macgregor seniors close championship
Nagatomi Reclaims
Seniors Title
Matajiro uses home course advantage to win by nine PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARLES MCLAUGHLIN / ALEX JENKINS
M
atajiro Nagatomi stormed to his third MacGregor Hong Kong Seniors Close Amateur Championship in five years with an utterly dominant display at Discovery Bay Golf Club in early May. Fellow Discovery Bay member and newly-installed HKGA President William Chung finished in second place, while Terry Collins, the reigning Singapore Seniors Open champion placed third, a further four shots adrift. Nagatomi, who won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006, entered the final day’s play with a six-shot lead after crafting solid rounds of 73 and 72 over the demanding clifftop layout. Using his brilliant short game skills to great effect, Japanese-born Nagatomi was never in danger of relinquishing his overnight lead, and started in superb fashion with two early birdies. Despite dropping a couple of shots in the middle of his round, the 61-year-old put on a flawless putting display on the back-nine to seal a comprehensive victory. “I played well, although I’m surprised to win by as much as I did,” said the champion, a 2-handicapper. “My short game was good and of course my knowledge of the course was good. These two things helped me.” Indeed it proved to be a successful championship for Discovery Bay members in general. Motonobu Yanai repeated his fourth placing in the championship last year thanks to a final round of 73, although he had to share that position with Bertie To, whose strong start to the event was offset a little by a lacklustre 83 on the last day. To, whose name is synonymous with the club, can look back on an otherwise encouraging display however, having fired earlier rounds of 73 and 79 to upstage many of his younger counterparts. Reigning champion Joe Pethes, who had won the last two Seniors Close titles, wasn’t at his best in this championship. Carding rounds of 80, 80 and 82, the pre-tournament favourite eventually had to settle for eighth place.
Bertie To tees off Donald Moore holes a putt on 15
Deserving champ: Nagatomi with his silverware Terry Collins plays down 18
William Chung finished second
Defending champion Joe Pethes
RESULTS – TOP 10 OVERALL
Over 70 winner Peter Miles
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HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2009
1 2 3 4= 6 7 8 9 10
Matajiro Nagatomi (73-72-72) William Chung (76-76-74) Terry Collins (77-74-79) Motonobu Yanai (80-83-73) Bertie To, Jnr (74-79-83) Donald Moore (82-80-76) Akiyoshi Kubota (82-77-82) Joe Pethes (80-80-82) Randall King (86-77-82) Walter Kwong (82-84-80)
217 226 230 236 236 238 241 242 245 246
HKGOLFERMAGAZINE.COM
HKGOLFERMAGAZINE.COM
HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2009
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