The 2005 tournament season proved to be an outstanding one for Jim Prusia (Bluffton, SC) and Garland Yates (Asheboro, NC). Both men won the 2005 CPGA Senior Professional Player of the Year and Senior Amateur Player of the Year honors. This is the first Player of the Year title for both.
Jim Prusia finished the 2005 tournament season exactly in the fashion he had hoped for in January. After finishing in 19th place in the 2004 CPGA Senior Player of the Year points race, Jim had established his goal of winning the award for the 2005 season. With that goal set in place Jim did not finish outside of the top ten in all seven events he had played. His solid play carried over the 2005 U.S. Senior Open Qualifying. Prusia was able to qualify for the championship for the second year in a row and only missed the cut by 2 shots at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio. Jim was able to bring home one tournament championship in Carolinas PGA Senior Open Tournament Series. He posted consecutive rounds of 67 to finish the CPGA Seniors’ Championship at 134 (-10) and win the event by 3 strokes. He found himself as the low professional at the Yamaha Broadmoor Senior Open and also tied for 3rd place among the entire field. Mid-way through the tournament season Jim was trying ice the field in pursuit of his goal of becoming the 2005 CPGA Senior Player of the Year when he had already recorded four top five finishes. Prusia finished the year strong with a top ten finish at the Prestwick Senior Open, which guaranteed him winning Player of the Year honors.
Garland Yates was able to wrestle the Carolinas PGA Senior Amateur Player of the Year award away from Ron Carpenter (Durham, NC) for the first time in two years. Yates was also hungry to capture this award after finishing in 3rd place in the 2003 Player of the Year race and in 7th place last year. Garland’s consistent play all year long was making things tough on Carpenter’s three peat. Garland was able to secure seven top ten finishes during the 2005 season and did not finish outside of the top 18 all year long. With only two events left on the 2005 schedule Garland came out on fire by capturing the low amateur honors at the Rock Barn Senior Open and finished tied for 5th in the entire field. Entering the final event of the season Yates was sitting in sole possession of second place in the Amateur Player of the Year race, with only a few points separating him from first place. Ken Eichele (Pinehurst, NC) was leading the points race going into the final event and could not fend off the hot putter of Garland Yates, who finished in 3rd place in the final tournament. That 3rd place finish was more than enough to earn him his first Senior Amateur Player of the Year award.
Both Prusia and Yates will be presented with their Player of the Year awards at the Carolinas PGA Awards & Honors Banquet held in February of 2006. The Carolinas PGA awards points for each of the 11 tournaments in the CPGA Senior Open Tournament Series each year as well as points for qualifying for various other prestigious senior tournaments conducted through the year. Please find below the final standings for the 2005 CPGA Player of the Year points race in both the professional and amateur divisions.
CPGA Senior Player of the Year Standings
Place Name Representing Points
1st Jim Prusia Bluffton, SC 722.50
2nd Terry Mauney Charlotte, NC 577.50
3rd Reid Schronce Wilmington, NC 575.00
4th Tom Rogers Burnsville, NC 530.50
5th Don Trahan Inman, SC 517.50
6th Terry Florence Awendaw, SC 436.00
7th Vic Lipscomb Spartanburg, SC 365.50
8th David Thore Greensboro, NC 350.75
