Knight Wins Match Play 1 Up
Cameron Knight defeated Brent Dorman 1 up in the final match to win the Florida State Amateur Match Play Championship at the Country Club of Ocala.
After winning four matches each, Cameron Knight, of Dade City, faced Brent Dorman, of Ocala, in the final match of the Championship flight. Dorman, a two-time Country Club of Ocala Club Champion, birdied the first hole to take a quick lead. The 2003-2004 Florida Junior Tour (FJT) Player-of-the-Year Knight said, “I just wanted to play my game. I knew everyone was rooting for Dorman and the pressure was on him.” Knight went on to make back-to-back birdies on holes three and four to go 1 up. With Knight making bogey on the seventh hole, Dorman birdied eight to jump to 1 up and continue to be in front through nine. On the back, Dorman bogeyed 10 and 12 as Knight birdied 13 to go 2 up heading to the 17th hole. Dorman made a tremendous recovery on 17 for par while Knight made bogey to extend the match to 18. After both players hit their approach shots just seven feet from the hole, Knight, putting first, missed his birdie putt and Dorman missing his birdie opportunity gave Knight his first State Championship. “This win gives me a lot of confidence that I hope to carry over to my first season at Florida State University,” said Knight. “I played solid and was out there to do the best I could.” Knight upset top seed and defending Champion Kelly Gosse in the semifinals en route to playing Dorman in the finals. On the FJT, Knight won two events and finished in the top five seven other times.
In the first flight, 16th seed Doug Snoap, of Apopka, won the flight defeating Marais Lombard, of Pompano Beach, 1 up in the finals. Andy Green, of Valrico, claimed the second flight beating John Hewlin, of Bradenton, 1 up in the final match of the flight. The top seed in the third flight, Ken Godwin, of Ocala, made his way to the finals against Nicholas Pincket, of Davie, to win 1 up. Two Ocala men, Bill Wright and David Arnold, battled it out for 19 holes with Arnold winning on the first extra hole to take the fourth flight.
All players traveling to Country Club of Ocala are
guaranteed an 18-hole seeding round and at least one round of match
play. After the 18-hole seeding round, the field of 96 will be divided
into a Championship flight of 32 players and four additional flights of
16 players. Ultimately,
there will be a Match Play Champion (from the flight of 32) and four
separate flight winners.
DEFENDING CHAMPION 
