Simson wins U.S. Senior Amateur to complete unprecedented trifecta

Paul Simson won the USGA Senior Amateur Championship on Thursday, beating stroke-play medalist Pat Tallent 2 and 1 to become the first player to win the event and the British Seniors Open Amateur Championship and Canadian Men's Senior in the same year. The 59-year-old Simson, from Raleigh, N.C., was 4 up after nine holes at Lake Nona and ended the match with a halve for par on the par-3 17th. "There's nothing like a USGA championship," Simson said. "The British Seniors are very special to me. Whenever you're a champion of a country, it's something special. To win the USGA Senior, as far as senior golf, nothing really compares. It is the granddaddy. It's a crowning jewel for me. It's a very special thing. And to win all three in one year, I just can't believe it's happened." The 57-year-old Tallent, from Vienna, Va., was attempting to become the first medalist to win the title since John Richardson in 1987. Only seven medalists have won the event for players 55 and older. "I missed four putts and that's what it comes down to in match play," Tallent said. "Paul didn't miss one putt today." Simson and Tallent received exemptions from qualifying into the 2011 U.S. Senior Open at Inverness, the 2011 U.S. Amateur and the 2011 USGA Senior Amateur. Simson also received an exemption into the 2011 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.