Doss, Beck, Fried and Woods crowned at Marsh Creek

RESULTS: 18th Jack Hesler Tournament

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – It was a picturesque January day in St. Augustine at Marsh Creek Country Club for the final round of the 18th Jack Hesler Tournament.  As the sun shined down and temperature rose, so did the level of competition atop the leaderboards.  On Thursday, eight players carded rounds of par or better on the challenging Mark McCumber design that opened in 1987.

The low round of the day and the tournament was shared by Keith McKelvy, Granbury, TX, in the Legend division and Jack Marin, Durham, NC, in the Super Legend division, as they posted matching rounds of three-under 69.

During the first two rounds of competition players faced very difficult scoring conditions with chilly winds gusting up to 30mph.  Thursday’s warmer conditions with a relatively calm breeze were much more suitable for scoring.

Senior Division

Todd Doss, of Mandeville, Louisiana, rallied from two shots behind to claim his first Society of Seniors victory, breaking through after several close calls last season. Doss fired a final-round two-under-par 70 to post a winning total of 221 (+5), finishing one stroke clear of Jack Hall of Savannah, Georgia, and David Glabicki of Cary, North Carolina. Hall also carded a 70 in the final round, while Glabicki closed with a 71 as they shared runner-up honors.

Doss credited patience and perseverance for keeping him in contention during a demanding week at Marsh Creek Country Club. “The first thing I want to say is I’m just glad the sun was shining and I wasn’t wearing a stocking cap for the final round,” Doss said with a smile. “The first two rounds were pretty frigid for me. The wind was howling, so I just tried to hang in there and stay around par.”

With warmer conditions on Sunday, Doss felt his game begin to click. “Today, I felt that warm sunshine on my back and everything sort of came together,” he said.

Doss had the putter working late in the round, reaching three-under for the day through 15 holes. After making birdie on the par-3 15th, he built a two-shot lead with three holes to play. Solid pars on Nos. 16 and 17 followed by a safe bogey on the par-4 18th sealed the victory.

Despite the tight leaderboard, Doss said he avoided checking his position throughout the round. “I didn’t look at the leaderboard at all,” he explained. “My goal was just to see if I could break par on this golf course because it’s super difficult. I finally made a few putts outside of four feet, and that gave me confidence that if I kept giving myself chances, a few might fall.”

Doss also praised the venue, noting that Marsh Creek demanded precision and thoughtful decision-making. “It was definitely a second-shot golf course,” he said. “You really had to think about what club to hit off the tee, and then you add the wind and it’s twice as hard. The greens were gorgeous, but reading the grain was very challenging.”

It was a satisfying moment for Doss, who had been knocking on the door for over a year. “I’m happy to finally get across the finish line,” he said. “I’ve been working on a few things, and maybe they’re starting to come together.”

Super Senior Division

Bob Beck, of Allentown, PA, mounted an impressive comeback on Thursday, overcoming a four-stroke deficit to finish regulation tied with overnight leader Jeff Dandurand, of Westlake, TX. The two players completed the tournament tied at 225 (+9), forcing a playoff to decide the champion.

Beck’s week was highlighted by solid ball-striking, though he acknowledged that the putting surfaces presented a consistent challenge. “I hit it pretty solid and just struggled on the greens at times with at least a few three-putts each day,” Beck said. “It was tough to read putts, and if you were out of position or in the wrong spot it was even harder.”

The final round did not begin smoothly for Beck, as he made an early double bogey on his second hole of the day. However, he quickly regrouped and steadied his play, posting even-par golf the rest of the way to card a final-round 74 and force the playoff.  Beck credited both the course setup and the tournament environment for the quality of the competition. “The course was great, and the Marsh Creek staff really treated us well,” he said.

The playoff began on No. 10, where both players had birdie putts. “On the first hole I hit two good shots on No. 10 and had about 10 feet for birdie to win and just didn’t hit it,” Beck explained. “Jeff made a solid par putt there to keep it going.”

The decisive moment came on the second playoff hole, the par-5 11th. Beck laced two strong 3-woods to position himself near the green before chipping to gimme range and converted the birdie putt to secure the victory after Dandurand missed his own birdie chance.

