Moore and Kelley teamed up to post a bogey-free round of 4-under-par 68 in the scratch better-ball stroke-play event. That left them at 11-under 133 going into Wednesday’s final round.
Only one team is closer than five strokes to the lead heading into the final 18 as 2016 CGA Senior Match Play champion Jeff Oneth and Tim Kneen of Colorado Golf Club are in second place at 136 after a 69 on Tuesday.
Five teams share third place at 138, including defending champions Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club and Bill Fowler of The Club at Rolling Hills, and 2014 Senior Four-Ball winners David Delich of The Broadmoor Golf Club and Bruce Hogg of Patty Jewett Golf Course. Delich carded a hole-in-one Tuesday at the 145-yard 14th.
Play in the open division is limited to golfers 51 and older as the CGA is looking to eventually match the age criteria the USGA uses for the U.S. Senior Amateur (55 and older).
In the super-senior division, for players 61 and older, things are considerably tighter with two teams sharing the lead and four others within four strokes heading into Wednesday’s final 18.
Kelly Crone and Larry Netherton of Highlands Ranch Golf Club, winners of the CGA Senior Four-Ball in 2009 and ’13, fired a 68 Tuesday to come in at 3-under 141. Also at that figure is the team of Bill Stevens and David Merritt of Meridian Golf Club, whose second-round 69 included an eagle.
For CGA Senior Four-Ball scores:
OPEN DIVISION
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The CGA Senior Four-Ball will be contested for the 36th time when Broadlands Golf Course in Broomfield hosts the 54-hole two-man scratch best-ball stroke-play event Monday through Wednesday (May 1-3).
In all, 47 teams are scheduled to compete.
Robert Polk of Colorado Golf Club and former CGA president Bill Fowler of The Club at Rolling Hills (pictured together last year) are set to defend their title. Polk has won the Senior Four-Ball three times with three different partners.
The team champions from five Senior Four-Balls since 2009 return intact for this year’s tournament. In addition to Polk/Fowler (2016), there’s David Delich and Bruce Hogg (2014), Kelly Crone and Larry Netherton (2009 and 2013), and John Applegate and Keith Masters (2011). Other former champions who are entered this year are Sean Forey (2003 and ’08, with Kevin Ott) and Bob Beiersdorf (2015, with Ed Spenner).
Among the other teams in the field are Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore and Stephen Bell, 2016 CGA Senior Match Play champion Jeff Oneth and Tim Kneen, 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier Tom Krystyn and Michael Larson, former CGA Senior Match Play champ Guy Mertz and Tony Workman, and 2016 U.S. Senior Amateur match-play qualifier Robin Bradbury and Owen Ellis,
One wrinkle for this year’s CGA Senior Four-Ball is that no one under 51 will be in the field. In an effort to eventually match the age criteria for the U.S. Senior Amateur, which is limited to players 55 and older, each year beginning in 2017 the eligibility for CGA senior events will rise one year. So next year, for instance, the minimum age will be 52. From 2021 and beyond, competitors must be at least 55.
Meanwhile, CGA super-senior tournaments will similarly feature age adjustments, going to 61 and older in 2017 before leveling off at 65 and up in 2021.
For pairings for the Senior Four-Ball, CLICK HERE.