LA QUINTA, Calif. – Vincent DePinto rode all sorts of home-game advantages to victory at the Golf Channel Am Tour senior national championships.
DePinto, who lives a mile away from tournament host PGA West, has played the tournament’s four courses plenty of times. He understands how to handle the awkward lies in the Bermuda rough, and his body is acclimated to the dry heat of the California desert. Sleeping in his own bed didn’t hurt, either.
DePinto won the Senior Sarazen flight (for handicaps 12-15.9) with steady play all week. His final-round 84 on Monday on the Nicklaus Tournament Course led to a four-day, 72-hole of 330, one better than Canadian Mike Murphy of Mississauga, Ont.