Stan Humphries is no stranger to being under pressure when it comes to competition. On Wednesday at Treyburn Country Club in the final round of the 42nd Dale Morey Championship, Humphries, of Monroe, La., rose to the challenge and ground out a tournament-clinching round of 2-over par 74 to finish at 3-under, 213 and won by one stroke over David Glabicki, of Cary, N.C.
Humphries is ranked No. 28 in the AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings.
First-round leader Lee Porter of Pinehurst, N.C., birdied No. 1 to tie the lead right out of the gate, and he and Humphries battled throughout the day. Porter was just one behind Humphries headed into the final hole, but a wayward approach resulted in a closing double bogey and a third-place tie with Stephen Maddalena of Jackson, Mich., at 1-under, 215. Maddalena carded consistent rounds of 73-71-71.
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Playing alongside Maddalena, Glabicki applied pressure from the penultimate group. He had a roller-coaster round consisting of six birdies and four bogeys. The biggest birdie of his day would come on a long putt at the tough closing hole, No. 18. Glabicki rolled in his birdie effort from about 20 feet to post the clubhouse lead at 2-under as the final group came to the 18th tee.
“I gave myself a lot of chances today but just made some bad bogeys out there,” said Glabicki. “I probably turned a 65 or 66 into a 70, but that’s golf. It was just one of those days. Congrats to Stan, he played solid all week, and thanks to Treyburn for having us at this great venue.”
Porter and Humphries were tied through 12 holes, but Porter's back-to-back bogeys on holes No. 13 and 14 gave Humphries a three-shot lead after he birdied No. 13 and made a solid par on the tough uphill No. 14.
Porter bounced back and made a nice birdie on No. 15 to chip into the lead. After a Humphries bogey on No. 16, Porter made par to pull within one. On No. 17, Porter’s tee shot found the penalty area just to the right of the flag, and Humphries played to the center of the green. Porter’s ball wound up in a playable position, and he took full advantage with a great up-and-down for par to keep his championship hopes alive.
Humphries’ tee shot on No. 18 found the right fairway bunker, resulting in a smart layup play short of the creek that fronts and surrounds the left and back of the green. Porter found trouble in the woods right and had to punch out, eventually two-putting for a double bogey. Humphries played his third onto the green about 18 feet under the hole, where he would two-putt for a bogey to seal the deal.
“It was fun to be in that environment with that excitement coming down the stretch,” said Humphries. “My plan today was to avoid the big mistakes and try to make someone catch me. I may not have the golf swing everyone else has, but I try to think my way around, grind it out, and use what I have to get it around the golf course the best I can and lean on my putting. Lee and I had a good battle out there today. After the birdie on 13, probably my best shot of the tournament was the 5-iron on 14 from 200 yards to about 15 feet.”
Asked about the venue, Humphries said, “As wet as it was, it did dry out a little bit today, and the staff did a great job getting the course ready after all the rain right before the event.” He continued, “I can see why people who live around here want to be members at Treyburn. It’s a great golf course, and the staff and everyone welcomed us with open arms, so it was a great week here.”
Rounding out the top five was the 2009 and 2011 Dale Morey Champion, Paul Simson, of Raleigh, N.C., who posted a tournament total of even par 216.