Tom Skinner leads Alberta Senior Men's Golf Championship
Red Deer’s Tom Skinner entered the final round of Fidelity Investments Alberta Senior Men's Golf Championship with a two stroke lead. The Championship is being played at Stony Plain Golf and Country Club.
In Tuesday's starting round, Tom Skinner shot a miraculous 4-under 68 at the Stony Plain Golf and Country Club to grab a lead of 2 shots over Brian Rohl and Allan Ross. In 4th position was Dave Raabis.
According to media reports, Tom Skinner missed only one putt. However, he three-putted the 15th hole. His overall performance was spectacular without a single black mark. Tom Skinner is the Alberta mid-amateur champion of 2001 and has made the cut in seven provincial mid-amateur teams.
Tom Skinner started with a big bang when he birdied the first two holes. Later he added another birdie at the 5th hole from a spectacular length of five feet. On the other hand his partner, Frank Mackenzie finished with par after he birdied the 3rd, 4th and the 6th hole.
Moreover, after missing the 7th green, which was the only green he missed in the entire day, Skinner bolted the second half ‘the back nine’ with a two-putt birdie on the 10th and the 11th hole. He finished with a 5 under after the shot. However, on the 15th hole, Skinner found a bunker. Although, he tried to get out of it with an eight-iron, the shot left him with a 35-feet uphill which meant another bogey and a net total of 4 under.
According to analysts, Tom Skinner is one of the finest golfers around, thereby hitting a score of 4 under is the least one can expect from a player like him. The score could have been lower than 64 if Skinner had not missed putts from 4-feet inside. His ball contact was firm and it seemed that the ball went exactly where Skinner wanted it to go.
It’s a matter of luck, comfort and timings. At times a supporting group is enough to provide all three factors and for the player in the lead. Frank Mackenzie, Floyd Kilgore and Pat Feeney did a good job. According to Skinner he has played so many times with Frank Mackenzie and Floyd Kilgore that it often seems that he is on a Ryder team with them.
The 57-year-old is a very good golfer and his best performance was at the 88th CA Amateur when he took the trophy back to Murrieta California, his home town. Tom skinner is a member of Bear Creek and has been playing consistently with PGA players, Tom Pernice Jr. and Rickie Fowler.
Moving forward, Tom Pernice Jr. is the same player who had a hasty and sudden victory on the Champions tour in 2009. He banked prize money of more than $500,000 on his regular PGA Tours that took place this season. Other than that Fowler had two top 2 finishes this year, for earnings of above $2.2 million.
Another name that deserves attention is the defending champion of Alberta Senior Championship, Frank Van Dornick. He was one of the seven players who were tied for the 7th position at 1 over 73. Van Dornick will next take part in the Canadian Amateur tournament in London.
To wrap it up, Tom Skinner has finished with a lead of 2 strokes in front of Brian Rohl and Allan Ross. The final round is in progress today, Tom has had a good start with a birdie on the 3rd hole. His main challenge is to maintain his lead.
Tags: