2013 Senior Championship

 

Jack Hall Wins Senior Championship by 12 Strokes

GSGA Player of the Year standings

 

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Jack Hall of Sea Island won the 2013 Georgia Senior Championship after posting a 14-under-par 202 (69-64-69) to seal the victory by 12 strokes. Last year's champion and local Savannah native, Doug Hanzel, earned runner-up honors with a 54-hole total of 2-under-par 214 (69-73-72). The 27th annual senior competition has been played on the Deer Creek course at The Landings Club, August 28-30.

The 56-year-old Hall was playing in his second Senior Championship after becoming eligible to compete in the senior division one year ago. In 2012, Hall finished third, 18 strokes behind Hanzel's then-record 13-under-par 203. The roles reversed this year as Hanzel finished 12 strokes behind Hall. The Sea Island native's 64 in round two, which pulled him away from the rest of the field, is the lowest 18-hole score in the 27-year history of the Georgia Senior Championship. It is also the competitive senior course record on the Deer Creek course of The Landings Club. Hall's 203 is also the lowest 54-hole score in the tournament's history.

Hanzel, who played on his home course and in front of friends and family, totaled 12 birdies, 33 pars, eight bogeys and one double-bogey over the 54-hole competition, including 6-under on the par 4 holes.

Hall has enjoyed, and continues to do so, an impressive 2013 on the golf course. In GSGA-sanctioned events, he won the Georgia Four-Ball Championship, partnering with Savannah native Danny Nelson, at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, and finished fourth at the Georgia Mid-Amateur Championship at The Savannah Golf Club. On the national circuit, Hall qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, as did Hanzel, at Omaha Country Club in Omaha, Neb. He also qualified for the USGA Senior Amateur Championship, which takes place the end of September at Wade Hampton Golf Club in Cashiers, N.C.

Joe Brogdon of Macon finished third at 5-over-par 221 (73-72-76). Two players, Alan Thielemann of Woodstock (74-74-74) and Bob Kulp of Savannah (75-70-77), tied for fourth at 6-over-par 222. Jack Kearney of Peachtree City posted a 7-over-par 223 (72-69-82) to finish sixth, and Bill Clanton of Albany came in seventh at 9-over-par 225 (76-72-77). Rounding out the top 10 were four players at 10-over-par 226: Chris Hall of Kennesaw (77-75-74), David Nichols of Roswell (79-71-76), Bill Lenhardt of Peachtree City (72-78-76) and John Landis of Peachtree City (73-76-77).