John Green wins Super Senior Championship

John Green, of Ocean Isle Beach, won the super senior division in the Carolinas PGA Senior Championship.

The two-day tourney was played July 28-29 at the Thistle Golf Club at Sunset Beach. The Carolinas PGA Senior Championship is a 36-hole stroke play championship open to all senior PGA and members residing in North and South Carolina. The Championship was played on the McKay Course for the front nine and the Cameron Course for the back.

Green, 71, shot 72-71—143 (1 under) and won the title by two strokes. Green played in the 70-and-older group, which had 11 players in it. Those scores were compared to the 65-69 group, which had 14 players in it. The best score in that group was by John Orr, of Florence, S.C., who shot 71-74—145 (+1).

The overall champion was Bob Boyd of Wilmington. Celebrating his 54th birthday, Boyd finished at 8-under 136 (68-68), two strokes better than Mike Lawrence of Easley, S.C., who shot the day’s low round of 5-under 67 (71-67, 138).

Jim Fellner of Little River, S.C., was seventh. Forty-seven golfers competed.

This was Boyd’s first Carolinas PGA major tournament in a few years. The Carolinas PGA Hall of Famer spends most of his time on the other side of the Atlantic playing under his exempt status on the European Senior Tour. He won the 2005 Senior Open of Spain, finished 2008 with four top 10s and had his best finish this year at the Irish Senior Open at Ballybunion Golf Club, barely missing the top spot in a playoff against Ian Woosnam.

As of 2007, the trophy the Carolinas PGA Player of the Year wins is named after Boyd, a seven-time Player of the Year himself.

A tie occurred at 2-under 142 for the overall senior amateur champion of the Carolinas PGA Section’s Senior Championship. Larry Boswell of Jamestown (70-72) and Mark Wagner of Statesville (71-71) will share the championship for the 2009 season.

The highest local finisher was Monte Beebe of Sunset Beach, who shot 72-78—150 (+6). Rick Mitchell of Little River was one stroke back. Forty-seven golfers competed.