Tom Riley | Douglas Jones | Cameron Smith
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Cameron Smith, Doug Jones, and Tom Riley would find their way to the top of their respective divisions at the Winter Series at the Country Club of Winter Haven. This win would be the first for each player in the 2021-2022 Winter Series season.
Mid-Amateur
In round one, Cameron Smith took full advantage of the great golf conditions. Starting on hole three, Smith made birdie to begin his day but found trouble on holes 11 through 15 that would see him fall behind early leader, Jason Coolik. However, Smith would finish Monday’s round eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie to shoot even par and sit two ahead of Coolik through 18 holes.
The final round saw Cameron Smith come back towards the field, after starting with a double bogey on the first hole. Coolik remained steady and through nine holes in Tuesday’s final round he would have a share of the lead with Smith. Christopher Anderson would play his way into the mix with a 2-under 34 on the front nine to sit one back of the leaders with just nine holes to play.
Cameron Smith would steady the ship and two-day total of 147 to capture the Mid-Amateur Division. Jason Coolik finished three strokes behind in second place, after a final round 75.
Senior
Birdies were in abundance at the top of the Senior leaderboard on Monday, as John Gabler and Paul Royak combined for 11 in round one. Gabler would avoid the trouble at the Country Club of Winter Haven slightly better than Royak to card an 1-under 71 to hold a one-shot lead heading into Tuesday’s final round.
On Tuesday, Doug Jones would climb his way up the leaderboard after an opening nine holes of 1 over. Paul Royak and Steve Riviere sat one and two shots back, respectively, with nine holes to play as they tried to chase down Jones. Back-to-back birdies on Jones’s back nine would create enough of a lead to secure the Senior Division with rounds of 73 and 71. Steve Riviere also carded a 71 in round two to move his way into second place.
Super-Senior
Monday’s round of the day would belong to Tom Riley in the Super-Senior Division. Riley’s 68 would be four better than anyone else in the Super-Senior Division and three better than anyone in the event. Six birdies to go along with just two bogeys would give Riley a great chance to claim his first Winter Series title of the 2021-2022 season heading into Tuesday’s round.
Riley’s lead would prove too much to chase down. With a couple birdies early, his lead would extend to six shots and despite a few bogeys on his back nine Riley would go home with the victory. A two-day total of 141 was six shots clear of John Latowski, who finished in solo second.