9th Mike Hamilton Simpsonville, SC 327.50
10th Jeff Isenhour Conover, NC 304.50
11th Steve Forrest Clemmons, NC 304.25
12th Burt Baine Charlotte, NC 271.00
13th Jim Fellner Little River, SC 255.00
14th Mick Brown Bogue, NC 218.00
15th Bill Clayton Spartanburg, SC 217.75
16th Ronnie Smoak Spartanburg, SC 208.75
17th Joe Roberts Brevard, NC 199.00
18th Bobby Ford Murrells Inlet, SC 198.75
19th Loren Beahm Hope Mills, NC 193.50
20th Randy Golver Mount Pleasant, SC 187.50
21st Les Stradley Asheville, NC 185.00
22nd Tom Ducey New London, NC 184.50
23rd Frank Jones Hilton Head, SC 183.00
24th Mike Lawrence Easley, SC 182.50
25th Bern Coulter Wilmington, NC 177.50
26th Pat Whisenant Huntersville, NC 171.00
27th Mike Schroder Conway, SC 166.00
28th Tommy Byrd Charlotte, NC 150.75
29th Ronnie Miller Charleston, SC 148.75
30th Bob Leaver Oak Ridge, NC 141.00
31st Bob Boyd Wilmington, NC 120.00
32nd Robert White Ridgeland, SC 117.00
33rd Jim Westbrook Charlotte, NC 109.00
34th Norman Flynn Gilbert, SC 103.00
35th Jim Ferree Hilton Head, SC 100.00
36th Tommy Price Mocksville, NC 98.00
37th John Briggs Supply, NC 91.00
38th Ed Sehl Tega Cay, SC 90.50
39th Bobby Howard Lexington, SC 84.00
40th Howard Reid Denver, NC 83.50
41st Gary Troylan York, SC 75.00
42nd Rick Taylor Denver, NC 67.00
43rd Bill Krickhan Asheville, NC 65.00
44th Gordon Fulp Greenville, NC 56.00
45th Larry Krupp Longs, SC 55.00
Donald Padgett Pinehurst, NC 55.00
47th Brown McDonald Winston-Salem, NC 53.00
48th Dave Martin Sumter, SC 49.00
49th Robin All West Columbia, SC 47.50
Mike Marvel Clayton, NC 47.50
CPGA Senior Amateur Player of the Year Standings
Place Name Representing Points
1st Garland Yates Asheboro, NC 608.83
2nd Ken Eichele Pinehurst, NC 543.23
3rd Ron Carpenter Durham, NC 456.00
4th Larry Boswell Jamestown, NC 394.00
5th Jim Pridgen Jamestown, NC 379.50
6th Terry Rathman Gastonia, NC 370.90
7th Robert Yow Salemburg, NC 349.50
8th Jim Hickman Maiden, NC 326.50
9th Hal Dugenske Whispering Pines, NC 325.50
10th Johnny Adams Cary, NC 310.90
11th Scott Schwarz Summerville, SC 303.00
12th John Green Ocean Isle Beach, NC 298.00
13th Dave Robinson Burlington, NC 277.50
14th Bill Turner Holly Springs, NC 250.00
15th Mark Wagner Statesville, NC 247.50
16th Mike Emory Lake Wylie, SC 238.00
17th Ernie Newton High Point, NC 224.17
18th Bill Childs Newton, NC 199.50
19th Brodie Baker Bermuda Run, NC 197.50
20th J. Frank Bell Sheldon, NC 195.00
21st Herb Conway Whispering Pines, NC 188.14
22nd Dean DeMattio Myrtle Beach, SC 156.00
23rd Gett Padgett Lexington, SC 142.00
24th Glenn Gulledge Emerald Isle, NC 139.92
25th Buddy Brooks Cheraw, SC 127.00
26th Michael Daniels Murrells Inlet, SC 124.40
27th Blair Harrell Rougemont, SC 120.00
Don Slater Durham, NC 120.00
29th Wayne Godwin Charlotte, NC 110.25
30th David Helton Pembroke, NC 110.00
Lennie Younce Hickory, NC 110.00
32nd Paul Loth Pinehurst, NC 100.00
33rd Bill Duncan Greenville, SC 95.00
Al Hogan Conway, SC 95.00
35th Roger Taylor Conover, NC 94.50
Bill Barber Pawleys Island, SC 94.50
37th Scott Yager Hendersonville, NC 91.75
38th Lea Couch Bahama, NC 90.00
39th Stephen Smith Mount Pleasant, SC 87.75
40th John Cash Fuquay Varina, NC 86.50
41st Dan Beacham Honea Path, SC 86.00
42nd Jim Barnette Anderson, SC 85.00
43rd George Sampson Supply, NC 78.50
44th John Stokely Longs, SC 78.40
45th David Williams Cary, NC 77.00
46th Chuck Wunsch Pinehurst, NC 75.00
47th Charles Daley Whispering Pines, NC 70.00
48th Jay Gardner High Point, NC 67.00
Tom Saintsing Lexington, NC 67.00
50th Richard Curwen Bolivia, NC 65.40
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