Poppy Hills
June 15-17
June 17, 2009
NCGA Senior Four-Ball Champions: Rob Adolph & Doug Johnson.
PEBBLE BEACH – Doug Johnson of Fig Garden and Rob Adolph of San Joaquin CC joined forces to win the 11th Annual NCGA Senior Four-Ball Championship and beat some of the most accomplished names in NCGA golf at Poppy Hills.
“We figured if we were going to make them run, we were going to make them run fast today,” grinned Johnson after the round. And they did. The Fresno team fired a six-under-par 66 the first day and never looked back. Backing it up with a pair of 69s for a 12-under-par 204 total, the pair secured their first NCGA Senior Four-Ball title by just one stroke.
Up until the final round, the nemesis hole for the team had been the uphill par-4 13th. The 57-year-olds made birdie in the final round after posting two bogeys there previously. Johnson admitted after the round that holes 12 and 13 had been the turning point. The duo tapped in for birdie on the par-5 12th and then Johnson rolled in a 25-foot putt on 13 to give them the one-stroke buffer they needed over playing partners Jim Knoll of Rooster Run and Jeff Burda of Del Rio.
Past CGA State Amateur Champion Gary Vanier and teammate John Enright of Sharp Park fired a handful of birdies to post a five-under 67 and tie for second at 11-under-par 205 with 2008 NCGA Senior Player-of-the-Year Jeff Burda and reigning NCGA Valley Amateur Champion Jim Knoll. Vanier and Enright then went on to win the second playoff hole to nab runner-up honors, while Burda and Knoll took third after a final-round four-under 68.
While in just their third year of NCGA senior competition, Johnson and Adolph are no strangers to elite level sport. Johnson used to play professional golf on the Asian and South American Tours, while Adolph is a five-time NCAA champion from USC (having won college football titles in ‘72 and ‘74 and baseball honors in ’72, ‘73 and ‘74).
Photo Gallery
Results
| Results | ||
| Douglas Johnson, Fig Garden GC and Rob Adolph, San Joaquin CC | 66-69-69–204 | |
| Gary Vanier, The Olympic Club and John Enright, Sharp Park GC | 67-71-67–205 | |
| Jim Knoll, Rooster Run GC and Jeff Burda, Del Rio CC | 69-68-68–205 | |
| Mark Miller, Roddy Ranch GC and Herb Jensen, Del Paso CC | 68-72-67–207 | |
| Dan Bieber, Green Valley CC and Jack Anthony, Green Valley CC | 69-69-70–208 | |
| Jim Seymour, NCGA Association Membership and Kent Richardson, NCGA Association Membership | 68-73-68–209 | |
| David Baskins, El Macero CC and Chris McKenna, Sunset Whitney CC | 73-71-67–211 | |
| Bob Rowland, Castlewood CC and Jeff Early, Castlewood CC | 69-74-68–211 | |
| Tony Wilmer, Castlewood CC and Marshall Raymer, Castlewood CC | 70-72-69–211 | |
| Bob Berg, Riverview GCC and Rob Thompson, Merced GCC | 70-75-68–213 | |
| Joe Beato, Sunnyside CC and Bill Storey, Fort Washington GCC | 73-70-70–213 | |
| Clifford Davis, Green Valley CC and Bob Olds, Roddy Ranch GC | 71-70-72–213 | |
| Jim Ono, Cypress GC and Ronnie Wiley, Mariners Point Linksters GC | 72-72-70–214 | |
| David Carroll, Silverado CC and Frank Abbott, Silverado CC | 70-75-70–215 | |
| Neil Duffy, Pajaro Valley GC and Rich Morrison, eClub South Bay | 71-73-71–215 | |
| Lee Jeberjahn, San Luis Obispo CC and Christopher Blair, San Luis Obispo CC | 71-73-71–215 | |
| Michael Flood, Discovery Bay CC and Stan Lefrak, Intel Folsom GC | 72-71-72–215 | |
| Barry Brady, Ridgemark GCC and Mark Maroney, Ridgemark GCC | 66-76-73–215 | |
| Jay Guerin, Alameda GC and Bob Fleming, Sacramento GC | 72-70-73–215 | |
| Michael Harding, Roddy Ranch GC and Richard Whitmore, Roddy Ranch GC | 73-72-71–216 | |
| Jeffrey Coeur, Rancho Murieta CC and Gary Ramsden, Rancho Murieta CC | 68-71-78–217 | |
| Dan Bohannon, Del Rio CC and Gary Ard, Spring Creek GCC | 73-72-73–218 | |
| Obie Anderson, Bethel Island GC and Rex Massier, Green Valley CC | 70-74-74–218 | |
| James Sullivan, Pasatiempo GC and Ken Slasor, Monterey Peninsula CC | 75-70-74–219 | |
| Bruce Swanson, Roddy Ranch GC and David Goettsch, Roddy Ranch GC | 69-75-75–219 | |
| Donel Geisen, Rancho Canada GC and Douglas Berry, Monterey Bay GC | 73-70-76–219 | |
| Allen Herd, Mountain Springs GC and John Martin, Gold Country GC | 73-72-75–220 | |
| Ben Whipple, Serrano CC and Sherman Haggerty, Serrano CC | 73-71-76–220 | |
| Robert Reed, Castlewood CC and Tom Lyons, Castlewood CC | 70-74-76–220 | |
| Thomas O’Grady, Los Altos GCC and Jon Jew, Valley Hi CC | 71-70-80–221 | |
| Craig Kinser, Buckingham GCC and David Kinser, Almaden CC | 70-75-78–223 |