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Barrie golfer wins Ont. Sr. Amateur

Posted On: Wednesday, July 26, 2017

John Murphy among four BGS golfers in top 10

Barrie golfer wins Ont. Sr. Amateur


John Murphy of Barrie Country Club won the Ontario Senior Men’s Amateur Championship and three other golfers from the BruceGreySimcoe region finished in the top 10.

Murphy fired a final round 73 (+2) July 27 to score a one-shot victory over fellow Barrie CC member David Greenaway and Christopher Kertsos of York Downs Golf & CC.

Steve Irving of Legacy Ridge Golf Club near Owen Sound shot a final-round 77 and tied for 8th, while Michael Jackson of The Georgian Bay Club near Thornbury carded a 74 and finished 10th.

Greg Hotham of Barrie CC shot 75 today and finished 11th, while fellow Barrie member John Beames scored an 83 and tied for 38th.

Afterwards, Murphy told Golf Ontario about what winning the title meant to him. “Winning this means everything. It is what we practice for and is why we play as much as we do. To win the Ontario Senior is unbelievable!”

He chalked up his success during the week to his game off the tee. “For the most part, I drove the ball pretty well. Near the end, I didn’t hit it as well but you just can’t win here, with the field as tough as it is, without everything going your way.”

During the tournament, Murphy saw a first-round lead disappear after the second round. He admitted his nerves got to him but entering the third round he found a way to put it past him. “I had never held the lead at an Ontario Championship. I was pretty nervous in round two but I got through it. Coming into today I thought ‘If I handled round two, today should be fine.’”

The final round at Cedar Brae Golf Club in Scarborough was a back and forth affair. The day saw numerous lead changes between Murphy, an Orillia resident, and Pickering’s Kertsos. The two players were the first and second-round leaders respectively, so it only made sense that they would be battling on the final day for the prize.

Things began well for Murphy as he was three-under through seven. Meanwhile, Kertsos had some early struggles and was two-over through three. However, Murphy would bogey eight, nine and 10 allowing Kertsos to regain the lead.  Both players bogeyed the 12th and 14th and it was Kertsos with a one-shot lead with four holes to play.  

It came down to the final hole where Kertsos put his second shot into a hazard. That resulted in a double bogey and opened the door for Murphy. Murphy was able to get up and down for par to win the title. He finished the day and the tournament at two-over (69-73-73-215). Kertsos finished the day five-over (76), the championship three-over (72-68-76-216) and tied for the silver medal.

Greenaway, who finished at three-over (74-71-71-216), began the day in the second to last group. He had one of the more consistent rounds on the day and found himself even after nine. He went on to play the back nine even as well, which helped lift him to the podium.

The 65+ Division title went to Vineland’s Kerry Short. Short, who entered the day with a share of the division lead, went on to card a two-over (73) during the final round to end the tournament at 10-over (75-75-73-223).

In the 70+ Division it was New Hamburg’s George Stokes who captured the title. Stokes shot a six-over (77) on the last day to bring his tournament total to 14-over (71-79-77-227).

Murphy, Kertsos and Greenaway all earned the right to represent Ontario in the interprovincial competition at the Canadian Senior Men’s Championship, Sept. 11-14 at Kanawaki Golf Club in Montreal, Quebec.

Other golfers from BruceGreySimcoe failed to make the cut. Their results are as follows:
William Dagneau, Georgian Bay Club (79-78) * missed cut by one stroke
Danny Brown, Georgian Bay Club (77-85)
Terry Keefe, Heritage Hills (78-90)
David Stroud, National Pines (81-77)
Danny Cook, Blue Mountain G & CC (81-79)
Rob Myhill, The Golf Club at Lora Bay (82-78)
Aart Van Veld, Borden GC (82-76)
Randy Robbins, Midland G & CC (82-81)
Robert Scott, Batteaux Creek (83-76) 
David Moser, Georgian Bay Club (82-80)
Doug McCann, Heritage Hills (84-87)
Herb Cowen, Pike Lake (86-76)
George Forrest, Pike Lake (87-84)
Brian Jeffery, Batteaux Creek (87-74)

For more information, including the final leaderboards, see the tournament site at: Click Here

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