Andy Purnell Wins State Match Play Championship
Andy Purnell of Jacksonville defeated Joey Lamielle in 19 holes to claim the 2003 State Match Play Championship at Lone Palm Golf Club.
The Championship match was carried over from last weekend when the central Florida area suffered tremendous rains forcing the final match to be postponed. In the Championship match, seven birdies were made and only 4 of the 19 holes played were halved. Andy Purnell took the initial lead by making birdie on the par five second hole after reaching the green in two strokes. Both players birdied the par five fifth hole including Joey Lamielle’s 12-foot birdie putt that hung on the edge of the hole for 5 seconds and then fell in.
Lamielle brought the match to all square by making birdie at the par three 6th hole from 4 feet.
At the end of nine holes, Lamielle was one up. On the par four tenth hole, both players hit their approach shots to within 12 feet of the hole and Purnell won the hole with a birdie to square the match. Over the next several holes, the match remained close with each player sharing the lead at least once. After 16 holes the match was all square. On the par-five seventeenth hole, Andy Purnell attempted an aggressive second shot with a three-wood and pushed his ball into the trees to the right. Unable to recover, Purnell lost the seventeenth and went into the final hole one down. On the eighteenth, a long difficult par four, Purnell drove his ball into a fairway bunker and then played out short left of the green. Lamielle’s drive found the fairway but his approach shot fell into the greenside bunker which guarded the deep right hole location. Purnell hit a great chip to two feet and squared the match after Lamielle failed to get up and down from the bunker.
On the first extra hole, the par four first, Lamielle’s approach shot carried over the green and his chip shot back left him with a four-foot putt for par. Meanwhile, Purnell hit the green in two and two putted for par. Lamielle’s match-saving par putt rimmed the hole and the Championship was decided. As a result of his victory, Any Purnell is now the leading point’s winner in the race for the FSGA Player of the Year and has earned an exemption into the State Mid-Amateur Championship to be held at Emerald Dunes GC in West Palm Beach this October.
Match Play competitors will have the opportunity to play at
Lone Palm Golf Club, a private course built in 1965 by George Jenkins,
the founder of Publix. Designed by Dick Wilson, the 6,987-yard course
was restored in 1995 by Steve Smyers.
All players travelling to Lone Palm are guaranteed an 18-hole seeding
round and at least one round of match play. After the 18-hole seeding
round, the field of 96 will be broken into a Championship flight of 32
players and four additional flights of 16 players. Ultimately, there
will be a Match Play champion (from the flight of 32) and four separate
flight winners.
DEFENDING CHAMPION 
