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Amateur Match Play Championship

Turtle Creek Club - Tequesta

August 6-9, 2015

Shuart Reigns Victorious at Turtle Creek Club 

Round of 64 matches kicked off Friday morning at Turtle Creek Club with the number one seed, Chandler Blanchet, in the first group to tee off. Blanchet conquered his first match 3 and 2, advancing to the Round of 16 matches. Defending Champion Philip Knowles would advance to face Blanchet in the Round of 16 matches after defeating the 33rd seed Justin Hulbert one-up. Number two seed, Austin Hitt, won his match against Tyler Cohen 2 and 1, to move forward to the afternoon matches. Michael Bakker, 49th seed, was the first match in of the day as a 6 and 4 victory over Michael Chipolone advanced him to the round of 32. Only one match in the morning needed extra holes to decide as 2013 Player of the Year Jon Veneziano bested Kevin Jorden in 19 holes.   

Thirty-two players moved on to their second match of the day Friday afternoon. Philip Knowles moved closer to defending his title after winning his match against Blanchet 3 and 2. Bakker continued his great play by advancing to the Round of 16 with a 4 and 3 victory over Jalen Ledger. T J Shuart, 2014 Amateur Public Links Champion, beat John Wegmann 1 up to advance to Saturday. Cristian DiMarco defeated Jace McCarron to move closer to the Finals. Jon Veneziano advanced to the Round of 16 matches with a 4 and 3 win over Mike Riley. The highlight of the first day of matches came from Ernesto Marin who scored a hole-in-one on the par three, eighth hole.

Saturday morning began with the Round of 16 matches and would end with the Quarterfinals. The quest for Knowles to make three consecutive Championship matches would come to an end as Bakker defeated him 3 and 2. Bakker’s winning streak ended in the Quarterfinals after being defeated by T J Shuart on the 19th hole.  Harvard University golfer Rohan Ramnath won his Round of 16 match against Edward Kenny and later conquered Derron Peyton 3 and 2 to move on to the Final Four. Cristian DiMarco continued advancing through the Round of 16 to the Semifinals after winning his match against Harrison Winger 4 and 2. The last player advancing to the Semifinals was Michael DeMorat who beat 2015 Junior Amateur Match Play Champion, Tyler Dierwechter, in the Quarterfinals. 

The Semifinal Matches would begin Sunday with the 25th seed, T J Shuart, against, 4th seed, Rohan Ramnath. In the lower bracket 26 seed Cristian DiMarco would square off against 3 seed Michael DeMorat.  Ramnath had Shuart in an early hole after a birdie-birdie start, but Shuart would recover to get it back to a 1 up lead by Ramnath on the 17th tee.  A birdie-birdie close for Shuart advanced him to the finals.  In the other semifinal match, DeMorat had DiMarco on edge after winning the first four holes of the match. DiMarco was able to win the next two holes to cut the lead down to 2 up, but it proved to be insurmountable as DeMorat won 3 and 2.  

The Championship match was marked by excellent play as three of the first holes were won with birdies.  Shuart would take an early one up lead to the 9th hole. Two more birdies , as well as a few miscues from DeMorat would stretch the lead to four up through 14 holes – enough to make Shuart dormie. A birdie from DeMorat would stretch the match to the 16th hole, but a birdie there by Shuart would close the door on DeMorat. The 4 and 2 victory gives the Fort Lauderdale resident his third FSGA Championship, 

Before reaching the Championship, more than 340 players attempted to qualify at one of six sites across the state. In the qualifying stage, players competed in 18 holes of stroke play in hopes of reaching the Championship at Turtle Creek Club. The Match Play Championship begins with an 18-hole seeding round to seed the 64 player field. Single elimination match play follows to determine the Match Play Champion. A big thank you is in order to the membership and staff at Turtle Creek Club.  It was a pleasure working with such a first class facility.  

Tee Information

Tee

Yardage / Info

Championship

6,789 yds.

Par: 72

Weather Information

Description

Temp

Sunny

Sunny and Warm

86 °F

Tournament Results

PosPosition Name Rd.1 TotalTotal Score Points
1 Chandler Blanchet 64 64 0
2 Austin Hitt 66 66 0
T3 Mickey DeMorat 67 67 0
T3 Rohan Ramnath 67 67 0
5 Andrew Potter 68 68 0
+ View Full Results

The Amateur Match Play Championship is an exciting event that utilizes golf's original match play format. There are six qualifiers slated throughout the state to provide players the opportunity to qualify for this prestigious championship. For a look at the 2014 Championship Results click here.

Championship Format & Seeding

  • 18 holes of individual stroke play on Thursday to determine seeds in round of 64. Ties for seeds will be broken randomly. 
  • Single elimination round of 64 match play will begin on Friday morning.
  • The round of 32 is scheduled to begin Friday afternoon.
  • The round of 16 will be played on Saturday morning followed by the quarter-finals that afternoon. 
  • The semi-finals will be played on Sunday morning and the finals will be held on Sunday Afternoon.

Eligibility 

  • Male amateurs must be a member of the FSGA
  • Must have a handicap index no higher than 11.4.

