NCGA Senior Four-Ball Preview
June 12, 2012
2011 NCGA Senior Four-Ball Champions: Jeff Burda and Jim Knoll
PEBBLE BEACH – On Wednesday the 14th Annual NCGA Senior Four-Ball will kick off at Poppy Hills GC and it looks to feature a promising field. Last year’s champions Jim Knoll and Jeff Burda will try to successfully defend their title, which will be no easy task as only one team has been able to do so in the tournament’s short history—in 2007 and 2008 Bob Berg and Rob Thompson won in back-to-back years. Knoll and Burda will tee off of the 10th tee Wednesday at 9:20 a.m. with Michael Harding and Herb Jensen.
In 2011, Knoll and Burda went wire-to-wire to win, but they were closely challenged by Casey Boyns and Mark Miller, winning by only a two-stroke margin. Miller, a former senior four-ball champion (2006), and Boyns, a rookie in last year’s event, look to make a splash again as the duo will tee off the first hole at 9:20 a.m. on Wednesday. Rob Adolph and Doug Johnson, who finished in third place last year, have arguably been the most consistent team the past five years as they have one fourth place finish (2007), three third place finishes (’08, ’10, ’11) and one victory to their names (’09). The two will tee off the No. one tee at 8:10 a.m. on Wednesday with Frank Pieper and Chip Campion.
Other pairs who are likely to contend include two teams that finished in fourth place Robert Fulton and Dan Bieber, and Ben Whipple and Sherman Haggerty as both teams came in at scores of 210. Fulton and Bieber tee off of No. 10 at 9:50 a.m., while Whipple and Haggerty tee off in the group before on 10 at 9:40 a.m. As previously mentioned, Berg and Thompson definitely have proven that they can compete. They are not only the lone back-to-back champions in the history of the event, but also the only multiple year champions having won three times—they also won in 2005; the two will tee off of the 10th tee at 9:10 a.m.
Scott Anderson and Gary Vanier are two very capable NCGA senior players as both are currently in the top 10 in the Senior Player of the Year race. The two are familiar four-ball partners as they competed together in last month’s NCGA Four-Ball at Spyglass Hill and competed quite well finishing tied for 18th. Anderson and Vanier are one of the earlier tee times Wednesday, heading out at 7:50 a.m. off of No. 10. Lastly, another intriguing pair to watch is the rookie team of Terry Foreman and Tony McBroom. The two 55 year-olds are currently 24th and 32nd on the senior points list, respectively, and are proven solid players. Foreman is a three-time NCGA Master Division Four-Ball champion, while McBroom has placed first in two senior four-ball points’ events this year, albeit without Foreman. The duo makes its NCGA debut on Wednesday at 9:40 a.m. off of the first tee.
The three-day event will begin Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. at Poppy Hills GC with all competitors playing 36-holes. After two rounds of play have been completed, the low 30 teams and ties will tee it up on Friday. See first and second round pairings.