AMERICAN ZAHRINGER IS SINGING IN THE RAIN AT SENIORS' AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

                            And the winner is .... George Zahringer

FROM THE R AND A WEBSITE
By ELSPETH BURNSIDE 

The final round ended in a horrendous downpour, but it was all smiles for American George Zahringer as he posted a final round 74 and secured a one shot victory in the Seniors Open Amateur Championship at Royal Aberdeen.

The 60-year-old from New York had set out one shot behind Northern Ireland’s Garth McGimpsey and American Patrick Tallent but he was one shot ahead with five holes to play and his five over par 218 total was goo enough to finish one ahead of fellow-American Tom Brandes.

Brandes, from Seattle, had a best of final round 69 – it was the joint best score of the Championship – to slip into second place on six over par and McGimpsey settled for third on seven over after a 77. 

Chip Lutz, the American aiming to make it three in row, was left to rue the quadruple-bogey eight he took on the 18^th in the second round. A fine closing 72 saw him finish tied for fourth on seven over par.

“I played really well today, just missed a few putts,” he summed up. “It was a good way to finish and a good defence. It was just a shame about the one hole yesterday.” 

Zahringer, the 2002 US Mid-Amateur Champion and 2003 Walker Cup player, couldn’t have been happier. “It’s great to win my first international title and it’s just beginning to sink in,” he said.

 

“Playing for the US in the Walker Cup and winning the Mid-Amateur were great and another highlight of my career was taking part in eight US Senior Opens (he was low amateur twice). But this is extra special because it is overseas.”

 

He will definitely be back to defend – and he was thrilled to hear that the 2014 venue is Ganton. The famous Yorkshire course was the scene of his Walker Cup appearance - and he also reached the quarter-finals of a British Amateur Championship at the same venue.

 

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “I didn’t know it was there next year but it will be a great place to go back to again, and as the reigning Champion.”

 

A Privaet banker in his professional life, Zahringer revealed afterwards that his final round strategy was to go out and shoot par. He made a shaky start with a bogey at the long second – “the only hole where I was really aggressive” – and dropped another shot at the short 11^th before finally picking up a birdie with a chip and putt at the long 12^th.

 

The storm started when Zahringer was on the 15^th green – hailstones and unbelievably heavy rain – and, not surprisingly, he dropped a shot at the 16^th and another at the 18^th.

 

“But I knew I was two ahead playing the last and I wasn’t going to do anything stupid,” he said. “So I hit a five wood off the tee, a safe four iron second shot and then had a 60-yard pitch.”  His par putt from 30 feet just shaved the hole.

 

Brandes, seven behind overnight, steamrollered through the field with his two under par score. He finished with four threes – three birdies and a par at the 17^th.

 

“It was great fun and a terrific week,” he said. “It was my first time over in Britain and I couldn’t have had a more enjoyable time.”

 

Playing in the final group, McGimpsey and Tallent had the worse of the conditions. McGimpsey dropped three shots in the final six holes, while Tallent’s challenge finally came to grief with a seven at the 15^th. He shot 79 and finished joint seventh on nine over par.

 

Lindsay Gordon (Turnhouse) was the best of the Scots on 17 over par after a closing 77, one ahead of John Fraser (78), from Royal Burgess, Kirriemuir Players’ David Downie (75) and Tulliallan’s Robert Stewart (75).   

 

  LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71)
218 George Zahringer (US) 69 75 74
219 Tom  Brandes (US) 77 73 69
220 Garth McGimpsey (Bangor) 71 72 77
221 John Mitchell (Tramore) 76 75 70, Alan Mew (Stoneham) 73 77 71, Chip Lutz (US) 70 79 72.
SCOTS' TOTALS
230 Lindsay Gordon (Turnhouse) 74 79 77 (T25)
231 David Downie (Kirriemuir Players) 79 77 75, Robert Stewart (Tulliallan) 78 78 75, John Fraser (Royal Burgess) 72 81 78 (T31)
232 Ian Brotherston (Dumfries and Co) 77 77 78 (T39)
247 Ian Angus (Duff House Royal) 74 81 87 (64th)

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