BIRMINGHAM – The team of Claud Cooper and Jeff Taylor got off to a record-setting start and stayed hot for the duration of 54 holes to easily win the 27th Alabama State Senior Four-Ball Championship at Inverness Country Club in Birmingham this past weekend.
Cooper, of Birmingham, and Taylor, of Montgomery, shot a tournament-record 58 in the first round and went on to finish at 25-under-par 188 for the victory.
The Cooper-Taylor team captured the title by five shots over two teams in the wire-to-wire performance.
“We held strong, and didn’t make any bogeys,” Taylor told alabamagolf.org. “We decided to have a good time (Sunday), and that’s all it took to bring home the title.”
Cooper and Taylor opened up a four-shot lead after their record 13-under 58 in the first round. A 63 in the second round allowed them to open a seven-shot lead heading into the final round.
“All I did was watch,” Cooper said after the first round.
“Claud was a great partner,” Taylor added. “He gave me the confidence to roll the ball really well.” With the championship a near certainty going into the third round, the only mystery left was what the winning margin would be and which team would finish second. That turned out to be Troy’s Joey Holley and Birmingham’s Steven Hudson, who won a scorecard playoff with 2020 champs Emile Vaughan (Pike Road) and Shaw Pritchett (Montgomery). Both teams shot 65 in the final round to finish at 20-under.
Jeffers, Parmar capture Super-senior crown
Richard Jeffers, of Mobile, and Robert Parmar, of Fairhope, also went wire-to-wire to capture the third Super-Senior Four-Ball title also at Inverness.
Jeffers and Parmar opened with 62 in the first round and built a two-shot lead. A 65 in the second round put them in position to win, and they closed with a 63 to take a three-shot victory. Their three-round total was 23-under 190.
Dora’s Bill Griffin and Tuscaloosa’s David Zauchin were second, carding seven-under 64 in the final round and 20-under 193 for the championship.
Leeds’ Ray Harris and Birmingham’s Tony Muncher claimed third place with nine-under 62 in the final round. They finished at 195.
For complete scoring, go to alabamagolf.org
Gregg Dewalt is the editor of Alabama Golf News
Featured image: courtesy of the Alabama Golf Association
Claud Cooper, Jeff Taylor coast to Senior Four-Ball title