Michael O’Donnell, of Brookhaven, GA, finished in third place at 227 (+11).

Legend Division

In the Legend Division, the outcome came down to the final putts and a bit of misfortune as Keith McKelvy of Granbury, Texas, and Marc Fried of Solon, Ohio, each made clutch birdies on the closing hole, No. 8 (par 4, 370 yards). All square heading to the last, McKelvy rolled in a fast 30-foot putt to briefly take the lead, only to have Fried answer moments later by calmly burying a 15-footer of his own.

“That last hole was something else,” Fried said. “Keith makes about a 30-foot downhill putt—just lightning fast—and I knew I had to make mine coming back up the hill. Somehow it went in.”

With both players finishing regulation tied at 222 (+6), McKelvy was unable to remain on site for a playoff due to travel obligations, and Fried was declared the winner.

The victory was far from straightforward for Fried, who opened the tournament with a difficult first-round 80 amid challenging conditions. “The first day was tough for everybody,” Fried explained. “A lot of wind, cool temperatures, and greens you really had to learn. I ground out an 80, and honestly, I was lucky that was as bad as it was.”

Fried rebounded with rounds of 72 and 70 over the final two days to close out the tournament. “The second day I played much better and actually bogeyed the last hole to shoot even, which got me back in the hunt,” he said. “Today I was behind most of the day, but I just kept grinding—saving pars, saving pars, and making a few birdies when I needed them.”

The win marked Fried’s second consecutive Legend Division title, following his victory at the Ralph Bogart at his home club, Hammock Beach, this past December.

McKelvy made his intentions clear early in the final round on the opening hole of the day, No. 9 (par 5, 460 yards), when he chipped in from greenside for eagle. He closed with a 69 (-3), tying Jack Marin for the low round of the tournament.

“Keith played great,” Fried said. “He holed out from about 40 yards on our first hole for eagle and put the pressure on right away. I would have been happy to go into a playoff with him—he’s a great guy.”

Ed Turner of Richardson, Texas, and Terry Tyson of Perrysburg, Ohio, shared third place, finishing just one stroke back at 223.

Super Legend Division

Larry Woods, of Louisville, Kentucky, emerged victorious in the Super Legend division at the Jack Hesler Championship, holding on for the win after seeing his overnight six-shot lead trimmed to just one stroke early in the final round.

Woods reached four-over-par through the first six holes as Don Donatoni, of West Chester, Pennsylvania, applied steady pressure. A miscue early nearly shifted the momentum entirely.

“We started on six and I hit what I thought was a pretty good second shot, but it hit a sprinkler head and bounced over the green into the water,” Woods said. “Instead of starting out with a par, it took me a few holes to get kind of settled down.”

With his cushion gone and the margin narrowed to a single shot, Woods steadied himself with a timely long birdie putt and a fortunate chip-in, moments he later acknowledged were decisive.

“I got to where I was only leading by a shot, and then I made a long putt on the back nine and then chipped one in,” he said. “That was kind of the story of it. But for that, I don’t think I was going to win.”

Despite the early nerves, Woods played composed golf down the stretch to finish wire-to-wire, posting a three-day total of 221 (+5) to claim a four-shot victory over Donatoni.

Reflecting on the week as a whole, Woods credited his putting and the competitive atmosphere of the event. “I putted great yesterday and not so well today, but it’s always fun to come to these events where every shot counts,” he said. “Some days you succeed. Most of the time, the course wins — but not always.”

Woods also praised the host venue, Marsh Creek, particularly the condition of the greens. “I was really impressed with the turf conditions,” he said. “I’ve never seen turf that good.  My hat’s off to the superintendent — the conditions were just exceptional.”

John Osborne, of Vero Beach, Florida, finished third at 227, rounding out the top three in the Super Legend division.

After closing out the win, Woods expressed his appreciation to tournament organizers and staff. “Thanks again,” he said. “I appreciate y’all taking care of us.”

Special thanks to entire staff and membership at Marsh Creek Country Club for hosting the event, especially Director of Golf Bryce DiPatri, General Manager Mary Claire Gaze, and Superintendent Troy Wetherington.  A big thank you as always to Callaway Golf for their sponsorship of the Society of Seniors.

Event GGID:  26SOS1