SOUTHWEST FLORIDA MEN'S AMATEUR- ROUND 2 AT FORT MYERS COUNTRY CLUB

Additional photos by Steph can be viewed here

Beautiful days in Southwest Florida may become old hat to some, but turning into Fort Myers Country Club on this crisp cool morning for the final round of the Southwest Florida Men’s Amateur was anything but old hat to me. The dewy sheen on the recently rejuvenated emerald practice green was streaked with the trails of hopeful putts…most of those streaks didn’t end at the hole. It was a sign of things to come…

You have probably heard the saying, “The good lord giveth and the good lord taketh away?” Well the good lord may have taketh my golf game, but he gave me a foursome to make up for it. None of us played as we would have liked, but doggone it, we had a dang (yeah, this is a G-rated family blog) good time!

Dave Cobb

Today I had the side-splitting pleasure of playing with Archie Copeland, Craig Sherwood, and David Cobb. We all knew going in that we were out of contention for tournament honors, but we still had intention of playing well. Within a few holes, I think we all realized that the day before was no fluke, no temporary spell of bad luck, so what else are ya gonna do except have a good time if you can’t have good golf? I think Dave might have been the last to give up the ghost though.

Any of you reading this can sign up for my brand new course in “Drunken Crane” style golf (You don’t need nunchucks or Gi, just an inherent balance deficiency). Anyway, that’s what Archie termed my final drive of the day on No.9, and we had a good chuckle on that one (I wish Steph has been around to catch some video of that drive). Bottom line is that it was in the middle of the fairway and I had a baby 8-iron into the green to finish with a par. So karate chop that Archie!

Craig Sherwood

Craig and I rode together and saw more of the new FMCC layout during today’s round than a foursome who had played three or four times. But we kept on laughing…although Craig wasn’t really happy until the lady with the Coors Light on her cart came around the second time. After about our third hole, Craig was regretting not having stocked up when she asked us shortly after we began the round.

Craig was more than ready when we encountered her with just four holes to go, and he immediately expressed his joy with a par on No.6 and finished the final four holes plus-2. That’s no small feat considering he had scored plus-2 or more on 10 of the 18 holes we played. Ah, but he also had two birdies, which was one more than the rest of us. We had made a pact that score was not at all important by that time

Archie Copeland

Archie didn’t know it, but in addition to wanting to do better than I did the day before, finishing ahead of him was my motivation today. After the first two holes, it seemed obvious that he was the best player in our group, and I know Archie from the Quota/Skins Game at The Hideaway, so it was as good a motive as I could find to try to maintain some sense of competition despite being out of the tourney. Archie built a three-stroke lead through our first seven holes, but we were tied at 44 after the first nine holes.

Steph- our photographer

My first seven holes were like a metronome at a piano lesson: Double, bogey, bogey, double, bogey, bogey, double…C’mon, sing along; it’s catchy. Anyway, Steph finally showed up on No.17 (our 8^th hole played) and immediately things began looking up. No.17 is a par-4, listed as 380 yards on the card, and was listed as playing 320 yards on the instruction sheet they gave us this morning.

My eagle putt on 17 just missed

I suspect that neither yardage was correct because I drove the green and had a 18-footer for eagle. Even that strong wind at our backs and firm fairways couldn’t have helped me drive it 320; I’m just a short-knocker. However these new Snake Eyes balls that I put into play the past couple of weeks have definitely increased my driving distance. They haven’t seemed to hurt the little spin I do generate either.

Archie sinks one

In any event, I missed the eagle putt on No.17 (no shock given the way I putted this past weekend), but did make the birdie, and posted par on the following two holes. But then Steph had to go take more photos and the real me showed up again. Neither Archie nor I played lights out on the final nine, and Archie’s par on No.8 meant that I had a one-shot lead coming into our final hole (the 390-yard, par-4 9^th). I posted par and Archie posted a bogey, and at least I had won my imaginary competition…and had a great time with the guys to boot.

C-Flight

But what about the real competition? The Day 1 leader of our C-Flight Mark Johnson (80, 90), who had held a one-shot lead over Pete Chappell (81, 81), struggled most of the day before finishing strong with three pars. Johnson fell into a tie for 5^th. Chappell claimed the top spot in our flight, and was the picture of consistency over the two days, shooting identical scores (81, 81). On the final day, he shot 42 on the front and a nifty 39 on the back, despite two double bogeys in the final four holes.

Keith Cramsey, 2nd in Flight C, putts on Day 1

My cart partner of the first day, Keith Cramsey started the final day in 4^th-place, six strokes off the lead, and five shots back of Chappell. Keith leapfrogged Johnson and Brayden Fortini (3^rd after Round 1) to claim second in our flight. Keith shot 38 on the front nine, but posted 8-over 43 on the back, despite finishing the round with a birdie for the second consecutive day. I guess Keith knows how to finish strong.

