Greg Sanders won 1-up against Spain’s Jacobo Cestino in the Quarterfinals, and defeated Bob Niger, of Roseville, CA, 3 & 2 in the semifinals. In the final, he’ll face Mike McCoy, of Des Moines, IA. (Ted Pio Roda/USGA)
RESULTS: 70th U.S. Senior Amateur Championship
Sanders to face McCoy in U.S. Senior Amateur finals
SAN ANTONIO, Texas. – The run of Greg Sanders continues as he emerged victorious in his semifinal match against Bob Niger, of Roseville, CA, by a margin of 3 & 2. The Anthem, AZ resident finished tied for third in stroke play qualifying at 3-under par 139 and was awarded the #3 seed in the match play bracket. On his run to the Quarterfinals on Wednesday, he defeated 62 seed Win Fisher, of Fort Wayne, IN; 30 seed and fellow-Society member Shaw Pritchett, of Montgomery, AL; and 42 seed past champion and fellow-member Gene Elliott, of Norwalk, IA.
In the Quarterfinals this morning, Sanders won 1-up over the 59 seed Jacobo Cestino, who is a four-time Spanish Men’s Senior Champion and the first player from Spain to ever play in the U.S. Senior Amateur.
In his afternoon semifinal match against Niger, the two traded the first two holes, then a Sanders birdie on No. 3 gave him a 1-up edge. After a birdie on No. 5 (par 5, 598 yards) and two pars on six and seven, Sanders found himself standing on the eighth tee with a 4-up advantage. If Sanders learned anything from his previous matches in this championship, it’s that no one goes away quietly. Niger had no intentions to run and hide, as he stormed back with a birdie-par-eagle barrage to cut Sanders’ lead to 1-up.
Sanders then took advantage of a hiccup by Niger on No. 11 to regain a 2-up lead. A par on No. 13 (par 3, 142 yards) gave Sanders another 3-up cushion, but Niger again clawed back to win No. 14 to stay alive. With everything on the line, the two competitors both made birdie on the par 5 No. 15, and then a solid par on No. 16 (par 4, 386 yards) gave Sanders the hole to close out the win 3 & 2.
Greg Sanders, left, shakes hands with Bob Niger after Sanders won the match during the semifinals of the 2025 U.S. Senior Amateur at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio, Texas on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. (Ted Pio Roda/USGA)
At 61 years of age, Sanders is a retired petroleum engineer and was a USGA Rules Official for 25 years. He captured the Alaska Amateur Championship for the 11th time this summer, and was the oldest competitor in the U.S. Amateur Championship at The Olympic Club, where he played solidly. As the wins piled up in this week’s match play bracket, he now faces Michael McCoy, of Des Moines, IA, in the 18-hole final match.
Mike McCoy’s golf resume speaks for itself. As many are aware, McCoy, age 62, has both played on and captained the U.S. Walker Cup team, and won the 2013 U.S. Mid-Am Championship. As strong as amateur golf in the state of Iowa is, he has been named Player of the Year a record 11 times. In his semifinal match against Mike Sposa, of Spartanburg, SC, McCoy was the equivalent of 3-under par, which was just good enough to win 1-up over the solid Sposa.
The quality of golf and drama of match play has been off the charts at Oak Hills, and the final is sure to provide much of the same.
Photos: Wednesday Scenes from Oak Hills – USGA
The final 18-hole match on Thursday is set to begin at 7:45 a.m.
Congratulations to all Society of Seniors members that qualified for the championship.
See full results and news from the USGA at the links above.
