Registration Closed:
Senior Amateur Championship

Gosse Captures 58th Senior Amateur Championship at Southern Hills Plantation

BROOKSVILLE, Fla. –  It took carding the low round of the day for Kelly Gosse to win his first individual Florida State Golf Association Championship. 

Gosse posted a 2-under 70 in the final round to secure the 58th Senior Amateur Championship on Thursday at Southern Hills Plantation Club.

“I’m very happy, very pleased with what I’ve done here,” Gosse said.

Gosse, who has won four FSGA Four-Ball titles, started out the day strong with a bogey-free front nine, carding three birdies. He made the turn at 3-under with a two-stroke lead over the rest of the field.

The 58th Senior Amateur Championship heads to beautiful Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville. Southern Hills is an annual host of 2nd Stage of Web.com Tour Qualifying School, has hosted numerous USGA Qualifiers and the 2017 Florida Amateur Match Play Championship.  Enjoy a complimentary players' dinner on the evening before the first round as well as lunch before or after the first two rounds. For those not exempt into the Championship field, six qualifiers are held around the state to determine the field. Click here for a look at results from the past Senior Amateur Championships.

Entry Fees

• Qualifying Fee: Qualifying Fee includes entry fee and cart fee.
• Championship Fee: Fee paid by those individuals who advance to the Championship through qualifying. Includes a players' dinner, tee gifts and gift certificates, course and cart fees, range balls, and lunch for the first and second round.
  
• Exempt Fee: Exempt Fee includes Championship Fee and Entry Fee for those individuals eligible for exemption. As well as the players' dinner, tee gifts and gift certificates, course and cart fees, range balls, and lunch for the first and second rounds.

Late entries will be accepted subject to a $10 late entry fee should the entrant gain acceptance into the qualifying field. 

Pre-Registration

Those individuals who advance to the Championship through qualifying must pre-register and remit an additional $245 online at the FSGA website at www.fsga.org. Fees include lunch after each of the first two rounds and a Players' Dinner. Payment must be received by Tuesday, April 2 by 3:30 pm, or the individual will be withdrawn from the Championship. Championship Fee includes cart fees for all competitive rounds.

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
  

Championship Format

• 54 holes of individual stroke play
• Cut to the low 60 and ties after the second round
• Initial groupings will be for two days; the field will be cut and re-paired by score after the second round
• Round three tee times will start at 8:00 AM off of the 1st and 10th tees

Championship Field Size

Maximum of 144 players

Eligibility

• Male amateur golfer
• At least 55 years of age as of the first day of the Championship
• Entrant is required to be a member of the FSGA

Practice Rounds

Championship players are responsible for practice round cart fees at qualifying sites and at the Championship proper. Click on Tee Times & Info above and then view the Player Information sheet for each qualifying site venue to find the practice round information

At the Championship, a practice round at the rate of $40 plus tax is available on a space available basis at the following times:

• One week prior to the event after 11:00 am

Monday, April 8th after 10:00 am

Please call 352-277-5000 to arrange your practice round. 
 
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).

Schedule of Events

Monday, April 8th 

• 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM – Tournament Registration
• Optional practice rounds
• 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM - Cocktail Hour (Cash Bar) at Club
• 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM – Players’ Dinner at Club

Tuesday, April 9th

• Tournament Registration 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM
• 8:00 AM - 9:48 AM - Round One morning tee times off #1 and #10
• Complimentary players' lunch buffet in the main clubhouse
• 12:30 PM - 2:18 PM - Round One afternoon tee times off #1 and #10

Wednesday, April 10th

• 8:00 AM - 9:48 AM - Round Two morning tee times off #1 and #10
• Complimentary players' lunch buffet in the main clubhouse
• 12:30 PM - 2:18 PM - Round Two afternoon tee times off #1 and #10

Thursday, April 11th

• 8:00 AM - Final Round tee times off #1 and #10
• Awards ceremony immediately following the completion of play
• Lunch available for purchase

Course Set-Up

The golf course will be set-up at approximately 6,500-6,600 yards.

Local Qualifying

18 holes of stroke play at 6 local sites. Cart fees are included in your qualifying fee. 

