Robert Funk lives in Southern California, but he’s become a fixture in Northern California Golf Association tournaments.
Funk (pictured right), from Canyon Lake near Riverside, defeated Casey Boyns of Monterey, 3 and 2, to win the NCGA Senior Amateur Match Play Championship at Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Pebble Beach.
The 58-year-old Funk captured the NCGA Senior and California Senior Amateur Championship last year, his first two victories in two years.
“I’m proud to get the match play title on top of the Senior and Cal Am Senior titles,” said Funk, an NCGA member through AmateurGolf.com. “Casey’s a great competitor and player. I had to play well to win today, and I played well all week.
“This week was probably the best I’ve played since winning the Cal Senior last year.”
Funk held a 1-up lead through nine holes before taking charge by winning holes Nos. 10 through 12 to build a commanding 4-up lead. Boyns (pictured left), an NCGA Hall of Famer who won this tournament in 2011, 2013 and 2019, won No, 13 but couldn’t get any closer.
“It was all putting,” said Boyns, who was trying to extend his record of total NCGA titles to 26. “The other days, the putts fell in. When you’re playing good, you’re making putts.”
On the par-3 fifth hole, Funk holed out chip shot for birdie, which led Boyns, who had an even tougher lie, to say: “Well, thanks for relieving the pressure.” Boyns would also pitch for birdie to tie the hole.
In the semifinals, Funk, claimed a 4-and-3 victory over Tony Ralph of Sunnyvale, while Boyns, 65, rallied to defeat Mark Morgan of Shingle Springs, the reigning NCGA Senior Player of the Year, 1 up, by winning the last two holes.
Frank Pieper of Carmel captured the NCGA Super Senior Match Play title with a 4-and-3 victory over Rich Cleghorn of Santa Cruz.
Earlier this year, Pieper and Cleghorn teamed up to win the NCGA Super Senior Four-Ball Championship.
For complete results, visit https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/2799175
