Carey Watson | Jim Stone | Scott Cox | Marc Dull | Mike Finster | John Gabler
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The FSGA Winter Series traveled to the Country Club of Winter Haven for the third installment of the 2022-2023 Winter Series season where the Four-Ball format and ideal weather provided many opportunities to score low. Ultimately, the sides of Scott Cox and Mark Dull, Mike Finster and John Gabler, and Jim Stone and Carey Watson emerged victorious.
Mid-Amateur
In round one, the low score of the day across all three divisions and the 18-hole lead belonged to the team of Scott Cox and Marc Dull (9-under 63), who held a four-stroke lead thanks to eight birdies from Dull, including five straight on holes two through six. Tied in second behind the leader sat the teams of Miles McConnell/Jay Halverson and Andrew Pascoe/Ryan Prokay, both of who were still within striking distance after shooting 5-under 67.
Early in round two, Pascoe and Prokay were determined to stay in the hunt as three straight birdies on the fourth, fifth, and sixth holes shrunk the deficit to three. But later, Cox and Dull would extend their lead back to four shots with an eagle on the par-5 ninth, a margin that proved to be insurmountable by the rest of the field. Finishing at 14-under 130, Dull, the 2017 Amateur and 2018 Mid-Amateur Player of the Year, and Cox each captured their first victory of the 2022-2023 Winter Series season by five strokes.
Senior
At the end of round one, the side of Mike Finster and John Gabler held a three-shot lead after shooting 8-under 64, highlighted by a stretch of four straight birdies. The teams of Robert Arthur/Andrew Koukoulis and Greg Hendrix/Kevin Sullivan sat three shots back after shooting 5-under 67.
Finster and Gabler started slow on Tuesday (even-par through five holes) while the two sides tied for second were able to cut the lead to just two strokes. Three straight birdies would extend the round-one leader’s advantage to five shots, but the team of Arthur and Koukoulis were not ready to give up. Thanks to four birdies in a stretch of five holes the deficit was cut to just one with one hole to play, but a par from Finster and Gabler on the final hole would put an end to the comeback once and for all. Finster, a three-time FSGA champion, and Gabler would finish the event at 11-under 133, winning by 1 stroke, earning each player their first win of the 2022-2023 Winter Series season.
Super-Senior
Following 18 holes, the teams of Michael Bell/Tim Miller, Tom Riley/Cory Walker, and Jim Stone/Carey Watson were locked in a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard after firing off rounds of 6-under 66. Even with this clutter at the top, the Super-Senior division was still up for grabs as 14 of the 18 sides came in under par in the first round.
One of those sides under par was Doug Lacrosse and Kim Schwenncke, who began Tuesday just one shot back of the leading trio. After starting the round one-over through eight holes, Lacrosse and Schwencke caught fire, going on to shoot six-under over their last 10 holes. At the end of the final round, Lacrosse and Schwencke were tied with Stone and Watson at the top of the leaderboard (10-under 134) and heading to a playoff. With a par on the third playoff hole, Stone, of Brandenton, and Watson, of Plantation, clinched each of their first 2022-2023 Winter Series victories.
