CELEBS ENHANCE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE 27TH ANNUAL GOLF CLASSIC

Additional photos by Steph & T. A. can be viewed here &
Additional photos by Expose Photography can be viewed here

Fred Fredric, Founder of the Annual Fall Classic, shows off
appreciation award

Father’s often pass the baton to their sons, and hope that their son’s carry the baton as well or better than they did. Tim Fredric has certainly risen to the challenge, and as is usually the case when the baton is passed, he has carried it an extra mile in his first go round as Co-Chair of the 2014 Golf Committee for the 27th Annual Fall Golf Classic Tournament to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida.

Tim Fredric & Laura Ragain preside over festivities at
the award luncheon

There were a few new twists to the event as Tim Frederic stepped up to fill the ample shoes of his dad, Fred Fredric: Ryan Sherry came on board, the event moved to Fiddlesticks Country Club in Fort Myers (from Quail West in Naples last year), and a Celebrity Pro-Am component was added to the golf tournament.

Ryan Sherry and Chris Doleman chat with Sheriff's deputies

You know the saying that goes something like, “If you aren’t moving forward, you are falling backward,” or words to that effect? After observing the happenings at Fiddlesticks this past weekend (October 3 & 4), I believe it’s safe to say that the 27^th Annual was a giant step forward in the noble effort to support the invaluable charitable work done by the folks at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida.

A few of the event sponsors

I’ll get to some of the new event elements, but prior to that undertaking, let’s give loud shout-outs to some richly deserving entities. Arthrex stepped up big once again to serve as Title Sponsor of the Fall Classic, as it has done for the third consecutive year. Earl & Margie Holland, Martin-Brower, Turano Baking Company were all previous Platinum Sponsors who maintained their level of support this year. They were joined by Homewood Suites Fort Myers – Bell Tower, Scanlon Auto Group and Grampy’s Charities as top-level sponsors.

Sponsor signs dotted the grounds at Fiddlesticks

Other repeat sponsors included the Beasley Broadcast Group and Dr. Pepper, both displaying their community generosity yet again as Gold Sponsors of the event. Silver sponsors included Cameratta Companies, Gorton’s, Mortgage One, McDonald’s USA- Florida Region; and Coca Cola and the Tilted Kilt sponsored the Sponsor Party. There were too many generous contributors to name them all, but numerous community businesses did their part to make the event a success.

Fiddlesticks Director of Golf Jim Kurtzeborn
announces winners

What about the new elements of the event? Well, the Tournament Committee (Co-Chairs Tim Frederic, AJ Lurie, & Ryan Sherry), along with the other committee members (Teresa Beasley, Lee Bellamy, Leanna Gonzalez, Angela Katz, Diana Lurie, Laura Ragain), did a bang-up job in collaboration with Fiddlesticks Director of Golf Jim Kurtzeborn and his staff to make the event a successful and memorable one.

Fiddlesticks Clubhouse

As mentioned above, Fiddlesticks was a new venue, and from all the celebrity commentary during the practice round on Friday, as well as what was bantered about on Saturday, Fiddlesticks was an outstanding choice. 

George Vogel

The course, Long Mean, was in great shape, and the staff was as accommodating as one could hope for, from the Big Kahuna (Jim Kurtzeborn to George Vogel, the congenial attendant in the parking lot.

Nolan Henke (left) & Ryan Sherry

Moving to a Celebrity Pro-Am was a new feature of the Fall Classic, and that was courtesy of new committee member Ryan Sherry. Getting Sherry on board could be considered a stroke of genius, considering his prior experience with securing some of the biggest names in sports history for celebrity events (see a prior Sherry production).

Aaron Sherry, Tony Womack, Ryan Sherry, Chris Doleman
during Friday's practice round at Fiddlesticks

With Ryan working the phones, the 27^th Annual’s inaugural celebrity component included record-setting Olympians, NFL Hall of Famers, Super Bowl Champions, retired baseball stars, boxing World Champions, a golf long drive champion, and even a soccer star! Interestingly enough, some of those guys brought some game! NFL Hall of Famer Chris Doleman of my Minnesota Vikings, Tony Womack, a World Champion with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, and others showed some real golf prowess on the links.

