North Florida Reclaims the Cup
North Florida regained the Florida Cup defeating the South team by a score of 16 ½ points to 15 ½ points at The Country Club of Ocala in Ocala on October 29-30. With this win, the North takes the series lead 4-3.
After the first day of the Florida Cup Matches, the North team led the South team 9 points to 7 points. In the morning round of four-ball match play, the North team lead the South team 5 ½ to 2 ½. In the second round of foursome matches (alternate shot), the South team narrowed the gap winning four matches and halving one, to trail the North team by two points heading in the final round of singles matches.
On the final day, the North team gained 7 ½ points to the South’s 8 ½ points in singles matches securing the 7th Florida Cup. Time Hume continued to go undefeated for the North team winning his singles match 2 and 1 against Ryan Abbate. Jon Veneziano also won all his matches for the North team defeating Stephen Anderson in his singles match 6 and 5, and Jeff Williams went 1-0-2 for the North team. Kelly Gosse defeated David Obst 4 and 3, Mike Walters defeated Steve Sim 2 and 1, Phil Meng defeated Jose Novo 3 and 2 and the 2009 Florida Open Champion Tommy Murray defeated Artie Scott 5 and 4 to contribute to the North’s victory. Rick Woulfe, of the South team, won all his matches including his singles match over the Country Club of Ocala’s club champion, Berger Warner 3 and 2. Other South team members that went undefeated for the week included, Ben Adelberg, Tim Carpenter, and Peter Wegmann.
The North Florida team included Dan Beckman, from Temple Terrace, Duke Butler, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Mike Damron, of Zephyrhills, John Darr, of Gainesville, Brent Dorman, of Ocala, Kelly Gosse, of Ocala, Tim Hume, of Tampa, Curt Madson, of Mount Dora, Phil Meng, of Orlando, Tommy Murray, of Orange Park, Andy Purnell, of Jacksonville, Doug Snoap, of Apopka, Jon Veneziano, of Eustis, Mike Walters, of Tampa, Berger Warner, of Ocala, and Jeff Williams, of Chuluota.
The South Florida team featured Ryan Abbate, from Fort Lauderdale, Ben Adelberg, of Boynton Beach, Stephen Anderson, of Hobe Sound, Tim Carpenter, of Bonita Springs, Ron Cleland, of Naples, Jeronimo Esteve, of Miami, Bob Ethridge, of Plantation, Jose Novo, of Miami, David Obst, of Fort Lauderdale, Artie Scott, of Tequesta, Steve Sim, of Fort Lauderdale, Steve Slocum, of Bradenton, John Wegmann, of Southwest Ranches, Peter Wegmann, of Fort Lauderdale, James Weick (Black Masque Net Champion), of Fort Lauderdale, and Rick Woulfe, of Fort Lauderdale.
Held every two years, the Florida Cup Matches vie 16 of the top amateurs from North Florida versus 16 of the top amateurs from South Florida. Using a Ryder-Cup format, the winner is determined by the number of points earned throughout the two days. Players are invited based on their performance from the previous two seasons. Some automatic selections are based on the FSGA two-year point’s standings. In 2007, South Florida won the Matches 18-14 to tie the series at 3-3.
On Thursday, October 29, competitors play 18 holes of four-ball match play in the morning and alternate shot in the afternoon. The final day, Friday, October 30, participants will compete in 18 holes of singles match play.