6th NCGA Senior Match Play Championship | Poppy Hills GC & Spyglass Hill GC | August 13-17, 2012
Historically an invite-only event in which the top 16 players on the NCGA Senior Points list were invited to participate in the Senior Match Play Championship, held concurrently with the NCGA Amateur Match Play at Spyglass Hill, over a three-day period. Beginning in 2012 the event was modified to a 32 player match play field, allowing the other half of the field to qualify. Sixty players will compete in stroke-play qualifying at Poppy Hills on Monday. The top 16 qualifiers and the top 16 on the Senior Points List will compete in single elimination match play on Tuesday at Poppy Hills. The prevailing 16 players will move to Spyglass Hill beginning on Wednesday and concluding on Friday.
Tournament Recaps
Casey Boyns added another NCGA title to his already impressive resume. Friday at 10:50 a.m. on the 18th hole of Spyglass Hill, Boyns knocked off Jeff Burda 1-up to win the 5th Annual Senior Amateur Match Play Championship.The final match lived up to its hype as two of the previous four finals have featured a #4 seed (Boyns) versus a #2 seed (Burda), with the seeds splitting the championships 1-1, and those matches having gone 18 and 19 holes, respectively. This match was no different as only five of the holes were halved and the lead changed three times, with the match going the distance. Read Full 2011 Recap | 2011 Bracket
Dan Bieber of Green Valley CC claimed his first NCGA title in 10 years, besting Merced’s Rob Thompson 2 and 1. Bieber, winner of the 2000 NCGA Masters Championship, managed to hold off the NCGA cagey veteran who won this championship in 2007 and 2008 and continues to play at a high level of excellence well into his 60s. In their fifth match in three days, the Green Valley member took an early lead and would not relinquish it for the rest of the day. Read Full 2011 Recap | 2010 Bracket
It was a great day for Jeff Burda. The sun shone through the Monterey Pines and a gentle breeze swirled at Spyglass Hill as Del Rio’s Jeff Burda claimed his first NCGA Senior Match Play Championship title. With son Patrick on the bag, the 2008 Senior Player of the Year served up a spread of five birdies and no bogeys for a flawless 6 and 4 win over Rob Adolph of Fresno. Read Full 2009 Recap | 2009 Bracket
Past Champions
| Year | Course | Champion | Runner-Up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Spyglass Hill | Rob Thompson | Carl Selkirk | 19 holes |
| 2008 | Spyglass Hill | Rob Thompson | Jeff Burda | 1-up |
| 2009 | Spyglass Hill | Jeff Burda | Rob Adolph | 6 & 5 |
| 2010 | Spyglass Hill | Dan Bieber | Rob Thompson | 2 & 1 |
| 2011 | Spyglass Hill | Casey Boyns | Jeff Burda | 1-up |
About Spyglass Hill
Spyglass Hill No. 14
Ranked number five on “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses” list by Golf Digest for 2003-2004. Spyglass Hill was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., as a part of the master plan for the Pebble Beach ocean front between Cypress Point and Pebble Beach. Opened in 1966, the design features two distinctly different kinds of terrain that influence the way the holes look and play. The first five holes roll through sandy seaside dunes challenging the golfer to carefully pick the safest path. The following 13 holes are cut through pine trees with elevated greens and strategically placed bunkers and lakes to grab the errant shot. Spyglass Hill is rated one of the toughest courses in the world from the Championship tees, boasting a course rating of 75.5 and a slope rating of 147. The PGA Tour consistently lists Spyglass Hill’s holes 6, 8 and 16 among the toughest on the tour, and during the 1999 United States Amateur, the stroke average of the field during medal play was in excess of 79.