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.
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Player
Info |
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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 |
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