ORLANDO, Fla. – After struggling in round 1, Sebastiano Mascia found his stride over the weekend to complete the come-from-behind victory at the 27th Amateur Public Links Championship. Dubsdread Golf Course played host for the second straight year and proved to be a difficult test yet again for our golfers.
Round One
The sun was out and players were ready for the 27th Amateur Public Links Championship on Friday. Airik Medinis led the charge early on as he was two-under in his first nine holes. As we were about halfway through round one, our players needed to be cleared from the course with lightning close in the area. After an hour and 20 minute lightning delay, players headed back out to the course to finish their first rounds. Diego Passos and David Hufham both birdied a couple of their finals holes after the suspension to finish their day at three-under-par total. Medinis joined them in a three-way tie for the lead after round one. Past champion Joe Alfieri, Daniel Montalvo, Sam Karman, and Anthony Garcia trailed by one shot going into Saturday.
Round Two
After some rain on Friday night, our players faced some wet conditions for round two. Even with some tougher course conditions, our players experienced great weather and shot some great scores. Medinis continued to play well en route to a two-under 68. Anthony Amoroso birdied six holes on his way to a five-under 65 that propelled him into solo second place. Austin Collins and Alfieri sat in a tie for third, just two shots back of the lead. Sebastiano Mascia tied Amoroso with the low round of the day, posting his own 65 and entered Sunday in fifth place.
Final Round
Saturday night brought more rain to Dubsdread, and our players faced conditions similar to that of round two. Just past the halfway point on Sunday, we had a five-way tie for the lead at four-under par and were in for an exciting finish. With just over three holes left for our final groups, lightning forced our players off the course for the second time this weekend. After a forty-minute suspension, play resumed and our players headed out to complete their final round. 17-year old Emmet Kuhlenkamp posted a final round 67 and held the clubhouse lead at four-under par total. Mascia would birdie hole 18 in the group after Kuhlenkamp to take control of the lead at five-under. Alfieri, sitting at four-under going into 18, would need to birdie to force a playoff. However, he would miss a 15-footer and Mascia would hold on to claim victory. Mascia had this to say about his play this weekend, “Dubsdread is a tight golf course, so it was important to manage your tee shots. The soft conditions helped me stay out of trouble and create opportunities to score.” Congratulations are also in order to 15-year old Cole Laffere who had a slam-dunk hole-in-one on hole 12 today.
