MARSH, BOOKER TAKE CARLTON WOODS TITLES

Kevin Marsh (file photo)

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (May 10, 2012) -- The final round of the Carlton Woods Invitational was billed as a “Texas Shoot-out” and it did not disappoint. ’09, ’10 Champion Kevin Marsh arrived at the 17th tee two shots out of the lead knowing a birdie-birdie finish was a must to have a chance.

Marsh hit driver-driver on the Par 5 17th just short of the green and converted for the first birdie. Next came the shot of the tournament. Leaving himself 200 yards to a tucked back right hole location on No. 18, Marsh hit a high cutting 5 iron to six feet and buried the putt for birdie. Marsh was in at 2-under for the event tied with Colby Harwell, who was in the 18th fairway waiting to hit his approach. Harwell blocked his approach which left him short sided right of the green, with an impossible up and down. He proceeded to hit a great chip to 20 feet to set up a putt for the tie which just grazed the left edge of the cup.

The dramatic finish ended with Kevin Marsh claiming his third Carlton Woods Invitational title and earned him exemptions into the Stocker Cup and Crane Cup for the upcoming year. “I feel extremely lucky”, said Marsh. “To win this event 3 times and especially today to win like this -- I just can’t think of a better experience in golf”.  

SENIOR DIVISION: BOOKER SETS RECORD

Mike Booker

Mike Booker’s record setting 66 in round two provided plenty of breathing room for the final round. No one in the division was able to make a move with a challenging final round course setup.

Booker overcame two double bogeys on the front nine to finish in style with a closing 34. His strong finish set a new Carlton Woods Invitational senior division scoring record at 6-under par for the tournament and made him the first repeat champion since Bob Hullender. "I thought it would be easy with a 9-shot lead” said Booker. "I had some conservative thinking on the front nine and then decided to ditch that and play some golf on the back, and that sure worked out better for me”.

Booker’s wire-to-wire victory will go down in the record books, and what a performance it was for the hometown player.