LaCrosse and Earsley Victorious
Doug LaCrosse, of Tampa, defeated Walter Himelsbaugh, of Leesburg, to win the 8th Senior Amateur Match Play Championship, as Steve Earsley, of Hobe Sound, bested Brian Sachs, of Newberry, to win the Super Senior Division at Belleair Country Club, in Belleair, June 9-13.
Prior to the match play portion of the Championship, Doug LaCrosse, (pictured left) earned the 11th seed after posting a three-over par round of 74 in the seeding round. LaCrosse proceeded to win four matches to reserve his spot in the championship match. In the Round of 32, LaCrosse beat fellow Tampa resident, Kevin Macy, 4 & 3 to go on to face Owen Joyner, of Naples, in the next round. LaCrosse would defeat Joyner in a close match, 2 & 1, in the Round of 16. In the quarterfinals, LaCrosse defeated the 2012 Senior Player-of-the-Year, Rick Woulfe of Fort Lauderdale, 3 & 2. LaCrosse continued his solid play in his semi-final match defeating Mike Bodney, of Jacksonville, 2 & 1 to advance to the finals against Himelsbaugh. LaCrosse won his fifth and final match defeating the number five seed, Walter Himelsbaugh, 3 & 2, to capture his second State Championship of the year. LaCrosse is the second competitor to win both the Senior Amateur and the Senior Amateur Match Play in the same year. In the Senior Division First Flight, Bobby Kilgore, of Lutz, defeated Robert Noe, of Vero Beach, 3 & 1.
In the Super Senior Championship Bracket, Steve Earsley (pictured right) defeated the 2008 Champion Brian Sachs, 3 & 2 for his second State Match Play Championship. Earsley defeated Kent Whittemore, of St. Petersburg, 4 & 3 in the Round of 16 and then beat two time champion Edward Craig, of Orlando, 4 & 3 in the quarters. Earsley continued his run winning his semifinal by a larger margin, 6 & 5, against Pete McDade, of Lakeland. In the Super Senior Division First Flight, Jim DuBois, of Coral Springs, defeated Jack Ramsey, of Germantown, 6 & 4.
To be eligible, players must have reached 55 years of age by June 9, 2013. All players traveling to Belleair Country Club were guaranteed an 18-hole seeding round and at least one round of match play.
Defending Champions
