Robert Gonzales turns in near-flawless performance to win the 56th CGA Senior Match Play Championship, marking his first CGA individual title
Robert Gonzales of Peyton, Colo. defeated Kent Wilmes of Littleton, Colo. 4 & 2 in the final match to win the 56th CGA Senior Match Play Championship at Thorncreek Golf Course and earn his first CGA individual title.
Gonzales an Wilmes got off to and quick and even pace, both making pars on the first 4 holes in orderly fashion. On the 5th hole, the match saw it’s fist break when Wilmes missed of 4-foot par putt allowing Gonzales to take a 1 up lead with his 5th straight par.
Wilmes’ putter again let him down of the par-4 6th. With both players on the green in 2, Gonzales converted a routine par again, but Wilmes finished with a 3-putt bogey and lost his second straight hole.
Gonzales had his full game dialed in Friday
Holes 7 and 8 were halved with regulation pars as Gonzales kept the pressure on Wilmes with mistake-free golf tee to green. On the difficult 9th it paid dividends; Gonzales with the honor found the narrow fairway with a tight draw. Wilmes pulled his drive left into the penalty area before eventually conceding the hole and heading to the back nine 3 down.
Leading by 3 on the 10th hole, Gonzales issued is first miscue of the day when his 3 foot par putt lipped out on the low side. HIs first bogey of the round also cost him his first hole of the day, and Wilmes cut the lead back to 2 up.
Wilmes was looking for opportunities to close the gap
Gonzales righted the ship with pars on holes 11, 12 and 13 to hold his 2-up lead going into the par-5 14th, which turned out to be pivotal. Gonzales chose to lay up on his second shot, and Wilmes looked in strong position to reach the 513-yd hole in two. However, a miss-hit second shot saw him find the center line bunker 50 yards short of the green, from which he would have to splash out. Unable to make his 20-foot par putt, Wilmes conceded the hole to go 3 down to Gonzales with 4 to play.
Wilmes had to scramble a bit Friday, while Gonzales kept the pressure on
Another hole halved with pars meant that holes were running out for Wilmes. In the end, Gonzales had two putts from 25 feet to close it out on 16, but he only needed one. Fittingly Gonzales birdied the 16th to win 4&2 and become the 56th CGA Senior Match Play Champion.
Wilmes congratulates Gonzales after his birdie on 16 to win the title
Gonzales had incredible control over his game, making 9 pars to start his round he was was never out of position, in the end he was even par through 16 and simply gave Wilmes no room for error.
For Gonzales, this was his first individual CGA Championship title.
Gonzales receives the trophy from CGA Manager of Competitions George Petrie
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CGA Senior Match Play Championship – Thorncreek Golf Course
Round of 16 (Wednesday)
Chris Carlson def. Guy Mertz, 3 & 1
Martin Prazak def. Danny Thompson, 3 & 2
Roger Prenzlow def. Rob McLelland, 3 & 2
Kent Wilmes def. Douglas Rex, 3 & 2
Robert Gonzales def. Mark Donahue, 2 & 1
Kent Moore def. Victor Minovich, 2 & 1
Richard Bradsby def. Bill Fowler, 5 & 3
David Delich def. Jim Reynolds, 3 & 2
Quarterfinals (Thursday AM)
Chris Carlson def. Martin Prazak, 1up
Kent Wilmes def. Roger Prenzlow, 4 & 3
Robert Gonzales def. Kent Moore, 3 & 1
Richard Bradsby def. David Delich, 2 & 1
Semifinals (Thursday PM)
Kent Wlimes def. Chris Carlson, 21 holes
Robert Gonzales def. Richard Bradsby, 3 & 2
Final Match (Friday)
Robert Gonzales def. Kent Wlimes, 4 & 2