Perry Smith dumps 'monkey,' to win City Senior Am

Perry Smith knew what it was like to come close. Now he knows how it feels to win.

Smith shot an even-par 70 in Sunday's final round at Jones Park Golf Course to forge a two-stroke win in the Open Division of the Senior City Amateur.

'It means a lot to me.

I'm very happy,' said Smith, 53, who established himself as one of the top local golfers with eight top five finishes in the Men's City Amateur.

'It's like getting a little bit of a monkey off my back.' Smith was playing his third Senior City Am. He had previous finishes of sixth and ninth. He and runner-up George Gartelos started the day tied for third place, two shots behind first-round leader Steve Kahler and a shot back of Mark Johnson.

All four played together in the final group.

Smith played his first eight holes in 3-over par before a birdie on No. 9 pulled him within two strokes of leader Gartelos. Smith took a onestroke lead after a birdie on 14. His lead grew to two when he parred the devilish par-5 No. 16 and Gartelos had a bogey.

Smith then struck the shot of the day, lobbing a four hybrid to within five feet on the par-3, 196yard No. 17. He rolled in the birdie for a three-shot lead with one to play.

'It's nice to know you can three-putt the final hole and still win,' said Smith, who instead dropped his second putt in for a par. Gartelos birdied the hole to account for the final margin.

'It was a great match and a lot of fun,' Gartelos said. 'Perry didn't flinch.

He kept hitting fairways and greens.' Gartelos may have had something to do with that, offering all members of the group distances from his electronic range finder.

'It's all fun out here,' he said. 'It's a gentlemen's sport.'