Veneziano & Schwencke Lead North to FL Cup
North Florida retained the Florida Cup defeating the South Florida team by a score of 18 ½ points to 13 ½ points, at Sara Bay Country Club in Sarasota. With this win, the North takes the series lead 5-3.
After the first day of the Florida Cup Matches, the North team led the South team 10 points to 6 points. In the morning round of four-ball match play, the North team led the South team 6 to 2. In the second round of foursome matches (alternate shot), the teams split the eight available points giving the North team a four point advantage heading into the final round of singles matches.
On the final day, the North team gained 8 ½ points to the South’s 7 ½ points in singles matches securing the 8th Florida Cup. Kim Schwencke continued to go undefeated for the North team winning his singles match 3 and 2 against Bobby Barben. Jon Veneziano also won all his matches for the North team defeating Gary Nicklaus in his singles match 3 and 1. Don Bell and Mike Riley both went 2-0-1 contributing to the North team’s success. Nick Gilliam defeated Kevin Hammer 5 and 3, Duke Butler defeated Mark Leetzow 2 up, Bill Zylstra defeated Rick Woulfe 4 and 2 and Jeronimo Esteve defeated the 2011 FSGA Player-of-the-Year Stephen Anderson, 7 and 5 to contribute to the North’s victory. South team member Pete Williams was the only team member to go undefeated in all three matches. Singles match winners for the South team included: Ryan Abbate, Mike Stiber, Tim Miller, Joseph Latowski, Ben Adelberg and Lee Booker.
The North Florida team included Pete Andrews, of Lithia, Michael Barbosa, from Saint Petersburg, Chris Berens, of Mount Dora, Don Bell, of Port Orange, Duke Butler, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Jim Carley, of Ormond Beach, Steve Carter, of Saint Augustine, Jeronimo Esteve, of Windermere, Nick Gilliam, of Gainesville, Kelly Gosse, of Ocala, Thad Hudgens, of Longwood, Tim Hume, of Tampa, Mike Riley, of Panama City, Kim Schwencke, of Temple Terrace, Jon Veneziano, of Eustis, and Bill Zylstra, of Ocklawaha.
The South Florida team featured, Ryan Abbate, from Fort Lauderdale, Ben Adelberg, of Boynton Beach, Stephen Anderson, of Hobe Sound, Bobby Barben, of Avon Park, Lee Booker, of Naples, Ben Finley, of Plantation, Kevin Hammer, of Boynton Beach, Joseph Latowski, of Port Saint Lucie, Mark Leetzow, of Sarasota, Tim Miller, of Venice, Gary Nicklaus, of Jupiter, TJ Shuart, of Coral Springs, Mike Stiber, of Pembroke Pines, James Weick, of Fort Lauderdale, Pete Williams, of Juno Beach 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 2009, North Florida won the Matches 16 1/2-15 1/2 to take the series lead at 4-3.
ELIGIBILITY 
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS 
