Stimmel comes up just short in bid to repeat in Dixie Amateur Senior Division, finishing second by a shot

 

   Rick Stimmel, the Pittsburgh amateur who seems to be enjoying his new life as a senior player, had his second straight strong showing in the Senior division of the Dixie Championship at Eagle Trace Golf Club in Coral Springs, Fla.

   I was poking around the Dixie Amateur website to get some results of last weekend’s Dixie Women’s Amateur Championship when I realized that Senior/Mid-Master Championship was played the previous weekend, wrapping up Dec. 7^th.

   Stimmel closed with a 3-under-par 69 at Eagle Trace and came up just short of repeating as the winner of the Senior Division.

   I had forgotten how dominant Stimmel was a year ago when he ran away with the Senior Division title by six shots in his first trip to the Dixie Championship.

   In that all-encompassing recap I did a few weeks ago of the Global Golf Post All-Amateur teams, I mentioned that Stimmel earned honorable mention in the Men’s Senior Amateur category.

   That gave me an opportunity to look back at all the USGA championships in 2024 and there was Stimmel earning a spot in the match-play bracket in the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship last summer at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn., where he reached the round of 16.

   In his first two years of senior eligibility, Stimmel has made it to match play in the U.S. Senior Amateur both times.

   Stimmel had matched par in the opening round at Eagle Trace with a 72, but struggled a little in the second round with a 3-over 75 in the second round that left him seven shots behind the eventual winner, Chad Ibbotson of Sanford, Fla., going into the final round of the 54-hole event.

   And Stimmel almost caught Ibbotson. Stimmel was 4-under through six holes of the final round as he made a birdie at the first hole, eagled the par-5 fifth and added another birdie at six.

   Stimmel stumbled a little in the middle of the round with a double bogey at the seventh hole and a bogey at 13 that dropped him to 1-under for the day. But he recovered with back-to-back birdies at the 15^th and 16^th holes, his final-round 69 leaving him with an even-par 216 total.

   Ibbotson had opened with a sparkling 4-under 68 and matched par in the second round with a 72. He got on the bogey train in the final round, but held it together enough to close with a 3-over 75 for a 1-under 215 that gave him a one-shot margin on Stimmel and the title.

   Ibbotson followed up a birdie at the fourth hole with a bogey at five and a birdie at six with a bogey at seven. He made a birdie at the eighth hole, but a bogey at nine left him at even-par through a roller-coaster ride of a front nine.

   Bogeys at the 12^th, 13^th and 17^th holes by Ibbotson made things tight at the finish, but he was able to hold on.

   Glenn Przybylski of Frankfort, Ill. also closed with a 3-over 75 to finish a shot behind Stimmel in third place with a 1-over 217 total. Przybylski had added a 3-under 69 in the second round to his opening round of 1-over 73 and only trailed Ibbotson by two shots heading into the final round.

   Chad Branton of Cartersville, Ga. finished with a flourish, recording a sparkling 5-under 67 in the final round as he ended up a shot behind Przybylski in fourth place with a 2-over 218 total.

   Bobby Spino of New Franklin, Ohio., just the fourth amateur to capture the title in the Ohio Senior Open last spring at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, sandwiched a 1-under 71 in the second round with a pair of 2-over 74s to finish a shot behind Branton in fifth place with a 3-over 219 total.

   Haymes Snedeker of Daphne, Ala., the older brother of nine-time PGA Tour winner Brandt Snedeker, captured the title in the Mid-Master Division in a playoff with Andy Roberts of Owensboro, Ky.

   Roberts had taken a one-shot lead over Snedeker going into the final round as he added a sparkling 5-under 67 in the second round to his opening round of 1-over 73. Snedeker had added a 1-under 71 in the second round to his opening-round 70.

   Roberts put a nose in front with birdies at the fourth, sixth and 10^th holes. But Snedeker, who wrapped up his college career at Mississippi in 1999, kept battling and when he made a birdie at the 16^th hole and Roberts bogeyed the hole, Snedeker caught him to force the playoff. Snedeker registered a final round of 3-under 69 to Roberts’ 2-under 70 as they both landed on 6-under 210.

   On the second hole of the playoff, the par-3 17^th, Snedeker’s tee shot nearly found a hazard, but he was able to chip the ball to five feet and make the par-saving putt that gave him the title.

   Shaw Pritchett of Montgomery, Ala. was solid throughout, adding a 3-under 69 in the second round to his opening round of even-par 72 before closing with a 2-under 70 that left him a shot out of the playoff with a 5-under 211 total.

   Joshua Rhodes of Paducah, Ky. surged into contention with a 4-under 68 in the second round before closing with a 2-over 74 that left him in fourth place with a 1-under 215 total, four shots behind Pritchett.

   Bryan Rusin of Denver, Colo. matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish two shots behind Rhodes in fifth place with a 1-over 217 total.

   Terry Tyson of Perrysburg, Ohio sandwiched a sparkling 3-under 69 in the second round with a pair of 2-over 74s to capture top honors in the Super Senior Division with a 1-over 217 total.

   Bryan Rodgers of Knoxville, Tenn. closed fast with a final round of 4-under 68, but couldn’t quite catch Tyson, settling for runnerup honors with a 2-over 218 total.

   It looked like Greg Goode of Salina, Kan. was on his way to the title when he opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 3-under 69 in the second round that gave him a commanding four-shot lead over Tyson heading into the final round.

   But Goode struggled to an 80 in the final round and had to settle for third place with a 3-over 219 total that left him a shot behind Rodgers.

   It was three shots back to James Starnes of Fort Myers, Fla. in fourth place as he closed with a 5-over 77 for a 6-over 222 total.

   Northeastern Pennsylvania legend – Moosic, to be specific – Vince Scarpetta was another shot behind Starnes in fifth place with a 7-over 223 total. Scarpetta posted back-to-back 2-over 74s in the first two rounds before finishing up with a 3-over 75.