Qualifier medalists Pete Kellermann, RJ Glod lead First Coast players in Florida Open
Nine First Coast players have qualified for the Florida Open, July 18-20 at the Quail West Golf and Country Club and TwinEagles Club in Naples.
Two of the qualifiers were medalists, Pete Kellermann of Jacksonville at the King & Bear (69) and R.J. Glod of Ponte Vedra Beach at Marsh Landing (62, with only 17 holes used at the course on the day of the qualifier).
Glod played football at Ponte Vedra High School and was the 2019 Florida Times-Union All-First Coast second team quarterback, throwing for 2,297 yards and 17 touchdowns (Carson Beck of Mandarin was the first-team QB).
Glod later played golf at Rollins College and contended in the Florida Amateur last month through the first two rounds before finishing in a tie for 29th.
Moses Compaan of Jacksonville (70) was second at the King & Bear and A.J. Crouch, Michael Mattiace and Michael VanDerLaan of Jacksonville tied for third (71).
Colin Monagle of Jacksonville (65) was second to Glod at Marsh Landing.
Other qualifiers were Landon Durham of Ponte Vedra (70 to tie for third at the Capitol City Club in Tallahassee) and Matt Soucinek of Lake City (69 to tie for third at Deer Creek Country Club in Deerfield Beach.
Exempt players from the First Coast include Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, 2024 Florida Amateur champion Jimmy Ellis of Atlantic Beach, Scotty Kennon of Ponte Vedra Beach, Hayes Farley and Clint Avret of Jacksonville and former University of North Florida players Jason Duff, Robbie Higgins and Brett Schell.
Two-time Florida Open champion and University of Florida golf coach J.C. Deacon and former Northern Chapter PGA teaching pro and Palm Beach State coach Ron Philo are also exempt.
Brady Dougan captures Gordon Ira
Brady Dougan of St. Johns birdied the par-5 18th hole at the Deerwood Country Club to seal a two-shot victory in the Dr. Gordon Ira Golf Classic on July 8.
Dougan played his last four holes at even par to ease past Noa Bridges (72) of St. Augustine, who had a one-shot lead before making a double bogey at No. 15 and a bogey at No. 16. Bridges fell into a tie at even-par 144 with Baker Eller (69) and Ethan Grossman (72) of Jacksonville.
Shim Wang of Windermere, the 18-hole lead with a 69, shot 76 in the final round and tied Bennett LaConte of St. Augustine (71) for fifth at 1-over 145.
In the girls division, Sophia Cavanagh of St. Augustine started the day tied for first with Sabrina Smith of Daytona Beach at 2-over and took a two-shot lead at the turn (she and Smith began their rounds at No. 10).
Cavanagh then fell into a tie when she made a quadruple-bogey 9 at the par-5 first hole, and Smith double-bogeyed. However, Cavanagh was flawless after that, playing her final eight holes at 1-under with no more bogeys, and shot 73 to win by seven shots at 3-over 147. Smith never recovered from her double at the first and played the rest of her round at 6-over for an 80 and a final total of 10-over 154 to tie Chloe Blanc of Fleming Island (73) and Alexia Iordanov of St. Augustine (79) for third.
Danielle Dailey of St. Augustine (80), Alyssa Hardy of Jacksonville (78) and Sophia Moody of Fleming Island (78) tied for fifth at 12-over.
Middleburg students launch charity tournament
Middleburg High School students Jordan, Jackson and Joshua Bork have organized a charity tournament at the San Jose Country Club to benefit the Wolfson Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
The brothers started the tournament in gratitude for the 90-day stay in the NICU at Wolfson by Jackson and Joshua Bork when they were born at 28 weeks in 2008. Jackson and Joshua, 16, are rising juniors at Middleburg and Jordan, 14, will be a sophomore.
The first San Jose Country Club Golf Scramble will be Sept. 8, with a Noon shotgun start. There will be gross and net divisions with a putting contest and a hole-in-one contest with the chance to win a vehicle of $ 25,000.
The entry fee is $ 400 per player through Aug. 1 and $ 500 per player after that date. Elevated sponsorships are also available.
For additional information, contact the San Jose pro shop.
Northern Chapter PGA results
Tyler Gray of Marsh Landing scored 80 points to win the Chapter Stableford Championship at the King & Bear. He defeated Bobby Newberry of Timuquana and Mark Tullo de Best of Deerwood by one point. … University of North Florida assistant coach Michael Mattiace and de Best combined to shoot 64 at the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley won win the chapter Associated Workship/Assistant title, topping a Ponte Vedra Inn and Club duo of Jarrod Barsamian and Jeremy Klipstine by three shots. … Stephanie Connelly-Eiswerth of San Jose will play de Best in the chapter match play championship at a site to be determined. Connelly-Eiswerth beat Roman O’Rourke 3 and 1 and de Best defeated Clint Avret 3 and 2 in semifinal matches. … Connelly-Eiswerth teamed up with fellow San Jose staff member Hayes Harley to win the chapter Pro-Pro with a 63 at the St. Johns Golf Club, topping R.J. Politan of Brown Golf Management and R.J. Milford of Peak Performance and Fitness by three shots.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Florida Open will feature strong contingent from the First Coast
