Geno Berchiatti’s week at Pinehurst unfolded like a three-act play. And when the curtain came down, the Holly Tree golfer was holding the iconic Pinehurst Putter Boy trophy as the winner of the North-South Super Senior Championship.

There were enough plot twists and turns in Berchiatti’s path to victory to make the championship a win that even a golfer with a resume full of titles would be proud to own.

“Tiger Woods has one of those little Putter Boy trophies. Now I do too. It’s just a nice little brass cup, but when you think about the names who’ve won it, that makes it pretty special.”

act I   The Road Back

Only months ago, Berchiatti was recovering from two back surgeries that at times left him unable to walk. Doctors told him golf would have to wait until summer. Geno had other plans. At Holly Tree, the club champion earns a coveted parking spot — his was up for grabs.

“Six weeks out of surgery, I went out, played, and kept my parking spot. Holly Tree’s got two reserved spaces — one for the club champ and one for the senior champ — and I’ve had one of them most years since around 2010. It might sound funny, but keeping that spot meant a lot.”

Act II. Three courses, three tests

The North-South Super Senior Amateur is as much adaptation as execution — three rounds on three different Pinehurst courses in three days:

• Day One — Pinehurst No. 5: Opening 71 kept him in the mix.
• Day Two — Pinehurst No. 7: Wind, heavier greens; a 74 left him six back of the lead.
• Day Three — Pinehurst No. 4: A career-best six-under 66.

“I didn’t miss a fairway, didn’t miss a green, and I didn’t make a putt longer than six feet. That’s as good as I can play, tee to green. For it to come in a championship round at Pinehurst, that made it even more satisfying.”

ACT III.  The Playoff

They returned to No. 4’s finishing par-5 for sudden death. North Carolina’s Dale Fuller bowed out after the first extra hole. Berchiatti and Paul Simson — the most decorated amateur in Carolinas golf — matched pars to the third, where Geno’s steady par clinched it.

“You don’t always need birdies to win playoffs. Sometimes pars are good enough. I’ve been in a bunch of these things, and over the years you learn that steady is often what gets it done.”

The win moved his career sudden-death mark to 8–1.

EPILOG   BEATING A LEGEND

Simson is the standard: multiple U.S. Senior Amateur titles, a British Senior Amateur, and dozens of Carolinas trophies. That context made the win resonate even more.

“Paul’s Superman in senior golf. He’s won everything, and he’s still going strong. To beat him in a playoff at Pinehurst — that makes it even more meaningful for me.”

The Pinehurst title joins a list that already includes a South Carolina Amateur win, five USGA national appearances, and the Holly Tree course record (62) set at age 53. It also lands after a stretch of surgeries that would sideline most players — with a possible hip replacement ahead.

“I’ll be bionic before long — two shoulders, two back surgeries, and now maybe a hip. But whatever it takes to keep me out here playing, I’ll do it.”

CURTAIN CALL   A Win to Remember

It’s the story that makes the trophy sing: a comeback, a career round, and a playoff over a legend — at Pinehurst. And yes, the Holly Tree parking spot is still his.

“Playing a career-best round, at Pinehurst, in a playoff with Paul Simson — that’s a story I’ll never forget. And on a scale of one to ten, the Putter Boy trophy is great, but the Holly Tree parking spot might be even better.”