The Tampa Individual Winter Series Event at Lake Wales Country Club concluded on February 3rd. Overcast skies and challenging winds tested golfers from around the state, with three coming forth victorious. Jody Pelfry, of Fort Myers, walked away with the 40-45 Age Division Champion title with an impressive eight-stroke lead. Paul Melson, of Fort Lauderdale, kept things close to par, posting a one-over-par, 145, aiding him in taking home first place honors in the 55-64 Age Division. Pete Andrews of Lithia was also victorious in the 65 & Over Age Division, shooting a consistent 74-74—148 overall.
In the 40-54 Age Division, Pelfry’s first round 75 gave him a five-stroke lead over Stevenson Clark of West Palm Beach, and Jason Bell of Sydney. Both Clark and Bell, previous runner-ups at Winter Series Events, were looking to make a run in the final round to catch Pelfry and claim their first titles. One birdie between the both of them was not enough to catch Pelfry and both Clark and Bell finished second and third respectively. Pelfry’s ability to be the only player in the division to post a score in the seventies was enough to keep his name at the top of the leaderboard. This is Pelfry’s first Individual Winter Series victory.
In the 55-64 Age Division, Melson fired an even-par 72 to have a one-stroke lead over fellow-competitor Robert Lundquist, of Sanford, and a sea of competitors to follow him. John Vacarro, of Sarasota, a previous Winter Series Event champion, posted a 75. Owen Joyner of Bonita Springs, Jerry Rose of Sarasota, and Robert Levy of Windermere sat one back of Vacarro at 76. It came down to who could control the ball in the wind in the final round and post a low score. Rose made a grand attempt—five total birdies, two bogeys, and two doubles resulted in a two-over-par 74, taking a second place finish overall. Tom Hyman, who sat five-back from Melson after round one, matched Rose’s 74 to ultimately sit one back and to take a third place finish. Melson, who struggled on his front-nine, recorded three birdies on the back-nine posting a one-over-par 73, and gave route to his first Individual Winter Series victory.
In the 65 & Over Age division, round one co-leaders Bobby Barben, of Avon Park, and Tom Austin, of Lake Wales, posted a one-over-par 73. Andrews, one back from Barben and Austin, posted a two-over-par 74, and had some competition from Kim Schwencke, of Tampa, and Michael Smith, of Vero Beach. Schwencke and Smith followed right behind Andrews posting 75 and 76 respectively. After bogeying his first two holes, Andrews made eight consecutive pars, a birdie on 11 and a bogey on 12 to end up at a consistent 74-74—148 overall. Barben and Austin struggled, and with only one birdie on the day, Barben ended up posting a six-over par, 78, for his final round to place second in the event. Smith, a previous Winter Series Champion, kept it consistent like Andrews from his first round and posted a 76-76—152 for the event, rounding out the top three. This was Andrew’s first Individual Winter Series victory.
The Winter Series events include seven competitions, six individual events and one four-ball event. There are three age divisions, Mid-Senior (40-54), Senior (55-64) and Super Senior (65 & over). The Winter Series is a great opportunity for golfers to compete in competitive events that normally may not because they do not live in Florida year round. The next Winter Series will be held February 2-3 at Lake Wales Country Club in Lake Wales.
