HARDWICK TAKES 17TH ANNUAL US CUP

When most people reach 71 years of age, they have accomplished most of what they set out to do. Not Canada’s Bill Hardwick. Hardwick, playing in the 70-and-over Legends division, showed he’s far from riding off into the sunset after taking the 2012 United States Golf Teachers Cup championship with scores of 69-69 – 138 to leave the rest of the field in his wake. The tournament was played October 24-25 at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada. Hardwick followed up his earlier dominating 10-shot victory in the Canadian Golf Teachers Cup in September with another runaway performance. He outlasted runner-up Matt Smith of Ohio (70-72 – 142), who claimed the Open division crown, by four shots. Derek Ary, also playing out of the Open division, finished another shot back (72-71 – 141). Scores after the first round of play were extremely bunched, and not indicative of what was to come in the final round. Hardwick and another septuagenarian, 72-year-old Jerry Moore, both led the way with 3-under-par 69s, followed at 70 by Smith, Max Smith, Bruce Sims, and Robert Green. Ary was in at 72, as was Bob Richardson, the 2010 Canadian Golf Teachers Cup champion. With the competition that tight, it seemed only those players, along with Cole Golden and Tom Parkin at 73 had a chance entering into the final round. Hardwick, though, took the drama out early. Although he bogeyed the third hole, it was his only bogey of the day and he added four birdies for another 69, as the other competitors simply couldn’t make a dent into his lead. In addition to Matt Smith winning the Open division and Hardwick the Legends, Darquise LeDuc of Canada claimed her third Ladies title in four years with scores of 81-81 – 162 to take a 13-shot victory over Sharon Bagdasarian, the runner-up. Longtime participant Carlos DeBarros with 74-73 – 147 finally broke into the winners circle in the Senior (50+) division with a 2-shot victory over Mark Shimamura, who turned in 74-75 – 149. Neither Sims or Moore played their usual game the final round, with Sims shooting 80 and Moore 81. They tied for the Super Senior (60+) title at 150, but Moore had to catch a flight and was unable to compete in a playoff, giving the victory to Sims.