What do you call the perfect combination of a stunning venue, flawless weather, and a thrilling finish? You’d call it the 2025 California Senior Amateur Championship, which took all three rounds and then some to eventually crown a winner. That last man standing was Robert Niger, who needed a 55th hole to finally edge past Santa Barbara local, Bobby Schaeffer.
Niger entered the third and final round at -7, fresh off shooting 66 — which tied for the low round of the championship with his closest competitor, Schaeffer. The championship group was rounded out by reigning California Senior Amateur Champion Trae Cassell, forming a formidable threesome of high-level players. All three golfers would start their rounds with birdies on the first hole, but Niger and Schaeffer would slowly pull away from the rest of the pack, setting up a back nine for the ages.
Going into the final nine trailing by a single shot, Schaeffer leveled the leaderboard as he birdied hole 10 to move into a tie at -8. Niger answered back with a birdie of his own on hole 13 to reclaim the solo-lead. As the golfers approached the gettable par-5 15th, Niger looked poised to establish more breathing room, and many thought he had, as he bettered Schaeffer’s birdie with an eagle to take a two-stroke lead into the final three holes of the championship. Schaeffer had other ideas, capitalizing on a Niger bogey at 16 with a birdie of his own to level the proceedings at -10. However, the parity wouldn’t last long, and Schaeffer would stumble with a bogey while Niger birdied the penultimate hole to restore his two-stroke lead with Niger at -11 and Schaeffer at -9 entering the final hole.
With the 18th hole being a par 4, it would take a miracle for Schaeffer to make up the two strokes needed to tie the championship and send it to a playoff hole. Both men would hit good tee shots, and it looked like Schaeffer had a mountain to climb — literally and figuratively — as the 18th green sat perched on a hill above the golfers. As Schaeffer stared down his 133-yard approach shot with a wedge in his hand, the gallery watched nervously as the championship hung in the balance. What came next had to be seen to be believed, as Schaeffer rose to the moment and hit a perfect shot that landed softly on the green and rolled delightfully into the hole for an eagle, putting Schaeffer back in a tie for the lead at -11. The gallery raucously applauded the Herculean effort, and Niger, who was a helpless onlooker for the incredible shot, now had to battle to keep his composure as he still had a chance to win the championship with a long putt. His first putt would nestled close to the cup, but he’d have to tap in for par meaning Schaeffer and Niger finished the final 18 tied at -11.
The sudden-death playoff would start on hole 15, a hole both golfers had success on in the final round with Schaeffer picking up a birdie and Niger an eagle on the 512-yard par 5 earlier in the day. Neither golfer would let the pressure of a playoff get to them on their tee shots, as they both blasted drives into the fairway, setting up similar approach shots for both competitors. Schaeffer would be the first to flinch in the playoff as his approach shot went long into a bunker, giving Niger exactly the opening he was looking for as he stuck his second shot on the green, putting himself in great position for the win. He would go on to secure the championship with a birdie, capping off a thrilling finish to claim the 2025 California Senior Amateur title.