The 2016 Summer Mixed Championship was held in Orlando on June 25-26 at Tranquilo Golf Club. Competitors arrived to the property on Saturday morning with many players staying at the Four Seasons Orlando hotel located on property. The hotel, which is only steps away from the 1st teeing ground, was absolutely gorgeous with plenty of restaurants and even a lazy river!
Ninety-eight players, in two separate divisions teed it up in the 8 AM shotgun start on Saturday morning. The defending champions from not only 2015, but also 2014 highlighted the Championship Division. Alexa and Kevin Hammer, the 2015 champions, would have their hands full with the 2014 champions, Terese Romeo and Jimmy Jones doing their best to reclaim the title. Team Hammer started off quickly on Saturday morning as Kevin Hammer, the Florida State Golf Association’s current Secretary-Treasurer, made 5 birdies in the team’s opening nine holes. Kevin’s impressive play sparked a fire under his daughter Alexa. Alexa birdied the final four holes of the day, including the signature par 3, 18th hole, en route to an opening round 61! After posting a round of 10 under-par, many would believe they would have a huge advantage over the rest of the field, however this was not the case. The team of Joseph Testerman and Megan Pollenz were only one stroke behind after an opening round 62! Also close behind after posting a 63 was the duo comprised of Christopher Carlin and Nicole Ferre. Past champions, Terese Romeo and Jimmy Jones were within striking distance after a first round, 66.
The second round provided just as much excitement as the first round did in the Championship Division. Christopher Carlin and Nicole Ferre would not take it easy on Alexa and Kevin. Their closing round of 7 under-par, 64, narrowly missed getting them into a playoff with the defending champs. Things started to get very interesting heading into the par 5, 17th hole, until Alexa made an eagle to jolt her and her father back into the lead. Alexa made a solid par on the final hole to give the team their second Summer Mixed Championship in a row!
The Forward Division provided plenty of highlights as well! Four total teams were able to post under-par rounds over the two days! David Tassell and Kim Tassell found themselves in the lead early after their tournament best 67 on Saturday! Team Tassell made four birdies in their opening round and did not record a bogey! Really impressive play! Two other teams in the Forward Division did not allow David and Kim to run away with the victory on the second day. Chris and Meg Giusti, as well as, Tinker and Michael Sanger played steady golf in the Forward Division and overtook the Tassell’s on Sunday! Posting overall scores of 1 under-par, 141, for two days of play, the Giusti’s and the Sanger’s tied for first place overall out of the 26 teams in the division! Congratulations!
We all owe a big thank you to Tranquilo Golf Club for hosting the 2016 Summer Mixed Championship on June 25-26. Do not forget to sign up for the Mixed Shoot-Out Championship coming up on October 8-9 at Vero Beach Country Club!
Full Results