Terry Jo Myers lines up putt while the Fredricks look on

But Fort Myers has its own “stars,” and they turned out in support of the Ronald McDonald House as well. PGA and LPGA Tour players Nolan Henke and Terry Jo Myers added their special touches to the festivities, and if you know anything about Terry Jo, you know she can be festive. Nolan, well, Nolan was Nolan: just nice and easy. Both were really good hosts though, and politely allowed other celebrities to claim the top prizes.

OJ Anderson's 3rd Place group

The celebrity member of the third-place group was O.J. Anderson, MVP of Super Bowl XXV in 1991 when playing with the New York Giants. You would have been hard pressed to find a more entertaining celebrity among the distinguished group. Not all celebrities get it, as far as interacting with the participants, and realizing that the event isn’t really about them, but OJ did.

2nd-Place team minus Victor Green

Victor Greene, a member of the New York Jets All-Time Four Decade Team, turned out to be a real golf fanatic, going back out to the links after the event was finished. His team took home the second-place prize. The top team of the 27th Annual Fall Golf Classic Tournament had a ringer as its celebrity. If you Google Lathan Atkinson you’ll find that he was touted as a professional golfer who was signed by Oakley Golf to endorse their product.  

1st-Place Lathan Atkinson Group

In any event, Atkinson, Rudy Garcia, Bill Bolling, Chris Cedric, and Brian Wischnak will go down in history as the winner of the Inaugural Celebrity Pro-Am component of the Fall Classic Tournament to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida.

Tiffany Lee tells her story

As much as the celebrities are worthy of the accolades and attention they received, the participants who made the cash contributions to the cause, who showed up to play Long Mean and mingle with those celebs are to be celebrated as well. Without them, there would be no event, and there wouldn’t be moments like there were when the crowded room heard from Tiffany Lee, a recipient of Ronald McDonald House generosity.

Andre Reed during Friday's practice round at Fiddlesticks

As Tiffany recounted her story, including what the assistance from the Ronald McDonald House had meant to her and her family, tears flowed freely…and they weren’t all hers. Somehow I believe she was inspirational in Andre Reed answering the call for additional funding with a $1000 pledge, and the similar response from other participants in the room.

Captain Carmine Marceno

If the number and quality of celebrities (for example, world and Olympic record holder Bob Beamon was in attendance), the generosity of the sponsors, and the sheer number of participants didn’t convince you of the magnitude of the event, perhaps the 

cooperation and participation of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office will. Captain Carmine Marceno and several deputies were on hand as the Sheriff’s helicopter dropped the golf balls for the Golf Ball Drop fundraiser.

Generous Jennifer Neilsen gets congrats

Jennifer Neilson was the lucky winner of the Golf Ball Drop, and she was ecstatic when Laura Ragain, Executive Director of the Southwest Chapter of Ronald McDonald House Charities, called her name as the lucky winner. In a spontaneous expression of character, Jennifer promptly turned around and added the entire $2700 she had won to the monies raised by the event. How about that for generosity!

Geoff Chong, Adam Singer, Briana Hovis- Members of
Fiddlesticks golf staff

All in all, the collaboration among members of the Southwest Florida golf community, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida, local businesses, the Lee County Sheriff, individual golfers, and the incredible staff of Fiddlesticks Country Club raised $30,500 during the 27th Annual Fall Golf Classic Tournament.

Laura Ragain- Executive Director of
Ronald McDonald House Charities of
Southwest Florida

Steph and I would like to add our voice to the Lees, and the hundreds of families who will benefit from the proceeds of the event in offering a HUGE thank you to all of the organizers, volunteers and participants of the 27^th Annual Fall Golf Classic Tournament to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southwest Florida. Special thanks to Ryan Sherry for bringing the event to our attention! We'll be looking forward to next year's event, and I'm looking to get on Chris Doleman's team. Hey, he is a former Viking, and yes, however woeful, the Vikings are my team. Whadda ya say Chris? It is for charity :). Again, well done to all who contributed to the fantastic success of the 27^th Annual!

T. A. & Steph Niles

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

WFGT 2014 SUMMER TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP: BRANDON LEE STILL LEADS

Ah, back at the West Florida Golf Tour's Summer Tour Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Sarasota. If you enjoy beautiful environments, you will be envious of the guys battling for the title on that titillating track! Since we didn't make it back up today for player photos, it's a great opportunity to share some of the beauty of the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club that Steph captured yesterday. Photos from final day will be available tomorrow. On to the golf...

