SCGA Senior Championship
Country Club of South Carolina
May 12-14, 2009

Smunk Charges to Title

Kingstree’s Bill Smunk overcame a five shot deficit with a closing round of 66 and a tournament total of 210 to win the 2009 SCGA Senior Championship at the Country Club of South Carolina.  The leader after the first two rounds, Gary Shimmin, finished two back at 212.

In what looked to be a run away event by Gary Shimmin when the day started, turned into one of the top finishes in the recent years of the SCGA Senior Championship.  Playing in the final group with Shimmin, 58 year old Bill Smunk started the day five shots behind and quickly went to six back after three putting the first hole.  The insurance and investments representative for Smunk & Laydon got things back on track in a hurry however, making birdies on holes 3, 4 & 5. 

Making the turn, Smunk was three shots behind and applied the pressure when he birdied the next three holes in a row.  Not to be denied, Shimmin came back on the par four 13^th with his lone birdie of the day to take back the lead.  After pars from both players on 14 & 15, the final lead change was made when Smunk made a birdie two on the 16^th hole while Shimmin could only manage bogey.  With the lead in hand, Smunk calmly made par on the final two holes to win his first SCGA Senior Championship title by two strokes. 

This victory gives Bill Smunk SCGA titles in the SC Amateur (1984), two Mid-Amateur titles (1988 & 95) and now the Senior Championship.  He is also one half of the current SCGA Partners Champions.

The 2009 SCGA Senior Championship was played on the par 72 - 6,525 yard Country Club of South Carolina layout in Florence, SC. The field consisted of 124 players over the age of 55 and was cut to the low 60 and ties after the first two days of play. The Senior Championship is one of 19 Major Championships conducted by the South Carolina Golf Association and is in its 50th year of existence.

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