Championship Info/Pairings/Results
August 19, 2022
Modesto resident Jeff Burda just keeps doing his thing.
Burda, a 69-year-old retired former banker, won his record 12th NCGA Senior title, capturing the Super Senior Amateur with a dominating 7 and 6 win over Rick Doebler on Friday at Spyglass Hill. The two had also met in the finals in 2020. In that match, Burda won, 1-up.
"I'm very happy to have won. As you get older, you don't know how long you can keep going," Burda said.
The newest title only adds to Burda's collection, which includes three California Senior Ams, two Seniors, a Senior Four-Ball, a Senior Valley, a pair of Super Seniors, a Match Play and now two Super Senior Match Play. And those are only his Senior wins.
In the match play brackets, the No.2 seeded Burda earlier victories were 5 and 3, 4 and 3 and 5 and 4.
Doebler, a member at Hacienda CC, could only tip his cap.
"It was Jeff just being Jeff. He was even better today than normal Jeff," Doebler said.
In the final, Burda posted five birdies, playing the 12 holes at 3-under.
"I played well all week. I didn't get out of position on many holes," Burda said.
Finals Photo Gallery
August 18, 2022
The finals of the NCGA Super Senior Amateur will be a bit of deja' vu. This time around, Rick Doebler will hope for a different ending.
For the second time in three years, the 18-hole final will see future NCGA Hall of Famer Jeff Burda taking on Doebler, who plays out of Hacienda GC.
Burda, the No.2 seed advanced to the finals with a solid 5 and 4 win over friend and fellow future Hall of Famer Jim Knoll. Knoll, who was looking for his first Super Senior title, didn't come out sharp. The record 5-time NCGA Senior Player of the Year bogeyed six of his first eight holes, which allowed Burda to claim a quick 5-up lead.
With a win on Friday, Burda would extend his NCGA record of career Senior titles. He entered the week as the all-time leader in NCGA Senior victories with 11. A former banker, Burda also has won six NCGA "regular" titles for a total of 17.
Doebler got to the finals in a much more dramatic way. The No.13 seed, he'd finally get past No.8 seed Herb Jensen on the 20th hole when Jensen made bogey to Doebler's par.
Doebler has been a giant slayer during the week. Among his victories were wins over No.4 seed Rich Gleghorn and No.5 seed Frank Pieper, a record three-time winner of the event.
The championship round will tee off at 7:30 a.m.
Semifinals Photo Gallery Here
August 17, 2022
The semifinals of the 7th NCGA Super Senior Amateur is a real pick 'em.
There's former NCGA Super Senior Player of the Year and No.8 seed Herb Jensen, who'll take on No.13 seed Rick Doebler, who finished as runner-up at the 2020 event. On the other side of the bracket, it's a match-up between two future NCGA Hall of Famers--No.2 seed Jeff Burda and No.6 seed Jim Knoll.
Jensen, who won the Super Senior Stroke Play event in 2014, had the toughest route. He'd outlast upset-minded No.16 seed Ray Kong with a 2-up win after Kong slipped with consecutive bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes. Neither Kong nor Jensen ever held more than a 1-up lead over the 18 holes.
Burda, who won the match play title in 202o and is the NCGA's defending Super Senior Player of the Year, knocked out No.7 seed Scott Anderson, 4 and 3. A win this week could push Burda towards his second straight POY title.
Doebler, who lost to Burda in 2020, moved on with a 2 and 1 win over three-time champion Frank Pieper. Pieper, who was eyeing another set of back-to-back wins, was ahead 3-up through 12 holes. But Doebler never faded. Over the next three holes, Doebler went 1-under par while Pieper went bogey-double-bogey and bogey to tie things up.
Doebler went on to win both the 16th and 17th holes with birdies to close out the match.
As for Knoll, he's never won the Super Senior match play crown nor the Super Senior stroke play title. But he's won just about everything else. A record five-time NCGA Senior Player of the Year, Knoll would defeat No.3 Jim Williams 3 and 2. The big difference for Knoll was a run of five straight pars from holes Nos. 12 through 16.
Wednesday Photo Gallery Here
August 16, 2022
Match play opened Tuesday at this week's 7th annual NCGA Super Senior Amateur Match Play Championship.
And the upsets followed.
On at times a heavy fog day at Poppy Hills, No.1 seed Joey Ferrari got eliminated, falling on the 19th hole to No.16 Ray Kong. In another surprise, No.8 Herb Jensen defeated No.9 Casey Boyns, 1-up. There too was the fate of No.4 seed Rich Gleghorn, who lost to Rick Doebler on the 19th hole. Last year, Gleghorn reached the finals before falling to firend Frank Pieper.
Pieper, the No.5 seed and a three-time winner of the event, looked to be right at home. The longtime Monterey Peninsula CC member knocked off Mark Sparso, 5 and 4.
Others advancing were No.2 seed and 2020 winner Jeff Burda (5 and 3) and No.3 Jim Williams (3 and 2).
In Wednesday's quarterfinals, whick will see play shift to Spyglass Hill, Kong will take on Jensen while Doebler will face Pieper. The other two quarterfinals matches will pit Burda versus Scott Anderson (a 6 and 5 winner) and Williams against No.6 seed Jim Knoll. Knoll, a record five-time NCGA Senior Player of the Year honoree, won the NCGA Senior Match Play title in 2015.
Thursday's semifinals will also be held at Spyglass Hill, along with Friday's 18-hole finale.
Photo Gallery Here
August 15, 2022
NCGA Hall of Famer Casey Boyns already has won a record 25 total NCGA titles. There's been 16 "regular" titles and nine Senior crowns.
Among the few things missing from Boyns' resume is a Super Senior Match Play Championship title. The longtime Pebble Beach caddie will have a shot at adding it.
Boyns was medalist in Monday's 18-hole stroke play qualifier for this week's NCGA Super Senior Match Play Championship, carding a solid 2-under 69. Starting on Poppy Hills' front-nine, Boyns' slipped with a double-bogey on the par-4 7th, but bounced back two holes later with an eagle on trhe par-5 9th. On the backside, he'd card 2-under 33.
John Pigott of Santa Rosa was second at 70. Altogether, eight players advanced into the match play brackets.
The cut for match play came at 4-over 75. The No.1 seed for match play will be Joey Ferrari, who entered the event leading in the race for NCGA Super Senior Player of the Year honors.
Tuesday's action will consist of the Round of 16 of match play, again to be held at Poppy Hills. Wednesday's quarterfinals, Thursday's semifinals and Friday's final will all be held at Spyglass Hill.
The NCGA Super Senior Match Play Championship was formed in 2016 as an addition to the NCGA Senior Match Play Championship.