FORT MYERS' MARINELL CLAIMS WFGT SUMMER TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

Additional photos can be viewed here

Martin Ureta on 18th green at
Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Sarasota, Florida

With dark clouds billowing overhead, the incessant patter of raindrops on the bill of your cap or bare head, grips damp if not wet, and absolutely no roll beyond your carry, it’s tough to display your A-game in the final round of a championship event, right? Well I thought that might be the case, at the West Florida Golf Tour Summer Tour Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Sarasota, Florida yesterday (Wednesday, 9/17/14).

You might also expect that the venue would be hard-pressed to put its best foot forward under those conditions as well. Without the brilliant sun highlighting the various hues of the impeccable landscaping, and

glinting off the water of myriad lakes, without the birds chirping their usual choruses, even a lovely course might appear as humdrum as the weather. Such was not the case, with neither the venue nor the players.

Ross Hanson presents winner's check to Chase Marinell
& caddy Andy Richardson

Most of the players proved that the adverse conditions were no match for their powers of concentration and their ability to manage challenging circumstances. But what else should we expect? After all, like the commercial says, “These guys are good!” And none was better this day than Chase Marinell of Fort Myers. I’ll get to Chase in a minute, but first some perhaps useless facts (I just enjoy numbers)…

Kevin Roy of Tampa, Florida- 5th

On Day 1, of the 66 players in the field, 21 broke par, and eight finished even, which equates to 44% of the field finishing at par or better. Before the second-round cut (still 66 players) saw 20 players under par and five even, for a total of 39% at par or better. In the final round, after the cut, of the 38 players who completed the round, 18 players (47%) turned in sub-par rounds and just one was even par! Are you kidding me? I guess that’s why these guys made the cut.

I’m not sure at what yardage the tees and pins were set, but I don’t think the Ritz-Carlton’s picturesque Tom Fazio layout, listed at 7414 from the tips,

Christian Bartolacci- WFGT Tour President &
Tournament Director

was a pushover, certainly not in the rain, and not with the setup that Tournament Director Christian Bartolacci put in place for the championship round. Heck, it was a credit to the course and the course superintendent that the event could be completed with the constant rain. Even the sand traps were playable.

Champion Chase Marinell of Fort Myers, Florida
dropping birdie putt on 18

In any event, it was obvious that these guys were good, and as I said, none better than Marinell, who used a “bomb” on No.10 to jump start his birdie blitz on the back side. Marinell carded five birdies on the back, including one on the difficult, dogleg right, 473-yard par-4 finishing hole. Steph and I hung out near the 18^th green for several groups and Marinell’s birdie was the only one we saw. In fact, of the 38 players who made the cut, 15 made bogey or worse on 18, and Marinell had the only birdie.

David Branshaw of Tampa, Florida- 2nd

I guess you could say he really earned that “W!” When Marinell teed it up on No.18, he held a one-shot lead over 2^nd-place finisher, David Branshaw of Tampa, Florida, a seasoned tour veteran who has won on the Web.com tour when it was still known as the Nationwide Tour, and who has been a PGA Tour member.

Andy & Chase line it up on 18

Chase apparently was not phased, and when he and caddy Andy Richardson lined up that final 15-footer for birdie (I believe the closest Steph and I had seen to the pin), you just knew that it was gonna fall. Marinell stepped up, stroked the putt and it tracked right in the jaws, notching his seventh bird of the day, and capping off an amazing 66 to win by two. It was, and rightfully so, the low round of the day, tying Bradenton Florida’s Doug Letson’s low round of the tournament…and in foul weather.

David Branshaw putting on No.9

When the final round began, Branshaw was tied for the lead with Brandon Lee of Fort Myers, Florida at 9-under, one shot in front of Marinell. When they made the turn, Lee had opened a two-shot lead on Branshaw, who shot even par on the front, and Marinell, who had reached -9 to tie Branshaw.

Brandon Lee of Fort Myers- 3rd

Lee could only manage even par on the back, while Branshaw carded three birdies of his own to shoot 69. It wasn’t enough to stop Marinell from…uh…”chasing” them down with those five birdies. Lee placed solo 3^rd with an 11-under total, and just missed carding three rounds in the 60s with his final round 70.

