LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – Seth Strickland took control over the final two rounds to seal the victory at the Forty and Over Championship. The Miami Shores native took the outright lead after the second round and never gave it up. Strickland has won the GCSAA Championship six times, so he is no stranger to the spotlight, however, this marks his first FSGA Championship victory.
Strickland began his final round with a one stroke lead over the field. William Dukes, Will Peterson, and defending champion, Abbie Valentine, all shared second place at two-under-par. The final pairing included Strickland, Dukes, and Peterson, and the round started out steady for the soon-to-be champion as he made pars on the first five holes.
In the meantime, Dukes had two birdies in the first four holes to take charge of the lead early on. However, on the sixth hole, the tides started to change in Strickland’s favor. He hit a three wood into a bunker and then proceeded to hole out for eagle. This gave Strickland his one stroke lead back heading into the final nine. Yet, the Miami Shores native did not slow down as he only gained momentum with consecutive birdies on the tenth and eleventh holes to get to seven-under-par and extend his lead even further. He stated, “I holed out a 60-yard bunker shot on the 6th with a lob wedge and it just got the juices flowing.”
It was certainly a battle as Dukes also birdied the tenth and the twelfth hole to remain close with Strickland. However, Dukes fell victim to a double on the thirteenth and even though he fought back with a birdie on the next hole, it was still not enough to catch Strickland. The champion ended his round in style with a birdie on the eighteenth hole and his first FSGA championship victory.
Defending champion, Abbie Valentine, finished tied-for-second with William Dukes with a tournament total of four-under-par. Another notable round included, Daniel DeBra, who finished tied-for-fifth and fired the only other four-under-par, 68 of the day.
All in all, it was another great championship with a well-deserved champion. Strickland played three fantastic rounds of golf and he spoke about what this mean wins to him, “It feels incredible, I can’t believe it. It’s been a long time coming. I put a lot of work in to prepare for this tournament I played very well.” The Piper Course at Lakewood National was in excellent condition despite a lot of heavy rain. It provided a great test of golf for all the players.