First-round co-leader Brandon Lee of Fort Myers, Florida fired off five birdies on the front side, including four consecutive tweeters, to offset his one bogey on the opening nine. When he birdied No.10, it seemed as though he was poised to go low, having birdied six of his last seven holes.

But the birdie train screeched to a halt with bogeys on No.11 and No.12, but Lee steadied the ship and offset one of those bogeys with a bird on No.14 and held onto par on the way in for a 4-under round that kept him atop the leaderboard.

I hate to jinx him, but my pick for the event, David Branshaw of Tampa, Florida, did what he could to keep pace with Lee on the front side, picking up three feathery creatures of his own on holes four through six. Branshaw added three more birdies on the back side, but carded his only blemish in two rounds: a bogey on the par-3 16^th. His 5-under 67 was good for the second lowest round of the day, and enough to tie him for the lead with Lee at -9 going into tomorrow’s final round.

Doug Letson of Bradenton, Florida, he of the record-setting second round at Old Corkscrew last week, also notched four birdies on the front nine to keep pace with Lee, whom he trailed by four shots coming into Round 2.

Letson’s 4-under going out vaulted him up the leaderboard from 16^th to solo 5^th at the turn. Doug added two more birds on the back, had no missteps throughout the round, and carded his second 66 on Day 2 in consecutive events. That 6-under gem, again low round of the day and tournament, eased him into 4^th place, just two off the lead going into tomorrow.

The other first-round leader, Chase Marinell of Fort Myers didn’t quite keep pace with Lee and Letson on the front side, but he carded a -1 going out to share a piece of 3^rd place after nine with Kevin Roy of Tampa, who posted a 2-under front side. Marinell may not have matched his torrid first round 67, but his single-bogey, four-birdie 69 was good enough to keep him just one back of the leaders, in solo third. Marinell has already won multiple times on Tour this summer, so he is definitely one to watch coming down the back nine.

Kevin Roy of Tampa, Florida, whose first-round 68 had tied him with three others after Round 1, carded a 69 in Round 2, courtesy of five birdies and two bogeys. Roy had a clean card with four birdies through No.15 before finishing bogey, birdie, bogey. His 3-under round was enough to forge a tie for 4^th with Letson and keep him in the hunt for the title. He’ll be in the third-to-last group in the final round.

Order of Merit points-leader, Chris Kennedy of Bradenton, Florida climbed eights spots up the leaderboard, from 22^nd to a tie for 14^th, with a 2-under 70. Anything is possible, but coming from seven shots back to win with the quality of the field is a very, very long shot. Kenny Goodykoontz of Fort Myers Beach, Florida, second in the Summer Tour points-race, used his five-birdie, two-bogey performance to inch his way up the leaderboard from a tie for 8^th into 7^th alone.

Case Gard of Lakeland, Florida is moving quietly along in 6^th alone after a pair of 69s. If Gard maintains this level of consistency tomorrow, he could have his highest finish of the season. Gard should have a good example to follow tomorrow as he’ll be paired with Letson.

Sam Chavez of Bradenton, has been nothing if not consistent, carding his second 2-under round of the event, carding three birdies and one bogey for the second consecutive day. Sam maintained his 8^th-place position going into the final round. Chavez is coming off a second-place finish in the Southwest Florida Open at Old Corkscrew last week, and is poised for his second consecutive Top-10 finish. [Note: Sam is my sentimental favorite since he has the chutzpah to play with a yellow ball! How ya like that Mike Curran- wink?]

Order of Merit contenders Hampton Ballard (4^th) of Bradenton, Florida, Logan Blondell (7^th) and Brad Klapprott (8^th), both of Lakeland, Florida all posted better rounds today and moved incrementally up the leaderboard. Ballard made the strongest move with a 69, and is now tied with Klapprott (-2) for 12^th.  Blondell shot 1-under today and climbed from a tie for 22^nd with Ballard into a tie for 18^th.  

Fort Myers locals, Aaron Sherry (28^th), Tyler Merkel (24^th), and Jeremy Wells (32^nd) all slipped down the leaderboard, but all made the cut and will have one more day to earn a check to cover expenses. Steph and I will be heading up to the event tomorrow for the final

day, and I’m looking forward to it almost as much as though I were playing the event myself! How can it not be thrilling when at least three of the top five going into tomorrow have already won this season, two of them (Marinell and Letson) multiple times. Yeah, tomorrow will be a blast! Stay tuned….