105th Amateur Championship

JUPITER, Fla. – Alex Vogelsong was left with a must make birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Amateur Championship to force a playoff. About 20 minutes later he was left with another birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 105th Amateur, rolling in the 6-foot putt to raise the trophy on Sunday at The Bear’s Club.

“This is such a great event, and it means a lot to win here at Bear’s Club,” Vogelsong said. “It’s been around for a long time and at a special place like here, it is really an honor.”

The Auburn University senior posted a final-round 70 to capture the championship at 8-under 280. Vogelsong was the only player in the field to finish with four under-par rounds, finishing with rounds of 71-71-68-70. 

This is the first FSGA championship victory for the Florida Junior Tour alum.

Vogelsong began the final round three shots back of the 54-hole leader, Reid Bedell, at 6-under 210. He got off to a solid start, playing the first five holes at even-par. The Palm City native chipped in for birdie on the par-4 sixth hole to move to 6 under for the championship and one shot back of Bedell.

Both Vogelsong and Bedell birdied the eighth, but Bedell finished with a bogey on the ninth to give Vogelsong his first share of the lead.

The Auburn Tiger added another birdie on the par-5 10th hole to take the outright lead at 9 under. He played the next five holes at even par and headed to the par-3 16th with a two-shot lead.

His tee shot on the 16th was short of the green, leaving him with a tough flop shot over the greenside bunker. Vogelsong’s second shot came up just short of the green and plugged in the bunker. Left with another difficult shot, Vogelsong got it onto the green but missed the putt for bogey, finishing with a double and dropping back to 7 under.

While Vogelsong finished with a 5, Bedell rolled in a 2-foot birdie putt to take back the lead at 8-under.

“After 16, I knew I was one shot back,” Vogelsong said. “With two holes left being one back is not that much. I figured I could pick up a birdie coming in and see what happens. 

Vogelsong was left with a putt for birdie on the 17th, but it burned the edge, and he went to 18th tee one shot back of Bedell. His second shot on the 18th left him in the left greenside bunker, hitting it to 4 feet. He rolled in the birdie putt, while Bedell finished with a par, to force a playoff 

Both players headed back to the 18th tee.

“I birdied the 18th in regulation, so I just tried to do the same thing,” Vogelsong said. “I took the same line off of the tee, hit the same shot into the green and was able to get up and down.”

Vogelsong was left with an almost identical third shot in the greenside bunker, hitting it to 6 feet. Bedell left his 12-foot birdie putt short, finishing with a par. Vogelsong rolled in the birdie putt to be crowned the 105th Amateur champion.

“There is so much great golf in Florida and to win here, at this event, is a dream come true,” Vogelsong said. “There is a lot of great players every year. It was a great experience this week.”

Bedell finished the weekend in second place, posting rounds of 73-68-66-73. John Daly took third place at 4-under 284. Run Youprayong finished fourth at 2-under 286.

• Full Results
• Visual Recap
• Round 1 Recap
• Round 2 Recap
• Round 3 Recap

The Florida State Amateur Championship is one of the oldest and most prestigious amateur golf championships in the country!

Championship Format

• 72 holes of individual gross stroke play
• Championship Field Size - 168 players
• All players play 18 holes on each The Bear's Club & Lost Tree Club before the 36-hole cut
• The field is split between the two courses for round one and switch courses for round two
• The field is cut to the low 70 and ties after 36 holes
• The final 36 holes will be played at the The Bear's Club

If necessary, there will be a hole-by-hole "sudden death" play-off for the Championship. It is the player's responsibility to be present for any playoff.

Eligibility

• Florida Resident
• Amateur golfer with valid Florida GHIN Handicap Index not exceeding 7.0

Entry Fees

• Qualifying Fee: Qualifying Fee includes entry fee, range balls, Amateur hat, and any course and cart fee for the qualifying round.
• Championship Fee: Fee paid by those individuals who advance to the Championship through qualifying. Includes tee gifts and gift certificates, range balls and any course and cart fees for competitive rounds. Fee includes complimentary lunch after the first three rounds. 
  
• Exempt Fee: Exempt Fee includes Championship Fee and Entry Fee for those individuals eligible for exemption.

Late entries are subject to a $10 late entry fee should the entrant gain acceptance into the field.

Schedule of Events

Thursday, June 23th

• 8:00 AM - 9:57 AM - Round one tee times off of #1 and #10 at The Bear's Club
• 8:00 AM - 9:57 AM - Round one tee times off of #1 and #10 at Lost Tree Club
• Complimentary lunch from 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Friday, June 24th

• 8:00 AM - 9:57 AM - Round two tee times off of #1 and #10 at The Bear's Club
• 8:00 AM - 9:57 AM - Round two tee times off of #1 and #10 at Lost Tree Club
• Complimentary lunch from 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM
• After the completion of play, the field will be cut to the low 70 players and ties

Saturday, June 25th

• 8:00 AM - 9:57 AM - Round three tee times off of #1 and #10 at The Bear's Club
• Complimentary lunch from 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Sunday, June 26th

• 8:00 AM - 9:57 AM - Final round tee times off of #1 and #10 at The Bear's Club
• Awards ceremony immediately following the completion of play 

Pre-Registration

Those individuals who advance to the Championship through qualifying must pre-register and remit an additional $160 either online at the FSGA website at www.fsga.org or by check to the FSGA office for advance payment of Championship Fees. Payment must be received by Friday, June 17th by 3:30 pm, or the individual will be withdrawn from the Championship.

