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SIMSON
CROWNED CHAMPION AT FOG-SHORTENED CAROLINAS SENIOR
Roaring Gap NC (9/11/08) - Fog was the toughest
competitor in the Carolinas Senior Amateur Championship. Rounds two and three
were cancelled due to the soup like fog that refused to leave the Roaring Gap
Club.
After halting the second round at 11:30 on Wednesday
and waiting for adequate visibility until 3 pm, it was decided to resume play at
9 am on Thursday and make it a 36 hole tournament.
The fog on Thursday was even thicker and after two
more delays Paul Simson was declared the winner with an 18 hole score of six
under par 65. When play was stopped during the second round Simson was 2 over
through six holes. Frank Ford of Charleston, SC was three under through seven
and had narrowed Paul’s lead to just two.
“I was really looking forward to a battle with Frank
and am disappointed but I’ll take the win,” said Simson.
This victory gives Paul his 19th CGA Championship.
ROARING GAP
CLUB WILL BE A TREAT FOR CAROLINAS SENIOR FIELD, SEPT. 9-11
WEST END, NC (9/8/08) - The 113 golfers who qualified to play in the 47th
Carolinas Senior Amateur Sept. 9-11 at the Roaring Gap Club are in for a great
treat.
The Donald Ross-designed golf course sits atop a secluded mountain 3,200 feet
above the Piedmont foothills, providing sixty-mile vistas of Pilot Mountain and
the city of Winston-Salem. While there are some breath-taking views, the course
itself is gently rolling, with only a few major elevation changes. Understated
summer cottages are located throughout the mountain and are unobtrusive to the
golf course, as are the Graystone Inn and Lake Louise.
In 1925, Leonard Tufts of Pinehurst, Inc. and several other North Carolina
businessmen wanted to build a private mountain resort and soon thereafter the
Roaring Gap Club was created, with Tufts becoming the first president. Because
Roaring Gap Club started as a joint venture with Pinehurst, Inc., Tufts saw to
it that Donald Ross was the "hands-on" architect from start to finish. From 1926
until 1938, Ross' assistants at Pinehurst, including Palmer Maples, served as
head professionals at Roaring Gap Club during the summer months.
Bill Glenn, the current golf professional, succeeds a distinguished line of
predecessors, including his father Bailey, who started working at the club in
1956; Ed Bullock, who would go on to become a fixture on the Myrtle Beach golf
scene; Ralph Lang, who would go on to a long career in Raleigh; "Dumpy" Haigler,
who would become Duke University's golf coach and the aforementioned Palmer
Maples.
Heading the lineup of players in this year's championship is reigning champion
Paul Simson of Raleigh, NC. Simson, the Carolinas Player of the Year in 1998 and
2005 and the Carolinas Senior Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007, won the
rain-plagued tournament for golfers ages 55 and over last September at Dunes
West Golf Club in Mount Pleasant, SC by shooting 71-68-68--207. Joe Vignati of
Bluffton, SC, the 2006 champion, finished four strokes behind Simson at Dunes
West.
Also in this year's field are former champions Bob Stringer of Blythewood, SC
(2005), Vic Hannon of Camden, SC (2004), Gene Spencer of Blythewood, SC (2003),
Robert Kulp of Winston-Salem, NC (2001), Robert Clark of Asheville, NC (1999)
and Larry Boswell of Jamestown, NC (1998).
The par-71 Roaring Gap club course will play at 6,289 yards for the seniors.
For more information about the Carolinas Senior Amateur Championship at the
Roaring Gap Club and other CGA events, visit the Championship Home Page online
at www.carolinasgolf.org.
ADDITIONAL MEDIA INFORMATION
47th Carolinas Senior Amateur Championship of the Carolinas Golf
Association
Roaring Gap Club
2663 Roaring Gap Dr.
Roaring Gap, NC 28668
336-363-5034
2007 CHAMPION
Paul Simson, Raleigh, NC
DATES
September 9-11, 2008
FORMAT
The championship format is 54 holes of stroke play. After 36 holes, the field is
cut to low 60 scorers and ties for the final
round.
ELIGIBILITY
Entry is open to any male amateur golfer who has reached his 55th birthday by
the first day of the championship, is a legal
resident of one of the Carolinas, is a member in good standing of a club which
is a member of the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)
and has a current USGA handicap index at a CGA member club. The maximum
allowable index is 10.4.
SCHEDULE OF ROUNDS
Monday, September 8
Tee times available for practice.
Tuesday, September 9
First round of stroke play (18 holes).
Wednesday, September 10
Second round of stroke play (18 holes).
Cut to low 60 scorers and ties for final round.
Thursday, September 11
Final round of stroke play (18 holes).
PRIZES
Champion receives a trophy, merchandise and possession of the permanent
championship trophy for the ensuing year. An on-course playoff is used to break
a tie for the
overall champion.
