In Thrilling Finish, Stephenson wins his 2nd Carlton Woods Senior

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS (May 4, 2019) -- Lewis Stephenson of Mansfield, Texas won his second Carlton Woods Senior title after a thrilling finish at the Nicklaus Course at the Club at Carlton Woods. Stephenson, who won the 2016 event in wire-to-wire fashion, had to go overtime this time around after surviving a late charge from Kip Estep (Rockwall, Texas). Playing in the second-to-last group, Stephenson played the back nine in four under to rise to the top of the leaderboard. A birdie on the 16th hole put Stephenson up by two shots, and when he rolled in a 15-footer for another birdie at the par-5 18th he looked to have the tournament locked up. Estep, having birdied the difficult par-3 17th, stood in the fairway and watched Stephenson birdie 18. Unfazed, he then hit his second shot on the par five to 15 feet and made the putt for eagle to force a playoff. Both players ended the tournament at 1-over 217. Estep finished with an even-par 71, going three under on the back nine. Stephenson closed with a 69. In the playoff, both players were greenside in two on the 18th, but only Stephenson was able to get up and down, giving him the win. Thomas Immenschuh (San Antonio, Texas) finished third, three shots out of the playoff, while Allen Peake (Macon, Ga.) was another four shots behind in fourth. Charles Anderson (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Lawrence Field (Palm Desert, Calif.), Scott Smith (Houston, Texas) and Larry Nunex (Austin, Texas) all finished in a tie for fifth. Four-time CWI Senior champion Mike Booker had a 12th place finish.