CGA Senior Amateur Championship Casey Boyns | Del Rio GCC | Nov. 12-14, 2012
Tied for the lead with his two playing partners going into the final hole at Del Rio GCC in Modesto, Casey Boyns coldly poured in a curling 20-foot birdie putt for the win. “It was fun to watch it go down that hill and keep turning and turning into the hole,” said Monterey’s Boyns. The champion erased a four-shot deficit in the final round with the day’s only score under par, shoot- ing a 71 to finish at 3 over and beat NCGA and SCGA Senior Player of the Year Jim Knoll and David Delich by a stroke. The comeback also made Boyns just the second player to win both the CGA Amateur and CGA
Senior Amateur. Gary Vanier is the only other player to accomplish the feat. “This was a bucket list thing,” said Boyns, who shot 75-73-71. “To be on the same page as [Vanier] is an honor.” Boyns came into the day trailing 36-hole leader Jeff Burda, who was chasing down some history of his
Casey Boyns
own. Burda was zeroing in on what would have been a record fourth CGA Senior Amateur, and he had the advantage of trying to slam the door on his home course. But after opening up with a pair of 72s to take a one- stroke lead over Michael Turner of Sherman Oaks,
he shot a final-round 77 to finish two behind Boyns in a tie for fourth. The win burnishes a hall-of-fame career for the 57-year-old Boyns,
marking the third separate senior title he has won of the four champion- ships offered exclusively to seniors. Earlier this year the Pebble Beach caddie claimed the Senior Four-Ball with partner Mark Miller. He has also won the Senior Match Play.
The NCGA was saddened by the loss of defending senior champion Michael Brannan. The two-time state amateur champion and former Walker Cup team member passed away in early January.