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1988 Florida Open - Innisbrook Golf Resort
Bart Bryant
Expectant Dad Bryant Captures Florida Open

St. Petersburg Times
August 1, 1988
 

     Bart Bryant thinks his wife will deliver a son. And if the boy is like his father, he'll enter the world with a cool head, taking his slap on the behind in stride and moving on the better things.
     Bryant, 25, was unflappable Sunday in the Florida Open final round at the Innisbrook Resort. He won the Open by two strokes, overcoming early trouble, solid competition and the distraction of his wife Candy sitting home in Orlando, 11 days overdue with their first child.
     "This is going to come in handy," said Bryant, holding on to the $7,500 first-place check. He shot a 5-under-par 67 Sunday for a 13-under 274 total. Nolan Henke of Fort Myers finished second at 276.
     Starting the final round, Bryant led Henke by two strokes, and PGA Tour player John Huston by five.
     On the par-5 second hole, Bryant's second shot, a 4-wood, splashed into the lake. He took a bogey. Henke parred and Huston birdied the hole.
     "I was feeling plenty of pressure," Bryant said. "John Huston moved within three strokes and Nolan was within one. But..."
     Bryant then birdied the next three holes. "It was my week," he said after finishing his fourth straight sub-par round.
     On the No. 4 hole, Henke watched his 40-foot birdie putt disappear into the cup. But Bryant followed with a 20-footer for birdie.
     "He played so strong, it never seemed there was a chance to pass him," said Henke. "I was making birdies just to keep up with him."
     Huston could not keep up up with the twosome. "Missed two or three short putts early and then I three-putted No. 7," said Huston, who shot a 70 and finished tied for sixth overall.
     Entering the back nine, Bryant still led Henke by two. At the 11th hole, both birdied. At No. 15, both birdied.
     At the 435-yard par-4 No. 16, Henke birdied with a 10-foot putt. Bryant lined up his 9-foot putt for birdie and drilled it.
     "That really did it for me," said Bryant, who still faced a challenge on No. 18. The last hole, a 348-yard par 4 featuring a 90-degree turn, requires a straight tee shot, a cautious approach near water, and imaginative putting on a tricky green.
     Bryant's tee-shot, using a 2-iron went straight but into a divot. his approach landed in the rough, 40 yards short of the pin. Henke's approach kissed the green, 15 feet past the hole.
     A bogey by Brant and birdie by Henke would send the tournament into sudden death. Henke didn't count on it.
     "He'd been playing so well," Henke said. "I figured he'd get out of it with a four."
     But when Bryant's chip was still 20 feet short of the hole, the playoff possibility grew stronger.
     Bryant planned to two-putt and put pressure on Henke. He stroked it and with little break, it crept to the hole and dropped for par, and the Open title.
     "I wasn't trying to make it," Bryant said. "I just hit it dead perfect. It was a fitting end because my putter carried me all week."
     Henke missed his now-meaningless birdie putt. He still "felt very good" about shooting a 67 under the gun of a final-round face-to-face match.
     Two 67s were not what Bryant had planned on.
     "He (Henke) played a great round," Bryant said. "I figured I could shoot even-par and win it."
     If Bryant had shot even par, he would have tied Steve Lamontagne of Satellite Beach. Lamontagne shot a 65, one off the course record, to finish third at 8-under 279.
     Jay Overton, director of golf at Innisbrook, was the highest Tampa Bay finisher, repeating his 1987 fourth-place finish (at 280). His fellow local pro, Steve Schaff of Bloomingdale Golfers Club in Brandon, shot a 75 Sunday to move back to a tie for 18th.
     Tying Schaff was Clearwater's Greg Kraft, a first-round leader who knocked himself out of it was an 80 Friday. Kraft bounced back with a 71 Saturday and 68 Sunday.
 

 


 
 Player Info

 

 Scores
Pos. Name Rd. 1 2 3 4 Tot.

