Bunker Conquers 60th Senior Amateur with Steady Play
NAPLES, Fla. — Dave Bunker came out on top at the 60th Senior Amateur Championship on Thursday at Bonita Bay Club. He fired three under-par rounds to capture the three-shot victory in wire-to-wire fashion at 6-under 210.
This is the first FSGA championship victory for Bunker.
"This is our first winter down in Florida," Bunker said. "I know there are a lot great names on this trophy and a lot of really great players in Florida, so it's very nice to be able to come out on top today."
Bunker began the championship with a 1-under 71 on Tuesday to take a share of the first-round lead with Paul Royak. The Fort Myers resident followed that up with a bogey-free 69 in the second round, carding three birdies on the day, to take the solo lead.
Beginning the final round with a two-shot lead, Bunker got off to a solid start with a birdie on the third. His lone hiccup of the day came on the fourth with a bogey, but he made the turn at even par with a three-shot lead over Royak in second.
Bunker continued his strong play on the back side, playing the first three holes at even par and adding a birdie on the 13th to extend his lead to five shots. Royak didn’t go down without a fight though, he eagled the par-5 15th hole and followed it up with a birdie on the 16th to cut Bunker’s lead to two shots.
Heading to the final hole with a two-shot lead, Bunker rolled in a 10-foot putt for birdie to secure the victory with a final-round 70.
"Very straight forward, didn't get into too much trouble," Bunker said. "I had a bad second shot on 15, but got away with making par there. The rest of the day was just trying to hit fairways and greens. And to not do anything really bad, which thankfully happened."
Royak, the 2020 FSGA Senior Player of the Year, finished runner-up at 3-under 213. He posted rounds of 71-71-71 for the championship. Rich Buckner used rounds of 74-71-70 to take home third-place at 1-under 215.
Bunker and Royak were the lone two players in the field to finish the championship with three under-pars round. While Bunker, Royak and Buckner were the only players in the field to finish under par for the week.
Bob Mathers finished fourth at 1-over 217, while Brian Keenan rounded out the top five with a 2-over 218 for the championship.
