TAMPA, Fla.- Ninety-eight teams of two teed it up across two different golf courses on Saturday, with hopes of winning a State Championship. In the end, two teams were better than the rest and were crowned Forty & Over Four-Ball Champions. Daniel DeBra and Joe Alfieri took home the title at Club Adena in the North, while Daniel Eggertsson and T J Shuart were victorious at Mayacoo Lakes Country Club in the South.
North
Weather conditions were perfect as play began in Ocala, with mild temperatures and a cooling wind in the air. Similar to the weather, Jason Chambers and Trent Erb would begin their round very mildly, making the turn at 1-under par. However, as the air began to warm up, so did their games. The duo would make five birdies on their second nine to post a 6-under par, 64 and take the clubhouse lead. Other teams that started their rounds early looked to take advantage of Club Adena before the winds started picking up. The duo of Bob Campione and Don Bell did just that, making four birdies in their opening five holes. After making a bogey on the difficult par-4, 13th hole, the Campione/Bell team would make three birdies in their finishing stretch to match Chambers and Erb at 6-under par. Closely behind the leaders were the teams of John Crum/Greg Eckels and Chad Ibbotson/Derek Camps. With a barage of teams within four shots of the lead, it would be anyone's trophy for the taking.
Day two in Ocala was as exciting as the first with many teams going low. The lowest of them all would be the team of Daniel DeBra and Joe Alfieri firing a final round of 12-under par, 58 to claim the title. The duo would pair together well during the final round, with DeBra making seven birdies to Alfieri's six. The Lutz natives would jump eight spots on the leaderboard in the final round to win by four shots and earn their second victory in three years. The first round leaders, Bob Campione and Don Bell would put together a final round of 5-under par, 65 which was good enough to hold onto second place at 11-under par. The teams of Chad Ibbotson/ Derek Camps and John Gabler/Patrick Olive would finish in a tie for third at 10-under par.
South
Down in West Palm Beach, Mayacoo Lakes Country Club would prove to be as tough test of golf on the first day as winds gusted up to 30 mph. Despite the strong winds, Daniel Eggertsson and T J Shuart would find a way to make some birdies and post a 5-under par 66 in round one. Following closely behind was the duo of Bobby Bird and William Mallon after opening with a 4-under par, 67 to sit one shot back of the leaders. The Bird/Mallon combination are no strangers to winning Four-Ball events, having won the event in 2023 at Vero Beach Country Club. With 10 other teams shooting in the red numbers, many of them would still have a chance to win come Sunday.
The top of the leaderboard would remain congested during the second round as winds continued to blow, albeit not as strong as the first round. Two teams would start their day in a tie for 9th, four shots back of the lead at 1-under par in Matthew Lindahl/Chris Nagle and Patrick Beste/Ronald Ryan. Both teams would look to make an impression on the leaders as they made a number of birdies around Mayacoo. In the end both teams would shoot matching 63's to finish the event at 9-under par. This would put them in a tie for the lead with day one leaders Eggertsson and Shuart. The three teams would head to extra holes to crown a South Champion. With all three teams making pars on the first playoff hole, it would take some heroics from Daniel Eggertsson to earn the victory. Eggertsson would drain a 30 foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to notch the victory for himself and T J Shuart and be crowned Forty & Over Four-Ball Champions.
