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| Ritz-Carlton Clubhouse |
Sixty-six players from 5 countries and 10 states teed it up on
the first day of the 2014 Summer Tour Championship of the West Florida GolfTour (WFGT) at the exclusive Ritz Carlton Golf Club, and two players from Fort
Myers, Florida, Chase Marinell and Brandon Lee, closed the first round atop the
leaderboard with torrid 5-under 67s. The Tom Fazio-designed track is no
pushover, with a 75.6 course rating and slope of 133, But Marinell and Lee had
its measure today.
In fact, a full third of the field (22 players) managed to
break par on Day 1, and another eight finished even par, suggesting that
scoring conditions and perhaps pin placements were ideal for scoring on the
opening day of the WFGT’s Summer Tour Championship. Summer Tour, and Order of
Merit points-leader Chris Kennedy of Tampa, Florida was among those who
finished even par, but he has such an overwhelming lead on the rest of the
eligible players in the field for the Summer Tour bonus, that it appears to be
his regardless of his finish.
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| Kenny Goodykoontz |
Kenny Goodykoontz of Fort Myers Beach, Florida, whom I
understand sits in 2nd behind Kennedy in the Summer Tour race due to
eligibility requirements, carded a 2-under 70, which was good enough to tie for
8th with seven other players. Goodykoontz trails Kennedy by over
60,000 points in that particular race and there aren’t enough available points
for him to overtake Kennedy, but a good showing in the Championship could vault
Goodykoontz into the Top-5 in the 2014 Order of Merit race.
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| Chase Marinell- photo courtesy of WFGT website |
Marinell, despite earning the third highest dollar total
during the Summer Tour Series, wouldn’t be eligible for the summer bonus, even if
he could have amassed sufficient points to pass Kennedy. However, he has quite
a stake in finishing atop the leaderboard in this event, as he holds down the 6th
slot on the Order of Merit leaderboard, and a strong finish would surely vault
him into the Top-5 and position him for a run at the Order of Merit honors.
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| David Branshaw |
Another player with much to gain at the Summer Tour
Championship is David Branshaw, who shot a 4-under 68 on opening day. Branshaw
has the fourth highest earnings on the Summer Tour money list, and sits 5th
in the current Oder of Merit race, fewer than 300 points ahead of Marinell.
Branshaw appears to be peaking at the right time, as he was one of just three players
to break par at Old Corkscrew on the final day of the Southwest Florida Open
last week.
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| Mark Iwinski & Doug Letson |
Speaking of Old Corkscrew, did you catch the news that one of
the most renowned tracks in Southwest Florida garnered the top rating in GOLFADVISORS’
power rankings for September? That’s No.1 in the country! Very sweet! Kudos to Mark
Iwinski (General Manager), Mike Holland (Head Golf Professional), Chris Hughes (Golf
Course Superintendent) and the entire staff at OC. But I digress, Couldn’t’
help that. Old Corkscrew holds a special place in this wannabe golfer’s heart.
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| Doug Letson |
The winner last week and now course-record-holder (66) at
Old Corkscrew, Doug Letson, didn’t scorch the turf at the Ritz-Carlton, but he
did card a very respectable 1-under 71, which puts him in a tie for 16th.
It was Letson’s second-round 66 that staked him to a three-shot lead last week,
so we’ll have to see what he has in store for us at the Ritz-Carlton.
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| Chris Kennedy- photo courtesy of twitter.com |
Letson, who sits in 2nd in the Order of Merit
race, appears to be the only player with a realistic chance at snatching the
Order of Merit away from Kennedy. He leads Kennedy in this event by just one
shot, and there are two round to go, so I’m looking forward to the next two
days of play. Wouldn’t it be good to see the two going head to head on Wednesday?
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| Brad Klapprott |
Other players in the field who inhabit the Top-10 in the
Order of Merit race include Hampton Ballard (4th) of Bradenton,
Florida, Logan Blondell (7th) and Brad Klapprott (8th),
both of Lakeland, Florida. Klapprott carded a 1-under 71 to tie for 16th
after the first round, while Blondell and Ballard are tied for 22nd
with even-par rounds.
Of additional interest to Fort Myers locals include Aaron
Sherry, who was 14th in the Summer Tour standings coming into the
Championship,
Jeremy Wells, and Tyler Merkel, all of whom shot even par on Day
1. With such a strong international field, a good showing in the Summer Tour
Championship and the upcoming Sarasota Open (final major of the season), would
bode well for the future of these young aspirants of the PGA Tour. Stay posted
for second and third round recaps…
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| Aaron Sherry |
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