Breza Earns First Championship Win

It was a rainy weekend for the state of Florida, but weather cooperated to get the first round of the Women’s Net Championship off and running with no delays on Tom Fazio’s beautiful Ranch course. The challenging greens and elevation changes did not seem to affect Kimberly Byle of Dunedin and Sandie St. Onge of Jensen Beach, who both posted a net four-under-par 68 and net two-under-par 70 respectively in the Middle Division.

In the Forward Division, red numbers seemed to be common, as both leaders Patricia Koneda of Summerfield and Pat Takacs of Clearwater recorded an impressive net seven-under-par 65. Charliene Lemon-Steiner of Sarasota trailed Koneda and Takacs by four shots to sit at third after round one.

A short thirty-minute weather delay for the final round was the only hiccup of the morning before players took to Fazio’s signature and stunning Quarry Course. Elizabeth Breza of Saint Augustine, who was five shots back from round one leader Byle, had a strong start by birdying her first hole of the day. Breza kept up this momentum throughout the rest of her round resulting in a net three-under-par 69 for her final round, two-under-par 142 total. The difficulty of the Quarry was shown throughout the field’s scores, but the first round’s top finishers Byle and St. Onge were able to hold on for a second and third place finish in the Middle Division.

Currently sitting in third place and only four shots back, Lemon-Steiner of the Forward Division knew that she needed to play strong around the Quarry course to catch up with round one co-leaders Koneda and Takacs. Keeping it consistent, her final round of net even-par 72 was enough to earn her the victory, posting a one-under-par 141 for the Championship. Jane Renninger of Dade City, who was tied for fourth place after the first round had a strong showing over the two days, posting a 71-75--146 to earn her second place. Koneda came in third for the Division with a three-over-par 147 for the tournament.

Full Results