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lyons wins 2017 LGA Senior Am
Eddie Lyons of Shreveport fired a final round one-over par 73 at Southern Trace Country Club to win the 28th LGA Senior Amateur Championship by one shot over Bill Land of Lafayette .
Lyons started the day with a two-shot lead over Land and never relinquished it . Lyons is a Shreveport native and Southern Trace Country Club member , and his local course knowledge served him well all week . He shot rounds of 75 , 66 , and 73 to finish at two-under par 214 for the Championship .
This is Lyons ’ second LGA Senior Amateur Championship , having won this event in 2003 at Gray Plantation in Lake Charles . He ’ s also finished runner-up twice in this event ( 2013 & 2014 ). Lyons and Land were the only two competitors to finish under par for the Championship .
To win at his home club in his hometown made this victory especially sweet for Lyons . Southern Trace has hosted a number of LGA Championships over the years , including the Amateur and Mid- Amateur ; however , this is the first time the Arthur Hills designed track has hosted the State Senior Amateur . Lyons had this event circled on his calendar as soon as it was announced as a future site .
Lyons said , “ I was thrilled for the opportunity to play on my home course . It helps when you know what those four foot putts do . I putted well today and was able to hang on and grind out a victory .”
For the 54-hole Championship , Lyons carded one eagle , 10 birdies ,
34 pars , eight bogeys , and one double bogey .
The start of the final round was delayed five hours and 30 minutes due to inclement weather . The Tournament Committee made the decision to have a “ shotgun start ” at 1 p . m . once the weather subsided . However , to keep the integrity of the event intact , the final three pairings teed off # 1 in groups of three in nine-minute intervals so that the leaders went off last .
All players within 11 shots of the lead were able to start their round on the first hole . The golf course took on an inch of rain Saturday morning , but it quickly drained and scoring conditions were ideal due to the softer turf .
Lyons got off to a rocky start , making a bogey 6 at the par 5 first hole . He quickly bounced back with a birdie at the par 4 second hole . He would then go on to make five consecutive pars and another birdie at the par 5 eighth hole .
Lyons parred the par 4 ninth hole , making the turn at one-under par for his round . Lyons started his back nine in steady fashion and made four consecutive pars . Things got interesting when Lyons made back-to-back bogeys on holes 14 and 15 , leaving the door open for Land to sneak in . Lyons responded with three pars to finish , bringing his final round total to one-over par 73
Ṙounding out the top 5 were : T3 ) 2016 LGA Senior Amateur Champion Ken Buchan of Monroe ( 217 ), T3 ) 2007 & 2010 LGA Senior Amateur Champion Bob Cooper
of Monroe ( 217 ), and 5 ) Stan Humphries of Monroe ( 218 ).
This was the first year that the Senior Amateur was conducted in May , and competitors welcomed the move to Spring . Superintendent Jason Rouk and his crew did a phenomenal job getting the golf course in Championship condition . The golf course drew rave reviews from this field of the top Senior players in Louisiana . The Southern Trace course played to a par of 72 at approximately 6,684 yards on Saturday , and the greens were rolling at 10.7 on the Stimpmeter .
Submitted by LGA .
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