Part of the appeal of golf is meeting new people and friends.

Little did Rick Stimmel of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Tim Eckberg of Waynesville, N.C., know during their practice round last week that they would not only be friends after this weekend but both would be taking home some hardware as well from the 2023 Dixie Senior and Mid-Master Amateur at Eagle Trace Golf Club in Coral Springs, Fla.

Eckberg and Stimmel got randomly paired up for a practice round at Eagle Trace Golf Club, and five days later, Stimmel won the Senior Championship Division while Eckberg won the Mid-Master Division.

“We got paired up together and figured out we have like 10 mutual friends and went out to dinner every night with each other,” Stimmel said.

>> READ MORE