Bradenton, Fla. - Being one of the more fun / unique formats we have on the schedule, with a Scramble in Round 1 & Four-Ball in Round 2, the FSGA made it's way to Tara G&CC for the first time. They proved to be a fantastic host as the course was in phenomenal shape, and was a great test of golf to all the players in the field. We had a few hot days, and the course showed it's teeth for the final round as the winds picked up, but we crowned eight deserving champions.
Under 50 Division
We saw some familiar faces at the top, as last years' champions in the Under 50 Division, Jake Johnson & Gene Gillis fired an impressive opening round of Net 58 (-14). Their blemish free round was highlighted by 11 gross birdies, one gross eagle, and net birdie, leading to a 6 shot lead over the field heading into Monday's round. As we all know though, no lead is safe in golf, so there were plenty of people within striking distance that were hoping to break up the wire-to-wire victory.
Due to a slower start in Monday's round for Gillis & Johnson, many teams were able to begin crawling back into the Championship. The team of David Mealey & Brian Soldano, as well as Daniel Eggertsson & Edward Staff began to turn it on in the Four-Ball format and were getting into the mix down the stretch. Making the biggest move of them all though was the team of Andy Weber & Will Yorgey, who continued to string birdies together. Starting on Hole 2, they rattled off three straight gross / net birdies then came back with another stretch later in the round with birdies on 9, 10, 11, 12, & 13. This string of birdies sprung them to the top of the leaderboard, with a only a few holes left to play. Despite Gillis & Johnson closing out with a birdie on 18, Weber & Yorgey were able to hold on and claim victory via the tie-breaker.
50-59 Division
Leading the way following Sunday's round was the team of William Kegan & Rick Weinacht who fired an impressive opening round of 65 (-7). The pair was the definition of conistenancy as they carded nines of 32-33, which was enough to build a two shot over the field. Looming close in the distance though were the teams of David Dion & George Linards (-5), David Sobecki & Steven Hauser (-4), and Michael Leslie & Robert Shourds (-4).
Throughout most of Monday's round, Kegan & Weinacht were able to maintain their lead and even increase it down the stretch. The phrase "ham & egged" proved to be relevant as they were able to lean on each other throughout the round, and cruise to a fairly easy victory. The pair fired another impressive round of 68 (-4) en route to a five shot victory over the teams of Dion & Linardos and Espeut & Tapanes.
60-69 Division
In the 60-69 division, no one could pull away from the pack in the opening round, as six teams were within one shot of the lead. Holding onto a narrow one shot lead, and both shooting net scores of 66 (-6) were the teams of David Elswick & David Panos and Steven Frey & Jacob Matthews.
Monday's round saw a similar trend, as no team went super low, but there was plenty of movement at the top. With Elswick & Panos struggling out of the gate, it became anyone's title to claim as they navigated through the round. Jumping around at the top all day were the teams of Richard Egan & Jeff Tuske, Peter Galiette & Ivan Marin, and are second place team from Round 1, Frey & Matthews. With conditions getting tougher as the round progressed, it ulitmately came down to who made the fewest mistakes down the stretch. Holding on in the end was the team of Frey & Matthews who played their last 5 holes at net even par. They finished the event at -10, and one shot ahead of Egan & Tuske as well as Galiette & Marin.
70 & Over Division
Leading the way at the end of Round 1 was the team of Brian Carroll & Tom Weber, who have been know to thrive in the team events. The team carded 8 gross / net birdies en route to an opening round of 66 (-6), which gave them a slight advantage over the field. Sitting just one shot behind was the team of Gus Quiros & Rob Barto, but looming in the distance and only two shots behind were past Champions, Bruce Moskovciak & John Thompson.
Starting on Hole 15, Carroll & Weber had an early blemish, while Barto & Quiros came out of the gates hot with gross / net birdies on Holes 15, 16, & 17, to take an early lead. Moskovciak & Thompson stayed true to the course as they started out steady but really turned it on when it mattered the most. The team carded a gross birdie on 9, followed by net birdies on holes 10, 11, and a net eagle on hole 12. Carroll & Weber as well as Quiros & Barto did their best to get back into it, and despite Moskovciak & Thompson stumbling a bit down the stretch, they were still able to hold on for a one shot victory.
