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Brittany Lincicome is on the move toward summer national championship tournaments.
Last week in Atlanta, the two-time state high school champion for Seminole shot a career-best 5-under 65 to qualify for the U.S. Golf Association Public Links Championship.
Her round set a course record at The Oaks Club and advances the 18-year-old to the national amateur won last year by sensation Michelle Wie, then 13, of Hawaii.
The Links Championship is scheduled for June 22-27 at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va.
"I'm a little surprised I shot as well as I did in Atlanta because the course wasn't in that good of shape," said Lincicome, whose home club is Bardmoor in Largo.
Matt Mitchell of the Downs Range and Learning Center is Lincicome's instructor.
The field will consist of 144 players. After two rounds of stroke play, the tournament will be reduced to the top 64 for match play.
Lincicome's major competition should come from the U.S. members of the Curtis Cup match to be played this weekend in England against the best amateur women from Great Britain and Ireland.
The eight-member U.S. squad includes Wie and teenagers Erica Blasberg, Brittany Lang, Paula Creamer and Jane Park.
An even loftier goal is on Lincicome's horizon - to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. The world's premier tourney, July 1-4 in South Hadley, Mass., has a $3.1-million purse. Hilary Lunke of Edina, Minn., is the defending champ.
Lincicome took the first step last month in Naples by posting a 2-over 74 at Imperial Golf Club to receive a second-stage berth. The competition is Monday at Heathrow Country Club in Orlando.
If Lincicome passes that test, it's on to the Orchards Golf Club to compete against former Open winners Annika Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak, Karrie Webb and Juli Inkster, among other pro luminaries. Pak is the youngest champion, winning at 20 in 1998.
Clearwater's Jenny Gleason, a regular on the Futures Tour, fired a 74 to pass the U.S. Women's Open challenge in Naples. NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: St. Petersburg's Mike Barbosa, a sophomore at Georgia Tech, shot a final-round 72, including 3-under 33 on the back nine, in the 107th tournament last week in Hot Springs, Va., to enable the Ramblin' Wreck to capture fifth. On the final day, during intermittent hard rain and gusty winds, Tech passed five teams, including top-ranked Florida.
Barbosa finished third on the squad, tying for 36th overall, with 73-74-72-72-291.
Kentucky's John Holmes, winner of the 2003 New Year's Invitational at St. Petersburg Country Club, placed sixth (279) to receive Ping All-America first-team honors.
FLORIDA STATE AMATEUR: Three more Pinellas golfers received spots in the championship last week at University Park Country Club in University Park.
They include runner-up Kyle Christman of Madeira Beach with a par 72, Clearwater's Justin May and Palm Harbor's Jason Overton. The championship is scheduled for June 17-20 at Twin Eagles in Naples.
Christman is a May graduate of Winthrop University in South Carolina. He was a Times Pinellas Player of the Year as a junior and senior at Seminole High.
In the qualifier, Christman finished in style with a 40-foot chip shot for a par on No. 18. He will pursue an MBA at the University of Miami in the fall. Other local qualifiers include Andy Goodwin and Jon Mansfield, both of Clearwater; former East Lake High teammates Brad Quiri and Ryan Shears, who play for USF; Kyle McCarthy, South Pasadena; C.J. Holder, St. Petersburg; Neil Vanleeuwen, Tarpon Springs; and Jason Elliott, Palm Harbor.
Elliott was the top county finisher in the state tournament last year. He won player of the year honors at Palm Harbor University High.
Last weekend, Elliott tied for second in the AJGA Ping Junior in Palm Beach Gardens with 67-75-71-213. He will play for USF in the fall. Richard Maddox of Panama City is the defending champion. He won in Orlando last year by a stroke over Jacksonville's Andy Purnell. U.S. OPEN: McCarthy moves on to a second-stage qualifier today in Orlando.
CGA: In Thursday's County Golf Association match at Seminole Lake, Safety Harbor's Wayne Banting, 58, produced the best round (par 72) to win the senior division.
Banting, who plays to a 7 handicap, birdied No. 4, 5 and 6 in his second-best career round.
"Seminole Lake was in excellent shape," Banting said.
Dalan Farren of New Port Richey took the regular division with a 76.
Largo's Brian Thomas and Clearwater's Eddie Grant teamed for a winning 72 in a better-ball match at USF on May 27. In the senior division, Jim Gruden, father of Bucs coach Jon Gruden, was paired with Tampa's Harry Hummer. They crafted a 73 to tie with John King and Malcolm Griffith, both of Tampa.
DUNEDIN TOURNAMENT: The annual fundraiser for the high school's baseball program netted more than $15,000, said tourney director John Bascom, and a winning scramble team with a 13-under 59 at Dunedin Country Club.
Kunnen Construction Company took first place behind Chip Kunnen, Mike Kunnen, Pat Herndon and Glen Christianson. Two strokes back were Rob Goodell, Jon Moorehouse, Scott Chapman and Lorne Stamler, representing Premier Beverage Co.
SUNCOAST INTERCLUB: Crescent Oaks won the women's league title last month with 48.5 points.
Belleair took second, 40.5; and was followed by Cypress Run, 38. The league resumes in September with a match at Innisbrook. For information, call Niecie Halfon, 785-2024.
JUNIORS: Courtney Harter of Clearwater finished third in the AJGA Nike Classic in Jackson, Miss., last week with 74-79-76-229.