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2023 Championship Season: A Look Ahead

January 25, 2023

TAMPA, Fla. – The 2023 FSGA championship season is just around the corner. The Florida State Golf Association will conduct more than 600 days of competition this year, with more than 60 state championships. Here are some things to know before the championship season gets started.

INNISBROOK GOLF RESORT & CLUB

Site of the 94th Women's Amateur Championship

TURTLE CREEK CLUB

Site of the 106th Amateur Championship

Seminole Legacy Golf Club

Site of the 64th Girls' Junior Championship & 74th Four-Ball Championship

The golf club at crown colony

Site of the 77th Florida Open Championship

Women’s Amateur Heads to Innisbrook

The 94th Women’s Amateur Championship will make its way to Innisbrook Golf Resort & Club in June. One hundred and forty-four of the best female amateurs will take center stage on the Copperhead Course, the longtime host of the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship.

Opened in 1974, the Copperhead Course was designed by Larry Packard. The course was restored in 1999, with all 18 greens being renovated, along with the restructuring of many of the bunkers, removing some trees around the greens to improve air movement and sunlight and clearing out undergrowth between fairways.

The Women's Amateur Championship is the oldest and most prestigious event on the Women's Championship schedule. Past Champions include Alice Dye, Tammy Bowman, Cristie Kerr, Meghan Stasi, Taffy Brower and other notables. Bailey Shoemaker, ranked 58th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, is the most recent player to add their name to the Women’s Amateur trophy, after capturing the victory at Streamsong last June.

New Date & First-Time Host for Amateur

New for the 2023 season, the 106th Amateur Championship will be moved up two weeks on the calendar to June 8-11. This early June date will allow more of the state’s top amateurs to vie for the prestigious title and allow for the strongest Florida Amateur field.

Turtle Creek Club will play host to the Amateur Championship for the first time in the club’s history and it’s second FSGA championship. Designed by Joe Lee and opened for play in 1969, the club boasts a strong membership, including PGA Tour rookie, Brandon Matthews, USGA Senior Amateur Champion Chip Lutz, and three-time FSGA Senior Player of the Year, Pete Williams.  It is also a favorite stop among local Jupiter professional, including Rickie Fowler, Lexi Thompson and Justin Thomas.

The Amateur Championship has a rich history dating back to 1913 with A.C. Ulmer winning the first of his four titles. Other past champions include: Carl Dann Jr. (five-time champion), Don Bisplinghoff (four-time champion), Bob Murphy, Doug Sanders, Gary Koch, Jerry Pate, Buddy Alexander, Blayne Barber & Sam Horsfield.

FSGA to Make Multiple Stops at Seminole Legacy

Recently renovated, Seminole Legacy Golf Club will play host to two FSGA championships this summer: the 64th Girls’ Junior Championship and the 74th Four-Ball Championship. This will mark the second and third championship that the course has hosted, after the Boys’ Junior Championship in 2022.

The course was originally designed by Bill Amick and opened to the public in 1962. The home course of the Florida State University's men's and women's golf teams was completed in 2020 under the direction of the Nicklaus Design company. The scope of the renovation includes a complete redesign of the golf course, with only one hole remaining from the original routing.

Girls’ Junior to Host Qualifying

The Girls’ Junior Championship will become the first women’s championship in FSGA history to host qualifying for the championship. The FSGA will host a last chance qualifier for players who do not gain an entry into the championship through entry priority. A maximum of 90 players will have the opportunity to fight for a spot in the 64th Girls’ Junior Championship at Seminole Legacy at the end of June.

Florida Open Takes Center Stage in Heart of Hurricane Ian

In a community that is still recovering from last fall’s devastation, the top professionals and amateur’s will compete in the 77th Florida Open this July. The Golf Club at Crown Colony and Cypress Lake Golf Club both sustained damages from last fall’s storms, but like much of the Paradise Coast, the members and residents, along with their club’s staff rallied to get the clubs back up and operating quickly after Hurricane Ian.

Crown Colony will stage its second FSGA championship this July, after hosting the Super-Senior Amateur Match Play in 2022. The club also staged the LPGA’s Drive-On Championship captured by Leona Maguire in 2022.

Cypress Lake Golf Club will play as co-host. The 1961 Dick Wilson design was the Florida home of World Golf Hall of Fame members, Patty Berg, Herb Graffis and Gene Sarazen when the club first opened. This will be the first FSGA championship in the club’s history, after the club has long supported USGA and FSGA qualifiers, Southwest Series events and last hosted the Florida Junior Tour in 2020.

Women’s Mid-Amateur to August

The 2023 Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship will move from its traditional May date to August 18-20 at Heritage Oaks Golf and Country Club to avoid a scheduling conflict with a major women’s mid-amateur event.

The championship division will continue to be a 54-hole WAGR ranked event, while the FSGA will continue to offer a discounted entry fee to women between the ages of 22-29 years old in an effort to attract younger women back to competitive golf.

Added Division for the Super-Senior Championship

New for this year, the Super-Senior Amateur Championship will feature an 80 & Over Division. This will bring the total divisions to four for the championship: Championship, 70-74, 75-79 and 80 & Over.

 

Check out the full schdules below 

Men's Schedule Women's Schedule Junior Schedule