Russo wins the Dale Morey in his first-ever SOS start

With a four-shot lead, Daniel Russo had a simple plan in Thursday’s final round of the Society of Seniors (SOS) Dale Morey Championship at The Club at Quail Ridge.

“Get off to a good start,” Russo said.

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Russo did exactly that. The 62-year-old Delray Beach resident made birdies on the first two holes on the North Course to cruise to a five-shot victory. Russo shot a 1-under 71 to finish at 7-under 209 in his first SOS start.

“You’ve still got to play golf,” Russo said. “But making those birdies certainly helped. After that, I just didn’t want to anything silly.”

Russo took the lead with a second-round 68 and was the only player in the Senior Division (55-64) to shoot under par all three rounds. Russo finished five shots ahead of Jupiter’s Ken Kinkopf (72) and Brian Keenan (71) of Tampa.

“It’s never easy to win, I don’t care what division or age group you’re talking about,” said Russo, who has qualified for a pair of U.S. Senior Opens. “It’s very difficult to win.”

Stephen Maddalena (71) of Jackson, Mich., and Steve Harwell of Mooresville, N.C. tied for fourth place at 1-under 215.

Three members of The Club at Quail Ridge earned titles in their divisions: Logan Jackson (69-213) won the Legends (70-74), Tom McLean (70-220) won the Grand Master (75-79) and Harry Cain (76-228) won the Super Grand Master (80 and older).

In the Super Senior (65-69), Marc Fried (72-216) of Solon, Ohio won by a shot over Evan Long (71-217) of Charlotte, N.C.