2004 Senior Tournament

Joe Ingram Comes from Behind to Win GSGA Senior Challenge

ACWORTH, Ga. - Joe Ingram of Gainesville tallied 37 points for a 111 total and a two-point, come-from-behind victory over Nick Kirkland of Snellville at the inaugural GSGA Senior Challenge, which was held at Bentwater Golf Club. Kirkland, a second-flight competitor who led after each of the first two rounds, fell back with a final-round score of 34.

Bruce Wood of Duluth finished five back in third at 106 after a closing 35. Stan Thorn of Alpharetta, playing from the first flight, finished with a round of 38 points to claim fourth overall with a 105 total. Rick Donnahoo of Rossville took fifth at 102 after pulling 32 points.

 

Ingram, who learned he held a one-point lead on the 18th tee, birdied the 357-yard final hole despite a sudden downpour, knocking his 8-iron approach to three feet. Ingram, a left-hander, held a two-point lead at the turn after passing Kirkland with a one-under performance, but dropped a shot when he bogeyed the par-3 16th, where he missed a short putt for par.

 

Kirkland, who had made a strong up and down on 15 and drained a 35-foot par putt on 17, was unable to capitalize on a pivotal 10-foot birdie opportunity on 18. Kirkland fell behind on the front nine, where was two-over par. He bogeyed both par fives, numbers one and nine, and opened the back nine with a bogey on 10, another par five. His lone birdie of the day came at the par-4 twelfth, where he made a 12-foot downhill, sliding putt.

Bob Davison of Canton won the third flight by four with a total of 93 points. Jack Bailey of Lawrenceville dominated the fourth flight, winning by nine with a 94 total. Richard Wilson of Columbus also tallied an impressive win, leading the fifth flight by eight with a total of 84 points.

Ingram, 55, credited his win to his accuracy off the tee, which was aided by his new driver. This was Ingram's first GSGA senior event. His previous tournament experience includes victories in the annual state left-handers championship, where he most recently won the senior division in 2003. An owner of his own plumbing company, Ingram also won his club championship when he was a member of Chattahoochee Golf Course. He is currently a member at Chicopee Woods Golf Course.

The Stableford format awards points on a sliding scale, with one point for bogeys, two for pars, three for birdies and four points for eagles. In this format, an 18-hole score of 36 is roughly equivalent to shooting even par.

 

The 67-member field was divided into six flights by handicap index, with all participants eligible for the overall title. Entries were open to male amateur golfers age 55 and up who hold USGA handicap indexes of 3.0 or higher and are Georgia residents. The par-72 layout played to 6,070 yards.

GSGA conducts 18 statewide competitions for men and women of all age groups, three interstate matches and 17 USGA qualifying events each year. Other services include computerized handicapping, course rating and measuring, a summer-long junior sectional competitions program, Golf Georgia magazine and two college scholarship programs.

Final Results

 
Top Ten Overall
1 Joe Ingram, Gainesville 36 38 37 111
2 Nick Kirkland, Snellville 38 37 34 109
3 Bruce Wood, Duluth 35 36 35 106
4 Stan Thorn, Alpharetta 34 33 38 105
5 Rick Donnahoo, Rossville 36 34 32 102
6 Carson Keller, Lilburn 34 32 34 100
6 Matt O'Brien, Decatur 31 35 34 100
8 Dick Donegan, Kennesaw 30 34 35 99
9 Chris Demarco, Acworth 31 34 32 97
10 Tim McFall, Atlanta 31 32 33 96
10 Morris Henderson, Powder Springs 31 31 34 96
10 Sydney Welch, Lagrange 31 32 33 96
10 Jeff Talley, Marietta 28 34 34 96

 

Championship Flight
1 Joe Ingram, Gainesville 36 38 37 111
2 Bruce Wood, Duluth 35 36 35 106
3 Rick Donnahoo, Rossville 36 34 32 102
4 Carson Keller, Lilburn 34 32 34 100
4 Matt O'Brien, Decatur 31 35 34 100
6 Dick Donegan, Kennesaw 30 34 35 99
7 Tim McFall, Atlanta 31 32 33 96
8 Wayne Harrell, Stone Mountain 31 28 34 93
8 Eddie Register, Sugar Hill 31 25 37 93
10 Leroy Harper, Gainesville 30 29 33 92
10 Cliff Cleveland, Atlanta 31 34 27 92
12 Don Heilman, Roswell 31 25 35 91
13 Terry Moon, Powder Springs 26 29 21 76

 

First Flight
1 Stan Thorn, Alpharetta 34 33 38 105
2 Chris Demarco, Acworth 31 34 32 97
3 Morris Henderson, Powder Springs 31 31 34 96
3 Sydney Welch, Lagrange 31 32 33 96
5 Bill Hubbard, Atlanta 32 31 28 91
5 Gary Lashley, Stone Mountain 32 25 34 91
7 Robert J Clark, Atlanta 27 30 33 90
7 Garry Briddon, Duluth 31 34 25 90
9 Don Rich, Marietta 26 29 29 84
10 Mike Laseter, Madison 29 32 WD
11 Ronald Lowery, Dalton 33 WD

 

Second Flight
1 Nick Kirkland, Snellville 38 37 34 109
2 Jeff Talley, Marietta 28 34 34 96
3 Jim Kamis, Marietta 34 30 30 94
4 Charles Dickerson, Dunwoody 34 29 30 93
5 John Lee, McDonough 28 34 29 91
6 Leonard DeLamar, Albany 31 30 29 90
7 Roland Sorel, Dunwoody 29 28 27 84
8 Gene Weschler, Gainesville 31 23 29 83
9 John Meadows, Calhoun 22 31 29 82
10 Thomas Brennan, Lawrenceville 25 21 24 70
11 Jack Manton, Cumming WD

 

Third Flight
1 Bob Davison, Canton, Ga 30 31 32 93
2 Jerry Chastain, Jasper 33 29 27 89
3 Neal Alexander, Acworth 27 29 31 87
4 Jerry Rich, Villa Rica 25 31 30 86
5 Glenn Whitmire, Gainesville 33 25 27 85
6 George Sanders, Roswell 24 25 32 81
7 Jim Moss, Doraville 28 30 22 80
8 Bill Smith, Cartersville, GA 20 32 25 77
9 Rick Conley, Marietta 27 19 29 75
10 Virgil Waters, Calhoun 29 20 24 73
11 Bob Mills, Macon WD

 

Fourth Flight
1 Jack Bailey, Lawrenceville 32 28 34 94
2 Jimmy Stringer, Dunwoody 33 24 28 85
3 Jack Jones, Fayetteville 28 30 26 84
3 John Leonard, Canton 26 29 29 84
5 Doug Biddy, Acworth 25 28 27 80
5 Wallace Skinner, Lagrange 24 28 28 80
7 Bill Davis, Columbus 26 24 25 75
8 Charles Griffin, Fayetteville 19 24 27 70
9 Sam Smith, Macon WD
9 James Lowell, Newnan WD
9 John Kee, Athens WD

 

Fifth Flight
1 Richard Wilson, Columbus 29 26 29 84
2 Bill Durham, Dalton 25 28 23 76
3 Todd Nollner, Cartersville 21 24 23 68
4 James Benson, Cumming 26 20 17 63
5 Alan Katz, Marietta 17 21 22 60
6 John Chastain, Jasper 21 20 16 57
7 Phil Novinger, Athens 22 18 15 55
8 M. F. Morris, Carnesville 20 16 16 52
9 Robert Henning, Roswell 9 15 11 35
10 G. B. Darden Sr., Lawrenceville 24 17 28 DQ