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Largo star holds on to win junior event

By Times Staff
Published December 27, 2005

When a situation starts to go downhill, a management principle says to stay calm and not panic.

That's essentially where Belleair's Andrea Messer found herself in Wednesday's third and final round of the Innisbrook Christmas Junior Classic. The Largo High sophomore didn't panic, and she held on to win.

The 11th annual event was played on the famous Copperheard course, site of the PGA Tour's Chrysler Championship.

Messer had opening rounds of 73 and 71 to take a seven-stroke lead over Dolores White , 18, of Lakeland, ranked 25th in the nation and who will play for Wake Forest next year.

But Messer, the defending champion, struggled on her opening nine starting at the par-4 10th. Messer hit into bunkers repeatedly and found herself with a series of downhill putts. She shot 5-over 40 on the front nine, opening the door for White, Dakoda Dowd of Palm Harbor and Largo High's Evan Jensen .

"I never thought about losing," said Messer, the Times 2005 county co-player of the year. "I just kept trying to score on each hole, although I thought (White and I) were even at one point. I was worried about Dolores but didn't think I could blow a seven-stroke lead."

Even with that positive attitude, Messer could hardly stop the bleeding as she tried to collect herself on the tee at the 450-yard par-5 No. 1 hole.

She bogeyed it and followed with double bogey at the par-4 second hole. She finished with an 83 but won by two.

"Besides the cold weather, the greens were quick and the pin placements were difficult," Messer said.

"And I kept making the mistake of getting in position for long downhill putts that led to eight three-putt greens. I was in three bunkers and never made a birdie all day."

At 229, Jensen tied for second with White by posting the best final round of the day, a 75. Jensen had three pars during the round, highlighted by an uphill 30-footer on the par-4 No. 7 hole. She is used to going low, having shot 6-under 66 to win the high school district tournament in Bradenton in October.

She and Messer tied for first at the Innisbrook Back to School Classic in August. Messer went on to tie for first (70-72) at last month's Class 2A state high school tournament but lost in a playoff to Alexandria Buelow of Stuart Martin County.

Boys winner Jhared Hack of Heathrow had the satisfaction of bouncing back from last year's disappointing fourth-place tie. The high school junior improved by 12 strokes by posting rounds of 68-72-76-216 to win by four over Countryside High's P.J. Kolosvary and Nathan Wine of Fort Wayne, Ind.

"What saved me (Wednesday) and Tuesday was my chipping," said Hack, who also dealt with tough conditions. "I was able to get up and down a lot. The turning point for me (Wednesday) was the par-3 17th. Although I bogeyed it, Wine was putting for birdie from 3 feet but ended up three-putting for a bogey. That eased the pressure going into 18, where I was able to par after a 250-yard drive down the middle."

Kolosvary played himself into contention in the second round with a 3-under 68 that moved him into second. He had five birdies during the round. However, on the front nine of Wednesday's final round, he faltered with a 43.

"That really hurt me although I recovered on the back nine with a 35," said Kolosvary, the Times 2004 county high school player of the year who will play next year for Florida Gulf Coast near Fort Myers.

A senior with a weighted grade point average of 4.10, Kolosvary will enroll in the school's professional golf management program, one of only 17 in the country.

Zach Walters and Tyler Wilkens , Countryside teammates of Kolosvary, tied for sixth by finishing strong with rounds of 75. The boys played from the back tees, the same used by the pros at the Chrysler Championship, close to 7,300 yards. October's winner, Carl Petterson of Sweden, had only one round out of four better than 68, a 67 in milder conditions.

Travis Huston is a young man to watch in 2006 and beyond. The son of PGA Tour veteran John Huston captured the boys 13-and under title with rounds of 75-76. He attends Calvary Christian in Clearwater.

Tournament director Doug Laseter said he was pleased that the field continues to grow stronger. It included players from 13 states. His next Innisbrook junior event is the Easter Classic in April.

In the Senior Championship, Dick Bartlett and Dan Menke (71) edged Dave Reber and Eddie Grant by a stroke.

Bob Gonsch and Dave Chilcote went low, 60, to capture net honors over Simon Cogley and Ernie Meier by one.

The New Year's Invitational at St. Petersburg Country Club, the South's oldest amateur championship, expects to have 50 or more players with handicaps of plus 1 or better.

They include Luke List , Vanderbilt; Michael Barbosa , Georgia Tech/St. Petersburg; Florida's Ryan Cochran , Jessie Mudd , Tyler Rucarean , Will Strickler and Toby Ragland and three from California's 2004 NCAA title team.

"This is a first for the tournament," said Richard Hope , the director of the annual classic about drawing top players from the West Coast.

Indiana's Jeff Overton won last year. He turned pro and graduated from the PGA Tour's Q-School earlier this month.

The 72-hole tournament is Jan.5-8 preceded by a practice round Jan.4.

[Last modified December 27, 2005, 02:30:20]