The Roanoke Valley Senior Golf Tour wrapped up its 2022 campaign with its final 18-hole competition on October 24 at Roanoke Country Club.
Playing its ninth scheduled match that began back in May at various golf courses in Roanoke, Botetourt, Floyd, Lynchburg and the New River Valley, Roanoke Country Club proved to a tough venue for the finale as only three of the 95 entrants managed to have net scores below par for the day. Those three winners came from the three different divisions, based on players being divided according to their handicaps to ensure better competition.
Butch Simpson shot a net 67 to win the last of 9 Senior Tour tournaments at Roanoke Country Club in late-October.
Butch Simpson was the Overall Winner at Roanoke Country Club. Playing in Division 2, Simpson shot 83 to go along with his 16 handicap to end the day with a net 67. Division 3 went to Bob Poff with a net 70, shooting 84 to go with his 14 handicap. Division 1 went to Mike Barnhill with net 69 after shooting 79 to compliment his 10 handicap.
In Division 1 the Top-5 finishers at Roanoke Country Club, following Barnhill, were Harvey Lee (2nd), Lynnis Vernon (3rd), Butch Blessard (4th) and Craig Hill (5th).
Following Simpson in Division 2 were Jimmy Gibson (2nd), Guido Edillon (3rd), Al Overstreet (4th) and Rich Gandour (5th).
Coming in behind Poff in Division 3 were Wayne Strickland (2nd), Steve Brimm (3rd), Charles Gattuso (4th) and Tom Duetsch (5th).
Barnhill’s net 69 at RCC was just enough to catapult him to the 2022 Overall Tour Championship. Tim Earhart was Low Gross & Medalist Division Winner for the tournament, shooting 76. Van Renick shot 78. defending his title to become the 2022 Medalist Division Champion.
Roanoke golfer Bill Houck won 2 of the 9 Senior Tour tournaments in 2022 and finished 15th in the Top-20 Awards List for the season.
The Senior Tour’s Year-End Top-20 Awards are based on points earned from each player’s best 8 tournaments, with their worst round of nine results thrown out. After Barnhill, the final leaderboard read Bob Poff (2nd), Rick Crotts (3rd), Jeff Lynch (4th), Bob Blades (5th), Butch Blessard (6th), Lee McLennan (7th), Jeff Woods (8th), Ben Harris (9th), Hank Highfill (10th), Jeff Martin (11th), Craig Hill (12th), Tim Earhart (13th), Steven Krueger (14th), Bill Houck (15th), Lee Snider (16th), Coy Renick (17th), Bart Truesdale (18th), Crady Adams (19th) and Barry Shelor (20th).
It was the 19th season for the Senior Tour, designed for golfers 55 and up to compete in a fun and relaxing format while earning individual awards and points, based on net scores, which lead to the final Top-20 Awards List. This year the Senior Tour had a membership of 121 golfers from Roanoke and surrounding areas.
The Senior Tour now gives way to Mother Nature as the older guys are more prone to stay in the clubhouse rather than battling freezing temperatures, snow and gusty winds on the links. The Tour will return next spring for a new lineup of courses to play in 2023. To join the Senior Tour for next year, check out the Roanoke Valey Senior Golf Tour website for details.
