Pierce Prevails at South Senior Amateur

Montgomery – John Pierce of San Antonio shot a final round 73 on Thursday to win the 2018 South Senior Amateur, presented by Impact Precision Golf. Kent Samuel also recorded a come-from-behind victory in the Super Senior division after posting a final round 1-over-par 73. Pierce and Samuel each won their divisions by two strokes.

Pierce started the final round one stroke off the lead, but bogeyed the par-4 third hole to get back to even par for the tournament. He recovered quickly with a birdie on the fifth, but another bogey on seven took him into the turn at one-over for the round. Pierce birdied the 10th hole before making bogeys on Nos. 11 and 13, when the wind started to pick up.

“I trusted I was going to hit it solid and hit it below the wind,” Pierce said of battling wind gusts of up to 20 mph. “It was kind of like a war of attrition and I was the last man standing.”

Bobby Baugh and David Leiss shot final rounds of 75 and 77, respectively, as the final group held onto the top three overall places. Baugh played a steady round marred only by three bogeys. First round leader Leiss started his round with two consecutive bogeys and couldn’t get back on track. He birdied the 15th hole for the second consecutive day, but that was his only birdie of the round.

In the Super Senior division, Kent Samuel overcame a two-stroke deficit to walk away with the victory. Samuel started his round with a bogey on the 501-yard par-5 10th hole, but bounced back with birdies on the 13th and 16th holes. A bogey on No. 18 left Samuel at even par for his first nine holes. He recorded seven pars on his final nine holes to hold on for the two-shot victory.

Tom McGraw, leading after round one, shot a 5-over 77 in his final round to finish as runner-up. Charles Reeve shot a final round 78 to finish third place in the Super Senior division.

The Texas Golf Association extends sincere gratitude to the members and staff at Walden on Lake Conroe Golf Club for their hospitality throughout the week. Click here for the full leaderboard and more information.