Entry Fees

  Qualifying Fee Championship Fee  Exempt Fee
 GHIN
 65.00  125.00  160.00
 Non-GHIN  75.00  125.00  170.00
  • Qualifying Fee: Qualifying Fee includes entry fee and cart fee.
  • Championship Fee: Fee paid by those individuals who advance to the Championship through qualifying. Includes tee gifts and gift certificates, course and cart fees, range balls for each competitive round.
  • Exempt Fee: Exempt Fee includes Championship Fee and Entry Fee for those individuals eligible for exemption.

Late entries will be accepted subject to a $10 late entry fee should the entrant gain acceptance into the qualifying field. 

Pre-Registration

Those individuals who advance to the Championship through qualifying must pre-register and remit an additional $125 either online at the FSGA website at www.fsga.org or by check to the FSGA office for advance payment of Championship Fees. Payment must be received by Monday, July 27 by 3:30 pm, or the individual will be withdrawn from the Championship. Championship Fee includes cart fees for all competitive rounds.

To Pre-Register:

  • Log on to the FSGA website at www.fsga.org using your email address and password
  • Click on "My Account" in the upper right hand corner of the homepage
  • Under "My Tournaments", click on the "Pre-Register" button to the right of the tournament name
  • Enter your credit card information and then click the "Charge My Card" button on the bottom right hand corner of the page

Refunds, Notice of Withdrawals

Requests for qualifying entry refunds received prior to entry closing date will be honored (less $20 per entry administrative fee). Requests received after the closing date will be honored (less 50% of entry fee). No requests will be honored within 48 hours of the first scheduled tee time.

Requests for refunds of Exempt or Championship fees prior to the pre-registration deadline will be honored (less $20 per entry administrative fee). No requests will be honored after the pre-registration deadline.

Championship Field Size

64 players

Course Set-Up

  • The golf course will be set-up at approximately 6,900-7,300 yards.

Qualifying

18 holes stroke play at 6 qualifying sites. During qualifying, each player must use a golf cart. Caddies are acceptable, but he/she may not ride in a golf cart or carry the player's clubs. Players are responsible for cart fees for all practices rounds. Click here for qualifying sites

Defending Champion

Philip Knowles defeated Edward Figueroa in the final match to win the 2014 Amateur Match Play Championship held at The TwinEagles Club. Knowles won five matches to reach the finals and was crowned Champion with a 4&2 victory. 

Carts

During qualifying and the Championship proper, each player must use a golf cart. Carts are included for all competitive rounds. Players are responsible for practice round cart fees at qualifying sites and at the Championship proper.

Supporting Sponsor

A special thanks to the Palm Beach Country Sports Commission for their help at this event!

Practice Rounds

Practice rounds are available one week prior to the championship. Practice rounds may be played after 12:00 PM on the weekend. The price for a practice round is $35.00 + tax. Please call 561-746-8884 to arrange your practice round. The proper place to practice your golf swing is on the driving range, hitting multiple shots on the course is unacceptable.

Exemptions

Players in the following categories will be eligible for exemption provided they meet all entry and eligibility requirements:   

NOTE: Blank entries will be filed by the FSGA for players who become exempt after the close of entries. 

  • Last three year's Amateur Match Play Champions
  • Last year's Amateur Match Play Semifinalists
  • Last three year's Amateur Champions
  • Current year's top five and tied Amateur Championship finishers
  • Last three year's Mid-Amateur Champions
  • Last year's Mid-Amateur Championship Semifinalists
  • Current year's Mid-Amateur Stroke Play Champion
  • Current year's Amateur Public Links Champion
  • Last year's Mid-Senior Champion
  • Last year's Junior Amateur Match Play Champion (16-18 Age Division)
  • Last year's Florida Open Low Amateur
  • Current and last year's Boys' Junior Champion (16-18 Age Division)

Exemptions Earned from this Tournament

Winner

  • Current year's Mid-Amateur Championship
  • Next year's Amateur Championship
  • Next year's Amateur Match Play Championship

Semi-Finalist

  • Next year's Amateur Match Play Championship

Other Policies

  • Spectators and Spectator Cart Policy -  Click here.
  • Caddies - If a player employs a caddie, the caddie MUST walk and player's clubs must remain on the golf cart.
  • Championship Pace of Play Policy - Click here.
  • Local Rules and Conditions of Competition - Click here.
  • Championship Policies - Click here to read the withdrawal, dress code, and other policies.
  • Procedures for Alternates - Click here for information on how alternates may gain entry into this Championship.
  • Conditions/ Schedule - The FSGA Championships Committee/on-site Rules Committee reserves the right to alter any of the conditions, provisions and/or schedules. The decision of the Championships Committee/on-site Rules Committee in any matter will be final.

Host Hotel and Accommodations

Wyndham Grand Jupiter at Harbourside Place
122 Soundings Avenue
Jupiter, FL 33477
561-273-6600

$129 per room, per night, plus tax.

Call and mention Florida State Golf Association Room Block, or click here to book online.

Must reserve by Friday, July 24th.

Payment

Turtle Creek Club will accept cash and Visa/MasterCard for payment.

Directions

Turtle Creek Club
2 Club Circle
Tequesta, FL 33469
Click here for directions