Only nine days after capturing his first U.S. Senior Amateur title, Rusty Strawn earned another prestigious victory.
The 59-year-old from McDonough, Georgia, quickly traveled more than 2,000 miles across the continent and then completed a three-stroke victory in the Canadian Senior Amateur at Red Deer (Alberta) Country Club. With his U.S. Senior Amateur triumph, Strawn was exempt for this week’s U.S. Mid-Amateur at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, but he turned down that opportunity so he could play in western Canada.
“I told the people at the USGA, ‘There is no way I am going to miss the Canadian Men’s Senior,' " Strawn said. “I absolutely love it here.”
He was in contention from the moment he got off the plane. Strawn opened with a 3-under 69 to share the first-round lead with Mike Lohner of Southlake, Texas, and the two competitors would break away to form a two-horse race. Lohner shot 2-under 70 in the second round for a one-stroke lead over Strawn, but the pair came into the final round tied after Strawn’s third-round 71 bested Lohner’s even-par 72.
The final round had a few twists and turns. Strawn jumped out to a two-stroke lead early when Lohner made bogey at 2 and Strawn made birdie at 3. However, Strawn would make four bogeys and no birdies in his ensuing seven holes, a stretch Lohner took advantage of to take a two-stroke lead of his own.
The last eight holes determined the championship. Strawn made a charge with birdies at Nos. 11, 15 and 16, and Lohner made bogeys at 15 and 17. After a closely contested 72-hole tournament between the two combatants, there would be no drama on the final hole. Strawn’s 5-under 283 bested Lohner’s 2-under 286 as the pair were the only players in red figures. Canadian Ken Griffith finished third at even-par 288.
Afterward, Strawn had his picture taken with Canadian mounties. He was quite impressed with the celebration, calling the photo with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police “the coolest picture I’ve ever taken.”
This has been the coolest season of golf in Strawn’s life. Not only has he won the U.S. Senior Amateur and Canadian Senior Amateur, but he also captured the Trans-Miss Senior and Florida Azalea Senior earlier this year against strong competition. Strawn is a popular winner given his sunny disposition and relentless work ethic.
RESULTS
Almost nobody plays more tournament golf than Kevin VandenBerg, a 56-year-old from Pulaski, New York, who has rededicated himself to the game now that he is a senior amateur.
It’s paid dividends this year as VandenBerg has three wins and a bevy of top finishes. His latest victory came last week at the Senior Porter Cup, which was shortened to 36 holes because of inclement weather that wiped out play on Wednesday at Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, New York.
VandenBerg opened with a 3-under 67 on Thursday to establish a lead, but he coughed it up during Friday’s final round when he went out in 4-over 39. That dropped him to 1 over for the tournament, in a four-way share of the lead.
But like he has done a couple of times in 2022, VandenBerg fought back for the title. He made three birdies, including on the par-3 18th, that put him one stroke ahead of Andy Bernatovicz, a Grand Island, New York, resident. Robert Gerwin, of Cincinnati, Ohio, finished two strokes back in solo third at 1-over 141.
VandenBerg also won the Heron Creek National Senior Tournament and the Golfweek Senior National Championship this year. The Senior Porter Cup was his 23rd WAGR-counting tournament of the year.
Sean Fairholm