey at the 16th that knocked him to four shots back, which ended up being Booker's winning margin. With the win, Booker has won more CWI titles than any other player in the 13 year history of the tournament. He had been tied with Kevin Marsh, who has won three mid-amateur championships. Booker shot rounds of 71-69-69 to finish at 7-under 209, bettering the tournament record he set in 2012 by one shot. Field (70-71-72) was second at 3 under, tied with Michael Mercier (Juno Beach, FL), who put up a final-round 69. Smith shot 75 to fall into a fourth-place tie with Marcus Beck (Tallahasee, FL) at even-par 216. The defending champion New closed with a 71 to finiah tied for 7th at 2-over 218.