Winnings

1 Bart Bryant, Orlando 70 69 68 67 274 $7,500
2 Nolan Henke, Fort Meyers 72 70 67 67 276 4,000
3 Steve Lamontagne, Satellite Beach 71 71 72 65 279 3,000
4 Jay Overton, Tarpon Springs 73 71 68 68 280 2,000
5 Tom Garner 75 69 71 66 281 1,823
T6 Lee Janzen, Lakeland 71 72 72 67 282 1,527
T6 David Jackson, Jacksonville 71 70 71 70 282 1,527
T6 John Huston, Palm Harbor 69 76 67 70 282 1,527
T9 Jay Townsend, Tequesta 73 70 72 68 283 1,276
T9 Tom Doozan, Apollo Beach 70 75 69 69 283 1,276
11 Tom Cleaver, Boca Raton 72 71 71 70 284 1,139
T12 Eric Smith 73 75 69 68 285 893
T12 Mike Domalske 70 76 70 69 285 893
T12 Bill Murchison, Orlando 73 69 74 69 285 893
T12 Bruce Fleisher 72 72 71 70 285 893
T12 Gene Jones, Apopka 73 71 68 73 285 893
17 Mike West, Orlando 69 71 76 70 286 729
T18 Greg Kraft 68 80 71 68 287 595
T18 Dean Hiers, Lake Wales 72 71 74 70 287 595
T18 Ron McCann, Orlando 72 71 72 72 287 595
T18 Dan Wood, Winter Springs 72 75 67 73 287 595
T18 Scott Dunlap, Sarasota 72 73 69 73 287 595
T18 Steve Schaff, Brandon 76 67 71 75 287 595
T24 Jeff Lewis 79 72 70 67 288 466
T24 Ron Terry 73 72 72 71 288 466
T24 A.J. Weber 70 74 73 71 288 466
T24 Marco Dawson 74 70 72 72 288 466
T24 Nick Martin (a), Atlantic Beach 77 66 69 79 288 0
T29 David Banks, Haines City 74 68 73 74 289 405
T29 Vito Seputo, Tampa 74 69 70 76 289 405
T31 Jimmy Gleason 76 74 71 69 290 380
T31 Ed Sabo 76 69 71 74 290 380
T31 James Weeden 75 69 72 74 290 380
T34 Guy Boros 77 72 70 72 291 355
T34 Roger Kennedy 71 74 74 72 291 355
36 Charlie Bowles 73 71 71 77 292 340
37 Warren Jurkowitz 74 74 69 76 293 330
T38 Stan Cooke 78 74 74 68 294 291
T38 Jeff Grygiel 71 78 75 70 294 291
T38 Willaim Neel 76 75 72 71 294 291
T38 John Bauer 74 72 74 74 294 291
T38 Bill Kennedy 70 75 72 77 294 291
T43 Mike Mangiaracina 74 72 78 71 295 185
T43 Rick Gomes 76 74 73 72 295 185
T43 Scott Holden 78 73 71 73 295 185
T43 Gary Stickl (a) 75 74 72 74 295 0
T43 Doug LaCrosse (a) 77 71 72 75 295 0
T43 Mark Bucek, Winter Springs 72 71 76 76 295 185
T49 Rick McCord 76 73 75 72 296 135
T49 Robbie Gilmore 73 74 76 73 296 135
T49 Jim Smith 75 77 70 74 296 135
T49 John Morse 69 79 73 75 296 135
T49 Barney Thompson 72 73 76 75 296 135
T49 Ron Reese 68 76 75 77 296 135
T55 Bill Belk 77 74 73 73 297 122
T55 Greg Cerulli 74 74 74 75 297 122
T57 Will Frantz 76 74 78 70 298 112
T57 David Beck (a) 80 71 74 73 298 0
T57 Brian Fogt 71 74 75 78 298 112
T57 Glenn Gabriel 78 71 74 75 298 112
T57 Tom Hearn 72 75 75 76 298 112
T57 Lew Smither 71 75 76 76 298 112
T57 Jay Kenned 74 73 75 76 298 112
T64 Jon Benson 78 74 75 72 299 34
T64 Jeff Stephens 74 77 75 73 299 34
T64 Drue Johnson 71 74 79 75 299 34
T64 Fred Griffin 71 81 75 72 299 34
T64 Rickey Darden 80 69 77 73 299 34
T64 Ric Nalyd 80 71 75 73 299 34
T70 Paul Enright 72 75 75 78 300  
T70 Jeff Clark 76 76 74 76 300  
T72 Charles Alaimo 72 76 76 77 301  
T72 Ben Morrison 74 77 75 75 301  
T72 Todd McCorkle 77 74 78 72 301  
T72 Chris Webb 75 74 77 75 301  
T76 Mitch Adcock 75 77 76 76 302  
T76 Peter Morgan 76 73 78 75 302  
T78 James Gilleon 73 76 74 80 303  
T78 Stephen Reid 75 75 75 78 303  
T78 Damon Green 74 76 80 73 303  
T78 Daniel Oschmann 77 71 79 76 303  
T78 Jim Raglund 72 76 78 77 303  
T78 Matthew Mitchell 76 75 75 77 303  
T84 Paul Pratico 74 76 74 80 304  
T84 Todd Mudge (a) 79 73 75 77 304  
T86 Rolf Deming 75 73 77 80 305  
T86 Billy Tuton 75 76 75 79 305  
T88 Jim Karr 73 79 77 77 306  
T88 Greg Bass 71 78 80 77 306  
T88 Rick Jarmon 74 78 76 78 306  
91 Waldon Ballagh 76 76 76 79 307  
92 Jimmy Stobs (a) 79 73 77 81 310  
93 Tim Watson 72 74 84 81 311