Orlando, FLA. – The 4th edition of the Florida Hickory Open Championship was hosted once again by Dubsdread Golf Course, only this time for the club’s 100th anniversary. The Hickory Open is one of the most unique tournaments hosted by the FSGA, where golfers use pre-1935 golf clubs or replicas of those. Will Peterson seems to have hickory golf down to a science after winning his 4th straight championship alongside of Alice Brown in the Women’s Division, Richard Boggs in the Men’s Net Division and Natalie Wells in the Women’s Net Division.
Men’s Open
Dubsdread Golf Course is a great Host for Hickory Golf. Although it is short, tight fairways are where the difficulty comes from. However, Will Peterson was not fazed. After an opening round 72 (+2), he was left with a four shot lead heading into the final round over Bill Geisler (+6) and Robert Sherman (+9).
Round two brought difficult conditions with gusty winds and light rains, and the scores showed its difficulty. Peterson continued his strong play firing the only round under 80 to grab the win by six shots over Bill Geisler and Robert Sherman. In his 4th straight win at the Florida Hickory Open, Peterson continues his dominance of hickory golf.
Men’s Net Stableford
Just like the Open Division, the Net Stabeford division saw another wire-to-wire champion in Richard Boggs who took a six-point lead over Richard Grula in the first round that consisted of seven net birdies and a net eagle.
In round two, Grula began to make a charge and finished with 35 points, 71 overall. However, it was not enough to overcome Boggs, who wound up winning by two points. Lee Wilson saw a solo 3rd place finish with 65 points.
Women’s Open Division
In the Women’s Open Division, Alice Brown successfully defended her title to win for the second straight year.
Women’s Net Stableford
Natalie Wells also successfully defended her title in the Women’s Net Stableford Division. This was also her third title in the past four years. 34 points in the first round gave her a two-point lead after round one, with Nancy Keating and BJ Hayden on her tail. However, a second round 37 points gave Wells a 10-point victory over Nancy Keating, with BJ Hayden finishing in third place.
