Rusty Strawn tames snake pit and challenges SOS Dale Morey senior title
Rusty Strawn is the winner of the Society of Seniors’ Dale Morey Championship. With three rounds of 69 in a row on Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course, Strawn finished with a five-shot win over Jack Larkin.
Though the win may seem big, Strawn made the final round at the Copperhead Course by one stroke ahead of Jack Larkin, but he also had some memories of losing to Larkin. Larkin and Strawn are pretty familiar by now; this was their fifth round together in their last two tournaments. In last week’s Georgia Senior Amateur, Larkin hit Strawn with two punches. After Larkin boggled Copperhead’s first hole to even draw, Strawn said he felt Larkin was going to snatch another tournament from him, but birdies on holes 3, 4 and 5 helped Strawn some air to breathe.
“Copperhead is a golf course for ball strikers. It is very demanding from the tee to the green. And the greens were perfect this week, ”said Strawn, the world’s second-placed senior amateur. His hit on the ball was certainly on point; he said he believed he hit 49 of the 54 greens typically.
Strawn and Larkin were the only players under par to leave the field; Steven Maddelena and Richard Kerper rounded off the top 3 with matching values of 3-over.
It seems fair that a player like Strawn should have won the Dale Morey Championship as the tournament’s namesake was a hugely successful amateur winner with over 260 wins in his career, including two US senior amateurs. “I am honored to have my name on a trophy with his name on it,” said Strawn.
That win was Strawns fifth in 2021. He has won the Reynolds Senior Invitational, SOS Spring Classic, Golfweek Senior POY Classic and Golfweek Senior National Match Play.
“The Society of Senior events are well organized, the purses are good, and they take us to great golf courses,” said Strawn. “This event feels like our big championship; The competition is tough. “
When his busy golf season comes to an end, Rusty Strawn has a few more events and then he looks forward to “setting them up” a little and enjoying some freshwater fishing and bird hunting, his other passions besides golfing.
Results: SOS championship
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ABOUT THE SOS championship
54 hole stroke play event honoring one of the founders of the SOS, Dale Morey, who has won more than 250 events throughout his golf life. In 2021 the tournament moved to a single league. With this tournament the SOS annual meeting and the banquet take place.
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