Local golfers qualify for 100th Florida State Amateur

Nine players earned qualification for the 100th Florida State Amateur, scheduled for June 22-25 at Jupiter’s The Bear’s Club and Lost Tree Club, after Wednesday’s local qualifier was held at East Manatee’s The Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club.

Lakewood Ranch’s Kymer Li and Wesley Chapel’s Dave McMeen shared medalist honors with 69s. Clearwater’s Greyson Porter and Bradenton’s Stefan Strandlund followed with a 70 and 71, respectively. St. Petersburg’s Kyle McCarthy (72) was the last qualifier to post a score of par or better. The remaining qualifiers battled it out in a playoff after carding 1-over-par 73s. Braden River High School’s Matthew Bruton, Saint Stephen’s David Gao, Sarasota Riverview High School’s Joshua Perna and Fort Myers’ Jonah Manning escaped the playoff with the final qualifying berths. Longboat Key’s Jack O’Hara settled for the first alternate.

Father’s Day tournament golf

The 19th annual Bradenton City Two-Man Championship is set for Father’s Day weekend at River Run Golf Links. The 36-hole tournament costs $210 per team, and the entry fee includes cart, greens fees, continental breakfast both days, tee prizes and lunch following the final round. The format is four-ball stroke play with teams flighted after the first round. Tee times are 7:30-9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 17 and Sunday, June 18. Embroidered golf bags and a $100 gift card are awarded to all flight winners. The first 128 players are guaranteed a spot in the field. There’s also a super senior division for players 60-and-older, who play the gold tees. That division is limited to the first 16 teams that register.

For more information, contact River Run, 941-708-8459.

June clinics

Looking to fix your swing or get short game tips? University Park Country Club’s Golf Academy is offering skill-specific golf clinics for men and ladies in June. Head pro Ashley Hayden and assistant pro Clinton Whitelaw, who is a former South African Open champion, are the instructors for the clinics, which are open to the public. The weekly clinics are $25 per person per clinic and each session runs 10-11 a.m.

The men’s clinics are each Tuesday, beginning June 6 and ending June 27. The ladies’ clinics are each Wednesday, starting June 7 and concluding June 28. Various topics include the overview of basics such as grip, alignment, posture and more; short game mastering the bump and run; fairway metals and hybrids to hit them solid and drills and tips to practice the right way. For more information, contact the pro ship at 941-355-3888 ext. 236.

WFGT update

Lakewood Ranch resident Chris Kennedy holds a three-shot lead heading into Thursday’s final round of the West Florida Golf Tour’s Longboat Key Open at the Longboat Key Club. Kennedy fired rounds of 65 and 70 for a 7-under-par 135 total to build a three-shot lead over North Port’s Sebastian Mark. The three-day, 54-hole tournament concludes Thursday. The event is the first in the WFGT’s 15-week summer series.

Holes-in-one

On May 12 at Peridia Golf and Country Club, Mike Gerling aced the 103-yard second hole with a 3-wood. Witnesses were Ellie Henie and Holly Ostneberg.

On May 24 at Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club’s Cypress Links course, Cindy Pescinski aced the 109-yard sixth hole with a 6-iron. Witnesses were Sandi Seley and Bryane Soni.

On May 26 at Pinebrook/Ironwood Golf Club, Ken Schneider aced the 124-yard fifth hole with a pitching wedge. Witnesses were Bob Kenny, Bob LeBlanc and Hugh Henningson.

On May 28 at University Park Country Club, Bastien Bonnet aced the 186-yard 11th hole with a 5-iron. Witnessed by George Kassatov.

On May 30 at Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club’s Cypress Links course, Julien Millet aced the 143-yard second hole with a 7-iron. Witnesses were Roger Newton and Stan Apple.

This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 7:42 PM with the headline "Local golfers qualify for 100th Florida State Amateur."