McClellan Makes His Mark as the 33rd Metropolitan Senior Amateur Champion
O’Fallon, MO - Players gathered at WingHaven Country Club for the Final Round of the 33rd Metropolitan Senior Amateur Championship. The day was sunny with warm temperatures, making for a pleasant day of golf. The course played to a par 72 and the championship had six divisions. Heading into the final round, Scott McClellan held the lead at two-under (-2) par with Adam Tomicich following behind at one-under (-1) par. William Wunderlich, Bill Anderson, Brian McGinley, Daniel Strawbridge, and Scott Dreher each lead their respective age divisions after the first round.
The championship was a tightly contested race to the end. Players continually moved up and down the leaderboard, overtaking one another. Scott McClellan of WingHaven Country Club started the day on top and by the time he had made the turn, he had dropped down. A bogey on the front nine moved him to one-under, while other players were making forward moves. On Hole 11, he was able to regain that stroke, and then jump to three-under (-3) par on Hole 15 with a second birdie. Meanwhile, David Pfeil of The Legends Country Club was soaring up the board. Pfeil was in a tie for third coming into today at one-over par. Four birdies on the front and two birdies on the back in today’s round had him come in at four-under par for the day and three-under (-3) par for the championship. Pfeil played in the group ahead of McClellan, and after making bogey on the last, he had to watch to see how McClellan finished his round. McClellan had a look for birdie and the win on the 18th which narrowly rolled by, leaving him to finish at three-under (-3) par and tied at the top.
Once the scores were verified, McClellan and Pfeil headed back to the 18th tee for a playoff to determine a champion. They drew numbers to see who would hit first. Pfeil hit first, followed by McClellan. McClellan made it to the green in two and Pfeil was just short. Pfeil’s chip rolled out, leaving a decent putt left for par. McClellan was once again looking at a putt for birdie from a similar distance and spot as in regulation. The putt rolled by to give Pfeil another chance. Pfeil stepped up to his putt for par, hit, and watched as it pushed to the right of the cup. Pfeil would tap in for bogey and leave the fate up to his opponent. McClellan lined up his putt and sunk it for par and the win.
Adam Tomicich of WingHaven Country Club started the day in second. Tomicich would end his day even par and one-under (-1) par for the week for third. Defending Champion, Skip Berkmeyer of The Legends Country Club matched Pfeil for the low round of the day at four-under par. Five birdies and an eagle helped him finish strong to complete the championship in fourth and even (E) par. Joseph Malench of the Metropolitan eClub and former Champion Brian Lovett of Bellerive Country Club completed the week’s top five in a tie at one-over (+1) par.
The age divisions kicked off the day with the 75 and over group. William Wunderlich of the Metropolitan eClub started the day at two-over par. He kept his name on top and finished with a total of five-over (+5) par. Lendell Phelps of the Metropolitan eClub was the runner-up at fourteen-over (+14) par. After handicaps were applied, Tom Leahy of Grey Beard Golf Club took home the prize at net two-under (-2) par.
In the 70 to 74 age division, Bill Anderson of Woods Fort Golf Club held a hefty lead after Round 1. Anderson had to fight for it on the course today, but remained on top to win at four-under (-4) par. Doug Banks of Tapawingo National Golf Club finished second at four-over (+4) par. Then the handicaps were applied. Kevin Ortyl of Sunset Country Club rose to the top with a total of net one-over (+1) par.
Brian McGinley of Tapawingo National Golf Club was the leader in the 65 to 69 age division. McGinley kept his lead and bettered his first round score to take home the hardware at three-under (-3) par. Bill Schmidt of the USGA/MetAmateur GC was runner-up at four-over (+4) par. Once handicaps were factored in, Vincent Featherson of the Metropolitan eClub would take the claim at net three-over (+3) par.
The 60 to 64 age group saw some leaderboard shake ups. Gary Boots of Spring Lake Country Club sat at eight-over par coming into today’s round. A final round of just one-over pushed Boots to the top to win the division at nine-over (+9) par. John Chastain of the Metropolitan eClub ended in second at eleven-over (+11) par. Taking handicaps into account, Michael Derbak of the Metropolitan eClub stepped into the winners circle at net three-over (+3) par.
Concluding the age divisions, the 50 to 59 group made their way around. Scott Dreher started the day as the leader and stayed there. Dreher won the division at thirteen-over (+13) par. Once handicaps were applied, Amrit Gill of Norwood Hills Country Club would stand on top at net eight-over (+8) par. Since Gill won the net competition, the runner-up for the gross play went to William Riggleman of Glen Echo Country Club.
All age division champions for both gross and net received a crystal trophy. The championship division Champion was awarded the George F. Meyer Trophy and a gold medal. The championship division runner-up received a silver medal. William Wunderlich, Bill Anderson, Brian McGinley, Gary Boots, and Scott Dreher won their respective divisions with gross scores. Tom Leahy, Kevin Ortyl, Vincent Featherson, Michael Derbak, and Amrit Gill were the net winners for their respective divisions. At the conclusion of the championship, Scott McClellan is the 33rd Metropolitan Amateur Champion and David Pfeil is the runner-up.