Doug Letson of Bradenton, Florida- 4th

Letson, last week’s winner had positioned himself well after his second-round 66, sitting just two off the lead. Unfortunately for Doug, his two birdies on the front were offset by two bogeys, and his 3-under back nine was just not enough. First and 4^th in consecutive weeks isn’t something to sneeze at however, and it would be interesting to see what Letson does if he tees it up in the Sarasota Open, the final major of the year for the West Florida Golf Tour.

Chris Kennedy of Bradenton, Florida- 19th

Although there are several events yet to play in the WFGT’s 2014 season, Chris Kennedy of Bradenton, Florida and Doug Letson have made the Order of Merit race practically a two-man contest. Kennedy leads Letson by just over 23,000 points, and he leads Marinell, the next closest competitor (who jumped up the Order of Merit board from 6^th to 3^rd with this week’s win) by almost 90,000 points.   

Hampton Ballard of Bradenton, Florida- Tie 7th

A few other players in the Top-10 of the Order of Merit rankings, Travis Hampshire (4^th), Hampton Ballard (5^th), Branshaw (6^th), and Goodykoontz (7^th) are at least in range-finder contact with Kennedy, and have a theoretical, if not practical, chance of finding themselves atop the Order of Merit at season’s end.

Kenny Goodykoontz of Fort Myers Beach, Florida- Tie 9th

But that’s a little ways away. As for the Summer Tour Championship at the Ritz-Carlton, Chase Marinell walked away with the event win, but Chris Kennedy and Kenny Goodykoontz came away with significant victories as well. Kennedy claimed the top spot in the Summer Tour points-race and Goodykoontz finished second, both pocketing $2500 and amassing considerable points (25,000) in the Order of Merit race.

Kennedy finished 19^th in the Summer Tour Championship which netted him $310 and 3100 points, while Goodykoontz finished tied for 9^th netting $610.66 and 6016 points in the Order of Merit race. That additional $2500 is to be used for Latin America qualifying school, another building block in the players’ construction of a professional golf career. Congrats on the accomplishment guys!

Speaking of congrats, let’s knuckle-up to a couple guys who did what no one else did in the event:

Tom Bittner of Atlanta Georgia- Tie 28th

Adam Hogue of Lakewood Ranch notched a hole in one on No.16 during the final round, which helped him to a final round 69, and a tie for 9^th. Tom Bittner of Atlanta, Georgia had the only eagle scored on No.6, a 571-yard par-5, during the tournament. A number of others had eagles on No.4, but only Tom took the measure of No.6.

Adam Hogue of Lakewood Ranch, Florida

Jared Kobren of Lakewood Ranch, Florida missed the cut by one shot, but  scored the only eagle on the back nine in the entire event. That accomplishment came on the 559-yard, par-5  No.15 in the first round.Andrew Seeman of Bonita Springs, Florida eagled the par-4 fifth hole in the first round and that was on the heels of a birdie on the par-5 fourth. Despite a -2 finish to that first round, Andrew struggled in the second and missed the cut.

Ernesto of Ritz-Carlton staff

As always, nothing happens without the integral components behind the scene. Without the Tour sponsors, the cooperation from the venue, such as that provided by Mike Miller (Ritz-Carlton Tournament Coordinator) and his staff (thanks Ernesto!), delivering a quality event like the Summer Tour Championship would be unlikely. 

Ross Hanson- WFGT Am Tour Director
& Tournament Coordinator

If Ross Hanson didn't take care of business getting the data for the 9-hole live scoring entered, and without Christian Bartolacci's help and cooperation, Steph and I couldn't do what we do nearly as effectively. We appreciate it guys! 

There is much more to the West Florida Golf Tour than we can cover here, but we’ll get to as much as we can. We’re looking forward to covering the final major of the WFGT season: The Sarasota Open at Laurel Oak Country Club, September 25 - 28. The event will be played on one of the two Gary Player-designed championship tracks on the property, the West Course, which was redesigned by Rees Jones in 2005. Stay tuned…

T. A. & Steph