When Dan Stone teed it up Tuesday in the U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Lake Nona in Orlando, he faced the biggest challenge of his young career.
The St.Petersburg native was competing against an estimated 86 veteran PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour players vying for 4-7 spots in the $6 million national championship in Olympia Fields, Ill., where Tiger Woods will defend his title starting June 12.
"Advancing to the sectional gives me an opportunity to do something truly memorable," Stone, 30, a two-time NCAA All-American at the University of Florida, said entering the event.
"To qualify for the U.S. Open would definitely be the highlight of my career," he said.
Stone said he wasn't going to approach the task any differently than any other tournament. The key to his success was to hit the fairways and greens, then putt well. In addition, he had to battle heat and fatigue while walking 36 holes in the one-day test.
"I want to play the par 5s well," Stone said heading into the competition. "That's the best place to make the birdies."
Stone took some putting lessons last week in Alabama where he was playing in a Hooters Tour event.
With sixth- and eighth-place finishes in recent Hooters tourneys, Stone entered Tuesday optimistic. Plus, he maintained a sterling 70.74 scoring average on the tour.
In the Hooters' Rocket City Classic last weekend, Stone crafted a 20-under 268 (68-64-68-68). He mastered two of the par-5 holes by making eagles in the second and final rounds.
NOTES: Growing up, Stone learned the game at Lakewood Country Club from head pro and former PGA Tour standout Skip Alexander.
Andy Davis, a Shorecrest Prep graduate, is Stone's regular caddie. Davis qualified for the finals of last year's Long Drive National Championships.
Stone's wife, Linda, filled in as a caddie in the last round of a recent Hooters tournament. She's a 1987 Lakewood High School graduate and a seventh-grade teacher at Riviera Middle School in St.Petersburg.
COLLEGE FUND CLASSIC: St.Petersburg Country Club member Phil Shasteen made the most of his third career hole-in-one. Playing in the fund-raiser on his home course, Shasteen aced the 169-yard seventh hole to win a 2003 Buick LeSabre. He used a 7-iron. A Tampa attorney, Shasteen was playing in a scramble foursome with his brother, Jim, Leigh Vanneman and Joel Bronstein. They shot 11-under par. The winning score, 14 under, was posted by Earl Gainey, Jim Gagliardi, E.J. Richardson and PGA teaching pro Matt Mitchell of the Downs Practice Facility in Oldsmar.
JUNIORS: Seminole's Brittany Lincicome carded a women's course-record 5-under 67 en route to a third-place finish in last week's Thunderbird International Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Jason Elliott, a rising senior at Palm Harbor University High, shot 2-over 74 in the U.S. Open local qualifier in St.Augustine to receive an alternate position in a sectional qualifier.
The Palm Harbor-based Tampa Bay Junior Golf Foundation awarded college scholarships to three recent East Lake High graduates. They are Michael Novotny, Florida State; Nicole Paolini, Florida; and Justin Meier, Tufts.
JUNIOR APPOINTMENT: Phyllis Lewellyn, the Suncoast Junior Tour director, has been appointed director of the junior program at the Chi Chi Rodriguez Club. Lewellyn is the Palm Harbor University High girls coach. Two of her junior players recently recorded scores of 69. They are Chad Fleming, 12, of Seminole, and Oldsmar's Mason Gregg, 13. Lewellyn has a variety of junior programs lined up for June and July. For information, call 742-7307.
MORE SUMMER PROGRAMS: Virtually every club and course in the county is offering junior camps, clinics or competitions. The June issue of the Greater Tampa Bay Golfer's Guide, a free publication, devotes six pages describing them. Parents also may choose to call the courses and ranges in their area to see what is scheduled for youngsters.
COLLEGES: Largo High graduate Megan Riley contributed to Florida Southern's runner-up finish in the NCAA Division II Championship.
Defending Division II men's champion Rollins, with Countryside grad David Cosper in the lineup, had to settle for second in its national finals.
Another former Cougar, Amanda Dick at Florida, took fourth for the eighth-place Gators in the women's NCAA Division I tournament.
Ryan Gildersleeve (Clearwater High), a South Alabama senior, produced a 76-77-77-230, missing the 54-hole cut in the men's Division I championship last week in Stillwater, Okla.
Kentucky's John Holmes, winner of the New Year's Invitational at St.Petersburg Country Club, was tied for second in the NCAA tourney after 54 holes and firing a 3-under 69. However, his final-round 80 dropped him to a tie for 16th.
