Tour winners Davis Thompson, Frank Lickliter lead Gator Bowl Pro-Am field
PGA Tour winners Davis Thompson and Frank Lickliter, University of Florida coach and two-time Florida Open champion J.C. Deacon and PGA Tour members Philip Knowles and Raul Pereda will lead teams in the 49th Henry Tuten Gator Bowl Pro-Am Dec. 15-16 at the Sea Island Resort on St. Simons Island, Ga.
Thompson, a former University of Georgia star, won the 2024 John Deere Classic and finished 71st on the regular-season FedEx Cup points list. He is ranked 91st in the world.
Lickliter was a two-time Tour winner, Knowles was an All-ASUN player for the University of North Florida and went on to earn his PGA Tour card off the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 and Pereda got his card at the 2023 PGA Tour Q-School.
Also in the field are Korn Ferry Tour members A.J. Crouch of Jacksonville, Jared Wolfe of Nocatee and Sam Anderson of Ponte Vedra Beach. LIV Golf will be represented by Harold Varner III.
They will be chasing the team of pro Dillon Board of Baldwin and amateurs Joe Stepnes, Alex Williamson and Sammy Davis, who have won the tournament the last two years.
The format will be 36 holes of one gross best ball. The teams will play the Seaside Course in the first round and the Plantation Course in the second round.
JAGA Award winners, officers announced
The Jacksonville Area Golf Association announced its 2025 JAGA Award winners on Dec. 9 at the organization’s Annual Meeting at the Stillwater Golf and Country Club in St. Augustine.
The honorees:
- Club Executive of the Year: Barbara Harris, Windy Harbor Golf Club.
- Community Service Award: Bill Pease.
- Director Emeritus: Ray Gottschalk, Sawgrass Country Club.
- Earl & Eleanor Kelly Long-Term Service Award: Jack Morehead, NAS Jacksonville Golf Club.
- JAGA Director of the Year: Jeff Johnstone, Sawgrass Country Club.
- Professional of the Year: Blanton Tessin, Timuquana Country Club.
- Superintendent of the Year: Tim Lyons, Marsh Landing Country Club.
The 2026 officers for JAGA were elected at the annual meeting. Four of the five officers return for another year: President Duke Butler III (TPC Sawgrass), Vice President for Administration Jim Loftin (Palencia), Vice President for Tournaments, Jeff Johnstone (Sawgrass Country Club) and Treasurer John Milton (Jacksonville Beach Golf Club).
Newly elected is Secretary Joe Cronauer (Sawgrass).
Lennar sponsors JAGA Senior Amateur
The Jacksonville Area Golf Association announced that homebuilder Lennar is the new presenting sponsor of the JAGA Senior Amateur Championship and will be played for the next three years at the Stillwater Golf and Country Club in St. Augustine, which was developed by Lennar.
The JAGA Senior Amateur is the area’s oldest golf tournament and will be played for the 69th time May 3-5, 2026.
Matt Kuchar will be Junior Presidents Cup captain
Matt Kuchar, a former St. Simons Island, Ga., resident and the 2012 Players champion, will be the U.S. Junior Presidents Cup captain for the 2026 matches at Medinah Courses Nos. 1 and 2 on Sept. 20-21, 2026.
C.T. Pan of Chinese Tapei will be the International captain.
The Junior Presidents Cup matches will precede the Presidents Cup Sept. 24-27, at Medinah No. 3.
The players on the Junior Presidents Cup teams will be 24 of the world’s top junior boys 19 years and younger. They will compete in six Four-ball and Foursomes matches on Sept. 20, followed by 12 Singles matches on Sept. 21.
Kuchar is a nine-time PGA Tour winner who has competed in five Presidents Cups and four Ryder Cups.
The U.S. won the last Junior Presidents Cup in 2024 in Montreal, beating the International team 15-9. Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island and Jackson Byrd of St. Simons Island played for the U.S.
Area juniors dominate FJT top 10
Led by Jiratarn Pornhchai of Middleburg, four First Coast junior players finished among the top 10 in the girls 9-10 division of the Florida Junior Tour’s Heritage Oaks Open in Sarasota Dec. 6-7.
Pornchai shot 155 for 36 holes and tied for second, two shots behind winner Jocelyn Ayala of Tampa. Avery Chen of Ponte Vedra Beach (161) finished alone in sixth, Veda Sinoj of Jacksonville (163) tied for eighth and Teagan Chen of Ponte Vedra (166) finished 10th.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Dillon Board of Baldwin back to attempt third Gator Bowl Pro-Am title
