From Alaska to Florida: Greg Sanders takes Dixie Senior title at Eagle Trace

It reached a high of 22 degrees on Sunday in Anchorage, Alaska, so a two-and-a-half hour fog delay in Coral Springs, Fla. was not about to deter Greg Sanders' quest from taking the Dixie Senior Amateur trophy with him back to his home state.

Sanders, 58, carded rounds of 74-69-70 for a 3-under total of 213 which was good for a two-stroke victory over Greg Davies (West Bloomfield, Mich.) on Sunday at Eagle Trace.

The 10-time Alaska Amateur champion quickly erased a three-shot deficit by making an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole to join Davies atop the leaderboard. A birdie on the ninth completed a five-shot swing and gave Sanders a two-stroke lead with nine holes remaining.

Davies pulled to within a stroke after Sanders made a bogey on the par-4 13th but fell back after making bogeys on two of the final three holes. Sanders birdied the last to polish off an even par round of 70.

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Terry Tyson

In the Super Senior Division, Terry Tyson (Perrysburg, OH) carded rounds of 72-74-72 to finish at 2-over 218, clipping defending champion Stephen Fox (Pinehurst, NC) by two strokes.

Tyson entered the final round one stroke behind 36-hole leader Chuck Gardner (Texarkana, Texas), but four birdies on his Sunday card were enough to carry the Northern Ohio native to the title.

Fox, who got off to a blazing start with birdies on five of his first seven holes, turned in the lowest round of the day with a 2-under 70 but ultimately the 2021 champion had too much ground to make up.

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Jason Lina

The Mid-Master Division produced plenty of fireworks, as Jason Lina (Alpharetta, Ga.) defeated Kristoffer Marshall (Scottsdale, Ariz.) on the first playoff hole after both players were tied at even par 216 at the end of regulation.

Following rounds of 70-71 which left him at 5-under 141, Marshall took a five-stroke lead into the final round over Lina. However, Marshall's final round 75, which included a pair of double bogeys on Eagle Trace's par-5 fifth and eighth holes, left the door open for Lina.

Lina, who plays out of the Rivermont Golf and Country Club in Alpharetta, Ga., made a key birdie on the 15th to tie for the lead and pars on his last three holes were enough to force a playoff with the 2021 Arizona Amateur champion.

The playoff ended quickly.

After both players' drives found the fairway, Lina hit an 8-iron from 160 yards out to within eight feet while Marshall's approach missed the green to the left, which led to a bogey.

"After Jason hit it close and I went after the pin, but was in between clubs," said Marshall. "I tried to hit the lower club harder to a back left pin, but it spun off the green into a tough lie. I didn’t get it up and down."

"I never checked the leaderboard all day and just tried to get lost in my game so I honestly never knew my score or where things stood until we finished out on 18 and someone mentioned a playoff," said Lina.

"Things just clicked today from the opening tee shot and it was easily my best ball-striking round of 2022. It was probably the best I’ve hit the golf ball from tee to green in several years. I gave myself good looks for birdie on most holes and while I didn’t have a lot of conversions, the pars were pretty stress-free."