After four straight years of the same man hoisting the trophy, we’ve crowned a new SCGA Senior Amateur Champion. NCGA Hall-of-Famer Randy Haag toppled reigning SCGA Senior Player of the Year, and four-time Senior Am champion, Craig Davis, in a battle of the titans at La Cumbre CC in Santa Barbara.
Coming off heartbreak in last year’s event at Red Hill CC, where Haag led by six strokes to begin the third and final day, the NCGA legend put together two phenomenal rounds to start his bid for his first SCGA Senior Amateur title. The Orinda native opened with a 3-under 69 before backing that up with a tournament-low 4-under 68 in the second round.
Davis came into the championship as the favorite, winning four-straight SCGA Senior Amateur titles and looking to complete the five-peat. The former Arizona Wildcat continued to use his ball striking prowess to give himself birdie look after birdie look. He opened with a 3-under 68 and fired a 2-under 69 to follow in the second round.
The much-anticipated final round began with Haag leading Davis by two strokes, but before they could reach the second tee box, Davis found himself tied after a birdie and a Haag bogey. That would be as close as anyone got to the eventual champion, as Haag went ballistic in closing out the front-nine with five birdies on No. 2, 5, 6, 8 and 9 and giving himself a seven-shot cushion going into the closing stretch, all but sealing the deal.
Haag opened the back-nine with another birdie to all but slam the door. After a disastrous quadruple-bogey on No. 6, Davis rattled off six birdies on the back to card an incoming 29 to scratch his way to a second-place finish. Mike Rowley finished third after putting together a tidy 1-under 70. Mark Nickeas battled all day but didn’t have the firepower to compete. The lefty finished fourth, after carding a final round 73.