Vienna’s Pat Tallent is playing today in the finals of the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship. Tallent, 57, will face Paul Simson, 59, of Raleigh, N.C. today at Lake Nona (Fla.) in the 18-hole final. This is the national championship for players 55-and-over, won last year in dramatic fashion, by legendary amateur Vinny Giles of Richmond.
This year, Tallent needed to go 20 holes to eliminate the 67-year-old defending champion in the third round of match play.
A Tallent-Simson final is appropriate. Tallent, a former basketball standout at George Washington University, was the medalist in stroke-play qualifying, shooting 70-70 — 140, while Simson (72-69 — 141) was runner up.
Tallent has emerged through a tough draw. Four of his five matches have gone the distance. The other went 17 holes.
The only other local player to reach match play was Michael Kelly of Odenton, who was eliminated in the second round.
