PINEHURST, N.C. — Alan Dirk birdied the first hole of sudden death playoff to win the 2006 Harris Teeter Senior Amateur Tour Championship on Wednesday at National Golf Club. Dirk, who lives in Sanford and plays on the tour’s Pinehurst division, edged out John Walters of Charlotte in the playoff after both fired 73 in the rain-shortened event.
For Dirk, the birdie was redemption after he built an early lead and struggled down the stretch.
"I had three birdies and an eagle, but I made bogey on three of my last four holes," said the 58-year-old Dirk. "I lipped out my last two putts, but I hit the ball well and the course was a pleasure to play. It handled Tuesday’s rains well and the greens were very good."
Walters finished second in the Championship Flight, while Dennis Brady of Orlando shot 74 and took third place in a scorecard playoff with Raleigh’s Eric Ardrey.
In the A Flight, which was played at Foxfire Country Club, Ron Atkinson of Columbia, S.C., took top honors with a 73, while Bill Barnett of Charlotte was second at 75.
The B Flight was decided in a playoff as Lewis Burgman of the Triad tour downed Max Mast of Charlotte. Both shot 80.
The C Flight winner was Orlando’s Tom Rode, who shot an impressive 81 despite playing with his lower right leg in a cast. Rode has played all season in the cast because of a motorcycle accident that forced doctors to remove three inches from his lower leg. It was Rode’s first victory in 17 tournaments this year.
"Everything came together," said Rode, who used to play in Charlotte before moving to Orlando. "I had two birdies and no miss-hits."
Second place in the C Flight went to Nelson White of the Triad. White shot 86.
The 2006 Harris Teeter Senior Amateur Tour Championship brought together a field of 170 golfers from 14 markets across the Southeast and concluded another successful season.
"I like playing this tour," said Dirk, the new champ. "It’s a great group of guys, very good competition, you get to play a lot of different courses and it is run well."
For HT Senior Tour info, visit www.harristeetersrtour.com
HARRIS TEETER
SENIOR AMATEUR TOUR
2006 Tour Championship
National Golf Club & Foxfire CC,
Pinehurst, N.C.
Final Results
Championship Flight
Alan Dirk, Pinehurst 73*
John Walters, Charlotte 73
Dennis Brady, Orlando 74
Eric Ardrey, Raleigh 74
Greg Powell, Charlotte 75
Craig Galbrieth, Triad 75
Chuck Wunsch, Charlotte 76
Hiran Hicks, Columbia 76
Bryan Dozier, Pinehurst 76
Rick Crompton, Raleigh 77
A Flight
Ron Atkinson, Columbia 73
Bill Barnett, Charlotte 75
Bob McQueen, Pinehurst 76
James Marshall, Charlotte 76
Mike Lacefield, Charlotte 76
Dee Blankenhorn, Raleigh 77
Pat Kelley, Raleigh 77
Art Jones, Triad 77
Doug Masters, Triad 77
Larry Schimel, Charlotte 78
B Flight
Lewis Burgman, Triad 80*
Max Mast, Charlotte 80
Steve Johnson, Orlando 81
Wayne Rhodes, Myrtle Beach 81
Charlie Hooks, Charlotte 81
Conway Powell, Charlotte 81
Joe Burgess, Charlotte 81
Jim Covert, Orlando 82
Richard Pfister, Raleigh 83
Buzz Van Dyke, Tampa 83
C Flight
Tom Rode, Orlando 81
Nelson White, Triad 86
Michael McPeters, Asheville 88
T.W. Stevens, N. Central, Fl. 89
Jim Entwistle, Charleston 90
Larry Hollar, Charlotte 91
Jim Pritchett, Triad 92
Stanley Watts, Upstate 93
Danny Keever, Raleigh 93
George McKean, Raleigh 93
* — won in playoff
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