South Florida seized the Florida Cup on Friday, October 24, defeating North Florida by a score of 20 points to 12 points, at Seagate Country Club in Delray Beach. With this win, the South eliminated North Florida’s series lead and both teams now stand tied.
After a small delay due to morning showers, round one matches of the Florida Cup finished with the South and North tied at four points. South’s team captain, Ryan Abbate, and the North’s team captain, Thad Hudgens, led by the example by capturing two victories for their team. The largest defeat of the morning came from the North’s George Roat and Jimmy Jones with a 4&2 win over Rick Woulfe and Dwight Rogers.
South Florida played strong in the afternoon matches to end day one with a 3 point lead over North Florida. With a change of partners in round two, the North faltered with only two wins and one tie. South Florida grabbed the lead winning five matches and tying one. After day one, the South would take a three point lead into the final round.
On the final day individual matches, the South team prevailed over the North winning nine matches and tying three out of the sixteen matches played. South team members; Bobby Bird, Ryan Abbate, and T J Shuart, finished undefeated in all three matches assisting the South in gaining the Florida Cup for the second year in a row.
Captain Ryan Abbate led his team well with a final round 5&4 victory over the North’s captain, Thad Hudgens. Bobby Bird also contributed to the South’s win by never losing a match and finishing the last round by defeating Lloyd Fisher 4&3. Undefeated T J Shuart shut out Doug Snoap 2&1 in the final match to add to the South’s success. Gordon Marshall and John Wegmann played great final matches winning 6&5 and 6&4 respectively. Other singles match winners for the South team included: Mike Stiber, Jim Weick, R J Nakashian, and Steve Anderson. North team member Jimmy Jones went undefeated in all three matches and finished strong in the individual matches with a 7&6 victory. Doug LaCrosse and Blake Marshall played well for the North team going undefeated in all three matches of the Florida Cup.
The North Florida team included: Team Captain: Thad Hudgens, of Longwood, Bob Campione, of Palm Coast, Derek Camps, of Sanford, Roger Dean, of Ormond Beach, Daniel Debra, of Lutz, Lloyd Fisher, of Dade City, Chad Ibbotson, of Sanford, Jimmy Jones, of Tampa, Doug LaCrosse, of Tampa, Rob Maddox, of Lynn Haven, Blake Marshall, of Palm Coast, Mike Riley, of Panama City, George Roat, of Windermere, Jamey Salmon, of Jacksonville, Doug Snoap, of Apopka and Don Whittemore, of Temple Terrace.
The South Florida team included: Team Captain: Ryan Abbate, of Fort Lauderdale, Stephen Anderson, of Hobe Sound, Matt Avril, of Vero Beach, Bobby Bird, of Vero Beach, Michael Cox, of Naples, Chuck Gould, of Vero Beach, Brian Kennedy, of Highland Beach, Gordon Marshall, of Sarasota, R J Nakashian, of Palm Beach Gardens, Dwight Rogers, of Fort Lauderdale, T J Shuart, of Coral Springs, Mike Stiber, of Pembroke Pines, John Wegmann, of Southwest Ranches, Peter Wegmann, of Fort Lauderdale, Jim Weick, 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. South Florida successfully defended their 2012 Florida Cup victory and tied the overall series by being crowned 2014 Florida Cup Champions.
