Seminole Golf Club pro Ford qualifies for U.S. Senior Open

BOYNTON BEACH — At 64, Bob Ford thought his days of playing in a USGA championship were over.

But the legendary PGA professional at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach shot a 4-under 68 Thursday at Quail Ridge Country Club to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open.

Ford birdied his last hole on the South Course at Quail Ridge to avoid a playoff and qualify for his third U.S. Senior Open.

“It’s spectacular, i t’s awesome,” said Ford, who received the Bob Jones Award last year — the USGA’s highest honor — and will serve as a starter at next week’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. “I expected to shoot a 73 or a 74. I didn’t expect much. That’s usually when you play well.”

Also advancing was Coral Springs re s ident Chris Kaufman, who shot a 68 earlier on a day when play was stopped twice because of lightning for more than 3½ hours. Kaufman, a PGA professional at BallenIsles Country Club, had to finish with a testy 4-foot par putt.

“I was a little nervous about it, because it was a little downhill, left-to-right slider,” said Kaufman, who qualified for his second U.S. Senior Open. “I’m glad I made it.”

Don Wright of Lake Worth and Charles Beauregard of Naples were alternates after 69s.

The U.S. Senior Open is June 28-July 1 at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Three teams share SFPGA title: For the first tim e , three teams were declared champions of the South Florida PGA Pro-As- sistant Championship after a playoff was called because of darkness.

The teams of Roger Kennedy Jr. and John Bednar of Country Club at Mirasol, Jeremy Wells and Trey Sones of Alico Family Golf Center and Chris Phillips and Jordan Burke of Cypress Woods were declared tri-champions Tuesday after a four-hole playoff at PGA Golf Club was stopped because the players couldn’t see.

It was a fortunate break for the team of Phillips-Burke, which dropped out after a bogey on the second hole of the playoff.

“Because we were not able to finish the playoff and determine a champion, we had to revert back to 27-hole scores, which means there were tri-champions,” said South Florida PGA executive director Geoff Lofstead.