The stage was set for an incredible finish at the Golfweek Senior National Championship at Grandover Resort in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Golfweek No. 1 Vance Welch, Carolinas Golf Association Hall of Famer, Paul Simson and Ironman athlete Walker Taylor were all favored to take home the championship heading into Wednesday’s final round. With hundreds of wins and championship pedigree between the three men, it seemed like it was a lock for the winner to emerge from the final group.
Not so fast.
The winds were howling throughout the final round, making the East Course at Grandover Resort play even trickier than expected. With driver taken out of the hand on many holes throughout the week, the options off the tee ramped up with the winds.
Early in the round, it looked as though Simson was going to coast to yet another victory. Two under on the front nine, Simson opened up a six-shot advantage over Welch and a four-shot swing over Taylor.
The final round proved to be an onslaught for the favorites as Simson erased his front nine work to finish with a final round 75, good for a T3 finish at 2 over. Taylor matched Simson’s tournament total (+2), unable to keep bogeys off of his card for a 77.
For Welch, his front nine, 43, became insurmountable as he posted a birdie-free 81 to slide from the 36-hole lead to a ninth-place finish (+6).
Surviving the gauntlet that became the East Course were two men who lurked just off stage all week.
Sherrill Britt was consistent all week, hanging inside the top five, and teed off in the penultimate group in the final round just two shots off of the leaders. Mike Combs began the day five back but knew he had a chance thanks to the windy conditions.
“It had to be gusting to 30 miles an hour,” Combs told Golfweek.
It was so windy that Combs’ ball rolled away from the hole on No. 9 when he was busy fixing his pitch mark.
“It rolled five feet further from the hole because the wind was blowing that hard. It was pretty funny.”
Saving par despite Mother Nature trying her best to thwart it, Combs really gained momentum with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 10 and 11.
The boost proved to be huge as he took the clubhouse lead at 1 over for the tournament after carding a 1 under 71.
All Combs could do was wait as the final two groups made their way in. Throughout the nervous 20 or so minutes, Combs couldn’t help but think of the shots he left out on the course as he was sure Britt was going to birdie the par 5 18th.
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