Defending Champion

The final round began with Bill Barnes, of Bonita Springs, leading by five strokes at 140 for the tournament. Barnes held onto his lead throughout the front nine, remaining two under-par at the turn, while several players started to move up the leaderboard. One of those players was Temple Terrace resident, Don Whittemore, who posted four birdies on his front nine making it his best round of the Championship. The final nine holes served as a challenge for Barnes especially the final hole. On the par four 18th hole, Barnes laid up short of the water only to dump his third shot in the water and make an eight-foot putt for double-bogey for a final round 75 and 215 (+2) total. Within his same pairing group, Barnes watched Whittemore come from behind with an impressive low final round of 68 (-3)! Whittemore started the day seven strokes back, tied for third place, and ended the day tied for first place with Barnes!

Barnes and Whittemore went head to head in a sudden death playoff to determine who would hoist the trophy. Whittemore, who won his last FSGA Championship in 2012, was ready to end his drought while Barnes was fighting to win his first FSGA Championship. The playoff was short lived as Barnes sealed his victory with a two–putt par on the first play-off hole, number 18. Whittemore missed his shot into the green left, putted through the green rolling to 20 feet on the fringe, and missed his par. 

Exemptions

Players in the following categories will be eligible for exemption provided they meet all entry and eligibility requirements.

• Last ten year's Senior Amateur Champions
• Top 30 and tied from last year's Senior Amateur Championship
• Last three year's Senior Amateur Match Play Championship (55-64 Age Division) Champions
• Last year's Super-Senior Amateur Champion (65-69 Age Division)
• Player finishing runner-up in last year's Senior Amateur Match Play Championship (55-64 Age Division)
• Top 20 and tied from last year's Senior Player of the Year final point standings
• Top 10 and tied from last year's Super-Senior Player of the year final points standings
• Top 20 and tied from the Winter Series (55-64 Age Division) current points list as of the close of entries
• Top 3 and tied from the Winter Series (65 and Over Age Division) current points list as of the close of entries
• Winners of the current season's Winter Series Senior (55-64 Age Division) individual events
• Points Champion of previous season's Winter Series (55-64 Age Division Age Division) points list
• Points Champion of previous season's Winter Series (65 and Over Age Division) points list
• Players finishing in the top 10 and tied of last year's Florida Senior Open Championship
• Players finishing in the top 30 and tied of last year's Mid-Senior Championship
• Players making match play at last year's Mid-Amateur Championship
• Florida residents qualifying for any one of last year's USGA National Championships 
• Top 3 and tied from last year's Palm Beach County Golf Association Senior points list
• Last year's PBCGA Senior Amateur Champion
• Last year's PBCGA Tour Championship Senior Division Champion
• Top 3 and tied from last year's Lie Scratch Tour Florida Senior Division points list
  
• Last year's Lie Scratch Tour Florida Senior Division Champion
• Championship Host Club's Representative

Exemptions Earned from this Tournament

Winner

• Next 10 (Ten) Senior Amateur Championships
• Current year's Amateur Championship
• Current year's Mid-Amateur Championship
• Current year's Florida Senior Open Championship

Top five and tied finishers

• Next year's Florida Senior Open Championship

Top thirty and tied finishers

• Next year's Senior Amateur Championship

Other Policies

• Spectators and Spectator Cart Policy - Click here. Due to the limited number of carts available, spectator carts will not be available at this Championship.
• 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's clubs must remain on the golf cart. 
• 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

There are no host hotels with room blocks for the FSGA.

The closest three hotels and phone numbers are listed below:

• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Brooksville West - 14112 Cortez Blvd. Brooksville, FL 34601 - 352-597-4540
• Hampton Inn Brooksville / Dade City - 30301 Cortez Blvd. Brooksville, FL 34602 - 352-796-1000
• Hampton Inn Spring Hill - 1344 Commercial Way, Spring Hill, FL 34606 - 352-684-5000

Payment at Club

Southern Hills Plantation Club accepts cash and all major credit cards

Directions to Southern Hills Country Club 

Southern Hills Plantation Club
4200 Summit View Drive
Brooksville, FL 34601
352-277-5000

Click here for directions.