Cooke Wins Fourth Canadian Men’s Senior Title

Amateur legend breaks record for most career national titles

Victoria (RCGA) – It was a close race to the finish line that saw three stellar golfers battle it out for national supremacy, but in the end Graham Cooke of Hudson, Que., came out on top at the 48th Canadian Men’s Senior Championship conducted by the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA).

Cooke fired a final-round, 1-over 73 and tournament-total 2-under 286 to finish with a two-stroke victory over John Marlow of Kettleby, Ont. Marlow carded a final-round even par for a tournament-total 288. Recent Canadian Men’s Mid-Master runner-up Frank Van Dornick of Camrose, Alta. finished third at 1-over par for the tournament.

Cooke, who went even-par on the front nine, carded three bogeys and two birdies on the back nine for a tournament total of 46 pars, 14 birdies and 12 bogeys.

“The shot that clinched the win for me was my approach shoton number 11 when I birdied to go up by three,” said Cooke. “John and Frank were tough competitors, and played strong games today, so I knew that I had to play well to protect my lead.”

It was a wire-to-wire battle for runner-up honours, as Van Dornick used three early birdies to jump into second place. Marlow struggled early in the round making four consecutive bogeys, but eventually settled down to card two birdies and seven pars on the back nine.

With his win, Cooke claims his eleventh national amateur championship title - four senior and seven mid-am crowns - breaking the record for most events won by a male amateur. At last year’s championship, Cooke tied the record held by the late Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Canadian Sports Hall of Fame member Nick Weslock.

“The older you get, the more you appreciate winning a national championship,” said Cooke. “I’ve played with many great golfers in my career, and I’m really honoured to be among great names like Nick.”

The renowned golf course architect and amateur golf legend earned himself an exemption into the 2009 USGA Senior Amateur Championship being held September 12–17 at the venerable Beverly Country Club in Chicago.

The following are top 15 final results for the 2009 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, click here for the full final leaderboard:

1. Graham Cooke, Hudson, QC, 69-70-74-73-286 -2
2. John Marlow, Kettleby, ON, 73-70-73-72-288 E
3. Frank Van Dornick, Camrose, AB, 73-74-71-71-289 +1
4. Larry Daniels, Seattle, WA, 73-73-74-70-290 +2
5. Jerry Greenbaum, Atlanta, GA, 73-72-73-74-292 +4
6. Frank MacKenzie, Edmonton, AB, 76-73-71-73-293 +5
7. William Jackson, Oklahoma City, OK, 78-71-74-72-295 +7
7. Alan Stewart, Grande Prairie, AB, 75-71-75-74-295 +7
9. Stephen Berry, Sooke, BC, 72-78-73-73-296 +8
9. Tony Hatchwell, Nanaimo, BC, 71-77-72-76-296 +8
11. Merv Dusyk, Red Deer, AB, 74-73-78-72-297 +9
11. Herb Jensen, Carmichael, CA, 72-79-72-74-297 +9
13. Jim Russell, Calgary, AB, 74-75-77-72-298 +10
13. Patrick Feeney, High River, 73-74-77-74-298 +10
13. Claude Pelletier, Donnaconna, QC, 73-76-74-75-298 +10

ABOUT THE ROYAL CANADIAN GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing 377,000 members at 1,600 clubs across the country. Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sports Organization (NSO) for golf in this country, the RCGA’s mission is to grow participation in and passion for the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. The RCGA conducts programs and services to help shape the future of golf in Canada. High performance athlete development, CN Future Links, Canada’s national junior golf program, turfgrass and environmental research, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, Rules of Golf and amateur status, handicapping and course rating are only some of the initiatives the association leads for golf in Canada. In addition, the RCGA conducts Canada’s most prestigious golf championships. The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women’s Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while regional junior and national amateur championships showcase the best in Canadian golf.

For further information on what the RCGA is doing to support golf in your community please visit http://www.rcga.org/.