It was a John’s day on Sunday, because John Rhoades and John Brown II both shot 78, the lowest score in our flight for both days of the competition. Rhoades’ score, 13 shots better than his score at Eastwood the day before, vaulted him from 11^th into 3^rd-place! Brown II’s 78 was 14 shots better than his first round, moving him up from 14^th to 5^th. Pretty nice climbs up the leaderboard huh. Me? I started in the middle of the pack and there is where I languished at tourney’s end (10^th). Somehow, I will find a way to deal with mediocrity!

Championship Flight (see News-Press article here)

Mike Andre and Jake Sherwin head out

In the Championship Flight, Jake Sherwin maintained his lead of the previous day, taking top honors for the second consecutive year with his three-under 69 at Eastwood and his even-par 70 at FMCC. He had shared that 1-shot lead over Griffin Hanson with Mike Andre coming in to the final day. Despite his four birdies, Hanson struggled to plus-8 on the day to finish 4^th, while Andre shot a respectable two over, with three birdies, to finish third in the flight.

Kaleb Johnson on his way to low round of the tourney

It was Kaleb Johnson’s day from a scoring standpoint, however. Johnson posted the low round of the tournament, shooting a 2-under 68, to finish second, just one shot short of Tournament Champion Sherwin. 

Winning form from repeat winner Jake Sherwin

Johnson posted a stunning eight birdies on his card on Sunday, compared to just one the day before. Unfortunately for him, he also posted six bogeys. Sherwin notched four birdies of his own, but they were offset with four bogeys. It may not be the PGA Tour, but it’s nice to take top honors in a field of 148.

A-Flight

In the next best flight, the A-Flight, Matt Hight was the only player to post two rounds in the 70s, shooting 79 at Eastwood and 75 at FMCC to win the flight by seven shots! Matt posted par or better on 22 of the 36 holes played and notched an eagle on the 560-yard, par-5 8^th at FMCC.

Dat Phan- 3rd in Flight A

Jo Jo Fortini, who was third coming into the final round, bettered his first-round 82 by three shots to take 2^nd-place. Dat Phan, who was tied for 8^th after Day 1, crept up the leaderboard into 3^rd with a final round 79, five shots better than his first-round score. Phillip Everhart, who was 2^nd and just two shots off the lead after the first round, shot 84 and fell into a tie for 6^th.

B-Flight

James Cole- Flight B Winner

The B-Flight winner was James Cole, who, despite being in a flight that called for players with handicap indices between 8 and 10, shot 76 at Eastwood (with 4 birdies!), and 77 at FMCC. His 153 total (which “cole-cocked” the second best performer by six shots) would have won the A-Flight…I’m just sayin’ and wondering if this is the same James Cole who is a PGA Professional. Sure did shoot like one.

Toby Schwetje- 2nd in Flight B 

Second-place in the B-Flight went to Toby Schwetje, who came close to posting two rounds in the 70s with a 79 at Eastwood and an 80 at FMCC. Schwetje needed a bogey or better on his final hole to accomplish the feat, but posted a double bogey. Ouch! He still held on to 2^nd by two shots.

View from proshop

Bo Pulley emerged from a logjam of players tied for 8^th-place after the first round, to tie for 3^rd with Danny Suero, who moved up from 4^th after Round 1. Suero hurt himself big time with three doubles on the back side coming in. Pulley posted an almost blemish-free first nine, carding a 37 with one birdie and a triple on the par-5 11^th.

Tom Wallace & Kari Phenix working the leaderboard

John Phelps and Ron Puder started the final round in 3^rd, but Phelps dropped into a tie for 9^th after posting 85, and Puder fell to tie for 13^th with an 86. The number of doubles on his card suggested that Phelps had an off day, and Puder, who had three birdies at Eastwood, could never get going at FMCC.

D-Flight

The winner of D-Flight, Tom Watkins, would have won C-Flight and taken second in both the B and A flights with his 158 total (77, 81). That’s some pretty stellar golf for a player with an index of 14 or greater I’d say. Watkins’ gross score was nine better than his closest competitor in the flight, and his net advantage was even more lopsided. I’m told that Watkins was recovering from injury and that’s why his index was so high. Good recovery Tom!

Pete Soom on Day 1

Two of the three players who tied for second-place Daniel Johnson and Michael Ahearn posted identical scores (87, 80) that were seven shots better in the second round than the first. Neither could make up much ground on Watkins’ 10-shot lead from Day 1. Pete Soom, who led my group the first day, was the third player to tie for second-place with a 167 total, but he was pretty consistent both days, shooting 85, 82.  All three would have tied for 2^nd had they played in C-Flight.

In Retrospect

Kari and Tom almost done

Regardless of how I play, I hate to see a golf tournament come to an end, and the Southwest Florida Men's Amateur is no exception. As usual, I'd like to thank the staff and volunteers at both facilities (Kari Phenix, Todd Brown, Tom Wallace and others) for putting on a terrific event. 

Todd Brown chats with participant

I just wish they were a little tighter on the handicaps. It wouldn't have helped me any, but I feel for the guys who played well in their handicap range, only to be blown away by players who posted scores that made a mockery of the notion of a USGA handicap. But hey, that's golf and we love it regardless. Next stop: West Florida Amateur Tour stop at the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota. Until then, your "drunken style" golf sensei and lovely photographer are signing off...