It was an eventful two days at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex for the IGA Senior/Super-Senior Amateur Championship. Jon Kelley of Kokomo led at the start of the final round but as the day progressed, previous PGA Tour player, Jeff Cook of Carmel, inched up in the leaderboard.
Cook finished the front side 1-under par, and gained some heat on the back nine where he eventually advanced to share the lead with Kelley, Noblesville’s Scott VanMeter, and Bob Jacobs of Valparaiso. Cook and Jacobs battled for the lead after 16, ultimately advancing into a playoff.
Cook and Jacobs parred the first two playoff holes, moving onto the third hole where Cook was able to secure his birdie and claim the victory.
“It was just another chance and I looked at the playoff as a win opportunity. I had a putt on the last hole to go one-up and that probably would have won it, so I was upset because I missed that. I knew that I would have to make a birdie in the playoff because I have played with Bob a whole lot and he doesn’t give you anything. He doesn’t miss greens very often and I got lucky on the third playoff hole where I hit a great drive, iron, and a great putt” said Cook.
Cook’s round consisted of six birdies and four bogeys, closing out Even through 36-holes.
With this being Cook’s first Senior Amateur win, he added “This win means a lot. I never won the State Amateur because I was not that good back then and I got better after college. Anytime you can win, winning is great. It doesn’t matter where you’re playing, what tournament it is, for whoever it may be, it’s always nice to win”.
In the Super-Senior Division, Jerry McMullen who claimed the title the past two years, came out victorious once again with a 36-hole total of 1-under par. He secured the victory by one stroke over Steve Sterrett of Indianapolis.