After winning the inaugural Florida Cup Matches in 1997 and losing in 1999, the South Team reclaimed the Matches title this month at Lago Mar Country Club.
Both teams were tied after day one with 8 points each. During the Four-Ball round, the North took 5 points and 3 points went to the South. In the Foursomes round, the North earned 3 points and the South won 5 points.
Individual matches were played the second day when the South Team charged ahead by grabbing 10.5 of the 16 available points. The South Team claimed victory with their 18.5 total points compared to the North Team’s 13.5 points.
Five players from the South stood out to help their team win the Matches. Mark Leetzow, Brad Lanning, Paul Melson, Ron Cleland, and Chuck Smith were each undefeated in all three rounds during the two days. No player from the North Team achieved this status.
A North Team member did received some satisfaction from the event. Cap Caponi revenged his Mid-Amateur loss to Paul Toliuszis when the two competed during the individual matches. Caponi defeated Toliuszis 4 and 2.
The Florida Cup Matches vie the top amateurs from North Florida versus the top amateurs from South Florida. Using a Ryder Cup format, the winner is determined by the number of points earned throughout the two days. The participants were invited based on their placement in the Florida State Golf Association’s point standings list.