To Pre-Register:

• Log on to the FSGA website at www.fsga.org using your email address and password
• Click on "My Account" in the upper right hand corner of the homepage
• Under "My Tournaments", click on the "Pre-Register" button to the right of the tournament name
• Enter your credit card information and then click the "Charge My Card" button on the bottom right hand corner of the page

Refunds, Notice of Withdrawals

Qualifying Entry Fees - Requests for qualifying entry refunds received prior to entry closing date will be honored (less $20 per entry administrative fee). Requests received after the closing date will be honored (less 50% of entry fee). No requests will be honored within two days of the scheduled start date of the qualifier.

Championship Fees & Exempt Entry Fees - Requests for refunds of Exempt or Championship fees prior to the pre-registration deadline will be honored (less $20 per entry administrative fee). No requests will be honored after the pre-registration deadline (See pre-registration date displayed on this page).

Course Set-Up

The golf courses will be set-up at approximately 6,900-7,400 yards.

Local Qualifying

18 holes of stroke play at 14 qualifying sites.   Cart fees are included in your qualifying fee. The number of qualifying spots will be posted at the host site and will be proportionate to other qualifying sites based on the size of the field. Ties for the last qualifying spot will also qualify (there are no playoffs). Alternates will be determined by ordering the players that just missed qualifying, and ties for alternate spots will be broken by the USGA suggested method (last 9, last 6, last 3, etc.).

Defending Champion

Forty feet. That’s the length of the birdie putt that gave Fred Biondi the lead on the 71st hole of the Amateur Championship. One hole later, he rolled in a short-par putt to be crowned the 104th Amateur champion at Streamsong Resort. "It means a lot," Biondi said. " I know the people that have won this championship and it's an honor. It feels good to to win. Getting this win early in the summer gives me a lot of confidence going forward. I'm glad I won and got the job done."

The University of Florida junior posted a final-round 71 to capture the championship by one shot at 13-under 275. This is Biondi’s fourth FSGA title, after winning the Boys’ Junior in 2016 and 2017, as well as the Amateur Public Links in 2020.

Biondi becomes just the eighth player to win both the Amateur and Boys’ Junior Championships. He also becomes the second Florida Gator to accomplish this feat after Sam Horsfield did it in 2013 with his Amateur win.

Click here for the previous year's results.

Carts

During qualifying and the Championship proper, each player must use a golf cart which is included in the Qualifying and Championship Entry Fees. There will be two carts per threesome and carts will be shared between players in the group. 

Qualifying Practice Rounds

Players must pay for practice round cart fees at qualifying sites and at the Championship.

Championship Practice Rounds and Practice Facility

• Exempt and qualified competitors will receive an email with a Golf Genius link to book practice rounds on June 21 - June 22 after June 1st.
• The cost of the practice round, including range balls and cart, is $40 + tax, open to competitors in the Championship Field Only.
• The practice facilities at both clubs are open to competitors June 21st- June 23rd free of charge. The driving range will close at 4:00 PM daily.
• DO NOT call The Bear's Club or Lost Tree Club to book practice rounds.

Practice Before & Between Rounds

A player may not practice on the competition course before or between rounds. Penalty for first breach: General Penalty. Penalty for second breach: Disqualification.

Exemptions Earned from this Tournament

 Winner

• Next twenty-five Amateur Championships
• Next three Amateur Match Play Championships
• Next two Florida Open Championships

Top five and tied finishers

• Current year's Amateur Match Play Championship
• Next year's Florida Open

Top fifteen and tied finishers

• Next year's Amateur Championship

Player's making the cut

• Next year's Boys' Junior Championship

Exemptions Earned Prior to 2017

Beginning in 2018, the Winner will receive the exemptions above but will receive a 25-year exemption into the Amateur Championship rather than a lifetime exemption. This exemption to the Amateur will not be lost in the event a player turns professional and subsequently has his amateur status reinstated by the USGA.

• Winners of the 2017 Amateur and prior years are grandfathered in under the prior policy and receive a lifetime exemption, except that consistent with the prior exemption rules, they would lose their lifetime exemption if they turned professional.
• Winners prior to 2018 that do turn professional, will retain their exemption for 25 years, which may be used if their amateur status is reinstated.

Other Policies

• Spectators and Spectator Cart Policy -  Click here.
• Caddies - Caddies are allowed in all FSGA Championships except Junior events. However, a player must not use a parent, step-parent or guardian as a caddie. The caddie MUST walk, and the player MUST ride, with the player's clubs remaining on the golf cart. Click here
• Championship Pace of Play Policy - Click here.
• Local Rules and Terms of the Competition - Click here.
• Championship Policies - Click here to read the withdrawal, dress code, and other policies.
• Procedures for Alternates - Click here for information on how alternates may gain entry into this Championship.
• Conditions/ Schedule - The FSGA Championships Committee/on-site Rules Committee reserves the right to alter any of the conditions, provisions and/or schedules. The decision of the Championships Committee/on-site Rules Committee in any matter will be final.

Host Hotel and Accommodations 

Courtyard Palm Beach Jupiter

• Address: 4800 Main Street Jupiter, FL 33458
• Phone: (561) 776-2700

Booking Details

• 1 King, Sofa Bed - $139/night + tax
• Book Room HERE! 

Booking Deadline: May 22, 2022

Directions to The Bear's Club

Payment

• The Bear's Club accepts Visa / MasterCard / American Express as forms of payment.
• Lost Tree Club accepts Cash ONLY for Golf Shop & Snack Bar Payments

Directions

The Bear's Club
250 Bear's Club Drive
Jupiter, FL 33477

Click here for directions.

Lost Tree Club
11520 Lost Tree Way
North Palm Beach, FL 33408

Click here for directions.