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Evans rides putter to Innisbrook title

By MIKE TOMPKINS
Published July 9, 2006

There were some tense moments late in last weekend's Innisbrook Amateur Championship, won by Jeremy Evans of Palm Harbor in a playoff with Rick Kerper of Safety Harbor.

Defending champion Kerper, who plays out of Countryside, had his back to the wall coming into Monday's final round in the three-round tournament.

First, he had to sink a 40-foot putt for par on the par-3 17th, which he did. Then on his final hole of regulation on the 18th on the Copperhead course, he had to hit out of a footprint in a fairway bunker. He caught all ball, coming to rest off the edge of the green but well back since the pin was on the far side of the green.

"I was aware that I needed to get up and down to stay in it," said Kerper, 48, playing in the tournament for the 12th time in 14 years. "I got it up there close enough to make it and force the playoff."

Evans, 19, a sophomore on the golf team at Emory University, saw his drive on the par-4 playoff hole bounce long off the cart path left of the fairway and come to rest in a wooded area. After reaching the green, he eased his 40-foot downhill putt toward the small opening in the green. It came to rest within 2 feet, resulting in a par and the eventual win as Kerper narrowly missed his 15-footer for par.

"Overall, I was happy with my performance," said Kerper, who was two strokes better for the three rounds than when he won last year when he shot 72-71-75--218. "I putted better on Monday than I did on Sunday when I had the 68 on the Highlands North course aided by four birdies."

Evans is the No. 2 player for Emory this season. The team advanced to the NCAA Division III championship.

He said his putting is what kept him in the tournament.

"I believe I only had 28 or 29 putts on Monday," Evans said. "I also hit my short and mid irons well. I flared a few long-iron shots, otherwise I was real solid." His scores were 75-71 and final round of 1-under 70 for 216.

Evans, a member at Cypress Run, said he tried to play "smartly aggressive" in the final round, and, for the most part, it worked.

"The key for me in the tournament was my putting; something I've struggled with this year. But this summer I've gotten together with my instructor, Lew Smither here at Innisbrook, and changed my grip to left hand down under my right. That helped a lot today and throughout the tournament."

No putt was bigger for Evans than his 25-footer on the 590-yard par-5 14th. He drained it for an eagle.

TOURNAMENT NOTES: First- and second-round (72-70) leader Bill Moore of Tampa slipped to 77 on Monday and fell out of contention, but still good enough for third place. He won in 1993 and 2000.

Mike Abrams of St. Petersburg finished sixth (77-71-76-224), followed in a tie for 10th between Sam Rosati of Oldsmar and Jason Elliott of Palm Harbor at 228. Elliott, a former Times high school player of the year, plays for the University of South Florida.

CGA: Dave Nagy was the big winner last week as Beacon Woods hosted the primarily Pinellas association. His 4-over 76 edged Roger Flaherty by a stroke. Net honors were won by Steve Iorio (68) followed by Dave Jenquin with a 70.

Ken Jackson captured the Senior Division with a 76, one better than Dick Ptomey. There was a tie at 66 for Senior net between John Turnbull and Jim Capoli.

On Monday, Dennis Williams of Tarpon Springs and Andrew Rilling teamed up to share better-ball honors with Mark Wilkin and Jim Roberts at a match at Countryside.

Similarly, Senior Division honors also were shared. Gerald Lindow and Stan Lewis tied with Jim Montali and Lewis. The net winners were Mark Tuttle and Gary Shellenberger with 58.

COLLEGES: Dunedin's Lara Smilnak (CCC/Boston College) finished tied for sixth (80-77-80-237) at a Collegiate Players Tour event in Orlando last week. Sharla Cloutier of Niceville won with 74-73-70-217.

Mike Barbosa (Georgia Tech) also tied for sixth playing in the Dogwood Invitational in Atlanta. He was 9-under 279 after opening with a 5-under 67.

JUNIORS: Tyler Wilkins of Clearwater finished second among a field of 240 at last weekend's Future Masters Tournament in Dothan, Ala. Wilkins finished strong with a 5-under 67 after opening with 70-69. Former Countryside High teammate P.J. Kolosvary was 18th (70-72-72-214) and Travis Ralph, 15, of Redington Beach shot 74-74-79-227 for 100th.

In girls competition at TPC at Tampa Bay, Belleair's Andrea Messer tied for fourth with rounds of 75-72-72-219. Seminole's Danielle Jackson shot steady rounds of 75-76-76-227, followed by Belleair's Evan Jensen at 233. They were playing in the First American Title Junior Classic, an AJGA event.

THIS WEEKEND: The 57th State Four-Ball Championship is being played this weekend at Innisbrook. The lower score of the two partners is the score for the hole. Wentworth club champion Patrick Olive is in the field with Palm Harbor's Gary Richardson. They qualified last week at Cypress Run.

MORE JUNIORS: Justin Foster, a sophomore at Dunedin High, shot a 1-over 73 to win the 13-15 age division of a recent PGA West Central Chapter event at Belleair.

JUNIOR CAMP: Tarpon Woods Country Club will host a camp from July 24-28 consisting of morning instruction and drills by area PGA professionals. The camp will conclude on Thursday and Friday with a 36-hole tournament. For details, call East Lake High coach Terry O'Reilly at 463-1720 or call the Tarpon Woods pro shop at 784-7606.

[Last modified July 8, 2006, 23:44:15]