Late Entrants Win State Title
June 6, 1999
BRADENTON, Fla. — Less than a week ago Doug LaCrosse made two great decisions. First, he called the Florida State Golf Association to be placed on the alternate list for the Florida State Mid-Amateur Four-Ball Championship. Then, he picked Joe Alfieri as his partner.
"We knew each other from some tournaments last year," LaCrosse said. "My original partner, Richard Kerper, qualified for the U.S. Open sectional qualifier and couldn't play, so I thought of Joey." After LaCrosse and Alfieri teamed for a first round 64 to tie for the lead, LaCrosse became the workhorse and made 4 birdies to lead the team to a final-round 68. His final birdie proved to be crucial. With a sneaky 25-foot birdie putt on the last hole looming in front of him, LaCrosse found out that the team of John Corzilius and Steve Lacher had shot a 67 to move one shot ahead. With the championship on the line, LaCrosse calmly sank their longest birdie putt of the championship to force a playoff.
Alfieri, a reinstated amateur as of June 1998, chose the playoff hole to make his only birdie putt of the day. On the par 5, 10th hole at The Legacy Golf Club in Bradenton, Alfieri hit a driver from the left rough to leave himself a bump-and-run from about 15 feet off the green. After hitting it seven feet from the hole, Alfieri sank it for the championship.
"It was a team effort," Alfieri said. "We didn't make any bogeys over the 36 holes, and that is what did it for us. A few other teams were in the hunt, but a bogey here and there knocked them out."
Alfieri was referring to the team of Mark Leetzow and Bruce Scamehorn. After being tied for the first-round lead, the duo shot a final-round 70 with 3 bogeys. The final bogey was a missed 8-inch putt on the 17th hole. Leetzow and Scamehorn finished tied for third with four other teams.
The Mid-Amateur Four-Ball Championship was for amateur golfers over the age of 25. The competition used four-ball stroke play format. In four-ball stroke play, two competitors played as partners with each playing their own ball. The lower score of the partners was the score for the hole.
The championship was the third of 16 state championships conducts annually by the Florida State Golf Association. The FSGA was formed in 1913 to preserve, promote and protect amateur golf in the state.