FAVORITES
Paul Simson, Raleigh, NC (2007 champion)
Joe Vignati, Bluffton, SC (2006 champion, 2007 runnerup)
Bob Stringer, Blythewood, SC (2005 champion)
Vic Hannon, Camden, SC (2004 champion)
Gene Spencer, Blythewood, SC (2003 champion)
PAST CHAMPIONS
1962 Q.G. McCombs, Burlington, NC 229* Pine Needles
CC
1963 Jack Norman, Winston-Salem, NC 218 Whispering Pines CC
1964 Ben Goodes, Reidsville, NC 145 Forest Lake
Club
1965 Bobby Knowles, Aiken, SC 148 Forest Lake Club
1966 Bobby Knowles, Aiken, SC 146 Forest Lake Club
1967 Ben Goodes, Reidsville, NC 145 Forest Lake
Club
1968 Clifford Henson, Aiken, SC 145* Forest Lake
Club
1969 Dale Morey, High Point, NC 138 Forest Lake
Club
1970 Dale Morey, High Point, NC 140 Forest Lake
Club
1971 Dale Morey, High Point, NC 138 Forest Lake
Club
1972 Dale Morey, High Point, NC 140 Forest Lake
Club
1973 Des Sullivan, Myrtle Beach, SC 148* Willow
Creek GC
1974 Dale Morey, High Point, NC 142 Greenville CC
Chanticleer
1975 Des Sullivan, Myrtle Beach, SC 142 Forest Lake
Club
1976 Bob Clarke, Walkertown, NC 144 Deer Track
G&CC
1977 Don Adderton, High Point, NC 144 Myrtlewood GC
Palmetto
1978 John Morrell, Charlotte, NC 144* Sea Gull GC
1979 Billy Joe Patton, Morganton, NC 139 Mimosa
Hills G&CC
1980 Ken Weavil, Winston-Salem, NC 142 Hope Valley
CC
1981 Billy Joe Patton, Morganton, NC 142 Sea Gull
GC
1982 Dale Morey, High Point, NC 145 Hope Valley CC
1983 John Morrell, Winston-Salem, NC 140 Florence
CC
1984 Dale Morey, High Point, NC 145 Willow Creek GC
1985 Ross Horton, Branchville, SC 147+ Moss Creek
CC, South
1986 Don Adderton, High Point, NC 145 CC of
Salisbury
1987 Lou Arko, Rock Hill, SC 151 The River
Club
1988 Sonny Grant, Greensboro, NC 146 Highland CC
1989 Tommy Langley, High Point, NC 150 Greenville CC,
Chanticleer
1990 Bill Harvey, Greensboro, NC 145 Gaston CC
1991 Jack Dover, Etowah, NC 148* Landfall
Club, Dye Course
1992 Sonny Furr, Rock Hill, SC 138 Florence CC
1993 Tom Hadley, Hendersonville, NC 143 CC of
Salisbury
1994 Tom Hadley, Hendersonville, NC 217* DeBordieu
Club
1995 Jim Wiles, N. Wilkesboro, NC 216 Catawba CC
1996 Tommy Langley, High Point, NC 216 Gaston CC
1997 Robert Ferrel, Greensboro, NC 212 Green Valley
CC
1998 Larry Boswell, Jamestown, NC 213* Forsyth CC
1999 Bob Clark, Asheville, NC 224* Melrose Course
2000 Ronnie Grove, Raleigh, NC 208 Roaring Gap Club
2001 Robert Kulp Jr., Winston-Salem, NC 213 DeBordieu Club
2002 Don Taylor, Bluffton, SC 222 Lake Hickory CC
2003 Gene Spencer, Blythewood, SC 215 Columbia CC
2004 Vic Hannon, Camden, SC 217* Charlotte CC
2005 Bob Stringer, Blythewood, SC 215 Camden CC
2006 Joe Vignati, Bluffton, SC 142# Cape Fear CC
2007 Paul Simson, Raleigh, NC 207 Dunes West GC
* Won in playoff. + Won by default. # Rain-shortened
54 holes 1962-1963 and 1994 on.
ROARING GAP CLUB INFORMATION
HEAD PROFESSIONAL: Bill Glenn
COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Erik Guinther
TYPE COURSE: Private resort
COURSE DESCRIPTION: In typical Ross fashion, the course is relatively wide off
the tee, with par defended at the green. Small, sloping greens and strategic
bunkering require great shot-making skills. The tilt of the greens, especially
the ones located on knolls like the 7th, 9th, or hollows like the 12th and 16th,
are an easy three-putt waiting to happen.
ARCHITECT: Donald Ross
OPENED: 1926
YARDAGE/PAR: 6,289 yards/par 71
COURSE RATING/SLOPE: 70.7/129
FAIRWAYS & TEES: Rye grass
GREENS: Poa Annua
CGA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE ROARING GAP CLUB: 2000 Carolinas Senior.
DIRECTIONS:
From Winston-Salem, Greensboro, NC areas:
Take I 40 West to 421 North (Towards N. Wilkesboro) 27.9 miles
Follow 421 North to I 77 North, 9.6 miles;
Take Exit 83 (left) Roaring Gap/Sparta exit US 21 North
Follow US 21 North, 16 miles
Turn right on Roaring Gap Drive (across from Roaring Gap Post
Office)
** When driving south on I - 77, the exit number is #85 which will take you to
Hwy 21 North. Then follow the directions as listed above.
MAP
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Roaring+Gap,+NC&
ie=UTF8&ll=36.402218,-80.98031&spn=0.029291,0.058022&z=14
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