Three Overcome Tough Conditions
PALM HARBOR, Fla. - Players traveled from all over the state to battle tough weather conditions at The Island Course at Innisbrook Resort & Spa. In the end, it was Joshua Winchell (Mid-Amateur), Adam Creighton (Senior) and Jim Stone (Super-Senior) who brought home the victory in the first Winter Series event of 2025.
Mid-Amateur
Shankar Natarajan came out of the gates fighting tough conditions with an opening round 75 to take the lead. A solid back nine of one-over par, 37, helped Natarajan take the overnight lead. Coming in just a few back is a group of three players tied for second, Kevin Lynn, Mike Devine and Abe Patwari will look to make a move on Tuesday.
Beginning round two, it was Joshua Winchell making a move with a birdie on the second hole to open with a one under 35 front nine. This front nine was exactly what he needed to put him in the driver’s seat going into the back nine as others were moving back to him. Overnight leader Shankar Natarajan had a rocky start to his final round that brought him back to the field. Natarajan battled on the back nine to keep in position but fell just short to Winchell who posted a final round 76 to claim a two shot victory.
Senior
In the first Winter Series of 2025 Adam Creighton came out firing with an opening round of even par, 72. Creighton started his round with an eagle on the par 5 seventh hole and was able to add another eagle and birdie to his very solid first round. Creighton was able to take a one shot lead over Dave McMeen who fired a solid one over par, 73.
Creighton continued his strong play with a final round three over-par, 75. Moving up the leaderboard in the final round was Chad Ibbotson who eagled the par 5 second hole and had a birdie on the par 5 fifteenth. After all the battling the cold and wind for two days Creighton was able to claim a six shot victory.
Super-Senior
The Super-Senior Division turned into a very tight race coming down to the end. David Haslerud and Jim Stone battled through their first rounds to finish with rounds of 76. Haslerud and Stone had several players within just a few shots so they knew they had to play good golf on Tuesday to try to claim the title.
After two long hard days, the super senior division needed extra holes in order to crown a champion. Mike Corbin had the round of the day in the flight with a four over-par 76 to move up 3 spots and into a tie for the lead. Jim Stone and Mike Corbin finished in a tie for first and heading back to the ninth hole for a playoff. Jim Stone was able to come out on top on the first playoff hole with a par on the ninth and claim the title. David Tassell tied Corbin with a final round of 76 to move just one shot out of the playoff.
