2009 Super Senior Championship

O'Brien Captures Georgia Super Senior Championship by One
Champion shoots 1-under 71 in final round to edge Bill Ploeger

ROWSELL --- Matt O'Brien of Decatur carded the only sub-par round of the competition, a 1-under 71, to finish at 5-over 149 and win the second annual Georgia Super Senior Championship by one stroke over Bill Ploeger of Columbus at Ansley Golf Club-Settindown Creek. Ploeger, who trailed opening-round leader and defending champion Spencer Sappington of Milton by one going into the final round, carded his second-straight 75 to finish at 150. Sappington, after opening with a 74, fell to third place with a final-round 78.

Tommy Reid of Macon fired 76 to move into fourth place overall at 155. William Myers of Marietta, who matched Ploeger with a 75 in the opening round, carded 81 to finish fifth. Three players tied for sixth, including Frank Costanzo of Savannah, Al Everett of Cumming and Curtis Wagner of Peachtree City. Ken Benson of Alpharetta finished in sole possession of ninth place at 158, while Charlie Busbee of McDonough placed 10th overall and won the Championship B flight with a 162.

O'Brien entered the final round tied for fourth after an opening-round 78. He began the day on a steady course, carding eight pars with just one bogey on the front nine at the 166-yard fifth. After adding two more pars at 10 and 11, O'Brien then notched two straight birdies, at the 170-yard 12th and the 346-yard 13th. He nearly made it three straight, missing a six-foot attempt at 14. He then closed bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie, finishing with a dramatic three-foot birdie putt on 18 which followed a wayward tee shot and a pinpoint approach.

Sappington and Ploeger, playing one group back in the final pairing, had their own battle going during the round. Sappington's one-shot lead disappeared after three holes, then Ploeger took the lead with a birdie on the fifth. Another birdie, coupled with two more Sappington bogeys, gave Ploeger a four-shot advantage over his close friend at the turn. Sappington cut it to two strokes over the course of the back nine, but that was when O'Brien was making his charge one group ahead to pass both of them on the leader board.

O'Brien is no stranger to GSGA competitions, having captured the 2005 GSGA Senior Tournament, a Stableford event conducted by the Association from 2004-07. Upon accepting his trophy, he said he was honored to win it over Ploeger and Sappington, two of his "heroes in golf." The duo has combined for eight Georgia Senior Championships since 1995.

Other flight winners included John Salviski of Alpharetta in Flight 1 (164), Paul Cobb Jr. of Norcross in Flight 2 (168), Marshall Seese of Marietta in Flight 3 (165), John Leonard of Canton in Flight 4 (182) and Bill Cowles of Lilburn (193) in Flight 5.

The Settindown Creek course played to 6,251 yards and a par 72.

The Georgia Super Senior Championship was conducted by the Georgia State Golf Association. Entries were open to male amateur golfers who are GSGA members who are at least 65 years old. The field of 85 players was divided into seven flights by handicap. The Championship format was 36 holes of stroke play over two days. Founded in 1916, the Georgia State Golf Association (GSGA) received its official charter on June 24, 1924. Since that date, the GSGA has grown to one of the largest state amateur golf associations in the country, with over 355 member clubs and 85,000 individual members. With a mission to promote and preserve amateur golf in the state of Georgia, GSGA offers a computerized handicapping service, course rating and measuring, and annually conducts a full schedule of statewide competitions for men and women of all age groups. Other services include a summer-long junior sectional program, award-winning Golf Georgia magazine, membership recognition and rewards programs and a charitable foundation administering two college scholarship programs.

Final Results

Top Ten Overall
1 Matt O'Brien, Decatur 78 71 149 5
2 Bill Ploeger, Columbus 75 75 150 6
3 Spencer Sappington, Milton 74 78 152 8
4 Tommy Reid, Macon 79 76 155 11
5 William Myers, Marietta 75 81 156 12
T6 Al Everett, Cumming 78 79 157 13
T6 Curtis Wagner, Peachtree City 79 78 157 13
T6 Frank Costanzo, Savannah 79 78 157 13
9 Ken Benson, Alpharetta 80 78 158 14
10 Charlie Busbee, McDonough 82 80 162 18